Devastated...(Open to only those who know Quay'Na, please.)

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Continued from here (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31380&perpage=40&pagenumber=1)

The steps seemed to linger on forever as Quay'Na finally reached the top and gained entrance into the Jedi Temple. It was late and there was no way she was returning to her Master's quarters. By now, he'd probably figured out that she'd lied about being sick and was waiting up for her.

No, right now all she wanted was to be alone and drown herself in her misery. Vega was gone and she had watched him be murdered in cold blood. She was completely devastated.

Sobbing, she made her way to her favorite garden. As soon as she entered several animals became aware of her presence and began chattering.

"I don't want to talk right now, just leave me alone." She told them as she made her way to a very concealed and quiet area of the garden and sat down.

Blood stained the front of her light tan colored dress, but she didn't care. She was too emotionally and physically exhausted to care. With a deep breath the Padawan brought her knees up to her chest, buried her head in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.

[Tony Maxwell]

Tony was sitting in the Garden when he heard someone crying, He stood up and made his way to where the sound was coming from

He saw a figure sitting by itself, He slowly made his way to it

wheb he could see who it was he spoke in a wisper "Quay'Na are you ok?" she looked up at him.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

No words would form for Quay'Na as she shook her head, she was dying inside.

Vega had meant the world to her and now he was gone and nothing could help her. She calmed for a moment and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Tony." Her voice so saddened , one might not even recogize it. "I've just lost a person whom I was very close too...." The words hit her like a brick and she lost it again.

[Jakob Burton]

The moon. So large, in its waxing. So enthralling in its beauty. And then something stopped Jake in his gaze at the moon. A small sound, a small scent. His inner ear and nose changed ever so slightly, allowing him to further hear and smell the insignifigant stimuli. He gets up from off his back, not even bothering to dust himself off. He hears the small cry of a woman, a very familiar sound. And he smelt blood. He almost freaked, but held his composure, as he saw the other man near her. By his quote, asking if she was ok, it was a friend of Quay'Na. And he saw the blood, and knew what to do. He got up, running quietly to Quay'Na's room. The door wasn't locked, and Jake simply entered. He found the nearest dresser and rummaged through it, seeing her clothing....he grabbed a clean shirt and pair of pants.....and then saw a bra and panties. He smirked, and shut the door, leaving those behind.....she probably wouldn't need it. In a dead run, he returned to the scene, just stopping to make it seem unrushed. It was probably obvious that he had just finished running by his hair and his ruffled clothing but he cared not. Quay needed him. He knelt down beside Quay'Na, handing her her clothing.....

"I....uh....saw you two and the.....uh, blood, and figured you needed some fresh clothes....Um, you can tell us what's wrong, Q.....we'll both try our darnest to help...."

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na hadn't been kind to Jake in the past few weeks, but he'd always been kind her to and so had Tony. Her time spent with Vega had taken up many hours, costly hours.

Her body was shaking not only from lack of stimulants but an emotional breakage.

Quay'Na took the clothes, "thank you, Jake." She calmed herself more and took a deep breath.

"I wish you could help me, but you can't..." She looked down. "No one can." Silent tears ran down her cheeks, this hurt so much.

The blood was becoming sticky against her body...Vega's blood.
"I'd like to change." She stood up and swayed a bit.

[Jakob Burton]

Jake was up immediately, to hold her still.

"Easy there.....That isn't your blood, is it Q?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Not really looking at anything or anyone, she shook her head. "No, it's not mine...it's..." She didn't finish, she couldn't finish as her stomach convulsed and she quickly covered her mouth and ran.

A 'fresher was across the corridor, but she only managed to get to a sink before she heaved.

[Jakob Burton]

Jake, being as good of a friend as he could, followed her, grabbing her hair as she leaned into the sink, holding it up to keep the vomit out of it. He held her there, keeping her from falling on herself or the floor. He tried to reach out to her mentally, to read her, and he saw a word....one single word and a million pictures flowed like water from a broken dam into his head from the connection of his hands on her.

Vega.....

Visions of him being blasted and mangled......

But what.....was that smell.....Musk? Testosterone?

Wait......the smell of a.....

Werewolf.....

Jake could only whisper in her ear and hold her, and no more, for the energy, the strength in him seemed sapped, fizzled. He could barely utter the words into her ears....

"Vega......is......"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na felt Jake's mental probe, but was in no condition to stop it or even try. She gasped for air, between heaves and when it was finally over, she drank a handfull of water, swished it around in her mouth and spit it out.

Without turning to face Jake, but feeling the shock within him. She nodded. "He's gone!" The tears returned again as she sunk to the floor and hid her face in her hands. "He's gone!"

[Jakob Burton]

Jake looked at her in shock.....she had no clue.....no clue at all.....if she knew what he was, who he was, then she would know the truth.....he had to tell her. He knelt before her, just a foot or so away from her face.

