Your Eternal Reward

[Roxy]

A notification, a blip:
“Master Atris will be giving a discussion on the theoretical study of Shatterpoint in ten minutes. All attending, please be present to the courtyard behind the temple.”

Bidding her campfire friends a farewell, the Mirialan departed from the Colony gates and began the walk through the Wildwoods. Typically never the most peaceful journey, but Roselyn could avoid the worst of the burglars and even more terrifying, the Gimpassa. The Mirialan strolled through the wood with the intention of making it back to the temple. Leaves crunched beneath her feet, as she worked from tree to tree, hiding from the Kinrath, the Gimpassa, the Outlaws.

She came finally to the north bridge along the stream. A peaceful brook, the sound of rushing water accompanying the other ambient noises in the forest itself. One foot in front of the other, the Mirialan began to cross it. She felt a light twinge run up her back, a jolt through her nerves that carried along the creases of her right side brain. A familiar feeling, one that gave her pause.

Her movement ceased, near immediately, about halfway across the bridge itself. Violet eyes lost their focus. Roselyn squinted, attempting to blink the blur from her own vision, but every move felt like molasses. “A… Another… Attack…” She murmured to herself. Or was it a thought? She could hear it, but her lips didn’t move. She was frozen upon the bridge. Something was… there. Who was it? An outlaw? The fingers of Roses right hand twitched, curling uncomfortably, balling her gloved hand into a fist.

A ping came through her communicator, and her body jolted slightly. She could see- She could think? She checked her communicator with all of the casualty of someone who’d just awoke from a nap. A message from Isena, asking where she was. Where was she? Turning her gaze, and looking around- She saw the trees. The bridge. The river. She was on Viscara, that’s right. Where else would she be? She shook the strange feeling off, as one does - And continued her journey to the Jedi Temple.

By the time she’d arrived, a small crowd had gathered. Knight Puru, Knight Thelion, Doma, Isena, Kairos, some others gathered around Master Atris, who had clutched a diamond in her hand. The tardy Mirialan quickly and quietly moved over to plop down in a spot next to Isena, giving her a little nod of acknowledgement, which was promptly returned. Master Atris was discussing things- The meaning behind the words ‘Shatter’ and ‘Point’, separately. A lesson that Rose was rather intrigued with.

The glint of the diamond clutched in Master Atris’s hands became more, and more distracting. Roses lips had hung slightly agape, as the rush again coursed through the right side of her head. “They’re coming.” A hushed voice could be heard, but only by her. She blinked slowly, squinting, making an uncomfortable face but remaining silent herself. To compensate for the sudden weariness, her hands were cupped to her cheeks, resting her head in them so she wouldnt topple over.

She scolded herself, chiding herself for being so late to the lesson. Her focus wouldn’t return, not in the same way as before. She watched Atris speak, but her words were… Unintelligible. Others had whispered, or talked amongst themselves as new people had arrived or left, but she couldn’t quite make sense out of any of it. Dark streaks had begun to manifest, along blades of grass, along the glint of the diamond. Little trails of something moving. Growing.

Her chest had begun to burn, but she couldn’t quite figure out why. Her violet eyes were locked, hazy and unfocused, to a scene unfolding before her. Nobody else was reacting, nobody else seemed as horrified as Rose was certain she should feel- But even she sat there. Just watching. A manifestation, a dark blur that crept from within the diamond itself, coiling and uncoiling itself, each action causing a spot on the right side of her head to itch. An unscratchable, untouchable sensation within her very skull, that began as an itch, and wormed its way through her cranium as a warmth that threatened to drown her thoughts in a tide of… Nothing. Nothing at all.

This sensation came torn to a sudden, abrupt halt- Master Atris had turned. Had moved. And Rose was being prodded, somewhat violently. She tore her eyes away from Atris, looking to the Echani to her left.

“Rose. You arent breathing.”

Atris had just concluded the lesson- And the Mirialan had begun gasping and coughing a few times, sucking in air into her lungs. How long had it been? Is that why her head felt so fuzzy? The warmth faded, leaving a cold sensation. A void.

“S-Sorry, so-sorry…” She mumbled, rubbing her collar. Upon seeing the others rising, Rose did so with the help of Isena, who in a fearful hurry quickly ran off after Master Atris, leaving her confused.

What was she doing again? Oh, right. Socializing.

[Roxy]

It was a quiet night. Kind of nice. Rose had spent the day and night amongst friends. Trying new things. It was a productive day. She’d been taking a few moments rest when she received a ping on her communicator. Standing in the kitchen of the Jedi Temple already, it was very conveniently timed.

Thelion: Rose, I’m having some guests over. Would you put on some tea?
Rose: Of course, Master. I’ll put on some hot water for it. Let me know when you arrive.

Roselyn closed out of the chat on her wristpad, and approached the nearby sink. She filled a kettle, and put it on the stovetop to warm. While the kettle itself warmed up, she crossed to a storage cabinet and turned on a hover-cart, pulling it to the kitchen counters so it was ready. She gathered a handful of cups, mindful of the people she knew were already outside, and began laying out trays to be taken. As she was beginning to pour the hot water to steep, her communicator pinged again.

