Eyes Wide Open [Zett, NPCs]

[Mara]

FYI: drdrakethesnake has given me permission to use his character Jaren Nabala as an NPC.


(((Zett, I took a little control of Ryla here. Hope it’s okay. Just wanted to move things along and get them to her stepfather’s house…)))


[…from A Ton of Bricks]

A hydraulic hiss as the modified matte-black Dynamic freighter came to rest on her landing struts, reflecting none of the afternoon sunlight. The Heleen’s Hope had been in Tyrena a few hours earlier; now in Coronet City, she had significantly upgraded her setting. Though still not berthed in the city’s main spaceport but in a smaller one on the edges, it was still a leap above the grungy conditions back in the factory-laden Tyrena. Air was clearer and cleaner here; the sky seemed bluer; odors were more pleasant. It was all a pleasant façade. Here in the capital of Corellia, the dirt wasn’t as tangible, attached as it was to the politicians and their politics.

Minutes later, the Hope’s ramp descended, landing with a soft clang against the landing pad’s duracrete. Two sets of boot-steps rang against the metal, one light and faint, the other heavy and thudding. A young girl of about eleven with long reddish hair came down first, slow and deliberate. She was followed by a tall and muscular man with an unremarkable face covered with a rough brown beard. He ducked his head back inside the ship to call out instructions to a third being who was out of sight. Afterward, he went down the rest of the ramp to join the girl. Behind them, the ramp slid back into place as the man led the pair to the spaceport’s exit.

Once outside among the milling crowd of travelers, pilots, and other beings who had business in and around the busy spaceport, he managed to hail an airtaxi after a few strong and impatient whistles. The man, Ean Stenner, gave the Rodian pilot directions to their destination and then climbed inside after the girl Ryla Luna. After running across the child back in Tyrena and enduring a huge misunderstanding on her part, he had agreed to return her home to her father before he departed Corellia. Ryla was not inclined to conversation, and so they rode in silence as their driver navigated the crowded traffic lanes of Coronet City.

Ean watched through his window, glad for the quiet. He had been in Coronet City over a decade earlier and recognized a few buildings and landmarks here and there as they sped by. It had been a different time in his life, full of mostly positive memories. A job offer he hadn’t been able to pass up had taken him away from his own father and his home in Tyrena and into the sprawling metropolis of Corellia’s capital city. As a young man, he had trained at a bodyguard school and received his certification after a couple of years. Then had come his assignments, an elderly businessman and then the daughter of a local politician. But soon after his company had gone under, and he had left regrettably for other pursuits.

He shook his head mentally, clearing away the nostalgia. The big Corellian was not here for a trip down memory lane. Ean glanced over at Ryla; she was still, her eyes staring inwardly. She seemed to have a grim look on her face, which Ean couldn’t understand. Ryla should be happy to be returning home to her father. With a muffled sigh, he looked away. Being able to figure out children, and young girls in particular, was not one of the skills he would pride himself on. And hopefully in another hour or so, he could just put this small detour and interruption to his plans out of mind and move on.

Having skirted around the center of town, the airtaxi entered one of the residential districts snugged up against the city. Soon after, it slowed down and stopped in front of a modest-looking but well kept squarish home. Ean was a bit surprised at the area Ryla’s father lived in, his brow raising briefly. From what he had seen on the holofeed where the man had been sitting, it had looked a fair mess, and he had assumed the family resided in a more downscale neighborhood. Perhaps at the time of purchase, the man and his wife had had the money and careers to afford such a nice abode. And the outside was not an indication of what they would encounter inside.

After handing over credits to the Rodian to pay for the ride, he pushed himself out of the airtaxi. Ean stretched a bit, relieving his muscles of the cramped interior. Then he turned back and held open the door for Ryla. Once she was out, the vehicle sped away and up to find its next paying customer. Walking the short distance to the front door, he looked down at Ryla, trying and failing to read the expression on her face. “Nice place,” he commented, seeing if he could break through her mood with something innocent, get her to realize that she was finally home again.

Clearing his throat, he just shrugged and turned his focus back to the task at hand. He stepped forward, moving the rest of the way. Not seeing any sort of electronic ringer, Ean used the knuckles of his fore- and middle finger to rap on the door. The big man took a couple steps back as they waited for Ryla’s father to answer. Wanting this transaction to go well, he made sure to keep his posture relaxed. At first, he folded his hands behind his back, but then moved them forward to rest at his sides, keeping them visible, but away from the holster on his hip. Hearing footsteps on the other side of the door, he took a deep breath in preparation.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

((OOC--- no prob mara.))

Ryla was still reluctant about coming "home", but had over all given up after hours of trying to convince Ean this morning to let her stay with him, but she had failed badly, and so she was still on her way, though not quite wanting to give up.

