The Joshua Tree [closed]

[Daen C'allyx]

Someone's smiling mouth and then,

"...It's the last one."

Everything started to move in fast-forwarded motion, their voices gone. A woman, a statch of a song ("...when you wake, you'll have cake..."), an alien with pointy ears and a kind face.

But always the tree. Small and shrivelled, it's trunk blackened from fire. It stood alone in the middle of the flattest terrain he had ever seen...

Even though the chrono read a late hour, Yoghurts was still busy. The crown had thinned somewhat though, and for that Daen C'allyx was grateful. At least now his headache had half a chance at dissipating. Then he could think; or maybe it was the thinking that was giving him the headache.

The Jedi padawan had come into Yogs a half hour ago, puzzled and still partially asleep. His brown hair was sticking up, thick and curled at the edges from being squashed on a pillow for hours. The limp that accompanied him now was worse than usual, for he hadn't given his leg time to warm up and ease itself from it's sleep-cramped state. He had been in too much of a hurry.

The dream had happened again.

It was always in black and white, and it always seemed disorienting. A snip here, a snap there. Bits and pieces of indecernable memory thrown together into a fast paced jumbalaya of REM. The only thing that he could remember clearly from it was the tree.

Why a tree was beyond Daen.

With a sigh he rubbed his forehead, applying pressure to the pounding cranium. He motioned to a serving droid, placed an order for a cup of coffee (why so many Jedi drank tea, Daen didn't know), and leaned back in his booth.

Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a minute the dream would sort itself out...

[Dae Jinn]

What was this...her second month alone? Still not staying at the living quarters and no word from Jeran. She made her way into the bar and grill, flashing a killer smile to the guards as they let her by.

Daetana Jinn was dressed in her usual knock-out style -- tight red sweater, black leather skirt and knee-high black stilletto boots. Not your typical padawan attire, and in Yogs, she stood out like a sore thumb. Not she really minded, lately she was craving attention.

Pushing through the small crowded floor, she finally found an empty booth, plopping down with a sigh. Then she noticed him. A dozey looking brunette, rubbing his temples with his eyes closed.

"Oopsy..." Dae smiled at him, hands resting beside her on the cushioned seat. "Is this seat taken?"

[Daen C'allyx]

"Hmmm...?"

Daen stopped the circular rubbing of his head and opened his eyes. It took him a moment to adjust again to the light in the bar and grill, and when he could finally see Daen nearly wished that he was blind in both eyes. Or that the woman was unattractive.

Neither was true however. For a second Daen just stared, and then when he realized this flushed a deep red. Oh for the love of... now he knew why Sin got so frustrated with him. He hadn't even said anything to the girl and already he was blushing.

"Uh, no... not really, it's not really taken... go ahead, you can uh..."

Daen paused and took a breath. Easy, fella. Smiling apologetically, the not-so-bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed young man shook his head.

"No. The seat is not taken. If you'd like, you can sit there."

Well now. That wasn't so hard.

[Dae Jinn]

"Okay."

Her smile stayed on her lips, turning up into a little grin as the guy turned several shades of red. Cute. So was the bed-head and sheepish smile. She held a well-manicured hand across the table in front of him.

"I'm Daetana, you are? I haven't seen you around here, so you must be new. Or the Jedi have taken to keeping all the cute padawans indoors all the time."

[Daen C'allyx]

Cute padawans? Where? Daen looked over his shoulder puzzled until he realized she had been talking to him. What the heck was she talking about? Didn't she see his crooked nose, his marred eye, the scar that practically covered his face? Then it hit him. Oh. A joker. Daen reached over with a thin-lipped smile and took the hand.

"Daetana. I'm Daen."

He pulled edges of his cloak tighter, not just for warmpth but to hide his ratty old pajama t-shirt that showed off his frail frame.

"And yes, I'm new. In a manner of speaking."

