#Cin Dralig

[padawansuggest]

I need Yoda becoming Obi-Wan’s master because he would do NOTHING to curb that feral wild child, he’d watch Obi-Wan imbed his fangs into another kid and go ‘lol ain’t he cute?? What a baby’ and become obsessed with sending pictures of him to other counselors. Master Windu doesn’t need a thirty second video of Kenobi falling asleep in your humid bog apartment Master it’s giving him baby fever and making him vomit. Yoda will take a video of small teen Obi-Wan laying on him (no Master Yoda isn’t stuck he just can’t move a sleepy Padawan it’s against the rules!) and captioning it ‘big, he is getting, air, I am not getting’ and puts it up on JediBook for everyone to coo over. He would be the pampered darling of the temple instead of the wild feral angry cat he was in canon. In this verse he would have had his hair combed. That’s the only difference. Maybe if he didn’t look like a scraggly cat the temple wouldn’t have criticized him and his master so much. Yoda can groom him into looking like a proper human. Maybe. Sometimes. On Taungsdays.

Dooku is convinced to come home for family dinner and has to sit next to a child eating stew with feral glee under the table while Dooku worries about the sticky child touching him. Ew. Cin Dralig is enchanted and keeps giving him new teas to try. Dooku hates it here.

[one-real-wrimonkey]

I love Jedi lineages I’ll say it again and again.

Tonight I’m thinking about how Mace was taught by Cyslin Myr and Yoda (And all orphaned padawans joining new lineages but also keeping their old ones).

My personal HC is that Cyslin took him on as a padawan and trained him but was badly injured on a mission close to Maces knighting and ended up in bacta or a coma. Yoda took over Maces training and saw him through knighthood.

Mace ends up with 2 lineages, two lines he’s a part of.

One is Yodas, with Dooku’s line, Cin Drailig line, Kits line (and Kit taking in Bant who was Tahls and Tahl loved Qui-Gon who is Dookus meaning Bant stayed with her family sort of).

The other is Cyslin’ alone, with Cyslin eventually taking on Luminara (so she’s Maces little sister).

Think about how the lineages interact. Think about how they get together and how they interact and see each other. The love they hold for each other even though they’re technically different lines. How they interact and their relations and the webs it forms.

Think about how many sibling padawans Mace has.

[galacticshq]

ANONYMOUS said: cin dralig fc?

hey ‘non, fantastic question and super interesting character ! so listed below are a few possible fcs that would work for him !

jeremy irons, jesse borrego, gil birmingham, daniel craig, zahn mcclarnon, julian richings, anthony head, giancarlo esposito, victor garber, bill nighy !

[mercurydancer]

It Happened Quiet Pt 35

The Gathering Storm

_

Things are revealed.

Words are said.

[She] is finally named.

_

Cin Dralig handed a mug of tea to a Sith Nightbrother, sitting down before him as he gave a quiet, “thank you,” taking it within his hands as though he longed for its heat.

Perhaps he did. Cin had learned that Sith were heat in a way that he had never before. There had been fire within the Temple that had never burned, and in those moments Cin would think of Tabak.

Tabak who was the first one that had looked at Maul and seen something it had taken Cin an unfortunate amount of time to see. A lonely and broken kid that had been crying out for help in the only way he knew how, for he had been fed on a diet of pain and violence and knew nothing else.

Maul had learned how. Maul had learned how to be gentle, how to dance and how to spar, how to plant, and how to tend, and there were moments when Cin could not believe how much he had learned.

Cin was grateful. Cin had mourned the death of the Guards that had died to Maul’s hand, but even before the Council had brought their words of to save a Blood Slave was to be willing to die, the Guards had been willing. The Guards had known.

They did not have the terms, but they had been familiar with the concept, and so they had promised themselves that they would watch, and they would wait, and they would hope. Maul had answered that hope and had been going beyond it ever since.

Cin had listened to the reports from the ones that had watched him, and he found that they paled a bit to sitting before him.

None of them had mentioned the heat, nor the unerring focus of those yellow eyes as they pierced him, though perhaps this was a holdover from the calling Maul had been doing. The attempts to wake something that was within their Temple.

Something that was dark.

“I am sorry,” Maul said.

Cin blinked.

Maul seemed to recognize his confusion, and his expression tightened before he sighed. “For the men…that I injured or killed. I understand that they were under your command. I am sorry for their loss.”

“They knew what they had agreed to do,” Cin said. “To free a Blood Slave is to be willing to die.”

Maul closed his eyes for a moment. “And I am thankful in a way I do not know how to describe.”

“I know,” Cin said. “I only pray that you can learn. It is the only thing any of us have wanted. Though…to be clear, it is not that we wish you to live your life in eternal gratitude or subservience,” Cin raised an eyebrow at him. “It is that you learn how to live your life, whatever that means. We did not free you from one enslavement to lock you within another. Now please, walk me through what you felt and where it seemed to come from.”

