Chapter 17: Legendary Space Elf
Summary: Yeah, they both need therapy at this point. Good thing The Force is aware of that little fact too...
Chapter 17: Legendary Space Elf
Izuku was attempting to ease his companion's tension as they left the ship.
"I'm telling you, she looks exactly like depictions of mythical creatures called elves back home. Pointy ears and all. I'm going to have to ask at some point if she can use a longbow."
He was, of course, ruthlessly taking advantage of being a telepath to send mental images of the 4th reboot of The Hobbit movies straight into Aayla's brain. That particular reboot had kept Tauriel, who's exclusion made the third version unpopular, but used a blonde actress instead of a redhead. One that had more than a little physical similarity to the woman who'd sent them the welcoming message. It had also had some pretty epic mobile archer battles with the sexy Tauriel vs a Rebellious Punk Legolas as he helped the dwarves escape his father. It hadn't been an overly popular remake, straying too far from the original work for the fans, but everyone agreed that the fight scenes had been suitably epic. A bit overdone, perhaps, but in the most badass sort of way. A fact that was making Aayla's lips twitch at the corners despite her tension, as he mentally pointed out how a Jedi could actually do some of the moves that had clearly been wire-work or CGI.
"You probably shouldn't do that Izu. Not a lot of Jedi Masters have a sense of humor. And I swear I've seen her somewhere before…"
Izuku gave up the effort, satisfied that he'd at least almost made her smile. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he sighed.
"Somewhere that makes you wary of her?"
Aayla instantly shook her head.
"No. Somewhere that makes her seem like she wasn't…real? A fairytale?"
Izuku wanted to point out that being from a 'fairytale' just made it more likely she was an elf, but he was fairly certain he'd pushed the humor angle as far as he could. Instead, he just sent reassurance that he'd be with her, whatever happened. She sent a feeling of nervous thanks back, even as they climbed toward the entrance to The Great Library and he could feel her tension ratcheting slowly upward again. That tension was not helped by the feeling of deep age and reverence suffusing the entire canyon they'd landed in. Faint traces of murals could be seen all over the canyon sides, and a few broken statues were scattered here and there, worn unrecognizable by time and the elements. Finally, they picked their way up a half-shattered staircase and came to a level plaza, curiously well off to one side from what seemed to be the main entrance of the Library. Indeed, it looked almost like a landing pad made of some native stone, but badly broken up by the gnarled roots of an ancient tree.
It was at the base of that tree that the woman knelt, seeming in deep meditation. Yet, as they approached, she stirred and stood, turning to face the two of them. As she did so, the very air took on a quality of soothing calm as her presence filled the open space. Izuku was so startled by the change that he almost missed the bolt of shock that fired through Aayla. But only almost.
"Aayla?"
His companion didn't answer, seemingly dazed as she took three more slow steps forward, a mixed of awe and trepidation swirling in their bond. A name seemed to bubble up out of Aayla without her consent.
"M-master Fay?"
The woman smiled, a wry twist of humor evident in the expression, even as she closed the remaining distance between herself and Aayla. She stopped two paces out and raised a hand in greeting, even as her smile shifted to one of simple welcome.
"The last I looked in the mirror, yes."
There was still a sort of chagrined humor dancing in her eyes, something telling Izuku she'd run into the sort of sheer reverence Aayla was putting off before.
"B-but, I mean, you're…there's even a bust of you in the main temple!"
The woman blink at that, seeming surprised for the first time, tinkling bell-like laughter following a moment later as it fully processed.
"Really? What a ridiculous thing to do. I suppose it's a good thing I haven't been back to the Core in a few hundred years. Walking past that would be a bit awkward, I'd think."
Aayla blushed, embarrassed at her stumbling surprise, but Fay only winked and turned her smile toward Izuku. She ran a critical eye over him for a moment, and he felt as if she'd just learned far more about him than anyone but his own mother could have matched. The smile never shifted from its welcome, however.
"Hello, lost one. My name is Jedi Master Fay, though I prefer simply Fay, please. I have all sorts of questions for the person who made such an unusual splash in the Force, seeming to simply pop into existence as you did. But for now, my task is with your companion. Worry not, I am not here to call her to account. Indeed, as I don't really answer to the council, I doubt they know she's here."
Izuku gaped as she just…neatly answered all of his questions and fears in a few words. Only to generate a whole new set of them at the same time. He double checked his mental defenses out of reflex but couldn't find anything she'd done. Despite that, he…believed her? He didn't have any more time to process before Fay stepped closer to Aayla, bringing a gentle hand to cup her cheek.
"Oh, child. So much has happened to you. But you can't keep repressing. You already know this. The pain will come, but there are so many good memories tied up with the bad. Let me help you…"
Aayla's eyes closed on tears, even as she gently nodded, and something deep passed between them. Then the tears began in earnest as Aayla half-collapsed into the older woman's arms. Izuku watched in confusion, sure he should be panicking, having never exactly been great with crying girls. Yet, that aura of serenity and good humor the older woman carried with her suffused him too, just as it was Aayla. And, somehow, he knew that the tears were good ones. The kind someone let out to wash away old wounds and broken memories to make way for healing…
... ...