When he mentioned the house being nice she spoke a bit under her breath, "Yeah...i wish i lived in a nice place like that..." She grumbled as she slung the bag over her shoulder and followed behind Ean, who knocked on the door.

She sighed and shut her eyes as he pounded on the door, she had not lost yet, but she was very close to getting there.

She kicked a rock off the edge of the porch and then the door opened to reveal the man who gave Ryla the death glare before quickly changing to a kind and welcome looking man to impress Ean a bit.

She grumbled before pushing her way inside to see that nothing had changed, carry out, and pizza boxes where still in the same place as when she had left, with the exception that now there where some stacked on top of the old ones she remembered. Bottles seemed to surround the couch, and the smell of heavy cigarette spoke instantly made her head pound.

It had gone from Bad to worse, for her, and she had half the mind to just jump back out the window and make a run for it, this time with or without Ean as her goal...

[Mara]

(((So sorry for getting to this so late… but hopefully now we can move along with this now and get to other things…)))


When the door to the suburban Coronet City home was unlatched and opened wide by the man he recognized from the holocomm the previous day, Ean’s mouth was left in much the same manner—lips parted and agape. While waiting for his knock to be answered, he had been going over in his mind how exactly to address the girl’s father and had been ready to voice those words aloud. But Ryla had squeezed past both men and darted inside the abode before either of them had had a chance to say anything hospitable. Once again he was reminded of how he would never understand the complicated natures of children, taking in the sudden adjustment of the girl’s attitude regarding returning to her family with disbelief on his face.

However, Ean quickly regained control of his body and snapped his jaw closed, his gaze sliding back to the man standing in front of him. He allowed a wry but friendly smile to break across his face. “Well, it seems she was more excited to get home than she let on to me. That’s kids, I guess.” The big Corellian chuckled shortly. His comment was only polite banter and sounded awkward to his ears, so he moved on. Clearing his throat, he lifted a hand in greeting to the man. “I’m Ean Stenner, as you’ve probably figured out. As you saw, your daughter is unharmed and safe, despite her adventures of the last couple years or so. Hopefully you can rest easier now and begin to pick up the pieces.”

Unable to help himself and unsure what more he could say without rambling, his eyes wandered from the man in front of him and back to what he could see of the home’s interior through the opening behind him. Though a bit dim, he could see that there was quite a mess spread around. It was just as it had been in the hologram, but now the details were a bit clearer. Old takeaway containers were piled around along with empty bottles of alcohol. Ean’s heart went out to the man; obviously his fellow Corellian had been hurting ever since his daughter ran away and then his wife some time after that. Now he truly believed that with Ryla’s return, the family’s situation would begin to look up and right itself.

“Has Cass—has your wife returned yet, sir?” he asked into the silence without looking back at whom he understood to be Mr. Luna, Ryla’s father. Ean wasn’t really sure why he had suddenly inquired about the girl’s mother and hadn’t realized he had done so until the words were already out. His original plan had been to just drop the girl off, make sure all was well, and then get back to his ship so he could finally get off Corellia and deal with more important things. But ever since meeting the child the day before and hearing her mention Cassandra, thoughts of the woman, romantic encounters of his past, had been tickling the back of his mind, asking to be satisfied.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

As Ryla looked around, she found the house was far worse then she remembered it. She listened to the conversation, knowing all to well that once Ean was gone, the man known as her stepfather, though who really didn't deserve such a title, would probably go into what ever punishment he saw fit. With her mom gone, there was little to stop the man either. As she listened though, she rolled her eyes. Cassandra, her mother, had obviously left because she had realized late, what Ryla had long ago. Ean must have been thick not to see how everything was adding up. Ryla had practically handed him the answers, but he hadn't looked at them.

She sighed as her Step Father went on to answer the man, unaware Ryla was still listening in.

"Cassandra ran off rather recently. More out on me a think then because of the girl, Thinks i scared the little one off! Anyway, i think she went off somewhere to live with her parents or something like that. She may come back now if she heard i got the kid back."

Dang right her mother would come back if she heard Ryla was in this hole. She wouldn't let her daughter live in a place like this any longer, especially if she wasn't willing to any more. Ryla smiled sense that seemed to be the only upside to this whole ordeal so far. Although Ryla was Ryla, she would have her way and get out of this place one way or another...

((OOC--- No problem Mara. I hope this is enough for ya to work with.))

[Mara]

(((No worries...)))


Ean nodded. “Uh-huh.” The man’s explanation of Cassandra’s departure after Ryla had run away seemed a little off to the big Corellian. However, he didn’t know or understand this family or the situations they might be in, and he wasn’t about to make any rash judgments about any of the three’s decisions in the past couple of years. For the time being, he was willing to accept the father’s words at face value. She might at that. For yours and Ryla’s sake, I hope so, sir.” He smiled.

