"Elles! Hello?" (Open....and Elles)

[Liam Jinn]

Liam stopped in the middle of the clammy hall and scratched his head. He knew he should've visited the Living Quarters more often, but other hobbies seemed to get in the way of sleeping. Now he was paying for his mistake. He had forgotten where exactly his room was. Taking a deep breath he yelled:

"Elles! Hello?! Ellllleeeesssss?"

The Jedi Master shook his head. She had to be around somewhere. Hopefully she would remember where he lived.

[Elles Jinn]

The flask in her hand flew across the room at her surprise. Shaking her head, Elles picked it up and retrieved a washcloth to wipe the spilled liquor off the floor. She was certain someone had called her name... A fact that didn't exactly comfort her.

Cautiously, she peered out the door, looking around the empty hall. Her brows furrowed... She wasn't hearing things, was she? Maybe the whiskey had gotten to her...

"Uh... Hello? Is there someone there?"

Elles slowly walked to the end of the hall.

"Hello? Is someone out here?"

[Liam Jinn]

He was about to yell again when he heard a not so distant, familiar voice.

"Elles!"

Liam spun around and took off at near full speed, towards the direction he had heard her voice. Taking a sharp left, he saw her, but she wasn't facing him. Thankful he had found at least his own blood, he now wondered about his room. Taking very catious and silent steps, he snuck up behind the poor girl. He was now not a foot behind her...

"Psst! Where's my room?"

[Elles Jinn]

"Ahhh!"

Elles made a fist and spun around, aiming for whoever had whispered. She had been startled so her hand missed it's target by several inches. When she finally looked, she frowned.

"Don't do that!"

Elles took a breath and then pointed behind Liam, to the open door.

"It's right there... You didn't get lost did you?"

[Liam Jinn]

He chuckled slightly before answering her.

"Only a little."

He flashed a quick grin before bowing low and motioning for her to lead the way.

"After you, Madam Jinn."

[Elles Jinn]

Elles rolled her eyes.

"How gallant of you, Sir Liam."

She walked past him into his quarters, tossing the washcloth she'd used to wipe up the spill into a laundry bag. She'd do it later. The few items she'd brought from her ship were meticulously stacked in the corner. Orginzation, Elles' middle name.

"I was wondering where you'd dissapeared to."

[Liam Jinn]

Liam looked at the neat stack in the corner, almost in awe.

"Wait wait...first thing first! You're neat...are you sure you're my blood?"

His eyes shifted from her, to her stack, then back to her again before he shook his head.

"Bah...Anyways, I've finally have my ship working again. Shouldn't break down for at least another five hours or so."

Chuckling a bit, he went to grab a drink. After only a moment, he returned sighing.

"We have some catching up to do.."

[Elles Jinn]

"After meeting you I'm not sure of anything."

She waited as he got his drink, briefly rubbing the back of her neck to relieve tension. Elles nodded at his statement, obvious as it was.


"Nineteen years, at the least."

She eyed him for a moment.

"How old are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

[Liam Jinn]

"Twenty-seven. How old are you again?"

He sipped at his drink and took a seat on the couch.

[Elles Jinn]

"Nineteen. Twenty next week."

She leaned against the wall, prefering it to a seated position.

"Well... I'm not too good at this... Where should we start?"

[Liam Jinn]

"Tell me about your family, that you lived with."

He knew this would be a touchy subject, but it had to be dealt with one day or another.

[Elles Jinn]

Elles' jaw tightened.

"There isn't anything to tell."

[Liam Jinn]

Liam raised an eyebrow, giving Elles a quizical look.

"Oh? Come on, there has to be something to tell. Where did you live? What were their names? Anything. I'd like to know about my relatives."

He hoped one day she'd open up to him, but that was something only time could tell.

[Elles Jinn]

"You want to hear about my family Liam? About how magical it was? You want to hear all that sentimental garbage? You want to hear the stories of how Samuel learned to ride his bike, or how my mother used to go walking in the rain with my father?"

Elles was speaking through clenched teeth and shaking visibly.

"That was all crap Liam. It was all an illusion. The only real thing is that they're dead and my father, your uncle, killed them. So lets move onto something less controversial, like our favorite colors, okay?"

[Liam Jinn]

OOC: Mmk, though Liam will try to do it more politely :)

IC: Liam shook his head and stood up. He moved towards Elles, leaning his back against the wall next to her. For a moment he just studied her, trying to find the right words to say.

"Colors aren't as important as family. Tragedies happen, but you've got to get past them. I had to, now it's your turn."

He sighed, "Now, you can tell me what happened, or about the sentimental garbage. I'm not going to give up until you at least give me something."

[Elles Jinn]

"You're... Errrgh."

Elles sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She didn't say anything for a long moment, sorting through old memories.