Thelion: Rose, we’re here.
Rose: Thank you, how many are there outside?
Thelion: Nine, including yourself.

“Nine…” She sighed a little, going to grab another handful of teabags. Involuntarily, the fingers of her right hand curled, and she felt a jolt radiate from the side of her head. She was getting a headache, now? Frustrated, she let out a quiet sigh, but spent a moment gathering her mental faculties enough to pour the remainder of the cups to take outside.

The Mirialan dragged the hovercart through the temple, and out through the front door. A total of nine cups, steaming, steeped with a nice floral scented tea meant to assist in calming and meditation. With a combination of her hands, and the Force, she began doling out cups to all who wanted them. By the end, only three remained. Satisfied, she dipped her head to the others while they talked and returned to the interior of the temple itself, toting the remaining kettles and cups back to the kitchen in the common area.

That same jolt coursed through her head, as Rose set to the busywork of cleaning up the station. She’d set unwashed plates and the like in the sink to take care of,and set her datapad nearby so she could read oncoming messages while doing so. A handful of them came in, as she ran warm water over her hands and begun cleaning the station. And the sensation came… Again.

Several minutes into cleaning, and a little jolt caused Rose to flinch. She looked down into the sink, paying attention to the dishes she was in the process of washing - She assumed that perhaps she’d just cut herself, the cause of the pain. But something was… Amiss. Her eyes lost focus, slowly, as they so often seemed to. Her breathing slowed to a total halt, as the warmth traveled up her arms, coursing through her, filling her head with an alien sensation.

A bead of drool had begun to run down from her lips, and what followed was a body wide feeling of dread that she couldn’t react to. Through the sudsy bubbles of the water she saw it. Churning, pulsating, blinking. Constantly shifting, and changing flows of energy creeping from within the drain. Out of each and every bubble. They reached for her, they whispered to her. For some reason they made sense. For some reason she couldn’t force herself away. “Come home.” A voice said only in her ears. “Come back. They could not keep you from us. We found you.”

“Rose.”

She barely registered hearing her name. In a state of standing sleep paralysis, all she did was make a noise. A confused grunt, seeking clarification. But from who? Did the entity know her? Rose had said something, but the sound of her own voice was so muddled- It sounded like she heard herself from under the water of the sink.

“Roselyn.” A voice said, far more firmly.

One blink, and it was gone. The warmth receeded from her mind, leaving her with only a chill. A forgotten memory. She took a deep breath, oxygen deprived again, and again, turning-

And she was greeted by a face that gave her relief. Immediate. Content.

“Oh- H-Hey, Meko-”

What was going on? The medbay.

[Roxy]

Optional mood music
Water crashes against the rocks.

Waves of neon black sludge crash, and recede into the greater ocean. The fluid emitted a dull, uncomfortable warmth, giving off steam in certain patches, a foul thing that floated upward. The night sky seemed to mirror the ocean of dark, murky water, but no matter it’s appearance its ebb and flow remained identical to that of water.

The Mirialan stood at the top of an outcropping of rocks. Dull, violet eyes looked past her home into the dark, foreboding ocean. She could hear the sound of wood creaking, the far off groaning of a thing she couldn’t quite identify. Where there should have been fear, there was apathy. Where one should have had caution, there was casuality. Roselyn remained huddled at the top of this rocky outcropping, her knees pulled tightly to her chest.

“I miss my Master.” She mused. In response, the ocean seemed to groan in pain. A ghostly wail echoed somewhere from just beneath the waves, the fluid crashing again against the stones she sat upon. The wind blew her hair around, but yet she looked down at the swiftly moving waves with some amount of sympathy. She felt its pain. She felt their pain. But who were they?

“I keep coming back here,” She spoke aloud, turning her head- Just past these rocks was a beach, and further beyond the sand the tall, foreboding trees of a jungle, with just a dot of light somewhere shining from one of the tallest canopies. “I don’t know why. I think you do, though. Did something happen here?” Once more, the wailing echoed from the waves. A loud crash of water against the slowly eroding stone nearly deafened her, but she could still hear the cries of agony. A snap, broken planks. The bending of steel. Something inexplicable groaned in the distance. A light, shining through the blackened sky.

“Oh. They’re here for me again. I’m sorry. I’ll see you again tomorrow.” She touched two fingers to her chest, and slowly drew them away. A string of bright blue shimmered from her fingertips, which she examined. It was the first time, but it was every time. She slowly held her hand up toward the rapidly approaching light in the sky, drawing further and further her thread of the Force. The wailing of agony grew from beneath the black tide, and waves seemed to rise to mirror that anguish, stretching up toward the sky.

As soon as her fingertips touched at the light in the sky, connected by her viewpoint, it all stopped. Just as suddenly as it began. Her body jolted, and she slowly opened her violet eyes. She could hear the sound of rushing water. Roselyn picked her head up, pushing herself into a seated position. She’d fallen asleep face-down near the Waterfall, so close to the Jedi temple.

How clumsy.