That should have been the end of it; Ean should have took his leave of the family and gone on his way. But for the same reason he had asked about Cassandra’s location in the first place, he found his feet immovable on the small porch. His inner curiosity had been growing ever since the girl had come up to his ship the day before and mentioned the woman’s name. Though he firmly believed what Ryla had told him about her paternity was just a story built of childish rebellion, he did see a resemblance in the child of the Cassandra he had known over a decade prior. And rather selfishly, he wanted to see if it was same woman from his past.

He focused back on the man, aware that he had just been staring at him as they stood together awkwardly in silence. “But if you’d like, sir, I could look for your wife for you. I’m actually pretty good at that sort of thing. Something I used to do, uh, for a living. You know, finding people.” Ean absently scratched a bearded cheek before gesturing limply with the hand in a vague manner. “I mean, I’m not trying to pry or anything, but family is important to me, and I’d like to help yours out if I can. I’m sure you and your daughter would like your wife back sooner rather than later, and I’d feel better if you were all united. It wouldn’t be any trouble. And no charge.”

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

At the moment, Ryla was in the kitchen unit of the small building, digging her way through the pile of take out boxes looking for something eatable herself. The cooling unit had nearly nothing in it, and what little it did was either liquor or outdated foods. She groaned at her grumbling stomach before pulling her back pack around and grabbing some dried meat from in side the bag to eat for now. She realized why there were so many boxes now. It was because the lazy man had nothing else to eat.

She felt sick just being in the building, so she ran upstairs to the balcony to get fresh air while she snacked at her Nerf Jerky meat. She ran across the roof quietly and stood above the porch, listening to the conversation between the two men snacking on the meat every few seconds careful not to make more noise then the light breeze and the tree rubbing up against the porch made.

Ean was volunteering to go find someone by this time, and Ryla could only guess he was talking about her mother. She felt joyed for a moment knowing that IF things didn't go her way, then perhaps life would be a little easier then it could be. But she also had no intentions on giving up yet. If she had anything to say about it, this "stepfather" would already be out of her life years ago, and she wasn't about to pass up the best shot she had at getting away from him. Maybe her mom could come too? She mused to herself.

Apparently she and Ean had something going for each other before Ryla came along, so maybe they could rekindle the fire? That was something that Ryla wouldn't mind at all. She could tell this man was her REAL father, even if he was too thick to see it himself. Maybe Cassandra would tell him after he found her, and then Ryla would have something to laugh at him about, at least in secret. She at on the edge of the porches roof listening as they talked and snacking at the food.

The man gave a bit of a side glance to Ean, looking around the inside of the house for a moment wondering where the troublesome child had wandered off to. But despite the disgusted look on his face for a second, he quickly peeked back outside replacing it with a smile that almost looked fake. "If you think you could handle it. I of course couldn't ask you to leave on such a trip without some sort of payment however..." Ryla's eyes rolled some. The man was obviously putting on a show for the man. He was the type of person who would break his leg to get workmans comp if it meant money. He was by no means generous, which was yet another thing that made life hard with him. She groaned ad quietly whispered to her self. "Oh please..." She muttered not even at a whisper.

[Mara]

(((Sorry for the delay, but thanks for understanding…)))


The big Corellian raised a hand and gestured dismissively in response to the man’s answer. “Oh, no, sir. It wouldn’t be a problem for me at all to locate her. Like I said, finding beings is what I used to do for a living. Getting your wife back shouldn’t be too hard. She may even still be on Corellia.” Ean stopped before he divulged too much information about his former occupation or his history with Cassandra. Neither revealing his prior relationship with the man’s wife nor his bounty hunting profession would exactly endear him to Ryla’s father; doing so would probably get him kicked to the curb.

“And you wouldn’t have to—” Ean stopped. He had wanted to re-state that the man wouldn’t have to reimburse him to find Cassandra. Doing so would be a favor to this family that he had already helped reunite, and he just wanted to finish the job and move on with his life. Not to mention to satisfy the feelings that had resurfaced in his mind in the last day. However, he also understood that Ryla’s father had his personal pride, and Ean didn’t want to offend him by refusing his credits. So with a smile, he started again. “You are welcome to pay me, of course, but how about we discuss the matter upon my return with your wife? Right now, I should be on my way.”

With that agreed upon, Ean said his farewell after promising to return with the girl’s mother, or at least news of her whereabouts, by the next morning. He turned and headed back down to the street, briefly wishing he had asked the airtaxi to wait for him. But as he walked towards the Coronet City limits, he realized it was a benefit: he could start cycling through his various contacts in privacy. And he could reminisce about the time he had spent in the city over a decade ago, hopefully remembering something about Cassandra that would help him find her for her family’s sake. Plus, the exercise would do him good after the trip over from Tyrena in the Hope.

