Sage makes his way through the palace halls and stops by Talera's room, knocking on the door

Talera lifts her head off the bed and looks at the door. She can sense who is there and she looks at the clock. Damn he had bad timing. She looks at the boxes littered around her rooms and how obvious it is that shes packed. She sits up and calls to the door Talera her voice sounds tired and sleepy" who is it?" Sage : Sage Talera wrinkles up her nose in dismay and she gets off the bed silently cursing her position. She opens the door a crack and smiles at him" Hello...is everything ok? " direct then divert. Good. Sage : I was going to ask that of you, I wanted to see how you were doing t shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets... and he started on his way home, why was this so damn hard for him? he was doing the right thing here... he was keeping his family safe... so why did it tear him up so? His family meant the world to him, > Talera blocks the view of her dark apartment with her body. She was fully dressed and armed. "oh things are better. Your talk helped." Sage raises an eyebrow "why are you so armed?" t and he did not want to lose them or hurt them, he felt happiest when with them. Change... that's all it was, he had never been one to like change much, to get used to it quickly... thats all it was, it was a period of adjustment... simple and easy... > Talera blinks and looks down at her body. She looks back at him and pauses." I am always armed. You know that." She didnt think he would ask to come in. Sage was not like that so for now she would risk being a little rude. He was in danger of making her Talera clean getaway dirty. t it'd be alright, and they would be safe and happy and no one would cause anymore hassles. He could still help annoymously, or donations or something... just none of this jumping in their headfirst trying to save the universe

crap... that was the job of> Sage : You look ready to storm a palace by yourself.. Talera chuckles softly" no not at all. Anyway how are you?" t the jedi... not a small, big mouthed little snot headed singer like him... "dammit" he muttered... and made his way towards the river, to walk along the shore. Wasn't just getting up on stage a danger though, singing? being lusted over by some twisted> Sage : I'm fine, unless you'd prefer to talk here in the corridor, I was hoping I could enter. You paid me a visit so I thought I'd return the favour. t people, there were stalkers out there.. and people had died by the hands of stalkers... ah, but yes, this is why the house was safe, as he had made sure this morning before he left for the studio... thats why they had security on tour... so why then, did> Talera looks at him a moment , her shoulders sag and she moves aside to let him enter. " I am afraid I wont be much of a hostess" she ushers him into her dark rooms. The lights go on as she manipulates the switch via the force. Sage carefully enters "do you always have your home so dark?" Talera : at night , generally t he feel like it was the same, no matter what he did... his life would draw attention... yes, but it was less likely he would attract a lot of bad aqttention if he kept his mouth shut and just sang... simple, easy... yep, good... Sage nods "I see, so how is everything?" Talera everything is fine." she closes the door behind him. Sage : Have you spoken to Zwinmar as yet? Talera : I have Sage : How did it go? Talera : I cant really say. He said things that I have a hard time believing. He said them for my benefit I believe. Sage : Do you mind if I ask? Talera : he said that he wanted me to follow my

heart. Make myself happy and he would deal with whatever that meant. Sage : Why is that hard to believe? Talera : because he told me that once before and his feelings havent changed. And he still pursued me. Sage : How do you feel about him? Talera : I love him like my best friend. Talera : I am in love with Justin. And I cannot choose. And I cannot give up. Sage : So why are you really heavily armed with more ordinance than some mandalorians? Talera looks around her apartment wondering at the fact that Sage hasnt asked about all the boxes and her bare apartment." because soon im going on a personal mission" Sage : Not a long term one I hope, I know you wouldn't just.. leave and not tell the council t made his way home, and stopped at the gate, buzzing the button to be let in, he had fogot his little control for them... and he furrowed his brow as the new security guy spoke over the comm ~step into the light~ Paul grimaced as a bright spotlight was > Talera smiles at him." now that would be out of character wouldn't it?" She would tell the council if she thought they wouldnt try to stop her. She knows Zwin would. And Dee. She wasnt sure about Sage but she presumed she would find out soon enough. t flicked on and he stepped into it ~there, ye see me, lemme in~ he said aggrivated a little... ~name?~ the security dude said... ~ahh fer fecks sake, tis me, Boto~ he was wondering if this guy would ask for a damn DNA sample ~look to the camera~ Paul got> Sage : Yes.. so where are you going? And are you moving house as well? Talera : I dont know yet. Ive packed some things.... Sage : Are you taking your children with you? t told next... and the small singer raised an eyebrow doing as he was told ~lemme in now?~ oh he was really getting pissed now... ~sorry, can't see you properly... let