[Dae Jinn]

A brow raised. Had she said something wrong...or were all Jedi just...weird? She shrugged it off, her smile fading as he tugged his cloak tighter around him.
"Are you okay?" Her voice was genuinely concerned as she leaned closer, about to ask him another question when the serving droid beeped loudly beside them.

[Daen C'allyx]

Just when he was starting to worry about how close Daetana was going to get, a sharp whistle-beep went off beside him. Daen jumped, his heart thumping wildly. When the padawan realized it was just the droid, he cringed. Maybe Daetana hadn't noticed.

"I'm fine. Just a little cold."

Carefully Daen grabbed the coffee mug with one wide hand, lifting the hot ceramic piece from the tray to the table. He paid the little droid and then experimentally sniffed the coffee. It was strong smelling, he could give it that.

"Are you okay?"

[Dae Jinn]

"I don't know. Honestly."

Her eyes followed the droid as it scuttled off. "I ..I'm trying to find where I fit. I've tried the Sith life, I've joined the GJO, and nothing fits."
Even my love-life is a mess...wait, what love-life? She thought to herself. "If that makes sense...It's like I'm drifting, and I have nothing to grab onto."
Her eyes met his for a second, before gazing back into the crowded bar, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "Silly, huh?"

[Daen C'allyx]

Daen stopped stirring his coffee, tapped the spoon lightly on the lip of the mug, and set it down on the table. He had gotten kind of quiet. He'd never expected the woman to actually open up to him and he was at a loss for words.

Trying not to look and sound like a complete idiot, Daen sipped his coffee and nodded slowly.

"Well, the Jedi and the Sith aren't everything, so not nothing fits."

Daen inwardly slapped himself. That was a terrible thing to say! He blushed again and held up his hands apologetically.

"What I mean is, sometimes it takes a while to find where you belong. It's not like picking out a shirt in a store. It takes a while, you know?"

[Dae Jinn]

"mm," She sighed, resting her head on her left hand, her elbow on the table. "Well, there really is no inbetween -- rogue force-users don't have as much luck on their own as ones in groups do..."

Her smile returned, although briefly, as she noticed him blushing yet again. "And you blush an awful lot, cutie."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Yeah? Well you..."

Daen trailed off as he realized he couldn't think up a clever or witty reply. He did blush a lot. So what? The padawan resigned himself to just smiling bashfully.

"Who says you have to fit in with Force users? You could be an artist, or a hovercab driver."

Daen toed her boots underneath the table and grinned over his coffee mug.

"Or an assasin. Those things'd kill anyone."

[Dae Jinn]

"Or a house-wife. That'd be exciting." She toed him back gently, laughing. " I just want to have some fun. It seems like Jedi just eat, sleep and train. That's no fun, that's no way to spend your life. I'd rather be a so-so Jedi and have a good time. I mean, here I am, a young attractive woman, sitting in Yogs Bar, talking to a good-looking young guy, when both of us should be out enjoying life."

[Daen C'allyx]

Daen just shrugged. He was happy with the life of a Jedi, for the most part. Granted, the path had put him through some of the worst trials of his life; but it had also given him some of the best memories, too.

"Enjoying life? On Coruscant?"

He fought hard to keep the sceptisism out of his voice, but the battle was lost. Daen was from Almania, a quiet little backwater planet. Everything on Coruscant was loud and big and dirty. How anyone could find some good, clean fun here was something Daen hadn't figured out.

Maybe Daetana had an idea.

"How, theoretically, would say, you and I, enjoy life?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Go out, find some trouble and just DO something." She shrugged. "There's lots of stuff to do in the city. There are fancy dinner parties to crash on the upper levels, underground clubs and other...illegal activities to do on the lower levels. Or..we could just get a room somewhere and make our own fun."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Puhcrrgss!"

Daen jerked away from the table so he didn't spew his coffee on Dae. When he had recovered from his little fit, Daen returned to the booth and wiped the brown liquid from his chin with a napkin, as daintily as possible.

"Well...Coruscant entertainment sure is... different."

