Sienn Toquema - Lotus Flower

Sienn Toquema

Age: Early to mid twenties.

Height: 6 feet.

Homeworld: Ryloth

Five years ago.

Sienn quietly watched as Tol went through the newest batch from Siva and Ulu’s scavenger run. It was mostly trash - piles of broken devices, and loose wires nobody would miss - yet to him it was nothing short of a treasure.

Normally he wouldn’t let anyone around while he was working, but Sienn was an exception to this rule. It was getting harder and harder to see him, so she was grateful for every opportunity, even if it meant being mostly ignored in favour of some old junk.

“Tol?” She called out softly, drawing knees to her chest.

The boy responded with a quiet murmur, which Sienn decided was a good enough invitation to continue. The tip of his nose was almost brushing the old wristcom he was pulling apart.

“If you could pick any place to go, what would it be?”

“Upper levels would be nice.” He muttered half-heartedly, throwing a piece of plasteel over his shoulder.

Sienn sighed, reaching to grab it from the floor. Knowing their luck, someone would hurt themselves on it, and she really didn’t want to deal with that later.

“I meant outside of Lessu. Or Ryloth.”

That gave him pause, fingers freezing midway through extracting some delicate-looking chip. Then, as if nothing happened, Tol returned to work. “I don’t mind it here.” He responded in his usual blank tone.

Careful not to agitate her leg further, Sienn stood up from her spot by the wall, and limped towards him. The limb wasn’t broken - not fully anyway - but still hurt like hell. She got off easy, considering what a disaster the last job was.

The hideout was abuzz with anxiety, everyone wondering if there’ll be some retaliation from the goons they tried robbing. Hutt influence could protect them to some extent, but they’d have to care first. Without the spice her squad was meant to recover, they had no reason to.

She probably wasn’t the only one considering an escape.

First, the tips of her fingers rested on the boy’s shoulders, giving Tol plenty of time to shrug them off if he didn’t wish to be touched. It didn’t seem the case today, so she leaned in to envelop her brother in a warm hug.

“Come on. Any place, Tol.”

Now it was his turn to sigh. “Fine. Coruscant.” He shifted his arms uncomfortably, so Sienn reluctantly let go.

“Why Coruscant?” She brushed some dust off his back, earning an annoyed huff.

“I’m working.” He growled, but she was familiar enough with his ways to dismiss it.

“Tell me, and I’ll leave you alone.”

The boy mumbled something suspiciously similar to “schutta” under his breath, before finally giving up.

“I could work on some real stuff there, right?” He stopped, before adding, much more quietly “Maybe even a spaceship…”

She hugged him again, ignoring a wave of protests and complaints, as Tol tried to wiggle his way out of her embrace.

Sienn was painfully aware of what her worth was. Just another body to be thrown into the fray, kept around as long as she could perform. It was fine. Some people were meant to be disposable, and Sienn made peace with being one of them a long time ago.

But not Tol. Tol was special.

He wasn’t like other younglings in the gang. Direct and aloof, he didn’t earn himself many friends, and if it weren’t for Sienn, he’d be a regular target for bullying. Even she couldn’t fully understand his thoughts, but it never stopped her from loving Tol from the very bottom of her heart.

It was only when he was talking of his work, the trashed pieces of outdated tech he brought back to life just to see them broken after another raid, that his emotion shone through, A tinge of longing, undetectable for some who didn’t grow up with him, a semblance of hope Sienn never dared to have herself.He was so bright, so brilliant…

…and so utterly wasted on this place.

Sienn wouldn’t let him become another spice addict, wallowing in regret, or a poor schmuck living under the Hutt’s thumb, no matter how hard she’d have to work for it.

It wasn’t much of a sacrifice, really. After all, he was special.

And she was not.

“I’ll get you to Coruscant.” She whispered. “I promise.”

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