me do a voice print recognition, say your full name... and date of birth... and > Talera : My children have been in safe keeping for months. Sage : Talera, if you don't know where you are going, do you at least have a time frame? Talera why do you ask Sage? " Jedi went all the time on missions for indeterminate time frames. Zwin being the latest. Sage : Because the last time I recall you going on a solo mission, you ended up captured by slavers Sage : I want to know how long should pass before we should start looking. Sage : now this is perfect http://partialeclipse.net/david/davidbwp4.jpg] Talera his words cut her. It was clear to her by his comment he had little faith in her taking care of herself. " the last time I went on a solo mission I brough Zwinmar back to Naboo after years of being lost." her words were clipped. t favourite colour~ Paul blinked at that, surely this guy was having him on now ~wan' me tae show ye me wang while yeer at 't?~ he asked sarcastically... and rolled his eyes a little ~Paul David Hew'on... Born 10th Fuo 3313 an' me favourite colour tis > Sage : Of course, but if I were going away, you'd want to know where I'd be or when I'd return Talera : I dont have those answers Sage. I am trusting in the force right now. t black.. now lemme in fer I wring yeer neck~ the guy was silent as he checked it out... and tapped his foot as he waited... ~sorry sir... wrong colour.. move along~ Paul raised an eyebrow at that, paul really didn't have a favourite colour, but he was > Sage : And what is the force leading you to do? t sure for the security check he had said black this was beyond insane, this was why he hated big time security... ~fer fecks sake yeer smartarsed lil sod, lemme intae me own house!~ he was sure by now this guy had to be

joking... and the guard came back > Talera turns her back to him and goes to the empty kitchen. " I have some tea packets. Would you like some?" She had to be carefull answering his question. She knew that she believed totally in what she had to do but wether it was the forces prompting she Talera was only fairly clear on. She knew that it was better to be selfless than selfish however. That bolstered her. Sage : Yes, so what is the force leading you to do? t on the comm ~last chance fella, before I call the NSF... brothers full name... ~ right, now that was something only few knew ~Norton Cameron Niall Hew'on... now open th' damned gate...~ there was silence on the other end of the comm... ~sorry sir, we > Talera puts a pot onto boil after pulling it from a box . She returns to face him and asks him flat out." do you trust me?" Sage : Not for a second. t had to be sure~ he got in the end, and rolled his eyes as the gates open ~hope yeer havin a feckin gud laugh...~ Paul half snarled.. and moved in through the gate, heading towards the house, that lied up the end of the long driveway... bloody idiots... Talera his words startle her. She backs up and says." oh I see...." she didnt expect that at all. Sage : You're running away and being evasive. Is life on Naboo so hard to face that you have to leave your friends, family and home? Is this how you show your trust for us? 8anca has joined the conversation. 8anca is away. anca was sitting on the porch of Paul's house, his jacket sitting on a chair behind her, as she sips her early morning hot chocolate, rubbing her face a bit. She had been crying, only because she has told Strev everything. And now it was all fresh in her mind Talera you told me yesterday putting others happiness over my own was selfless. I am not running to keep from facing life. I am leaving to prevent anothers pain. To solve a problem that otherwise cannot be solved. You