He pulled out his comlink and started with any of his contacts that he knew were in the Corellian system, or even in the city of Coronet itself. It was unlikely that any of them would have information on someone such as Cassandra, someone who didn’t travel in the same circles that they focused on, but it was worth a try. Afterwards, once back in the city, he stopped at a few watering holes he had frequented back in the day, asking for anyone who had seen or heard of the woman recently. Ean ran into a lot of dead ends as the afternoon grew into evening and evening into night, but eventually he found a lead that sounded promising enough to check out for himself.

So he made his way to an apartment complex on the outskirts of the city that had been within the snippet of gossip a woman had passed on to him. He knew it was located in one of the not-so-nice areas of the city, but even night in Coronet City was never completely dark, with all the city lights blazoning the night, and no one bothered the big man. It was a modest building, not completely rundown but had obviously seen better years. Ean was briefly reminded of the home he had grown up in Tyrena as he took the turbolift up to the proper floor. Upon arriving in front of the door behind which it was rumored Cassandra was staying, he took a deep breath and rapped his knuckles against the worn wood, unsure what he would see, or what he was getting himself into.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

After listening to the conversation seem to end, Ryla sat back further up on the roof and out of sight in order to watch Ean leave her in the man's hands without much of a care in the world. He mumbled a bit under her breath as she watched him continue to walk away until she could no longer see him and started on her way back into the house through the window she had come from. Quietly she went inside and did her best to avoid the stepfather for as long as she could. But sadly for her, then inevitable and unpleasant re-meeting with the man didn't take long.

For the most part she did her best to ignore anything he said... She would wait for a day or so. If Ean could bring her mother back, then she could at least survive here. If her mother didn't come back, then that should have been a clue to the thick headed Ean; HER REAL FATHER, about how bad this place was for living conditions. If that was the case, she would simply run away again, this time just to keep ahead of those looking for her... Forget about trying to find the man again.

---

(NPC FOR THREAD USE)

In the quiet apartment, the knocking at the door was easily heard by the younger man inside the room. With a sigh he left the bedside of his sister who had fallen ill not long ago. Cassandra had eased him into his life years ago, and had took care of him when their single mother died.

It was painful to see his older sister sitting there ill, and it was all Jareth could do to help her as best he could in what were beginning to look like her last days. He had cried himself asleep several times in the past few nights, but even on her death bed she seemed strong for her little brother. As he moved around the apartment toward the door, he clenched his fist as he heard another cough from Cassandra. He leaned his head against the door for a moment before opening the door a crack to see the man.

He was bigger, sort of gruff. And Jareth could only look at him puzzled for a moment as he wondered what he could want.

"Do you need something, sir?"

He asked not opening the door any further then he had it...

((OOC--- not a problem Mara. Glad you did get back to posting though mines not the best either, but i gotta get the muse to re-flow DX...))

[Mara]

(((Proceeding according to what we discussed over PM...)))


Ean suddenly felt a little tongue-tied when the door cracked open in front of him. He realized then he had half-expected no one to answer and to have to return back to Ryla's father with bad news, or to at least continue his search elsewhere. But someone had come to the door, looking expectantly wary at his appearance, and now he had no idea how to phrase what he wanted, his mouth going slack upon seeing the young man through the gap.

However, the big Corellian was nothing if not resourceful, and he had been in situations way more dicier than this. Though in a way, this was probably his most challenging mission. The others had been more straightforward. And so while he gathered himself to do what he had come for, he tried a friendly smile and quickly took in the young man before him. It been over a decade since he had seen Cassandra, yet her image was burned into his memory, and this face across from him bore a resemblance. Family, then, not a replacement for her husband.

Clearing his throat, he finally spoke, wanting to get his point across before the young man decided he was just a lunatic and closed the door in his face. "Uh, yes. Actually, is this Cassandra Luna's residence? Er, does she live here? I'm looking for her." Ean was almost certain she was, and that using her maiden name wouldn't be a problem, but in the past he had gotten in trouble for assuming things, and it was better to be safe than sorry. "I need to speak with her. It's important. About her family, her daughter." He hoped it was enough to get him admitted inside, or at least for the young man to announce his presence.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

He stood there for a long moment just looking to the stranger as he tried to get his thoughts together. He sighed a little and tapped his finger against the back of the door frame while he waited; making it perfectly apparent that he was getting impatient. He was just about to shake his head and shut the door with some simple 'I'm not interested,' or 'go away' reply, be elected not to before he the man finally replied.

Jareth's face went white and he looked down, clearing his throat a little before looking up with a heavy sigh and asked with a cracking voice though he tried to not show that he was sick to his stomach about the topic. He loved his sister... but talking about her to anyone... no matter who this man in front of him was.. hurt him deeply.

