kanyounot | denial river inbox;

Very well.

[ Having Thrawn nearby might be a help to Mara - but it's more liable to throw Kanan off. Not that he'll let it show or anything - heaven forbid. ]

Remember what I taught you. Let go, and reach out, find the connections.

[ Thrawn was little more than a phantom off to the corner as he relinquished control of the situation to Kanan. Not the easiest thing to do, but he wasn't so prideful he couldn't admit something was beyond his ken.

Mara was an easy-going student when she was open to a lesson. Easing herself into the crouching position of a Jedi prepared to be deep in thought for an indeterminate amount of time.

Closing her eyes, her breathing started to even out and steady to something slow, almost drowsy. Relaxing until her body felt like it was sloughing off; a weight easing off her shoulders as he mind drifted into a wide ocean of oblivion. ]

I see...Endor, again. It's just really far away.

[ Kanan, too, settles himself in. Instead of centering himself, however, he reaches out to Mara, strengthening the connection between them first and foremost. ]

Do you know why you're seeing it?

[ Aside from the obvious. Maybe that's all it is - or maybe there's something else going on. All possibilities should be explored. ]

[ Mara started small; feeling the rush of blood that was her own heart beat. Reaching out from that to catch a glimpse of one, then another. The Force was a riot of color behind her shut eyelids as life pulsed strongly around her. Dialing back the din by focusing solely on Kanan. ]

I see...a hall.

[ The image had that sense of floating unreality to it, but it was clear. A glossy black corrdior that seemed to stretch to eternity. ] And...

[ From the very maw of that endless darkness, hiding in a bleak shadow at its central most point...eyes. Sallow and sickly but sharp, hiding a penetrating intelligence as their yellow cast burned into her.

Mara felt her heart skip a beat. An instinctive reaction to something inevitable she couldn't voice. It came swift as a bone-white hand slithered out from the shadows. Grasping for her as a raspy, rage filled voice boomed- ]

YOU WILL KILL L-

[ Mara screamed. ]

Edited 2018-03-20 01:32 (UTC)

[ That darkness again. The cold of it, and it so very quickly threatens to engulf Mara's warm little light. Kanan reaches out, thinking perhaps he can fight it, or at least lend some of his strength to her so she can resist, but -

But it's there, buried deep inside her, and it bats his attempts aside like they're nothing, and yet the force of it is enough to physically knock him back, breaking their connection, and he gasps as if someone had just wrapped fingers around his throat and squeezed. ]

Mara. Mara. Come back. Listen to me. Come back.

[ For her part, Mara was just letting herself go along with the usual flow of the vision. Driftwood running down stream with no say in the direction of its tide. Kanan reached in the icy waters, fishing her out just before the worst came.

She does listen, for once. Catching herself with her hands as she tumbles forwards as if something pushed her...or cut her loose. Shivering again, but looking no worse for wear. ]

What did you see? [ Thrawn asked mildly. Standing off to the side with his posture rigid. Showing he was willing to be an observer but would intervene at a moment's notice. ]

[ Kanan rests a hand gently on Mara's back, catching his breath himself. ]

Just the residual influence of a Sith Lord.

[ He worries for the child. Not because he thinks she's dangerous - because he's afraid she'll never feel comfortable in her own skin. He will hopefully teach her to control that inner darkness, keep it from consuming her, but will she ever believe herself free of it? ]

[ Blinking, Thrawn shook his head in disbelief. Not a reaction most could coax out of him. ]

"Just the residual influence of a Sith Lord." [ He echoes back, not sure if he was missing some crucial context where it concerned the Force. Or Kanan was just being flippant in the face of dire circumstances and this was his default approach to such things. Wonderful.

Mara bit her lip to stifle a whimper, but she was evening out along with Kanan. Pushing to her knees and slowly making her way back to the couch. Feeling boneless as her little body climbed on, nearly collapsing. ]

That doesn't explain Endor. [ Thrawn said, frowning. ]

[ Oh, he's definitely being flippant. It's a long-ingrained reaction on Kanan's part. ]

No, it doesn't. Something... something about Endor is set to trigger a -

[ A kill switch. Kanan should just say it, but honestly? He's not sure what Thrawn would do with that information, no matter how much he cares about Mara. ]

[ Ice seemed to fill the room in a cold snap that came sharp on the heels of his expression set in a stolid anger. ]

Mara, go to your room. [ Thrawn said. Which Mara predictability reacted to with all thunder and indignant fury. Almost as if she could scowl a hole through his head. Until he lowered, holding out his arms, which she weakly fell into.

Carrying her to her room and careful to set the lock before reemerging. ]

Kill switch. [ He said, almost bored. ]

Just say it.

[ Kanan sighs, and lets himself scowl fully once Mara is out of the room. ]

Nothing you didn't already know, in other words. No, I don't know who. It - she - he - kicked me out before I could find that out. I'll have to keep working with her, but she may never be able to fully undo the programming.

I suspected [ Thrawn placed an emphasis on the word that came out in a slight hiss. Kanan was invaluable in all this, but their history had even Thrawn tense and given to irritation. ] Given her nightmares and your choice of the word 'trigger' it confirmed as much.

There may not even be a target and this is some offshoot of Palpatine's Cinder contingency. [ Sinking into the couch, Thrawn then sounded a little aged; frayed around the edges. ] If word of this leaked she could be in danger from all sides.

There's definitely at least one specific person.

[ He just didn't get far enough to get a name. ]

She's already in danger from all sides. It's on us not to compound it. To protect her where we can. She deserves as normal a life as we can give her.

denial river inbox;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject