[center][b]Aria Blair
Dantooine[/b][/center]

There was nothing but the silent tears on Aria’s face as she knelt on the floor, staring at the ground. Ken had left, and there she remained remembering the disappointed look on his face. It stabbed her deeper than any blade could, but she hadn’t done wrong had she? Aria stopped herself, she was able to say no to the darker instincts, pull herself away from the violent path. Yet, within the chaos of her thoughts she saw she had put Ken on his heels. And it wasn’t just the knight she had surprised.

Master Zhar realized within those brief moments that Aria was more than he had expected she was. Many, even masters could lose themselves within their emotions in the heat of a battle. Aria was but a padawan, yet in those small moments she danced the line of light and dark without crossing. Footwork clean and precise, until the surge of energy was too much. He went over to her.

Zhar reached down, his hand ready for hers. “It’s alright, Aria. It’s over now. Let’s get you up and moving.”

Aria looked up at his hand, and shook her head. “No.” She pushed his hand away. 

“Aria?”

“I need to go for a walk, this is something I need to meditate on by myself. Thank you, Master. You have, you’ve made things clearer for me today – things that were hazy yesterday. Some rest and I’ll be fine. You’ve learned a lot about all three of us today, haven’t you… This wasn’t about our dueling skills, was it?”

Zhar smiled lightly. Aria wiped away her tears and laughed softly.

“I thought so.” She stood up. “We’ll talk later, master.” Aria bowed and went.

[center][b]Anna Sparvic
Coruscant[/b][/center]

Standing by the training area, Anna prepared herself for a sparring match. Vibroblades, protective gear, and stretching. Anna waited for Leon and Xeviiy to be done with their match, but her gaze became captivated by the dancing of two lightsabers against one another. She had never actually seen Leon wield his saber, and the comparison of the two duelists was fascinating. Leon had the experience of a soldier, shown by Xeviiy’s surprise to one of his moves. He was strong, powerful, but also intelligent.

Xeviiy performed with what she considered to be the elegance of the Jedi, moving as one with the force. But, there was something wrong. And, no sooner than the thought came than the battle was ended suddenly by Xeviiy’s startled pause. That was unusual, and Leon seemed to share her same concern. Perhaps it was wrong of the masters to send Xeviiy along with them. 

Rather than dwell on what she considered a selfish thought, Anna made her way over to Xeviiy and Leon. “I agree, come. We’ll take you back to the temple. Some rest should do you just fine, probably just tired from a long day. This is going to be my first true combat mission as well, you know.” Anna laid a comforting hand on the padawan’s shoulder as the three of them made their way out of the Republic HQ back on the way to the temple.