He nodded a little before speaking. "Y-yes... she is... m-may i ask who you are?" Jareth opened the door just a little more now as the man went on to talk about different things, asking questions relating to Cassandra and what was going on. Jareth's eyes narrowed a little with a sigh. "She doesn't want anything to do with him at the moment... if it's about the girl though..."

Jareth gasped a little to himself. "What about Ryla? Did you find news about her? Did she come back?" He asked opening the door fully now and ushering the tall and imposing man inside, though not certain how he would approach the subject of Cassandra's illness...

No sooner then he began thinking about how to do so though, another hacking cough that sounded like it might have hurt terribly could be heard from the back bedroom...

That ought to explain itself..

[Mara]

Relief spread across Ean's features, hard to detect underneath the beard covering his half of his face. Though he had been almost certain, despite the shaky information he had gotten, that he had arrived at the correct address, the young man's validation of this cut through part of his nervousness. He could cross off one more step off his list for the completion of this mission to bring Ryla's family together, and he was well on his way to putting the whole thing behind him.

He nodded in response to Cassandra's relative's question. It was only logical that he would ask who this stranger was, showing up at his sister's door, and wanting to barge into their lives. Ean would have done the same, probably been even more wary and skeptical of someone claiming knowledge of his family. And he was prepared to clarify his reasoning for being at the apartment and who he was, without revealing too much details, of course. There was no knowing how much this man knew of his sister's past, and Ean wouldn't be the one to crack it open.

But before he was able to explain himself, however, the young man's words tumbled on, first in disgust at the mention of his sister's husband and daughter, but then focusing tightly on news of Ryla. Obviously he was as worried about his niece as his sister was about her flesh and blood. Ean was rushed inside the dwelling while the man rambled his anxious questions. Apparently his mention of the girl had gained him entrance faster than whispering a secret pass code.

Finally able to get in a word edge-wise, he held up his hands in a calming manner. "Okay, okay." He heard a hacking cough from somewhere deeper inside the apartment and briefly looked in that direction before turning back to the man in front of him without a second thought. "Yes, Ryla is back; I brought her home to her father just this afternoon. And I offered to find Cassandra for him and let her know.  As for me, I'm just an old friend, doing a favor." Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either. "Please, I'll explain everything. Just let her know Ean Stenner is here?"

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

Jareth stopped in his tracks before swallowing a bit as the man explained who he was, what he was doing here and his plans for Cass. He shook his head in disbelief for a second, before he sighed and thought it through for a long moment before turning on his heals and gesturing for this 'Ean' to follow him towards the back rooms in the direction the cough had come from.

"She doesn't want to go back, and honestly... i don't think she wants Ryla to be there either. She can't come here though.. But i guess you'll just have to talk to her yourself." Jareth said before looking the man up and down for a second. "Old Friend... well. I have to warn you she's..." Jareth bit the word a bit with watery eyes before stopping outside the door, resting his hand on the door handle and pressing another hand up into the broad chest of the imposing man, as if telling him to stop for a second. "...She's not well anymore." He whispered so she couldn't hear him in the other side of the door. "Be careful?" He looked up with pleading eyes to the man before he sighed and opened the door, walking into the room ahead of the man, but leaving it open in case he wanted to follow.

"Hey... Hey Cassy?" He asked as he approached the bedside of the obviously sick woman, another cough sounding into the room as she turned and looked to her brother. Jareth gave a weak smile to her before he pointed over his shoulder. "Ean Stenner, wants to talk to you. Says he's an ol-"

Jareth was cut off in mid word by Cassandra who seemed to get a new dose of energy, if only barely before having to cough it back up. "EAN!?!?" She looked up in disbelief, thinking the man to be out of her life forever.

"Right..." Jareth said, knowing the man had indeed been telling at least a partial truth now before he sighed and turned away to leave both of them together for a moment now, but not before leaving Ean with one final pleading look, asking him not to say or do anything to hurt her.

As Jareth walked away to give them both a moment, Cassandra looked up to Ean with a weak, but loving smile before releasing another cough. "Ean... What is it?" She asked, wanting to know desperately why he had come all the way out here to see her on her death bed after all this time...

[Mara]

For a few drawn-out seconds, Ean thought that perhaps he had gone as far as he would be admitted. That this relative of Cassandra's, in his excitement to hear about his niece, had changed his mind about allowing him inside. He steeled himself for when he might have to argue himself farther in. And barring yet more denial, to just cut his losses and depart without giving Ryla's father any closure about his missing wife.

But just as quickly as the big man had seen the uncertainty flash across the younger man's features, he saw it replaced with stoic resolve. He turned and led Ean deeper inside the apartment and down the hall towards the personal areas of the home. While they walked, the man he had deduced as Cassandra's brother prattled on about his sister's wishes, and for the most part, he just let the words go in one ear and out the other. As the man had said, best to let the woman decide her own future. It was not his business one way or another; he only made a promise to deliver the news. What Cassandra did with it was her prerogative.

