Jedi Council Forums - Cupio (Jaina)

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Author	Topic: Cupio (Jaina)
jaya_tharen Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 6/23/05 9:45am Subject: Cupio (Jaina)
	You all are going to get so sick of me and it's only my first day back! Oh well, I'm here for a long time now. Yep, it's another viggie. I wrote a lot of these while I was gone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cupio The sun was peaking just above the hills in the distance, filling the sky with a canvas of reds and oranges as the early dawn light refracted off the scattered clouds. The air was crisp and cool, filled with the intoxicating laughter of small children and their devoted parents. Jaina Solo ran her hand over the tips of the grass, allowing the cold dew to flick from the blades onto her skin, slightly sharpening her senses. The smell of hundreds of newly blooming flowers perfumed the air and tickled her nostrils. Biting back the urge to sneeze, Jaina looked across the field at the small children and allowed herself a brief smile. A small pang of envy touched her heart as she watched one of the young mothers sweep up a little girl and swing her through the air, only to set her down again, both laughing elatedly. Her gaze left the mother and daughter to fall upon an old man, sitting quietly by himself on one of the stone benches. Jaina felt her heart fall a little from it’s wistful delight at the sight of this elderly gentleman; his face was worn and wrinkled with time and in his eyes was the pain and memory of many battles lost and many friends dead. He seemed to pull back from the crowd of people in the field, away from the celebration and the smiles. She couldn’t help but wonder what he had been through, and if it was like anything she herself had felt in the last few years. She was about to turn away again, to do the very thing this man was doing and pull away from the crowd, when she saw a movement from the corner of her eye. Turning her head slightly and lifting her left hand to shield the brightness of the now quick-rising sun from her eyes, she saw a small shape moving in the man’s direction. Intrigued, she stopped a moment to watch. Before her eyes she saw a young boy of no more than five years walk slowly, almost timidly up to the old man. The little boy said something, though she couldn’t tell what, and stood impatiently with his hands behind his back, obviously waiting for the man to answer. When the man made no response, she saw the little boy hesitate slightly, and then pull himself into the man’s lap, wrapping his small arms around the older man’s neck in a childlike embrace. The man’s face wore a surprised look, though Jaina saw it quickly melt into a smile. She turned to resume her survey of the celebration. Everywhere she looked, people young and old were celebrating Life Day; the one day out of the year that everyone in the community would come together to celebrate the births of the year. The people here did not celebrate individual birthdays; instead, they all came together on the last day of the year to celebrate the gift of life given to them in the form of young children and babies, a promise that the world would go on, whether they lived to see it or not. A light touch on her shoulder startled Jaina slightly and she turned to see her mother standing there, a bright look in her eyes that Jaina had not seen for years. She knew why her mother was here, and the unspoken joy in her eyes took away any lingering contempt she might have had for the older woman. Offering a slight smile, she allowed herself to be pulled into a warm hug. No words were exchanged between mother and daughter, but the forgiveness was there, along with the shared happiness at seeing once again the brighter side of life. It wasn’t until mid-day that Jaina finally made her way to the row of open air tents. Stepping inside the closest one, she found herself facing her young friend Tahiri; who was now also her sister-in-law, she had to remind herself. Tahiri was holding her infant daughter, Jaina’s niece, in her arms and rocking slowly. As she stood there, watching the new mother cradling her daughter, Jaina felt something odd well up inside her. Closing her eyes to focus on this new development, she was suddenly overwhelmed with images, thoughts, and emotions. She could suddenly see herself holding an infant in a similar fashion, smiling down at the child. She could feel happiness washing over her in waves, coupled with overpowering amazement and awe. It was as if this new mother’s emotions were spilling over into her mind, and she could almost feel the baby’s gentle weight in her arms. For one intense moment, she experienced the utter bliss and humbling power of holding the living proof of the good in this life, of gazing down at a life you just created; and the unconditional love it came with. Opening her eyes to once again see Tahiri and her child, Jaina gasped. They were both still there, but the elation she had just enjoyed was suddenly gone, ripped from her the moment she opened her eyes. Tears welled up inside her and a longing in her heart so strong that she almost let them fall. Turning her head to hide the despair on her face, Jaina left the tent quickly, heading out towards the isolated hills in the distance. Whatever this new revelation was, she needed to think about it alone, away from the noise and celebration. She walked for almost a mile before finally stopping to sit on a large, flat rock nestled tightly between two large trees. The tears had stopped now, leaving her with a slightly sleepy feeling that always comes after crying. Settling down on the rock and leaning her back to one of the trees, she closed her eyes again and tried to recapture to feelings she had experienced so short a time ago; they wouldn’t come. Not really wanting to return to the celebration now, Jaina kept her eyes closed, soaking in the life around her and the soft noises of the planet around her; it all seemed to have a calming affect that gently lulled her until she slid easily into the peaceful sleep where dreams don’t come and troubles are lost. Soft approaching footsteps roused her from sleep and she opened her eyes to squint into the sun, unwavering high above her in the now deep blue sky. Turning her head, she had to look up slightly to see Kyp Durron standing there a few feet away, a look of slight concern on his face. “Hey,” She muttered, feeling suddenly weighted down with the return to consciousness. “What are you doing here?” He shrugged and came towards the bench so that she sat up, leaving a space for him to sit down. “Your mother got worried, so I came to find you. Why’d you leave Tahiri like that?” She grimaced with the return of the loss accompanying that particular memory. “I don’t really want to talk about it; it’s hard to explain.” He nodded slowly, almost as though he understood. Reflecting on this, she realized that he probably did; he had done a lot of things in his past that couldn’t be explained by anyone, not even him. Feeling the weight grow heavier on her shoulders, Jaina leaned against him, letting some of the burden seep into his willing presence. Shifting to put his arm around her shoulders, Kyp closed his eyes to the blaring sun. “You gonna be okay?” She nodded against his shoulder. “Yeah, I think so; it’s taken a long time, but I think I’ll be fine.” She knew he was smiling slightly and she took comfort in his presence; the one friend who had been with her through it all, whether as enemy or ally, Kyp was the only person she could ever imagine sitting here with. It wasn’t that she was attracted to him, but instead that he was the only one who could come even close to understanding what she was feeling right now, and he was the only one who could offer the comfort she needed, sitting here in silence on a bench in the middle of a grove, letting the sun beat down to warm their faces, letting the galaxy slide by as they rested and recovered the peace they had fought for for so long. THE END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is remotely based on a personal experience I had, which prompted me to write about it. Was it good? -----signature----- Proudly converted K/J'er The penguins have stolen my sanity and the voices are on strike. Forgive me if I don't respond.