"He ISN'T gone......not that easily....Vega Van-Derveld is a little more powerful than you think......he's like me, you could say.......not easily killed....Do you know what I mean?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

She looked up at him through tear-stained eyes. "I saw him, I watched him go down! I was there, Jake! I felt his life Force dwindle down to nothing! This is his blood!" She was hysterical at this point and felt herself start to hyperventilate.

[Jakob Burton]

Jake didn't want to do it, but he had no choice. He grabbed her and pulled her to where she was eye to eye with him.

"Quay! HE ISN'T DEAD! And if he were, it wouldn't be a tragedy.....he is not who you think he is....."

He took a breath, and prepared for the fight back....because what he would tell her would probably make her mad with either denial or with rage for not knowing.....

"He's a Sith."

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"No!" She shook her head. "You're wrong, Jake! He's not a Sith!" His accuasations did nothing, but anger her.

He didn't know what he was talking about! Vega a Sith, he was so wrong! Vega had been nothing but good, kind and loving towards her. No! Jake was merely jealous!! That was it! Jake was jealous!

A look of pure rage flowed out of her. "Stop it! Stop talking of the man that I love as if he were some animal!! He's not, Jake! He's not!!" Or was not...she felt like screaming.

[Jakob Burton]

Jake looked defeated. He was defeated. His next move was only reaction.

"Fine. I know nothing. I'm a freakin' idiot! Trust me, babe, I know scum and sleazeballs; I've lived around 'em all my foresaken life. And this ANIMAL tops the list! But you know what? I'll let you find that out. Go try and see him now. But when he breaks your heart, or your spine, remember that I WARNED you."

Jake stomped off, fuming at her stupidity. He cared about her, probably more than he realized, and yet she just didn't care. She was so blind to reason. And he didn't even read her thoughts as he came back with a last shout.

"AND I AM NOT JEALOUS!!!!"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na just shook her head at him and let him go. Tryng to catch her breath again, she stood up and changed into the clean clothes, he'd brought her. Dumping the dress into the trash she dug into the small purse she held and brough out her salvation. A small bottle of stimpills. Dumping four into her hand, she gulped them down with some water.

She stared at her reflection, one she didn't even recognize anymore. But, it didn't matter as she exited the 'fresher.

Jake was nowhere around.

[Lady Mylia]

Mylia went to Quay's room, she was supposed to meet with her a little over an hour ago for training, but never showed up. She knocked on the door "Quay'Na, are you in there?" She called out.

[Jakob Burton]

Jake just stood there for one brief moment, and then watched her, out of her sight. He saw the pills, four of them, go straight down her throat.....hmm, Vega was the problem all along. He was dating her and her studies took the backburner, along with her friends. Which meant that he was old news.......and now, she hated him.....figures, anybody Jake ever cared about either died or hated him.....But he realized that Quay'Na was worth it. He was worried about her, he cared about her.....more than he ever truly realized.....And it hurt him to see her decline like this.....

The question now was: what to do? Go back, talk, or do more? Or just walk away? But what good would walking away do? It would make him no better than his own crap-tacular father.....He gritted his teeth and turned around, walking back towards her. He stopped just short of her, and just looked down...

"Q, I'm sorry, it's just that........."

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na was so tired as she looked at him. All her emotions were so far out of sinc she didn't know how to react. "Jake, I loved him and I can't think straight right now. I...i ..don't know what to do..." She closed her eyes and begged for her stimpills to take effect.

[Jakob Burton]

"C'mon. Let's go get some rest. We both need it, but you especially need it. Even if you just took four of those stimulants, I have a few methods that might just overpower the pills."

Jake took a step forward and looked into her eyes, those blue-hued eyes, and pleaded.

"I care about you....please come with me."

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian could feel pain – and not just any normal pain, pain. It was strong and it pulsed outwards like a siren. He followed it to its location, worried, and saw ahead Quay’Na and one of the other Padawans. She looked absolutely distraught. He felt his stomach tighten and knot, and sighed damply.

"Quay… what's wrong?"

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na looked at Dasquian and then at Jake. "I think, I really need to talk to Master Belargic, Jake." Her voice weak and wiavering.

Jake seemed to take the hint and nodded. "I'll see ya later, Q."

Quay'Na waited until he left before looking back to Dasquian. "A lot of things have happened tonight, Master Belargic. A very good friend of mine outside the Order was....killed..." Fresh tears started again, she felt guilty calling Vega a very good friend but actually that was what he was, he'd never said he'd loved her...never had the chance.

That thought made her cry harder.

[Dasquian Belargic]

It was as Dasquian had feared. Only grief such as this could cause so much pain.

“I’m terribly sorry Quay’Na.”

He embraced the Padawan for a silent moment. Dasquian was always unsure how to speak to people who had lost friends or loved ones, never feeling as though he knew the right thing to say.