Before he opened the door behind which the woman presumably was, Ean was stopped by her relative raising a hand against his chest. In any other situation, the young man would be cowering on the ground holding his fractured hand for doing so, but this time, the big Corellian excused the gesture. Instead, after listening to the brother's softly spoken urges and weepy explanation, he gently moved the hand away and nodded his assent. He would of course treat Cassandra with respect.

Hopefully seeing what he wanted to see, they finally entered the room, Ean following the young man inside. His heart clenched at seeing the frail woman lying in the bed covered in blankets, a far cry from the vibrant young Cassandra he had known in his youth. But he knew it was her; he'd recognize those eyes and that hair anywhere. For a moment, he stood just within the doorway, suddenly unsure of what he had vowed to do. Just being in the same room as Cassandra was unleashing so many forgotten memories.

Cassandra herself brought him out of his frozen stance, lost in old reveries. She had cried out, probably just as surprised to see him there as he felt in standing there himself. Ean cleared his throat, and his legs propelled him forward to her side without any coherent signal from his brain. It was as if one moment he was at the door and then in the next, appeared next to the bed. "Yes, it's me, Cassie. I'm here." Unnecessary words since she had already figured it out, beard and all, but the big man was at a temporary loss of what else to say.

Ean didn't notice the brother leave, quietly closing the door behind him, leaving them alone. He knelt down by the bedside so he could look her in the eye. Without a conscious notion that he was doing so, he picked up her near hand and held it softly in his own larger one. Gazing into those emerald orbs, the courage that had deserted the rough Corellian returned. "I-I found Ryla." Though the girl had actually located him, he wasn't about to quibble about details, or go down the road Ryla hadn't wanted him to join her on. "She's home, with her father. I told him I would track you down and give you the news. As a favor."

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

Cassandra lay on the bed as she watched her brother leave the room quietly, smiling weakly in his direction before the door was shut by Jareth and then Ean made his way up to the side of the bed. She could tell already that he was softening again his her presence... though she didn't know if it was because he was simply with her, or because of the current situation she was in. In reality she didn't even want to know; having Ean by her side in her final few days was enough to make her happy; and despite the unchanging symptoms that she was suffering, she felt a little better just having him with her.

After a moment though, he was beginning to talk to her while he took her hand unconsciously in his own. She listened for a moment, before swallowing and catching her stomach in her throat. She tried to hold back a couple of tears as her stomach churned at the thought of Ryla being back... but being with her husband all at the same time. She looked up to Ean before reaching out with her free hand, squeezing his hand with what little strength she had before brushing his cheek with her other hand weakly. "Ean... I..." She attempted to speak. All she wanted was to spend this time with him, but she knew she had to confirm to him something, and she couldn't leave her daughter with the other man.

"Ean... Ryla... She's your... daughter." She began before her words being broken by a cough as she turned her head away from him. She slowly turned back when she was certain the coughing would stop and the took a half breath (that being about all she could manage at the moment) before speaking more on the subject. "You can't let her stay with him..." She said before letting her hand drop from his face and into her lap, heavier then she had intended. "... Legally she's yours, and... she won't be happy there. Please?" She pleaded to him, as she groaned a little and lay a little further back to ease her pain.

[Mara]

Ean saw her eyes well up with tears at the news of her daughter, and he smiled, thinking she was overwhelmed with happiness knowing that Ryla was safe again. So much was she overcome with feelings that she could only speak haltingly. Lightly, he squeezed her hand back briefly, enjoying her caress on his cheek. "You don't have to thank me, Cassie. It was an honor to reunite your family." Again, the big man was mistaken, incorrectly reading the emotion all over her face. "You'll get better, and then you can--"

And then the gut punch came, delivered by Cassandra, and his entire world flipped upside down and wrong side out. Ean felt like he couldn't breathe for a few minutes, couldn't even move, except for unconsciously crushing her hand within his own in reaction to her revelation, and his eyes just stared at her without really seeing. Time seemed to stop. It was like he was simultaneously plummeting off a cliff, floating in zero gravity, and experiencing a host of other disasters. Places he would have rather been at that single moment, if he had had a chance to think in those terms.

His mind wasn't able to process the information at a normal rate, cranking through it as if something thick and sticky had gummed up the works. But it slowly began sinking in through his thick skull. Everything the girl had told him in the hangar upon coming up to his ship. All his fleeting instincts. The memories of Cassandra from the past that had surfaced in the last couple of days. What she had just told him, the look on her face as she did so. Under any other circumstance, he wouldn't have questioned the evidence, but this was anything but normal.