Maul was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts, those yellow eyes shifting as they burned. “I noticed it within the refectory,” he said. “I was leaving after eating with Kenobi, Vos, Unduli, and Secura, yet before I could make my exit I felt it. Something Dark, and yet…unfamiliar. It did not reach out to me, though I do not believe it was attempting to remain hidden, either. Though…I work at this time, or I have, and I have always been in the Force Suppressant Collar during this period. It is possible that whatever it is did not realize it needed to hide.”

“Because you would not have been able to feel it, regardless,” Cin mumbled, frowning. “Can you make a facsimile of it? Let me feel it?”

Maul frowned in turn, “I can try,” he said. “But if you could not feel it before I do not know that this will be of much use to you. It is something that you may already be familiar with to the point of overlooking.”

Cin laced his fingers together. “Explain.”

“No one noticed it,” Maul said. “I stood in the middle of your crowded refectory and not a single person felt it.”

Cin took that in and closed his eyes, feeling a bubble of anger grow that he slowly breathed out. “You sensed it though?”

“I did,” Maul said, “and I am certain that it was there. I would not have broken my parole as I did if I was not positive that it was there, that it may… I believe it may be a threat. It did not feel…idle. It felt as though it had a purpose, but it was trying to hide it. And I do not know any good that comes from something that wishes to hide that purpose, not in this way.”

Cin frowned. “Your commlink,” he said, and Maul immediately handed it over without complaint as Cin entered his code. “You feel it again, Lord Maul, you contact me immediately.”

“I will do so,” Maul said. “Would you like me to attempt to pursue?”

Cin was quiet. “You are unarmed,” he said, “you are also under our care. I do not wish you to pursue without backup.” Maul opened his mouth and Cin held a hand up, “I understand that you may have been brutally trained and may be just as effective, but the Guards are here to protect people, and this includes you. You are also under our care.”

Maul took this in for a moment and then closed his eyes. “Very well,” he said. “I will alert you that I sense it and wait for your leave.”

“Good,” Cin said, “thank you. Now, finish your tea. I’m going to take you back to the habitable areas as soon as you’re done.”

“Thank you,” Maul said.

“Thank you,” Cin returned, “for caring enough to break your parole. I understand you were told that you would receive leeway if your reasons were good enough, and while they definitely were, I know also that you are still learning to trust us. I am pleased that you were able.”

Maul paused. “You have given me reason to trust,” he said finally. “I mean to be worthy of it.”

Cin inclined his head and sat back.

Maul finished his tea and Cin took him back to the refectory. Plo was waiting, his lessons with the Kel Dor Jedi next.

Cin saw Maul leave and then once again called his Guards.

They had something to watch out for.

-

Maul followed Plo, who he realized was not as calm as he seemed. There were Guards that would appear briefly and give signals to Plo, who would nod and thank them, and then continue. Maul inclined his head to the ones that looked to him, and they nodded back.

Finally, they reached Maul’s room where they were to be having their lesson. Maul was the one to open the door.

Maul opened his own door.

They came into the living room and for a moment Maul stood there before he looked to the kitchen before remembering he could not even offer Plo tea if he wanted to, for the Kel Dor could not drink it. Instead, he led them to the couch, sitting on the edge as Plo sat on the other. Plo pulled his datapad from his belt and opened it, Maul calling over his own personal pad, switching to the notes he had taken at his job at the Archives.

“Are you well, Maul?” Plo asked, and Maul blinked, looking up at him. “Krell told us what has happened. I trust in the Guards to take care of it, but I wished to hear from you, are you alright?”

Maul paused. “It was not a direct threat to me,” he said, “and it did not respond regardless. I frankly would be more concerned about you. It is within your Temple, is it not?”

“It was,” Plo agreed, “but it was not underneath your notice, and I do trust that together with the Guards we will find what it is. I trust your ability to find it.”

Maul blinked, for just a moment overcome with an emotion he could not name, before he looked away again. “I will do my best,” he said. “But it will not answer…it may…it may take time.”

“I have faith,” Plo said one more time. “Did you sleep well?”

Maul was quiet for a moment, “I did not dream,” he said finally. “Thank you.”

“I am pleased,” Plo said softly. “Now,” he said, “your lesson will be a bit short today.” Plo laced his fingers together. “How comfortable would you be if you were brought to stand before the Council? Not in chains, not bound in any way, just as an expert, someone that we can consult with. Would you be comfortable with this?”

Maul felt his blood freeze.

“You do not…”

“I will do it,” Maul said. “I may…I may fall into old habits. But I understand…that this is a threat. The more people that are aware the better and I am…I am willing.”

Plo eyed him for a moment. “Tiq will be there to talk to you afterwards, if you need it,” he said, “and I repeat, Maul, you are not there as a prisoner. You are there as a consultant.”

Maul closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded.

“Good,” Plo said, “now…what did you think…?”

Plo stood next to Maul as they rode the lift up to the Council Chambers, his hand placed on Maul’s shoulder. Maul’s Heat had not shifted, but Plo was rather certain that that didn’t mean as much as he had initially expected. Plo at this point believed that Maul utilized that burn to hide his own thoughts and feelings, and while he was certainly entitled to his privacy in thought or otherwise, Plo did wish that Maul was a bit more communicative at times.