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na held on to Dasquian, not really thinking much about it. "When will this pain end, Master? It hurts so much..." she cried. She attempted to gain any kind of control she could, but failed miserably. It was just too much.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“In time… in time.”

Dasquian managed to say, between the soft ‘shh’ing. He sighed inward. When people passed away it was impossible to tell how long the grieving would last or what it would encompass. Everyone was unique and had there own way of dealing with things. Perhaps talking about it would help, perhaps not.

He drew back a little, just enough to look down at Quay’s tear stained face.

“Come, sit down.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na nodded solemnly as she did manage now to gain a bit of control. She followed him to a bench and sat down, she could begin to feel the stimpills taking effect and welcomed it. They had become a basic need for her lately.

Staring straight ahead, Quay'Na said. "I'm sorry for falling apart so badly, Master. It's just...I saw it happen, I watched...him die." No tears came this time, she just felt numb again.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“It’s alright. You will feel better for letting it all out…”

With an arm still around her, he shook his head very faintly.

“Do you want to talk about what happened, Quay?”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"It was such a blur, it happened so quickly. I was going to met my friend for dinner...and I'm not exactly sure what happened, but when I arrived, he was outside fighting. It was so unreal...and then the other guy shot him with a blaster to the chest...three times right there." Her guilt began to grow. "I should've done something, but I didn't. I couldn't move..."

[Dasquian Belargic]

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Dasquian wondered if the Watch had been on the scene. They usually dealt with the aftermath of situations like this, so it wouldn’t have surprised him.

“The man behind it will be caught, the Republic and the Watch will see to that.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na sighed. "I hope they do. I just can't believe it, is all."

[Dasquian Belargic]

Another moment of silence held.

“…I was always told that when someone leaves us, it helps to remember the happy times shared with one another.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"We had lot's of happy times..." she sighed. "And I'll never forget them...those times meant a lot to me." A single tear rolled silently down her cheek. "I know about death...Master Ira's death hit me hard, but not like this. This was so much different."

[Dasquian Belargic]

“I see.”

Dasquian smiled sadly. At least Quay seemed to have calmed down a little.

“Why do you say that?”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Ira was more like a mother to me and my friend was...well, we were very close. Closer than I had ever expected to become." The young Padawan wiped the tear away, only to be followed by another.

"I feel so...empty."

[Dasquian Belargic]

“… Perhaps you should get some rest. You’ve had a hard day.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

Quay'Na nodded, but she knew sleep would not come, not with the four stimpills she had just taken. Her body felt better just because she had fed it the incessant drug. It raged through her bloodstream.

"Yes, Master." She nodded, but there was no rest in store for her, not by a long shot.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian nodded, “I’ll take you back to your room when you’re ready.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

The Padawan stood. "I guess, I'm ready." She was so much more calmed now, but she wondered how long the ache in her heart would continue to hurt.

Vega had meant the world to her, even after what Jake had told her. He was wrong!

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian followed suit and held Quay’s hand, giving it a light squeeze as he walked with her.

“If you want anyone to talk to about this, anytime of the day, you can contact me, alright?”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

The Padawan nodded solemnly as she looked up at him. "Yes, Master. I will, thank you." She fell silent the rest of the way back. Her thoughts kept going back to Jake's accuasations, but it just couldn't be true. It couldn't be...

[Dasquian Belargic]

They arrived at Quay’s room soon enough. Once again, he gave her a gentle hug, before nodding.

“I will come over in the morning to see you.”

[Quay'Na Rakai]

"Thanks, I'll be here." She tried to smile, but it more or less looked like she was trying, so she gave up. "Thanks for the talk, it really helped, Master Dasquian."

She turned and opened the door to her quarters, expecting Sage there ready to repirmand her, but all was dark and silent.

Quay'Na watched Dasquian leave and made her way in through the darkness, to her Master's room. She didn't hear anything, while she stoold outside his door and shrugged. She was really in no mood to be yelled at, at this point.

So, with fresh tears in her eyes, she went to her own room and turned on a light. Where she found a data-pad lying on her bed, Sage's data-pad. Uh-oh.

She winced as she wiped away her tears that threatened to spill, picked it up and read it.

Quay'Na, I'm rather disappointed in you, but we'll discuss that ater after I return. I've gone with J'ktal to his homeworld, he wanted to leave tonight. I would've comm-ed you, but I see you didn't take it with you to wherever you went. I'll be back in about three weeks, since it'll take us a week to get there. We will talk when I return, I promise you that. Sage

"Three weeks?" She asked out loud. "But, I need you now, Master!"

With a deep sigh, Quay'Na grabbed a blanket and pillow off her bed as more tears slid down her cheeks. With Sage's data-pad in her hand she wlked out to the living area. She felt so alone right now.

Curling up on the couch, she lay there wide awake as images of the past evening continued to haunt her mind. She held onto the data-pad for dear life the rest of the night. While sometimes as just silent tears ran down her cheeks and other times while reeling in uncontrollable sobs.