Coming back to himself, regaining control of his body, Ean let go of Cassandra's hand, discovering with horror that he had been mashing her fingers between his. Suddenly feeling sick to his stomach, not only from recent disclosures, but also from a distinct awareness of the parallel of his mother's illness to what was lying before him in the bed, he jumped to his feet and strode to the other side of the room, his back to Cassandra. There was too much for him to handle right now, and his fists clenched and unclenched along with his insides.

He stood there, resting his forehead against the cool wall, knowing he should say something, anything to Cassandra. That she deserved a response. But he was at a loss. The big Corellian tried to get a hold of himself, his breathing, his tongue. Prodded his mind to start working. It was like he had been having an out of body experience and hadn't fully come back to the land of the living yet.

Finally, Ean gathered up all his strength, all his training, and forced his limbs into action. He swallowed noticeably, almost gulping, and turned around, his movements deliberate, and looked over at the sick woman reclined there. His heart went out to her, seeing her like that, and the words just tumbled out, a hitch in his suddenly raspy and husky voice. "You're--you're sure? Ryla is--is... And I'm..." Ean stopped, unable to say the words out loud.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

Cassandra just lay there for a moment as she looked up to Ean as he seemed to look on in horror about the whole situation. She sighed a little as she didn't know how to reply, what to say or anything to help him. Then again, she realized she probably didn't really have to say anything. It was him who had to speak now... he needed to. It was in the same moment that she realized what was going on, that she could feel her hand screaming in pain as she clenched her teeth, wincing at the pain. Soon enough though he noticed it too and returned her now numbed hand to her, letting her rub it with her other hand while he moved away from her.

She sighed heavily as she continued to watch him panic. She looked onto his back while she continued to rub her hand unconsciously while her stomach (already extremely weak) began to sink for the man she really loved. The tears were welling up again as she waited for him to say anything at all, and when he finally did, she sighed again and gave him a nod.

"Yes Ean! She's yours. I had blood tests done, but i was pregnant before her stepfather came along." She said, practically giving all the evidence he needed. She looked to him again, her eyes pleading. "You can't leave Ryla there... please! And i..." She looked down to her self and didn't look up as she grumbled with anger and distaste at herself. "I'm in no position to take care of her anymore." She said, literally wanting to curl up in a ball right there if it wouldn't kill her to do so...

"Ean... she is a symbol of our love... if you still have it... please..." She said in between whimpers and tears before she glanced up a little, but not fully raising her head to see him.

[Mara]

Overwhelmed with everything, he slid down to the floor with a soft groan, his back against the wall, knees bending. His head fell into his hands, and his fingers dug into his scalp. What Ean really needed was some time to digest what was happening to him, preferably alone, but he didn't have that luxury right now. He couldn't exactly cut and run, hide out on his ship in denial and pretend it hadn't come about. That wasn't fair to Cassandra; she was probably in enough pain, suffering through his silent agony.

So many questions started running through his mind. Questions that were more hypothetical than anything else, since the answers were obvious. Even someone as slow as he was knew all about the basics of biology and how Ryla had come to be. Still, it was hard for him not to blurt it out loud. And asking Cassandra why she hadn't told him right at the beginning; she had been doing right by her baby. If she had, what would he have done, could have done? Quit his promising new career to raise a child in poverty, follow in his father's footsteps? Unlikely, despite how important family was to the man.

Why was this happening to him? And why had it been Cassandra? There had been quite a few women in his youth. The thrill of having a real job and the possibility of a real future, as well as being away from home for the first time had gone to his head, and other places. Cassie had just been one of those flings he had encountered, though probably one of the longer-lasting ones. Someone he had enjoyed spending time with away from the cheap rent motels as well as inside, but love had never entered the holo for him. Was it punishment for what had happened on his last job? Ean had already given up bounties for good. What more could fate do to him?

What was he supposed to do with an 11-year-old girl, with his lifestyle?  Ryla needed to be with her kind, a woman. Her mother. Why did Cassandra have to be sick? Ean knew the last thing about what it would require to raise a child, let alone someone like Ryla. The girl probably hated him for abandoning her and her mother, leaving her with her stepfather after she had tried to get him to believe the truth. Truth that Cassandra had to beat him over the head with to get it to sink in.

And then there was his own mother, whose death had been forefront in his mind since seeing Cassandra lying in bed, sick. The beloved matriarch of his family who had made his own childhood bearable while she had been around but had died much too young. If she had been still alive, she would have known exactly what to do with Ryla. Though she had had only sons, a mother's instinct was always there for any child. Ean wouldn't have hesitated to call her. Heleen Stenner would have loved to meet her granddaughter. A tear slipped behind his hands. He had his answer.