Plo knew that Maul was anxious.

Had heard it in the discussion, the way he had allowed Plo to make some of the more Jedi Oriented arguments and had not chased them with little more than an eye-roll. This was very unusual. Maul was usually one to tear into those sorts of comments with the sort of relish that made Plo laugh.

This time he had not even bothered.

So, Plo stood next to him, a reminder at his presence, and a further reminder that it was okay.

Maul was not bound, his collar was not on, though Maul had gone to grab it initially, Plo had taken it from him and put it down, squeezing those hands in his for a moment before gesturing that Maul walk first. Maul had done so.

And then the doors finally slid open, and they were standing before the Council Chamber.

“Would you like me to be by your side?” Plo asked.

Maul was quiet for a moment, taking in the question, before finally shaking his head.

“Then after you, Lord Maul.”

Maul met his gaze, something in those eyes, before he nodded, and walked forward. The door opened and Plo followed him, walking over to take his seat to the right of the door, next to Mace, the man inclining his head to him, and then they focused back on Maul.

Maul walked to the center of the room, the Council Members there watching him quietly. Plo caught Yaddle waving at him, Maul taking that in for a moment before giving her a dip of his head. There was a slight relaxation in his shoulders, he noticed, and at the sight of Eeth Koth smiling at him he seemed to take a deep breath in and slowly breathe it out.

It was good to see.

What was not quite as good to see was the way he immediately went to his knees in the center of the circle, but even as a few of his fellow Jedi shifted, no one said anything.

Bringing up the strangeness of the gesture to Maul at this juncture would only lead to more anxiety. They would talk about it later, if at all.

For now, it was good that it seemed he was not in as much distress.

Maul waited for a moment until all attention was on him and began, speaking of what he had sensed, where it had led, the way that it had disappeared… Troubling.

Very troubling.

Plo exchanged a glance with Mace, who laced his fingers, leaning forward. “You have contact with Cin, now, correct?”

“Yes,” Maul said, “I will be informing him if I feel it again. He does not wish for me to pursue on my own…”

“And so, you should not,” Yaddle said. “Right he is, unarmed you are, dangerous this could be.”

“I will do as you bid.”

That made a part of Plo squirm, but it was an answer regardless.

“Feel you would be a credible threat, you do?” Yoda said softly.

Maul grimaced. “You are right in that it is an unknown. But at the same time, it becomes increasingly obvious that you have not looked into the footage of Cog Hive Seven.”

Plo blinked, realizing as he said it that they hadn’t. Plo had forgotten in the scramble of everything else…

“Look into it we may, until then, stand our decision does,” Yoda said. “Thank you we do for coming.”

There was an agreement and Maul bowed forward before finally standing, looking back at the door, but hesitated.

“Is there something else?” Ki-Adi asked, waving a hand.

“Is…Count Dooku here?”

Plo felt the amusement rise. “He is,” Depa said with a smile. “Last I heard he was in the Archives.”

“If you wind up challenging him to a rematch I would like an invitation to watch,” Even called out, and the laughter that followed brought a surprised, but very genuine grin to Maul’s face, sharp as it was.

Everything about that boy was sharp.

“I shall endeavor to do so,” Maul said. “Thank you, Masters.” He bowed one last time and left.

There was a pause. “I do think…we might have to look into Cog Hive Seven,” Mace said thoughtfully.

“It does seem as though it might have been an oversight,” Oppo noted quietly. “If nothing else it may give us some further understanding.”

“Agree, I do,” Yoda said. “Search we will for the footage. When found, call we should.”

There was an agreement and they slowly shifted to other topics.

The only thing they could do about the Darkness within their Temple was wait

It was not an encouraging thought.

-

Dooku paced the line of busts within the Archive, taking in the faces of those that had left and wondered.

He wondered whether or not they had left because they could see the Corruption. Wondered if they knew that the path that they had walked for so long was breaking.

Wondered what they would think of him.

Dooku truly cared little. He knew that his chosen course was the right one. Knew that he would be the one to rid the Senate of the filth that had corrupted it and would shake the Jedi to their core.

Dooku knew that there was little hope in reform…

Though…

Dooku had seen the address from the Council. The apology they had made before the entirety of the Galaxy… Dooku had watched from Sorreno as they had made their speeches and had felt a mixture of disbelief and a very brief disquiet. That disquiet had lingered.

Dooku stood before the bust of his own face, taking in the proud features, the sternness in his brow, and wondered. What would the future see him as?

Would they see him as the visionary he was?

It mattered little.

Dooku turned away from the bust and walked towards one of the quiet study rooms. He still had work to do.

Dooku shut the door behind him, looking to the datapads and flimsi that he had grabbed, and frowned thoughtfully, wondering idly where to start.

Dooku’s head tilted up, a spark of something running down his spine, turning first in one direction and then the other, the feeling of…

Yellow burning eyes stared at him from the darkness, burning like a solar flare, boring into his own with the kind of focus that was inherent to the carnivore species.

To the carnivore that was staring at him.

Dooku had not even noticed him coming in.