are being overlly harsh. " the fact anca again. She lets her head droop forward as she closes her eyes, getting a few more moments of sleep in, inbetween sips 8 has left the conversation. Talera that he didnt trust her , hurt. He assumed a lot as well. This wasnt about her trust for her friends. This in fact had nothing to do with her trusting them. This harshness was not expected. It however made it easier for her to go. Sage : I also told you that it is impossible to avoid other's pain, but if you preserve your own joy, you remain able to help those who hurt Talera : I heard that as well. Who says joy cannot be found someplace else? Sage : We need you here. Talera : Why? Sage : Do I really need to answer that? Have you even thought this through? You say you're hoping to avoid other's pain. Did it occur to you that by leaving, you'd hurt us more? If you leave, you hurt us, but you don't have to face us. I think thats the real> Sage : > reason t was brooding, fully... he was pissed off with the security, he hated this... he liked to be in control... and ugh... he moved up to the house and looked to Bee "I thought ye went home yesty..." he said... he knew he had called her round after that insane> Talera If I am not here to covet than I cannot be the cause of his torment. If I am not sitting here then I can be searching for Justin. Leaving I can accomplish both. " his words make her pause however. She looks at him cautiously" hurt us?" t vision, but he had gone to bed and cuddled Dinay, and was certain they had seen themselves out... Sage : Yes us! Your friends! Not just those of us in the council but many who consider you a friend. You should let us help you. If you are here to covet you are also here to comfort and be comforted. Running away solves nothing.

Sage : Shutting us out solves nothing. anca I brought your jacket back" she says softly, thats all she had to say. She didn't know why she had just sat out there with her starbucks, it seemed like the thing to do "How have you been?" glances up at him for a brief moment before taking another sip of anca her hot chocolate with double the chocolate. Talera Im not running away!!!!" she turns away from him. He was making things so difficult. She had been decided. Yes she had thought things through. She knew leaving might hurt some but it would be a small measure of pain compared to the daily torment Zwin Talera was in. That she was in and had hidden so successfully until recently. t took the jacket... it was his favourite one, so he was glad to have it back "fine" he said, sounding a little aggitated... "an' tanks fer bringing 't back..." he opened the door and stepped inside, hanging the jacket on a hook... Sage walks to a near box "you have packed your things away, you are armed so no one can harm you and thus you will not be captured.. but you are also keeping your friends away. You say this is to stop you being coveted, do you really think those who long for > Sage > you would not still long for you? In running away, all you do, is make it harder for them to learn in time, to accept you as a friend" anca just nods a bit holding onto the paper cup, looking down at it, peeking thru the long hole in the lid at how much she had left Talera : Dont you understand? It has been years since he confessed his love. How is seeing me everyday going to change his feelings? They havent yet changed . Before he left I was seeing Zio. Thats when he told me. I spoke with him then about how I felt. Talera : rather about how it wasnt possible. Talera Justin isnt here with me. He has been gone so long. So very long......." her words trail off.

t sighed softly and looked back to her "how're ye?" he asked, and stepped back outside closing the door "an' why ye here at this time o' nigh?" what was it 1-2 am? he motioned for her to follow him, he was going out the back, and gonna work some of his > Sage : I've broken many hearts since coming to this world. All of them learned in time to accept me as a friend instead. t aggitation out on the punching bag... anca stands up, reaching around to adjust the blaster against her back, making sure her shirt was still over it "Well...I couldn't sleep anymore so I left Strev's and went home and painted for about 5 hours, then I felt a bit dizzy and thought it was best if I anca got some fresh air, thus I returned your jacket" Talera shakes her head slowly. He didnt understand. It was better for her to go. With Justin gone, possibly forever , made it far to easy to go back on her convictions. Sage : So thats it then? you no longer believe in what you once advised me? Talera : no..I do. Sage I do. But this is different. This situation doesnt mimic your own. Sage : Doesn't it? The one you love is beyond your reach.. others long for you here.. but you don't feel the same way. So you have shut yourself off from them. Sage : To "spare" them. Talera : Yes but it doesnt mean I dont believe in love or joy. Or that it shouldnt be traversed. This is about not giving up on a man I love. t "at this hour? ye decide I'm gunna be up now? wha' 'f I were in bed?" oh he was in a pain in the arse mood at the moment, nad he moved out the back, slipping his jacket and watch off... and threw them on a chair, before fronting up to the bag t : and^) Sage : I'm not saying you should. Do you think I gave up on the love I held for Jaraes in allowing myself to be with Jenine? anca looks at him and shrugs "Then I would of waited

