Peace Brokered

The heat of the day outside has crept into the halls of the temple, and there are many who are at work trying to keep them cool so that those who are not well do not suffer from heat stroke on top of whatever else ails them. For a change of pace, Zeke is not one of them however. Instead he sits on a bench in front of one of the many mana lamps, sipping tea with a meal at his side which is perhaps half-eaten. His green eyes roam the familiar landscape with the air that one does when surveying their home for signs of unusual activity. Something that might upset the balance and turn his meal-time into more work.

Who would she be were Aya not to upset balance or otherwise make Zeke's life more work and/or unusual? Well, that is not entirely true, and may not be her intent, though her arrival into the temple proper would certainly qualify as unusual to most. She steps in rather conspicuously (at least in comparison to her more sudden arrivals), eyes skimming over those within whom are seeking solace and/or aid or providing such.

Zeke immediately, or rather nearly immediately spots Aya's entrance, which is at least not upsetting in of itself. It does however cause the sith to narrow his green eyes upon her and finish his tea significantly faster than he might have otherwise. Which means that Aya has plenty of time to notice him in turn.

Aya's panning head and eyes cease their traversal once she spies the blue-scaled Sith. Her body rotates beneath to bring her on a direct course towards him, though her pace remains relaxed; there no urgency nor sudden relocation. Perhaps all to give him ample time to finish his tea?

It isn't until she is within casual conversational distance that she offers, "Peace on your nest, Sunguard."

"Peasce on your nessst." Zeke replies out of rote, his eyes taking in the woman carefully. "What bringssss you to the hallsss of the Dragonfather Aya?" His words were careful, everything about him... careful.

"You," Aya admits rather directly, with a light gesture of one hand in Zeke's direction, "and this was the most likely place to find you." Her eyes shift from him to his tea, then to those about the hall and back to him. "Am I interrupting?"

Zeke tilts his head to the side slightly. "Thisss one did not sssummon you, ssso you come for your own endsss to ssspeak with thisss one." He begins to pack up his meal carefully. "Thisss one wasss almossst done, ssso it isss of no conssequensce."

Aya dips her chin in a nod. "You did not, and I do," she concurs, and without comment upon his astute powers of deduction. "It seems that congratulations are in order, so I came to offer mine. While I have not the nose nor deep insight into your people, Cryosanthia's exuberance has been blatantly conspicuous to anyone with sight or earshot. I have not seen her in such a delighted state since..." she pauses before completing the statement with "I don't recall, in fact."

The blue-scale rises to his feet and he keeps his eyes always on Aya as he moves to gather his belongings and holds them carefully in his left, crystaline calw. "Thisss one isss glad that Cryosssanthia isss doing well, but failsss to sssee how it isss your conscern. Or why you would offer congratulationsss to thisss one. We are not... kin." He says this last word with hesitation, as if he might have said something else.

"You and I are not kin, no," Aya once again agrees with his words. "However, you and Cryosanthia are, in as much as I understand. As she and I are ..." she hesitates herself as she considers an appropriate word "...close, that makes you, by extension..." Another pause, and her lips purse in further consideration, "... one I would not have as an adversary."

Zeke falters, stops at Aya's words and turns toward her. "Thisss one doess not know if we can be elssssewisse. Thisss one knowsss that you are clossse to Cryosssanthia, but..." It's his turn to be careful of his words. "You have proven yourssself by word and deed to be no ally of the People."

Aya's brows arch at his statement, expression shifting to surprise. "By my word and deed? Or by the words of others? I have never stood against your people, yet I have stood with them. I am well aware of what was visited upon the Sith-makar by the Charneth, and perhaps the mul'niessa in particular, but I am not all mul'niessa nor all Charneth."

"Thisss one doesss not judge all mul'niessssa for the sssinss of the Charneth who keep the People asss ssslaves." Here there is gentle rebuke in Zeke's eyes. "Thisss one wasss warned of you it isss true, but thisss one hasss made thisss onesss own judgement basssed on what thisss one hasss ssseen and heard from your own ssself."

Zeke looks at her solidly. "Wasss it not Aya that a few daysss passst mocked the wordsss which all of the People offer in greeting? Wassss it not Aya who sssaid in full lissstening of thisss onesss earsss, that ssshe worssshiped Taara, and thought that being ssslavesss to the Charneth made the People ssstronger? Thessse are your own wordsss, and your own deedsss Aya."

One snowy brow lowers. "I have offered your greeting as a matter of courtesy. If it was taken as mockery, that was not my intent. As to gods and goddesses, perhaps I did say as much. Once. In a time of foolishness." Her eyes and expression firm, though there is no animosity present. "I serve none, now... or all in equal measure, if one prefers."

The final comment draws a deep breath from her and the accompanying pause before she responds. "When faced with hardship, one has a choice: meet the challenge and endure, or succumb. I encountered a fair number of The People who did the former, while many other beings chose the easy path to lie down and perish. I consider that a testament to the strength of the Sith-makar, but I do not condone that they were placed in such a state. Do you know how I came to witness them in such a state?"

These words seem to offer little comfort to Zeke, perhaps partially because of their hard history with one another. Such things are not so easily forgotten. "Thissss one doesss not know how you have come to sssee the People in their captivity, or in their releassse. Thisss one hasss known many sssuch, but would not assssume that you have known the sssame sssuch or in the sssame way."

"Those I met were in the same cells and pits as I, for some decades," Aya explains. "Their choice and mine were the same. Did that make us allies? Perhaps, perhaps not, though we held the same goal of survival. You are right to revile those who enslaved your kin; they had no qualms as to whom they took."

It seems that she may consider further words, but chooses to shift tacts. "In any case, those are, to you, perhaps only words, and words carry little weight. It may be best that I leave further actions to stand, instead. I can only hope that you might keep that in mind."

At her words, Zeke's expression which is difficult enough to read becomes far more stoic. "It wassss known to thisss one that the Charnese and othersss keep more than the People asss ssslavesss." He shakes his head slowly, his green eyes never really leaving Aya's features. "Yet sssuch trialsss do not forgive pain inflicted, and it isss a hard thing you asssk of thisss one to forget what you have done in the passst. Perhapssss you have turned your heart from Taara; thisss would be a good thing indeed, but it would be an easssy to thing to sssay and not to do."

Aya dips her head in a nod to his words. "I would not expect you to put more trust in words than I do. I don't seek for you to forget nor forgive; only that you might ..." She considers a word for a moment before finally settling upon one with up ward twist of one lipcorner in bemusement, "... tolerate, perhaps? If only for Cryosanthia and Lily. I do not want our differences to reflect ill upon them."

Zeke looks placidly at Aya, but there's a touch of hostility in his green eyes now. "Thisss one will not, and can not tollerate an assssp in the midssst of thisss onesss nessst. If you mean your wordssss, and mean to ssshow good actionssss, perhapsss thisss one will begin to trussst. Perhapsss, but until then, thisss one will be vigiliant... Asss you yourssself sssuggesssted to thissss one."

"I would expect no less from one protecting their kin," Aya dips her head deeply; more than a nod, though not to the extent of full bow or genuflection. "I have said my piece, and won't keep you from your duties any further, Sunguard."

With that, and without further additions between them, Zeke left to return to his duties. Peace, however much he wished it upon others, was not built in a day.

-End