And for the second time since he had met the young man…Dooku found himself off-balance.

It seemed…as though his Master’s Training…was not so easily forgotten. Not to one who had lived with it for as long as the one before him had.

Maul sat on the desk before him.

Yellow eyes drifted over Dooku with that lazy predator gaze, before smooth as silk, he alighted from the desk and stepped forward.

“Forgive me,” Maul said, voice quiet and yet somehow sonorous in a way that was at odds with his light frame. “I had wanted to speak to you, but you were so deep in thought you did not notice me.” Maul tilted his head slightly, those yellow eyes burning. “Were you aware that you have racked up over 400 credits in library fines?”

Dooku blinked.

He blinked again.

Maul’s mouth creased into something close to a smile and Dooku finally couldn’t help the surprised laugh that rumbled out of him.

“Have I, indeed!” Dooku called out, “I forgot that you were working here as an Archivist. I shall have to speak to Jocasta about these fees…”

“Brave,” Maul said with a brief dip of his head.

Dooku’s chuckle was lower this time, warm. “You are not wrong,” he said, “but you will find that I do have a rather good relationship with her.”

“Was that before or after your fines?” Maul asked and Dooku smiled.

“I must admit, I was not expecting for your sense of humor to be as keen as it is,” Dooku hummed.

“Neither was I,” Maul answered. “But it is not a joke in this instance. She is a bit tyrannical. You should have seen her with Yoda the other day.”

“And what did our esteemed Grand Master of the Order do this time?”

“Accidentally spilled soup on a datapad.” Maul paused. “It smelled like death.”

Dooku laughed. “Little has changed in his eating habits, I see. Though…” Dooku frowned slightly. “You work in these halls.”

“I do,” Maul answered.

“Would you be able to do something for me?”

“That depends,” Maul answered, adjusting himself to sit straighter on the desk, his crossed legs shifting, “I do not have clearance for some things yet. I am too junior of an Archivist, though if I can assist you I will.”

Dooku hummed, leaning back against an adjacent desk. “I find myself in need of a research assistant, and I believe you might do nicely.”

“Oh?” Maul prompted softly.

“I am in need of someone who can assist me in my research about the Sith.”

“Ah,” Maul said, “unfortunately that is perhaps something I cannot help you with. You see, I do not have proper clearance.”

And if that wasn’t something that made Dooku want to laugh aloud. To keep a Sith Lord from the culture of the Sith? From his own culture? Was not this just another reminder…

Dooku shook his head. “Well, that is unfortunate. What does it take to get clearance?”

“I do not know,” Maul answered. “I have been asking for a while now and I have not received an answer.”

“Then you are interested in the Sith?”

“Certainly,” Maul answered with a raise of a brow. “There are few cultures that have been so unceremoniously destroyed. I am interested in the reasons why.”

Dooku found himself momentarily at a loss. He had not expected the answer and worse it seemed as though Maul had expected this. Though, really, perhaps there was an opening there.

“I do know what you mean,” Dooku said, leaning back against the table behind him, staring him in the eye. “It was one of the reasons that I walked away from the Order. To believe that we are so above and so beyond criticism and yet we have perpetuated a genocide?” Dooku shook his head, infusing it with enough weight to fill it with deep regret. “There is no doubt that our ancient enemy has indeed caused great pain to us and to the Galaxy itself, but to cover up and destroy so much of them when they are gone, this is a true regret.”

Dooku watched Maul’s eyes from the corner of his own, taking in the way they remained locked on him, utterly still.

“I had begun studying them as a way to pay homage,” Dooku said, digging once more. “It seemed as though learning their ways would be a good way to begin to understand.”

“Yes,” Maul said, “I could agree with this.” He paused for a moment. “I can see about requesting that Jocasta allows me to access the Sith artifacts yet again, if you truly mean for me to be a research assistant.”

“I would be very grateful for your help, Maul,” he said, dipping his head in a bow.

“Count,” Maul said, dipping his head in the same way… Though it was only as he did so that Dooku realized the way those horns were all angled towards him, the momentary idea of a threat thrumming in the back of his mind…

And then Maul stood up and walked out.

Well.

Well, well…

Dooku looked to his datapads and after a moment returned to work.

He would see about talking to Jocasta later, himself… Though perhaps he should approach her with the necessary credits first.

-

Yaddle hummed brightly to herself, watching as Maul exited the Archives and paused before his attention turned to her. After a moment Maul approached her, recognizing correctly that she wished to talk to him. “Walk with me, you will?” she asked, and Maul hesitated, before falling in step with her…as well as he could at least.

Yoda smiled up at him and as they walked began to speak.

“Miss you, the children do,” she said.

“Why?”

Yaddle froze mid-step, looking up at him to take in his confused expression and finally laughed aloud. “Like you they did,” she said, “wish to see you again they do. A good impression you made. Miss you very dearly Ashoka does.”

Maul was quiet for a moment. “I…suppose this is understandable. It has been a while since I have seen her. And the others…though, I did not know that I had made such a favorable impression…”

“Fall asleep they did,” Yaddle said, beaming, and once again began to walk, “impressive feat this is. Proud you should be.”