That horrid blush didn't return to his whole face, thankfully, but the tops of his ears were fiery-red. Daen tried to smile diplomatically, but the woman had gotten him right in his Achilles heel. The young padawan was rather naive in some aspects of life. Girls was one of them.

"Uh... do you want some coffee, or tea...?"

[Dae Jinn]

"No thanks."

Dae slipped out of her seat, holding a hand out to Daen. "I'm going to go hit some clubs and then head home, did you wanna come?"

She looked at him expectantly, hoping he'd say yes. It wasn't like her to just pick someone up, or go off with someone she didn't really know. Especially since she was now engaged...But being alone wasn't an option anymore. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed, "You don't have to if you dont want to..."

[Daen C'allyx]

Clubbing? Daen didn't know exactly what 'clubbing' involved, but he'd heard all about it. And really, when you got down to it, the padawan didn't know if he wanted to participate in anything that involved large crowds and pounding music. His headache was mounting and the dream was still nibbling at his mind. Why did it keep coming back? Did it even mean anything? Maybe he was supposed...

Oh this was ridiculous. Another moments hesitation and he'd end up not going and becoming a hermit. Daen sighed and took Daetana's outheld hand. As he stood, the young man realized he was still in his pajamas.

"Uh..."

Daen looked down at his nightclothes and then at the woman, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Like this?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Er," she bit her bottom lip, her eyes traveling down his body, then to the chrono on the wall, and back to the young man in front of her. "Hmmph."

One dark red fingernail gently scratched Daens' palm as Dae continued to look him over. "Well, you must have other clothes, right? If not, I'm sure something must be open in this city."

She wasn't really sure if Jedi wore anything other than those ugly brown robes and hideous tannish outfits...but it was an easily solved problem. "I guess we can go to your room and get you changed, or something."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Um... yeah, I think I've got a better t-shirt, maybe..."

Daen tried to go over what clothes he had. They weren't of much importance to the young man, he just wore whatever. That was why he'd never had much of a problem with the traditional Jedi garb. When it came down to it, as long as he didn't look like a sissy, Daen really didn't care what he wore.

"I might be able to find some pants too. I think I bought some a couple years ago..."

[Dae Jinn]

Dae winced, trying not to shake her head in dismay. She sure knew how to pick them....She leaned up and gave him an encouraging peck on the cheek to make up for the wince and smiled.

"Alright, lead the way."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Alright, lead the way.

So he did. A little uncertain Daen took Daetana Jinn to his quarters, stammered a bit as he excused himself to change his clothes. Even though he was behind a closed door, changing with a woman in the next room was nervewracking. The padawan managed to find a pair of secondhand grey cords, and an old band t-shirt that he pulled on as quickly as he could. It was with relief that he exited the 'fresher fully dressed, still with his bedhead hair, and smiled at Daetana.

They left the living quarters at a good clip, Daen leading the way again so as to avoid second-guessing himself. Only when they reached the pedwalk did the young man realize that he had no idea where he was going. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... your turn to lead, huh?"

[Dae Jinn]

Dae followed him silently, untill they finally reached the pedwalk. She laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well...we could go down a few levels to some of the clubs there, or we could go to some of the uppers and see what's going on." She fell into step beside him, still hand in hand, her arm slowly wrapping around his. Now it was her turn to blush.
"I haven't really been clubbing in a while, to be honest. I guess we'll just go where the fates lead us."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Yeah, me too. Er, me neither. Not been clubbing in a while, I mean."

Technically 'in a while' meant never, but Daen was too flustered by the hand slowly entwining itself more and more with his to talk coherently. He coughed a few times as they walked, making dry observations such as, "Hey, a mailbox." and "Gets pretty chilly at night..." Quite simply, the mild-mannered padawan was a wreck.

The two rounded a corner and Daen glanced at the sign on the corner, trying to decipher just where exactly those 'fates' were taking them. It didn't do any good though, he was still just as turned around as he'd been when they left the Temple.

"So, Dae. You know where we are, right?"

[Dae Jinn]

"No."