Aayla's tears had continued for nearly an hour as the Jedi Master consoled her. She'd fallen into a peaceful sleep afterward, with Izuku ignoring the teasing grin of the Jedi as he carried her aboard their ship bridal-style. Thankfully for Izuku's sanity, Aayla had set up her own cabin, even if they more usually slept in the same bed. Since Master Fay had quietly followed him aboard, it would have felt more than a little awkward to put her in their shared cabin. To his continued surprise, and despite checking his mental defenses again, he hadn't even thought of protesting the Jedi Master following onto their ship. Somehow not to his surprise, he found her setting two cups of tea down at the lounge table when he returned from Aayla's cabin. She gestured him to a seat and he obeyed, taking up one of the cups of tea. Which proved delicious. She certainly must have brought it with her, as he didn't think they had anything like it on board.
"While it's obvious your companion recognized me, I'm sure you'd like some sort of explanation."
It wasn't really a question, as shown by the faint smile on Master Fay's face, but Izuku nodded acknowledgement of it anyway.
"I'm happy to oblige, of course, but could I trouble you for your name first? As well as your companion's?"
Startled, Izuku blinked and scanned his memory. Nope, they totally hadn't introduce themselves. He blushed, with that blush only deepening as she grinned at him.
"Ah. My name is Izuku Midoriya. She is Aayla'secura."
He sensed a faint gleam of approval when he introduced Aayla the way her name would be properly spoken in Ryll, instead of breaking it up like most humans did with Twi'lek names. Aayla didn't care either way, having spent too much of her youth disconnected from Twi'lek culture, but he'd made the effort to learn it the 'right' way despite that fact.
"Excellent. Thank you. With that taken care of, I'll start with the most obvious question. You are, after all, radiating considerable concern for your companion, even if you have admirable control over it. You want to know what happened, yes?"
He had several other questions, some that might well be more important, technically. But that didn't mean he cared as much about them, so he hummed his agreement even as he sipped at the delicious tea.
"I would normally say little, without young Aayla's consent. But given that you are bonded to her, it is important that you understand at least the basics. If she tells you more details or not is entirely up to her."
Her voice, despite remaining gentle, made it clear that fact wasn't up for discussion. That was fine with him, however. In fact, it actually put him a bit more at ease that she took Aayla's privacy into consideration. So far, he was getting a very different vibe from this woman than he'd expected from a Jedi. He just wasn't sure if it was her that was different, or if he'd built up an inaccurate mental image of their order. Either way, for the moment he acknowledged her statement with a firm nod of agreement that won a smile from her.
"Good. Now, I can only guess what led to her current condition. When I channeled a Force technique for healing into her, I spotted some sort of drug. There wasn't much more than trace elements left, that I quickly cleared out. But I'm guessing there was a lot more of it at one point and it damaged her memories?"
She paused a moment to get a confirming nod from Izuku, then continued.
"That was the method then, but the trigger for her deeper problem was unquestionably the death of her teacher, her Jedi Master. There are still frayed remnants of the Padawan bond hovering about her, unhealed and festering as she hasn't confronted the memories yet. Which was, I'm afraid, the greater problem. The drug allowed her to forget…and she sensed enough pain waiting for her in the memories that she chose to repress them once she could remember. Intentionally or by instinct, it doesn't really matter. The Force allows you to change your own mind far more easily than another's. She shied away from the pain, but that only let the shattered fragments of that bond start eroding her own connection with the Force. If not for her bond with you, she'd likely have already begun suffering side effects on her Force usage from that. As it was, she still wasn't far away from that. She needed to face his loss, as repressing that sort of memory is very nearly the worst thing a Force-sensitive can do."
Izuku sighed, swirling his tea. Delicious as it had been, it no longer seemed as appealing. He'd…suspected something like that. Part of his training as a telepath had included a deep dive into psychology, after all. That didn't make him a trained psychologist however, and he also had to admit he hadn't wanted to dive too deep for his own reasons, as well. He was well aware he was repressing some of his own reactions to his new reality. Or, more accurately, to the loss of his old.
"Of course, you already knew it was something like that. Because you are doing it too. Now tell me, Izuku Midoriya, lost one so far from home, what is the story that lances your own heart with such pain…"
Oh. Oh crap. She had the same look in her eyes that his therapist used to get. And, somehow, he thought she was going to be even harder to get anything by than that woman had been. Closing his eyes as his control slipped for a moment, he was surprised to discover that the overwhelming flow of information he'd been bombarded with since arriving in this galaxy seemed to just…stop at the edge of some sort of aura. Blinking, he focused on that a bit more and realized that Fay was doing something. He also, abruptly, felt just how much of a strain on his mind keeping it shut against that flow had been. The pure relief of not having to fight it for the moment, mixed with a gut-instinct level insistence that he could trust this woman, caused his story to slowly come pouring out. Not just his arrival here, but everything from before as well, from the war and even earlier. Once he started, he simply couldn't seem to stop…
... ... ...
A/N: I personally love Fay. For how little we know of her, she makes a heck of an impression. As in, she seems far far closer to the Jedi Ideal than most Jedi ever manage, despite not being a fighter. All while getting away with basically ignoring the Jedi Council, since she just doesn't answer their calls and they can't fault the results she gets when she randomly shows up and stops a war or something...