"He was training me, my father was. I looked up to him so much. You know, one of those 'my-dad's-invinceable' kind of relationships. He always said that one day he'd take me travelling with him. I couldn't wait, I always bugged him about it. It's a wonder he didn't kill me."

She chuckled softly.

"When I was fifteen he said I was old enough to do a survival hike on my own. Samuel, that's... that was my little brother, he wanted to go too but he wasn't old enough. He threw my backpack out the window a few hours before I left. that was the last time I talked with him."

Elles' eyes were faraway, seeing not the characteristics of Liams quarters but her own home, years ago.

"A few days into the hike I headed home. Something was wrong. It took me half the time to get back than it did to get there, I ran all the way. The door was open. We never left the door open. WHen I walked inside... Into the kitched... There was blood everywhere. On the floor, the walls... I didn't see my mom at first. She was lying against the freezer. All I remeber thinking was that Samuel must be scared. And then my father came in. He had a gun. I knew he was going to kill me so I closed my eyes. After the shot... I waited to feel it, just waited. But when I opened my eyes he was on the floor. I climbed onto the counter because I didn't want to get my shoes dirty... My shoes!"

Tears slipped silently down her cheeks, wetting the front of her shirt.

"Samuel was in his bed... The blankets were red... I tried... I tried to help him but I didn't know anything about Force healing. I don't know what happened, I blacked out. When I woke up I was cold. I'm always cold now."

[Liam Jinn]

The force could be your greatest ally one moment, then your greatest weakness the next. Empathy was a characteristic Liam felt he could do without sometimes, yet it would not leave. As Elles' story went on and her pain increased, Liam felt as if he was going to choke. He found himself wiping a tear away, the emotions comming off Elles in waves through the force.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't know if he should hold her, or if he should go sit back down on the couch. Having a living female relative was a difficult idea to cope with, especially one that had as much heartache as him. He shifted his position and looked in her eyes, only partially knowing what she was going through.

"What do you think drove your father mad? Had he gone on any missions and come back different, maybe more distant and short tempered?"

He wouldn't tell her yet, but he was going to devote himself to helping her find answers. That is, if she didn't already have them. Perhaps, later, he would even ask her to join the Jedi here. She had massive potential, not to mention an enduring strength, even after her tragedy.

[Elles Jinn]

Elles shook her head and slid to the floor, bringing her knees up. It was more comfortable that way.

"He didn't go on many missions after I was born. We moved to Ithor when I was very young and once Samuel was born he never left the planet. I think that was when it started. He would come home irritated, wanting to be left alone. It was so subtle at first, it wasn't a big deal. WHen it became more noticable my mother said it was from stress, which I understood. Dad wanted to be off saving the galaxy, he felt like he was trapped I suppose. I didn't find out it was Sith until later."

The tears had gone now, almost unnervingly fast, being replaced with a hard anger, bitterness.

"I stayed in the house for days after, trying to act like it was all normal. One night I woke up... One of my dad's new "friends" was in my room, watching me. He... When he left the next morning, I knew I couldn't stay... I ran that night. Got on a transport shipping goods to different spaceports. A couple months later I was found to be with child."

She rocked back and forth slowly, hugging her arms around her knees to stay as compact as possible, a defense against her memories.

"I don't know what happened. I don't see how he could have just turned to the Dark Side like that, not after so many years. He was a Jedi to the bone Liam, he loved everything about it. It was his life. It was everything he was... How could he have just forgotten all of it?"

[Liam Jinn]

"It's not that he forgot all of it, he just changed. The Darkside is a very tempting offer every Jedi must deal with. Even the strongest fall.."

He bit his lower lip and looked down at Elles. She was with..child? He shook the thought out of his head, he'd ask her about it later..

"Tell me more of your dad's friends."

[Elles Jinn]

"I don't really know anymore. They were Sith... A small orginization of them were on Ithor. We were always cautious to stay clear of them. I don't know how or why dad got involved with them. Not that it matters."

Elles sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She looked up at Liam, eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Are you sorry you asked yet?"

[Liam Jinn]

"Sorry I asked? Nah.."

He smiled, hoping to brighten up the mood a bit and sat down next to Elles.

"Maybe we should try to find out more about your father's friends. There might be some clues there about why he...turned."

He paused and looked away as if something was bothering him. Sighing he looked back at her.

"But first I must ask if would you like to continue your training as a Jedi..?"

[Elles Jinn]

"Absolutely not."

Elles' response was immediate, firm. It was too personal a reminder of how things had been. She had given up, or thought she had, that dream the day she came home.

[Liam Jinn]

His smile reappeared.

"I didn't expect you to, but you've always got to ask. Alright, your turn. Ask me anything."

[Elles Jinn]

Elles closed her eyes, trying to banish the past she'd resurfaced. After a few minutes in silencce she let out a slow breath and turned to look at Liam.

"Well considering what I just told you, I think it's only fair for you to spill your story."