Hoth: Blood and Ice

The Nighthawk came to land on a bit of a hill not too far from the outside of the base.

Nightingale was getting stressed being constantly cooped up inside the base... and more specifically the ship itself for much of their time.

Sylvain made sure he did a decent sweep of the area using his senses in the Force before gesturing for his guests to make their way out of the craft.

Arymis held a medium sized slab of metal large enough for her to sit on top of on her back and began walking up to the top of the hill...

Sylvain removed his mask and walked a few steps out of the craft to watch his daughter go while his guest came to stand beside him...

Luth stepped up beside him, watching Arymis start setting up her sled. Despite the told, she'd taken off her helmet for a little bit, keeping a warm scarf around her neck and over her head. Her mouth was uncovered, though.

After a moment of internal debate, Luth fished around her armor, seeming to look for something.

"It's nice that she gets to do this. I hope the planet stabilizes a little. Between this and the aurora, the boys wouldn't get enough."

"It's nicer for me than her... You weren't working with her on her alchemy this morning... If she doesn't get out and get the blood flowing a bit... Whew... Not a fun place to be." He said with a smirk.

"Where are the boys now?"

She finally found what she was looking for, pulling out... a slender tube. She put it up to her lips, pulling, then exhaling a plume of smoke, trying to make sure it didn't float toward Sylvain.

"Heh. I bet." She looked up at the sky. "A place I keep aside for situations like this on Dromund Kaas. Understated yet very well defended. Blends in with other decent-end places on the planet. No reason to think anyone unusual is living there. Got a trustworthy independent keeping an eye on them."

He nodded, "I know the place..."

Arymis made it to the top of the hill and waved at her father who nodded his head in acknowledgement before she began her slippery decent.

"I hope you don't mind..."

She looked toward him, raising an eyebrow as she took another drag. "I mean, you can get the information you need to get. I'm just curious why."

"Build some redundancy in the system..." He replied.

He smiled and clapped his hands towards his daughter as she made it to the end of her run.

"They are important to you... So they are important to me."

She smiled toward him. "Honestly... thank you. I'm glad you know where to find them if something happens. Whatever issues I have with others, those two are everything to me."

She chuckled and looked at the pen. "I haven't smoked since I got pregnant with them. The last day or two was... a lot, though."

"Nice," she called when Arymis managed to get going down at a really good clip.

He smiled as Arymis started her way back up the hill.

"Tell me of this... 'lot' then." He kept a soft smile on his lips.

She took a long drag and sighed it out. "Had a long talk with Layne, met with Baras. Watched Layne meet with Jedi."

He let out a singular slight expulsion of air through his nostrils in bemusement, “How did each of those go?”

"Layne... Well, it's extremely uncomfortable to see her become me from nine years ago. Some of her own issues, but I'd know that terror that makes you freeze up and isolate yourself anywhere," she sighed. "I know equally well that getting through to someone in that mindset is pointless. It's not until after it's over that you realize you should've just trusted people to take care of themselves and each other and you to begin with, but it all seems so necessary at the time."

"Baras..." She scowled at the vape in her hand, not seeming to really see it. She trailed off a little and sighed.

Sylvain nodded, “Layne has dealt with a great deal of trauma in her life… As did you as a young woman. Baras has his ways of twisting the thoughts of just such a person to make them act in concordance with his will…”

He continued to watch his daughter as she trudged up the hill again, “But despite the variance in her mood and actions… Layne tends to end up where she needs to be. Usually after some set of horrible self-imposed impediments… but she gets there. That stubbornness tends to pull her through.”

"Given that she's at the point where she believes her problems are above the ken mere ordinary people, by which I mean everyone not named Layne or playing in how she sees herself, I think she's just lost the plot."

"As for Baras... I expected... I didn't expect how it went. Between the carrot and stick, he's generally more ready to bring out the latter without some special reason."

"And yet you were given the carrot?" He asked.

"Yeah. Given his normal MO, getting reassured by Darth Baras sounds like a contradiction."

He nodded, "I don't assume to understand his motivations. But with anyone else it would certainly make sense. For him, however, perhaps he takes pride in his... 'handiwork'... not realizing your strength is not tied to him in any meaningful way."

"Quite possibly. It could also be a matter of simply reading from me that I respond more readily to carrots," she replied with a shrug. "He knows people pretty well. Either way... are you heading to that vergence again soon?"

He nodded, "When the time is right..."

A short drag on the pen passes. "Bring me with you."

A brief pause and then, "Why?"

"... I've always had trouble accepting myself and my connection to the Force. It's time to look the worst of both in the face without running away again," she replied, then gave a half-smile. "It's not exactly saving the world, I know, but I think it's a good enough reason."

"I've never been one to try and get in your way... But are you sure the reward is worth the risk?" He asked.

"You have learned and grown so much without it... I saw you this morning. So self-assured... So strong. You've come so far from that time on our ship."

When Arymis isn't looking, she brushed her hand against his briefly. "Thank you. It means a lot, coming from someone who's... really seen me."

She let out a soft sigh. "I've mentioned before that I'm too detached. I've come a long way, and I'm... resigned to what's passed, if not at peace with it. But there's a barrier there I need to break through. So I think it's worth the risk. I'm going to choose to believe in myself and others this time."

Slyvain swallowed once and bit his bottom lip, "And... If I were to ask you not to come... To trust in my belief in you... Just this once... I suppose that would not be enough?"

He then added, "It not my place to ask... I know... You do not need to answer. It is your choice... your destiny."

He watched the small girl slide down the hill again, "I just have lost so much... I don't wish to lose any more..."