until you woke up, or maybe eventually went home or back to Strev's" sets her cup down on a ledge, and slides a hand into her pocket as she leans against a post "Could of slept on the porch too" Sage : All I did, was accept that my love for Jaraes would not be as my hearts wished, without refusing any other Talera : Ij Jaraes comes back then what? Talera : if* Sage : Then I greet her as the man I have become in her absence and hope she will accept me as a friend Sage : What if my wife were brought back from death? I would do the same thing Sage : This is Naboo, such things do happen Talera sighs softly" you waited for decades. I have only endured a year. It is too soon for my hears Sage" she covers her mouth to keep her tears in check. t slammed a fist into the bag, looking a little more like a boxer now in his stance... then stopped the bag... and looked to her "hang on, how th' feck did ye git pas' th' new security? I jus' about had tae give them feckin DNA tae git in?" Sage : And you admitted that the decades I spent were a waste. Sage : I'm not saying you should run to Zwinmar, but I don't believe that running away will help either Talera : So I move on and let go of Justin but Zwinmar still aches each day. You must see how I could see leaving as a way to ease his pain. I am not running away to keep from facing a problem. I am leaving to ease anothers. anca glances at him "I cannot disclose that information Paul" she gives him a playful little smile. "I didn't grow up in that hell hole and not learn anything..." Sage : Zwinmar may ache but he will heal. Having you in his life as a friend as opposed to not at all, will only help him. It helped Lianna when I stayed. Talera : how long should I wait before too much time has passed? It has been four years. How long before he has suffered enough?

Talera : How long before it becomes my responsability? Sage : He is a jedi master! He can control his emotions with the force. If he suffers, he chooses to not heal. I know it won't be easy for him, it was not for me when I longed for Jaraes. But he will overcome the pain and find a greater joy. Don't rob him or the Sage : rest of us of our friend. Talera : Sage I know all of this. I do. I do not wish to be a hypocrite. I only wish to do what is right for all involved. I can't give up after so short a time . I can't. I have set a time goal for how long I will wait. How can I trust by staying here Talera : that it will aid either Zwin or Justin? Host Talera kicked t out of the chat room: Disruptive behavior anca : he is just so bad )) 8t has joined the conversation. 8t is away. anca glances at him "I cannot disclose that information Paul" she gives him a playful little smile. "I didn't grow up in that hell hole and not learn anything..." Sage : This is greater than Zwinmar or Justin, both are beings of great power and can help themselves. We need you. The jedi need you, your friends need you. Sage : Your children need you. t "fer fecks sake Bee... jus' tell me was 't as hard fer ye as twas me? I would like tae knae, i had some kid lose his gods damned leg breakin in here las' nigh', so had tae up security, I do wanna knae 'f tis workin" he nearly snapped... ugh, he was in a > t pearler of a mood, and he turned to go back to laying in the punching bag Talera : I would never leave my children . I want so much to do the right thing. My heart tells me to keep searching. My heart doesnt want to leave my friends. But my mind tells me eventually less pain would be the outcome. Eventually happiness for everyone