Maul’s face twisted into something amused, but also rough. “What do you recommend, then?” he said. “I am amendable to seeing them again. Should we schedule another Archive tour?”

“Bring you to them I would,” Yaddle said.

“But I am…” Maul hesitated as Yaddle held up a hand to him.

“Protected they are,” she said. “Most protected in the Jedi Temple the Crèche is. Invited you must be, clearance you must hold. Hurt them would you?”

“No,” Maul said. “I…would never…”

“Then no issue there is,” she smiled. “Trust we must continue to give as trust is rewarded in turn.”

Maul took this in and closed his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Worthy you have been, thank you I do,” Yaddle put a hand on his knee, looking up at him with a wide smile. “Tomorrow this meeting shall be. Rested and untroubled you must be. Pick it up they will.” And there was a gleam in her eye as she looked up at him. “Look out for them you will?”

Yaddle watched as Maul’s expression shifted minutely, only noticeable as she was staring at him, the slightest shift of yellow eyes.

And then he blinked.

“Of course,” he said.

Yaddle smiled.

-

Maul stood next to Yaddle, staring at the door of the Crèche.

Much as Yaddle had explained the Crèche was protected. Maul could see the evidence of hidden ray shields as well as the outline of a recessed blast door halfway through the hallway leading towards it. It was the first time that Maul had seen evidence that the Jedi actively sought to keep some of their secrets safe, and Maul approved of what they had chosen to protect.

Yaddle gave a soft hum and Maul looked down at her.

“Overwhelmed you get, speak you must,” she said. “Places you can keep out of reach there are,” she grinned. But her grin faded as she looked at him and her eyes were serious. “Feel you must.”

Maul dipped his head in acknowledgement, took a breath, and reached out finely with his senses, feathering it out in spiderweb fashion, finer than the clumsy skill of the younglings would be able to grasp. Yaddle dipped her head in acknowledgement and finally opened the door and together they stepped inside.

Maul watched with a bit of unease as a great deal of younglings turned to look at him, their eyes shifting from confusion to a great burst of excitement.

“MAUL!” Ahsoka’s voice cried out and Maul found himself the sudden victim of a child running as fast as she could over to hug him. Maul barely caught her, and she laughed aloud, hugging him tight. “I missed you!”

Maul held her for a moment, shock rendering him speechless, but he was able to give her a brief squeeze before putting her down. Ahsoka smiled up at him still, reaching her hand up to him and after a moment Maul took it, allowing Ahsoka to lead him over to the younglings that had turned interested gazes his way. Maul recognized the younglings that had been in the archives, taking in the way they waved at him hugely, wide smiles on their faces.

“Lord Maul!” they called out and Maul gave them a very brief smile in recognition. Yaddle was walking up behind them, and Maul could take in three other Apprentices and two other Knights that seemed to work in the crèche with the younglings.

Two of the Apprentices looked to be roughly his own age, one of them the Togruta Apprentice that had helped him find D’una, Xion. Xion beamed at him with her sharp teeth and Maul returned the look with a baring of his own teeth that made her laugh. The other two were unknown to him, one of them a Kiffar, yellow tattoos pattering her face, and the other was a human male. The two Jedi stood there, nodding their heads at him, a male Abednedo and a female Twi’lek. They dipped their heads in acknowledgement, the expressions on their faces warm.

Maul did not know how to handle this, though when Ahsoka planted her feet before them, looking up at all of her instructors, Maul found himself looking down at her.

“This is Lord Maul!” she said, “he’s my friend and he’s really nice! He’s very good at drawing! But he doesn’t like sweet things, Master Mou!” she called, looking to the Abednedo, who’s smile was spreading.

“I will keep that in mind when it is time for snack, so long as Lord Maul is still here,” he said, looking to Maul.

Maul just blinked.

“Younglings, gather around, gather around,” Yaddle said, and waved her hands, the younglings going over to sit in a circle around them as Yaddle stood next to Maul. “Introduced Lord Maul has been. Your names I would give him now. Stand up, one at a time.”

Maul was flooded by many names, not just the younglings, but the crèche masters, and the Apprentices that were temporarily stationed there. Maul was practiced at memorizing information in a short period of time and felt reasonably confident that he could place names to faces if pressed. He was not quite at the point of feeling overwhelmed just yet, though there were…many.

Yaddle moved him to stand next to the other Apprentices, which he supposed coincided with age as much as anything, and he stood between Xion and Moor, while Olain stood to their right, yellow tattoos pulling with her wide grin.

“Younglings,” Yaddle called out, her voice soft, and they all turned to look at her. “Our special guest for today you have all met. For a while, here Lord Maul will be, our best behavior we must be on. Show him how well behaved we are we must.”

The chorus of happy voices called out their agreement and Maul found himself in a very strange position of having a great deal of children beaming at him.

“Now,” Yaddle called, “are you ready for our lessons?”

