He poked his head out of the doorway, the eerie silence hitting him all at once. Never before had he heard or seen the Temple this quiet nor this foreboding. It almost felt like an entirely different place. Yerbol grimaced, his head disappearing back into his quarters as he tried to think of where Aria would have gone. She HAD tried to escape once, so maybe she was attempting to again. Honestly, he wouldn't judge her for the decision. After all they had discovered, wouldn't it be easier to get off world and report back to Lord Bracknell and company? She would stand to gain quite the prestige gain, maybe even be vaulted into full "Sith-ship". Yet, something told him that she hadn't left, something deep inside his...well, to sound horribly cheesy, heart. It was odd, but he just knew she hadn't left. Maybe he was being naive in thinking that an aspiring acolyte that had once tried to kill him after killing his sister would stick around to try and heal the galaxy. He laughed slightly, knowing Aria would reject the notion rather quickly. Healing wasn't the first thing that probably jumped to her mind, yet she did appear to have a bit more depth to her than most Sith, who allowed their lightsaber to do the thinking for them. To think! A Sith that didn't want to kill him the moment they laid eyes on him. He winced when he actually called her a Sith in his mind. The past couple of days had seemed to blur the line between Jedi and Sith between the two of them. She was a fellow Force-user that believed differently from him, but enemies? They started off that way, but he felt that maybe, just maybe they were slowly working past their differences. Maybe-

[i]Help, Yerbol![/i]

[i]I'm coming![/i]

Without a second thought, the young Knight grabbed his saber and stormed out the door, wrapping around a couple of corridors garbed in black shorts and a loose off-white t-shirt which wasn't noticed until he pressed his back against a wall to avoid two senior Knights on patrol near the Council chambers. He cursed silently at his lack of preparation, then cursed again when he realized he didn't know where Aria was. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Focus....focus....

There! 

He made a right down a hallway, sprinting full speed for a few meters to find a rather irate Master Soto glaring at Aria, who had her head tilted to the ground. The Master's burning gaze shifted to Yerbol, who was now stationary next to Aria. 
"Two of you? My, my, our patrols aren't doing a very good job of keeping you in your rooms." Her voice dripped with bitter venom, but a small smile crept onto her face. 
"But then again, how could I expect that to happen?" Her smile shrunk. 
"These are the two that the Council sent into certain death and came out alive. A simple curfew wouldn't hold you down." How did she...oh right. True Sith and all. 
"My apologies, Master, but I wanted to make sure that-"
"That your Sith companion was safe, yes, I understand that. I'd be more cautious if I were either of you. Things are tense. Who knows what could happen to you." The smile broadened, almost filling her small, roundish face. 
"Go back to your room. This should all blow over soon." 
"Of course, Master, thank you." As Yerbol led Aria back, Master Soto said at a volume just loud enough for the two to hear: 
"All will be resolved. All." 

"What on earth were you thinking?" Yerbol hissed, the door shutting behind the duo as he placed his saber on a nearby bookshelf. 
"You're a member of the Jedi Order's sworn enemy and you plunge right into the heart of it all? You trying to get yourself killed?" He shook his head before adding:
"Sorry. Don't mean to chide. Just glad you're ok and that we now can confirm that there IS a bond between us. A strong one. I mean, I had a bond with Lysa, but it didn't feel THIS strong nor was it any kind of official 'Force bond'. I think it was just because we were siblings." He leaned against the door.
"One thing at a time though. You learn anything while you were out there?" 

___________________

Soto stood at the entrance of the Temple, eyes half-closed. Instead of the trademark beige cloak of the Order, she was garbed in jet black pants and a white tunic that shimmered in the moonlight. At the base of the stairs to the temple, a few Jedi stood, looking up at her. The day they had discussed had finally arrived. All they had to do was wait.