Talera : would return. You can't understand my thinking? Sage : Because I'm a telepath. anca yea...it came down to me crying and telling them I was pregnant and that it was Allan's kid..." grins a bit "Think the tears did the job thou, along with almost fainting..." Sage : And because I've done what you have. It doesn't work. anca they even walked me to the porch and got me some hot chocolate with double the chocolate" smiles even more...to be waited on was a great thing t "tha' ain't funny" he growled softly... "'f they let ye in tha' way, rather then call th' medics I gotta fire em all... I got th' feckin third degree, an' tis me own bleedin house!" Talera I dont know what to do here. I feel alone and I know I am the cause of great pain. I find that so hard to abide." it was a candid and revealing statement but she hoped he wouldnt think her too weak. He already didnt trust her. anca Calm down Paul...you getting like this doesn't help anything..." sighs softly, rubbing the back of her neck. She could never do anything right it seemed, she thought it for a minute before shaking her head. "Don't fire anyone...yer just stressed" Sage : You feel alone because you have shut us out and won't let us help you. You won't let yourself help us. Talera : I am always open to helping others. You. anyone. t "dinnae tell me tae calm down.. I am fine! jus' irked a lil... " he smashed his fists deep into the swinging bag... letting his angression slowly seep out into it... before he would go inside and snuggle, and calm down even more... "an' dinnae tell me > t how I'm feelin..." Sage : By not being here? Talera frowns at that. " why are you so intent on this?" she said. Her tone soft and defeated.

Sage : I don't want you to go through what I went through. Sage : You say a year is too short.. perhaps. No one is saying to must date again, and Justin may yet return. If he does, let him find you here. We have already established that it is extremely unlikely that he is being held against his will anca pushes herself from the pole to stand straight up "Alright Paul I won't...I'll show my self out" picks up her cup, and walks away from and the back garage. throwing the cup into the trash, as she stuffs her hands into the pockets of her torn grease Sage : So under the most highly logical premise that he has left willingly, the fact that he left no trace means he does not want to be found Sage : if he is to return, let him find you here. anca stained jeans. "men" she says softly shaking her head, cursing the whole male gender under her breath. Talera sags her shoulders and sits on a chair just as the teapot screamed. She looked up and sighed. That was akin to how she felt. So much pressure she was likely to burst. " I know whats logical but sometimes logic isnt always right. I am not doing what t "gud... go" he muttered, he was not in the mood right now, irked about a few things, like the war he was having within himself... and wondering why he was getting so pissed by doing the right thing for his family... he did not want to be angry about that> Talera I want Sage. I don't know what I want. I don't believe Justin is away willingly. With every bit of me I dont think that. But I have no explanation further." Sage : Please just stay.. stay a month. If after that time he has not come back, I'll help you look for him. I'll ask my parents to have their Emissaries to help us. I am of the royal family of Gaia you know t and then the damn gaurd... had just irked him more... and Isle, that was still a fresh wound. He was an emotional lil guy... that was also why he was an artist... he paused his beating on the bag for a moment, to rip his shirt off and throw it on the > Sage : One month is all I ask.

t chair, it was getting sweat drenched... and it was annoying, and he just focused on the bag now... yes, he was male, and yes, he was cranky... anca peeks back into the garage for a moment to say one last thing she had to have the last word "I love ya cuz!" before turning to leave for real, walking down the driveway, keeping her hands stuffed into her pockets, she looks around the area before moving anca through the gate, hoping that today was going to be a quiet day. Praying that it would be. Talera looks up at him. His offer of help touched her. " one month?" She could stay packed for that long. It was only a few weeks. Sage : Yes a month. anca smiles a bit, she had a new plan of attack for dealing with her cousin, it was to kill him with kindness. It would work, if she was always happy and nice around him, atleast she hoped it would. She moves back out onto the streets, seeming a bit more jumpy Talera : wb)) Sage : ty] Talera : fine one month. I will call on you for help at that time. Until then I will continue looking on my own. But I will keep you informed of my whereabouts. Fair enough? anca than usual as she made her way to the studio. She would try and get some work done, since she couldn't sleep. And let her apartment air out from all the wet paint. Rubs the back of her neck again, wondering why is was always so sore, even when she slept t : wb) anca right. Lets out a soft sigh, as she walks. Sage nods "Yes, I shall go now and speak to you soon. May the force be with you..."