Another chorus, and they worked on splitting the younglings. Maul found that if he stood behind a specific Apprentice the younglings that were meant to go to that Apprentice would often get there faster, beaming and waving at him. Maul would acknowledge them and move to the next. When they had been split, Maul watched as they were taken to different parts of the crèche, and the deeper in Maul went the more webs he wove.

The crèche was a large section of the Temple, going back several rooms deep, split by ages and apparently something called clans. There were more Jedi that worked there that Maul met as they went on, most of them a head of one of these clans. Ahsoka pulled him down to meet her at one point and whispered that she was in Clawmouse Clan with the biggest grin on her face. Maul just dipped his head in acknowledgement.

There were…many clans.

Many children.

An entire future.

Maul did not know how he felt.

The younglings fell into their lessons, Maul meeting more Jedi as it went on and searching deeper into the crèche as he did so, reaching for any hint of Dark.

When he had made his way throughout the crèche he returned to Yaddle, who was heading the proceedings. Her attention turned to him as he approached, and her expression was thoughtful.

“I do not notice anything within these halls,” Maul said softly. “I do not know if that means the Dark was never here, or if it is so insidious I am unable to sense it.”

“Let us hope that this is not so,” Yaddle said equally softly, shaking her head. “Thank you I do,” she said, smiling. “To read to the younglings, willing would you be?”

Maul took a moment of thought, before dipping his head in acknowledgement. Maul had already read to the children in the Archives, he would be willing to do so again.

“Teacher Lumin Mou will help you choose a book,” Yaddle said, and dipped her head to the Abednedo Jedi, who approached at the sound of his name and smiled briefly at Maul.

“This way, Lord Maul,” he said, “the children had a recent Archive run so they have a new selection.”

Maul followed him, looking around at all the younglings and their corresponding groups.

“There are a lot of them, aren’t there?” Mou asked.

“There are,” Maul said. “How do…” he paused.

“Please ask, Lord Maul,” Mou said and there was a smile in the curl of his mouth and the squint of his large eyes. “We cannot answer if you do not ask.”

“How do you get so many?” Maul asked softly. “Where do they come from?”

“A lot of them come from parents that do not feel qualified to handle them,” Mou said. “Their children are born with powers that they do not understand and cannot teach them about and so they call us. Some of them were being traded into slavery and we found them. But we also have a division of people that search for potential initiates.”

“I see,” Maul said quietly.

Mou was quiet for a moment, his gaze on him quiet. “It is very different to what you grew up with.”

“It is,” Maul answered. “The way of the Sith is of Two. But I…do not know that I would wish for any child to be raised in the manner that I was.”

Mou paused on the threshold of a door that Maul had not entered and figured must hold supplies, turning to look at him. “I am sorry,” he said softly. “I do not know what it must be like, though I must say that I am pleased you are here now.” Mou’s expression was solemn and quiet, and Maul found he could not stand staring into those eyes, instead looking away.

“It took me a while to work within these halls,” he said quietly. “It reminded me too much of what I had lost.”

Maul listened.

“I had a padawan,” he said. “I would have done anything to protect her, and I…” he trailed off. “There was an attack. I did not even have the opportunity to try.” Mou was silent for a long moment. “I am unlikely to have another Apprentice, but I can nonetheless work to protect and train another generation from here. There are things that we may do, even when the grief hits us too sharply.” Mou was quiet for a moment, “do you understand, Lord Maul?”

Maul was quiet for a moment, looking around at the younglings, at the future of the Jedi. “I do not know what to do,” Maul said softly. “And I do not understand. The future or my place in it. I do not know what it looks like. What the Sith look like…”

“You are young yet,” Mou said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing, “you do not have to figure everything out yet.” Mou took a breath and breathed it out slow. “You have a weight that I cannot imagine carrying upon your shoulders, particularly for as young as you are.” Mou shook his head. “But I have no doubt that you will be able to carry it. Now come,” he said softly, “let’s find a book.”

Maul walked through the doors to the storage room, following Mou through toys and training tools and extra clothes and blankets and pillows to finally find the books.

There was so much.

So much…

Maul sometimes remembered that small room, that hole in the ground, and finally closed his eyes for a moment.

“Maul?” came the quiet call and Maul focused on Mou, taking in his large eyes that once again seemed to see him so clearly. “You are here.”

“Tiq has said the same thing,” Maul answered softly.

“But you were not,” Mou said with a brief nod, “and that can make things hard. Particularly when you see so much. But do not despair. Perhaps you can use this as an inspiration for what you would need if you ever found a way to train Sith children. Perhaps you can break the cycle.”

“I do not even know what cycle to break,” Maul answered softly. “I do not know what is necessary for Sith and what is merely…cruelty.”

“Perhaps that is because you are still learning what cruelty is,” Mou said.

Maul took that in for a moment before slowly dipping his head in agreement and finally bent to look for a book.

-

Maul looked up from the finished book to take in the younglings that were slowly beginning to bob where they sat, falling asleep to the story.

Maul watched them as they were gathered up by their different Clan Heads and carefully taken to fall asleep.

Running feet split the silence and Maul found his attention coming up to see a…

They were his height, their long tendrils streaming out behind them, and large black eyes creased into a wide grin…

Maul felt his hearts skip in his chest, terror, and something so cold running down his spine.