Dae put on the straightest face she could, then looked around her, pretending to be lost. She pulled him into a dingy little bar, giggling as they pushed past several large and smelly patrons.

'I guess we'll have to ask these nice people for directions." She winked, sidling up to the bar to order a drink.

[Daen C'allyx]

"What?! I thought you knew how to get aroun--"

Daen stopped as she pulled him into the little bar, realizing that he'd been duped. He put on the best miffed face that he could manage and flopped onto a stool, watching as Dae ordered a drink.

"That wasn't funny, you know. I couldn't find my way back from here tonight if my life depended on it."

She didn't seem to be taking his scolding seriously. Daen frowned and pointed a finger at Dae.

"Seriously. I would have been lost all evening."

[Dae Jinn]

"I'm sure you'd find your way home, eventually..." She laughed, giving his finger a light nip. "And besides, who said you were going back to the Living Quarters at the end of the night?"

[Daen C'allyx]

Honestly, there had to be some kind of limit as to how many times a person could turn red in an hour. Daen was sure he'd broken the record as he yet again felt his ears burn. Diverting his gaze from Dae shyly, Daen placed a very muted order for a glass of water. The bartender, who looked amused, nodded and turned to get a glass.

"...So, Coruscant is pretty big, isn't it?"

Frozen Moses, that was awful. Daen giggled nervously and gave Dae a helpless look.

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at this..."

[Dae Jinn]

"Aw, it's alright. It's cute."

Dae smiled warmly at him, taking his hand again and giving it a squeeze. "So, what brought you to the Jedi?"

She waited for his answer, hoping that if she asked him something, it would make him feel less out of sorts.

[Daen C'allyx]

"Oh, um, well..."

Daen smiled gratefully as his water came. He took a long gulp before setting the glass down on the counter.

"When I was younger a couple of Knights did some tests on me, ad my midichlorian level was up there, so. My mom didn't want me to leave then though, she thought I was too young. I started training when I was seven."

Daen paused and shrugged his shoulders.

"That was on Almania though. I was sent here by the Council there, they thought a change of pace would do me good.

"What about you, how'd you end up so confused?"

[Dae Jinn]

"Er, I met a guy...and it all went downhill from there." She grabbed her drink, taking a sip, then a gulp, downing most of it.

"Turning to the Lightside nearly got me killed by my old master..Being an ex-sith in a place full of Jedi isnt that comfortable either, which is why I dont stay on the grounds. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking..."

[Daen C'allyx]

A snort.

"Maybe that killing folk just for the fun of it was a pretty Goddamn crumby thing to do and no decent human should do it?"

Daen had sort of blurted it out, and when he stopped to think about it, it had been a rather blunt way of putting things. He shook his head.

"I didn't mean to say it like that. I just mean... well, no, I did mean to say it like that."

He straitened on his stool.

"Yeah. Maybe you got a conscience. Or you started paying attention to it. Either way, I'm glad, or else we wouldn't be able to do this."

[Dae Jinn]

"But...it was fun. Sometimes. Sometimes it was more like work..maybe. I used to think that was the only way to live."

She gulped down the rest of her drink and turned, giving him a half-smile.
"Do what? Sit and have a drink? I've had drinks with Jedis while I was a Sith, it's not that big of a deal." She giggled. "The Force binds us all together. Or whatever. We're just people who ended up on opposite sides of the same coin, Daen."

[Daen C'allyx]

"Well I wouldn't have had a drink with you."

Daen shrugged, his eyes slightly miscievious.


"Maybe I'm old fashioned, or something, but I don't do the tea party thing with Sith. It'd be too weird."

[Dae Jinn]

"Yes you would have." She giggled again, turning to face him more, her knees brushing gently against his leg. She reached across the counter, letting her fingertips trace over his hand. "I don't exactly look like a Sith in street clothes, and I'm not powerful enough in the Force to give off that much of a Darkside vibe, so how would you even know? This bar could be full of Sith and you'd probably have no idea."