Roughing rubbing his face with his palms, he dropped them and looked across the room at Cassandra. He cleared his throat, shakily at first, but then stronger. "Okay." Only one short word, but the most difficult one of his life. However, it had to be said. Ean couldn't leave his own flesh and blood behind. No matter how Ryla had come into being, she was there, and she had a piece of him inside her. Family was his number one priority; she was his responsibility. The two of them would just have to figure out how to navigate through this uncharted territory together, despite the difficulties.

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

Cassandra remained in her bed, trying not to cry as she knew it would be unbearably painful both physically and emotionally. She couldn't deal with it right now, not without beginning into another sick spell that she might not come out of. She had long ago come to terms that her death could come any second now. It was on it's way and there was no stopping it. But not yet... not in front of Ean, not after what she had just asked of him. Still though, it was almost killing her already just to see him crumble to the ground like this.

Meanwhile just outside the door way Jareth remained there with his head resting against the door frame. Not trying to listen to the private conversation he had allowed the two of them to have, but there waiting... knowing that Cassandra could collapse in the last few emotionally stressful situations that had come up the past few days. Keeping at the ready in case she needed him, though his own eyes ran as wet as the other man on the other side of the door whom he could only hear giving slight sobs.

Cassandra gave Ean a gentle smile when Ean finally replied, the smile breaking into a cough as she nodded, blinking back tears as strongly as she could before she looked down to Ean who still remained on the floor. "Thank you, Ean." She muttered softly into the room, wanting to move to the poor man's side to comfort him through what he was hearing. Then again... if she could move to his side... she wouldn't exactly need to ask this of him. No, she would be healthy enough to recover, and then in effect help Ryla on her own two strong legs. She could finally give Ryla a good life, help her as she should have been as her mother all along. Something... that Cassandra would regret for the rest of her life...

However short that was going to be...

[Mara]

Ean nodded, acknowledging Cassandra's thanks and accepting the words. He had made an important decision, though the implications of it hadn't come close to sinking in. The Corellian wasn't really sure what he was agreeing to, in following Cassie's wish for him to take the girl. Besides the obvious issue that he had a direct responsibility to Ryla, Ean knew deep down he was only doing this as one last favor to a woman he had cared for in the past. As for any host of other reasons, they were unclear to him. It was all still kind of a blur for him.

But before he could even begin to figure everything out, there were more pressing things weighing on him. Things, beings, in this room with him. Though all the other questions regarding the situation he now found himself in continued to nag at him, Ean had to shove them away in order to think more logically and get back on track. Something more important had to be broached with Cassandra, something he felt very strongly about it, and hoped she would consent to. If he had to, he would make it a term of his taking Ryla into his custody.

Resolute, he laid his hands on his knees and pressed down, levering himself to his feet with a grunt. Ean stretched briefly to relax the soreness in his muscles from the cramped position he had been in on the floor. The big man walked back to Cassandra's bed, his bland brown eyes gazing down at her while he wrestled with how to say what he needed to say. "Um..." He scratched at a bearded cheek and then gestured vaguely with the same hand before letting it fall idle to his side.

With a swallow, he just dove in, his voice still a little thick, and the words coming out in a slow but staccato-y jumble. "Do you want me to, uh... you know, bring Ryla here? So you can... say your good-byes?" Ean dropped down to his knees once again to be eye-to-eye with Cassandra. He took her hand, careful to be gentle. "It wouldn't be any trouble. I may not know much about her, but I do know that it would mean the galaxy to her. To have that closure."  Turning his head away, he paused, and then spoke, quieter this time. "When my mother passed... if I hadn't been there... it would have been one of my biggest regrets..."

[Adobi-Wan Kenobi]

There was a moment after that now that there wasn't a single sound in the quiet room between Cass and Ean, only a quiet nod and a sniffle from the man for a second after he was acknowledging Cassandra's last request to him.

Eventually though the tall and burly man was making his effort to push himself back up and to his feet before crossing the room over to Cassandra's bedside before kneeling back down to her side, her eyes not wavering from the tall man until he went on to ask his next, and impressively thought out question before she turned to face away as best she could in the bed to think about it for a second.

Her first inclination was to say 'NO' right away; not wanting her daughter to see her in this shape like this, on her literal death bed when she could go at any time now. But with little dissuading from Ean and her motherly instincts kicking in just as quickly, Cassandra gave a small nod, her eyes shutting gently to keep tears back, but not succeeding as they slipped by anyway. "That's a good idea, Ean." Cass said finally with a quick nod, putting a strong smile on as she turned a little again to look back to the man, slowly letting her thumb roll across his fingers that held he own hand in his gentle grip. "She needs to see me again... doesn't she?" Cass mused, though not really in an asking manner before he looked back up to Ean with wide and sad eyes. "I'm sorry i have to ask you to do this..." She said finally with a gentle shake of her head.