They were dressed in padawan robes, and there was a chain by a tendril and her sharp teeth were bared in such a wide and happy grin and…

Maul could not breathe.

Those eyes focused on him and the smile grew wider somehow, as they ran forward and then in a clear high voice, “Hello!” she said, “I’m sorry I’m late, I was working with my Master, my name is [Kilindi], you’re Lord Maul?”

Maul could not speak. He did not have could not think of what to say, could not…could not… Maul felt his lips start to pull back from his teeth, a snarl or a grimace or…Maul could not, he could not he did not want… Maul did not want to hurt.

Maul turned on his heel and left.

Maul walked straight out of the crèche, his ears ringing, and something so terrible aching in his soul. Maul could not he could not he could not he could not…

Maul walked away as quickly as he dared, not paying attention to anything, his gaze straight ahead and unblinking, not even truly seeing where he was going.

Somehow his feet led him to the elevator (Maul knew how they led him here, knew that his sense of direction was impeccable, that he had been trained for it to be impeccable had memorized everywhere he went, would always memorize everywhere he went, would always know their weaknesses, would always be able to kill…)

Maul was in the elevator going up to his room and he could not breathe he could not breathe.

Maul did not run.

Maul walked into his room, feet one in front of the other, his ears ringing. For a moment he stood there unthinking, unblinking, not sure what to do, what to think. Maul needed to breathe.

He needed to breathe.

Shoes…shoes off, head in water, something…something…

A hand touched him.

Maul lashed out.

His hand was caught, Maul stepping into the one who caught him, bringing his elbow up, feeling it blocked, twisting himself down and up into their torso, bringing his forehead directly towards flesh, hearing a grunt and a hiss of pain and feeling a momentary splash of…

Blood.

Maul blinked back to himself, confused and…

Blue.

Blue and red and…

“Tiq,” Maul breathed, almost immediately going to pull away, pull back, fear and despair and such utter.

“It’s alright,” Tiq said, his voice muffled, a hand over his snout which was bleeding from a long scratch. “It’s alright, you didn’t puncture anything. You pulled back before you could.” He pulled his hand back so Maul could see, but it did not help, Maul had hurt, he had…

“Why did you touch me?” Maul asked, his voice broken.

Tiq took Maul’s hand and pulled it up in front of his own face, letting him see where his claws had dug into the flesh of his own palm, cutting deep, blood trickling off in rivulets and…and… “I could not get you to answer me,” Tiq said, “I called you through the Force, I called your name, but you were so wrapped up within your own mind that I could not reach you. I took a risk.” Tiq smiled, “I paid for it, but you are here. I am alright. Now come on, let’s get us both fixed up.”

Maul allowed Tiq to lead him to the kitchen, only aware of the fact that he had dug his claws into his other hand when Tiq lifted that one as well. “Run your hands under water for a moment for me, I need to see the damage.”

“What about you?”

“It’s not deep,” Tiq said, “but I am worried about your hands. You keep agitating the spot and…”

Maul followed instructions reluctantly, washing his hands in the sink and finally getting a cloth wet that he held out to Tiq. Tiq laughed, taking it from him and carefully running it across the wound. As Tiq had promised the wound really wasn’t deep, and Maul was comfortable allowing Tiq to pull a first-aid kit from over the sink, opening it up and carefully bandaging his hands.

“How many times have we done this?” Maul asked roughly.

“At least three,” Tiq answered, smiling, “and I’ll do it for many more.” Tiq finished bandaging his hands carefully, and finally smiled at him, holding out the spray bacta and a bandage. “Can you help?”

Maul hesitated, for a moment not sure…but he finally took the bacta and carefully put his hand over the Rodian’s eyes, even as Tiq closed them, spraying the bacta over the wound and carefully bandaging it with fingers that were clumsy with inexperience. Maul had not bandaged anyone since…

Maul closed his eyes and took a step back, even as he realized vaguely that Tiq was gently touching the bandage. “Well done,” he said. “You have it on there very well. Now, come, I’ll make us tea, you go sit.”

Maul followed instructions, his legs stiff beneath him, finally sinking down into the couch, his eyes closing. There was a headache pulsing behind his eyes.

A few minutes later Tiq sat down before him, placing a mug on the table before the couch and crossing his legs underneath him as he sat on the couch.

Maul took the tea carefully, smelling that strange iron tang and holding it so gently, fingers more than palms. His hands stung, but pain was nothing… And the smell was nice, and the heat was welcome.

For a while they just sat, Tiq’s presence grounded and warm, his cool pool unmoving, and…

Maul did not understand.

Maul closed his eyes, breathing in the smell.

“Does Yaddle regret letting me into the crèche?” Maul asked softly.

“I have not heard,” Tiq answered, “I did not hear about how that went. Did you hurt anyone?”

“No,” Maul said.

“Were you unkind to any of the younglings?”

“No,” Maul said, feeling something… “I left…very…very quickly, and I did not…I did not say anything.”