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jaya_tharen Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 6/23/05 12:23pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	Trying to keep this on page number one! -----signature----- Proudly converted K/J'er The penguins have stolen my sanity and the voices are on strike. Forgive me if I don't respond.
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jdavidchadwick Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/23/05 12:29pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	I think this little ditty helps people like me who have never read any EU books beyond the Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, understand the mind of Jaina, who apparently one of the more popular characters from the novels. I think you have a knack for writing for this particular character. -----signature----- http://www.sugarraydodge.com/
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Lucid_Lady Registered: Sep '02	Date Posted: 6/23/05 4:03pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	I think it's real sweet that Jaina wants a baby. You wrote her real well. -----signature----- ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lucid_Lady Twin to InyriForge
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jaya_tharen Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 6/28/05 3:50pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	Uppies! -----signature----- Proudly converted K/J'er The penguins have stolen my sanity and the voices are on strike. Forgive me if I don't respond.
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ZekksGoddess Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 6/28/05 5:12pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	Awww, so sweet...a bit sad for a minute or two, there but really sweet. Great fic! -----signature----- all Zekk, all the time (redesign!) - http://vent-crawler.sitesled.com Lifeday Candles - http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=28264205&brd=10477&replies=0 To Ease the Pain - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28240759/p1/?2
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oldjedinurse Registered: Oct '03	Date Posted: 6/28/05 6:32pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	I also think this is wonderful. A lovely characterization of Jaina, trying to put things together after years of fighting and tragedy. The way you described her "experience" in Tahiri's presence was excellent. It might have been a reflection of the new mother's feelings. It could be Jaina's vision of a possible future. Or it might be her realization that there is more she wants from life - a deep desire to have a child she's never taken the time to consider. No matter, it was beautifully written and very satisfying to this reader. Having Kyp find her but keeping their relationship simple was also really well done. He was the right choice as a symbol of understanding that we all sometimes do things we can't explain. Truly lovely. oldj -----signature----- Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation.
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jaya_tharen Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 7/5/05 3:51pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	oldjedinurse posted: I also think this is wonderful. A lovely characterization of Jaina, trying to put things together after years of fighting and tragedy. The way you described her "experience" in Tahiri's presence was excellent. It might have been a reflection of the new mother's feelings. It could be Jaina's vision of a possible future. Or it might be her realization that there is more she wants from life - a deep desire to have a child she's never taken the time to consider. No matter, it was beautifully written and very satisfying to this reader. You have no idea how good it is to hear that. Thank you so much for taking the time to really respond to my writing: it helps keep me motivated. I based Jaina's "experience" in Tahiri's presence on an experience I had a while ago. I was just sitting there with some people I know and I saw this mom holding her new baby and I had a very similar experience. It was actually kinda freaky and a little overwhelming. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! oldjedinurse posted: Having Kyp find her but keeping their relationship simple was also really well done. He was the right choice as a symbol of understanding that we all sometimes do things we can't explain. Truly lovely. Thanks! Even though I'm a major K/J fan, I sometimes like to take a break and write them as just really good friends or something, ya know? I really enjoyed writing this one for some reason and am really happy you liked it! ~Jaya~ -----signature----- Proudly converted K/J'er The penguins have stolen my sanity and the voices are on strike. Forgive me if I don't respond.
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KnightJaina Registered: Apr '04	Date Posted: 7/5/05 5:50pm Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	Like you said, I'm definitely a major fan of K/J fics, but this was very sweet in a different way. Kyp was there for her in a most pure and innocent way, and it was lovely. Well done! *K. Jaina -----signature----- Reckoner - Jaina post-NJO AU: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/29946763/r29950565/ "I know what a lot of things feel like. And you know what? I'm still fighting." -Jaina
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jaya_tharen Registered: Sep '04	Date Posted: 7/6/05 10:38am Subject: RE: Cupio (Jaina)
	Tanx! -----signature----- Proudly converted K/J'er The penguins have stolen my sanity and the voices are on strike. Forgive me if I don't respond.
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