“Then I do not think that she would be regretful,” Tiq said. “Perhaps a bit worried for you, but I do not think that there would be any regret. Outside of perhaps regret that you were so upset.” Tiq stared at him for a moment, sipping at his tea quietly. “Maul,” he said softly, “why were you so upset?”

Maul closed his eyes almost immediately shaking his head, because how…how could he ever…

And the thoughts of before were coming.

The thoughts of how Maul was not…could not pretend to be…

“Maul,” Tiq said, and there was a hand on his knee, “breathe,” he said, and Maul took a slow stuttering breath. “How do I help you?” Tiq asked. Tiq took a breath, pausing, and those red eyes shifted as they stared into his own, “we need to talk about this, Maul. We do. My only concern is whether we need to talk about this now. You are veryunbalanced. I do not believe I have seen you this upset since…” Tiq paused, “it has been a while,” he finally settled on, “and I am worried about you.

“If my goal for now needs to be making you more stable then I shall do it, but if you would talk to me about what it is that is hurting you…” Tiq paused. “Maul…I cannot fully help you unless you help me pluck the root of this pain from within your chest. I need to pluck it, and I need you to help me. If you do not then I am scrabbling for reasons, and this will…keep happening. There is truth to the fact that it may keep happening after you do discuss it with me, but at least then I will know what it is that is hurting you and I can better help you combat it. At the moment…I am left to watch you be the one to scrabble and to struggle. It is a struggle you do not need to do on your own.” Tiq paused, looking at him for a moment, those eyes so deep, so full. “I am asking you to trust me. I understand…that it is a tall order, but please…”

Once again Maul found himself standing at the edge of a cliff, an edge that had become more and more familiar to him.

The realization that Maul could trust him.

And the fear of what would change.

Of what he would confess…of…

“No,” Maul croaked, even as he felt the fear and the dread and… “no, please…not yet…” Maul closed his eyes, feeling his hands tremble, “please not yet.”

“Alright,” Tiq said softly, and Maul felt the cup pulled from his shaking hands, gently but insistently, placing it on the table as Maul was carefully easily pulled into an embrace that he fell into without resistance. “Alright, just remember that when you are ready I am here,” he said softly. “I am here, and I will listen.”

Maul closed his eyes and leaned into his chest, feeling his body slowly start to relax, and fell slowly…slowly…

Into the dark.

-

There was red.

Red over the walls, on the floors, spreading, spreading, spreading.

His feet left red footprints, trailing back behind him and before him and everywhere he looked. Dripping red, dripping red…

Bodies sprawled across the floor, children, adults, Jedi and non… Smoke rose from the bodies, cauterized lines of flesh and…

Maul opened a door (his hands left red red red)

“I’m sorry, ad’ika,” the voice said softly, the man sitting there staring at him with a face he had only seen once in this very moment, scarred and hard, but the light in his eyes, the way he looked at him, the curl of those lips as his brows creased and…it had not been fear. Meltch had not looked at him with fear, or with horror, or even with anger…all there had been was regret.

Regret regret regret

All Maul was. All Maul would be.

Regret.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t enough,” he said, soft and gentle and sad, as though he had failed him, when it was Maul’s hands around his throat, his hands around his neck, choking the light out of his eyes, the thing he could not understand the sadness he could not take the regret the regret the regret

And then the face was different, the human changed to someone with darker skin, to a Zabrak, a Kel Dor, a Rodian…

A Nautolan named Kilindi Matako, who opened her eyes and stared at him, her eyes so wide and so wide and so wide, her mouth open as red and red and red…

“And no one will be enough.”

Her hands came up to his own throat and Maul could not…he could not breathe, he could not…

“Not for poor…”

Maul did not struggle, he could not struggle he could not…

“Hungry…”

Maul would die he would die he would die.

“Maul.”

And he would deserve it.

-

Maul sat up, falling out of the couch, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor, and kneeling over it, retching and gasping, fighting for oxygen, feeling the shivers wrack his body and he…he…

Maul’s eyes and nose were stinging, his ears ringing…Maul crawled away from the sick, from the evidence of his weakness, retching and…and…

The liquid in his eyes was threatening to squeeze out, and he hurt, he hurt, he hurt…

There was a knock at the door. Maul looked to it, something like horror rising in his breast and a…

“No one will ever be enough…”

Maul choked on something that rose up within his chest, that threatened to leak from his eyes, a terrible, awful feeling in his heart of hearts, and… It bubbled out of him, something shattered and broken and…

“Maul, Maul, are you alright?”

Plo.

It was Plo…and the image of his hands around the neck of a Kel Dor and…

“Maul, please, I thought I heard something…”

And there was the sound of another person, Mace’s voice calling something Maul could not even hear anymore. They were right next door.

Maul could not escape.

Maul did not know if he wanted to.

Maul didn’t want…

Maul wanted…

Maul…

“I’m going to come in,” Tiq’s voice came, gentle and firm, “unless you tell me otherwise. You have until the count of three, Maul. Can you hear me?”

Maul could. Maul could hear him.

And for as much as Maul wanted to see him…

Maul closed his eyes and even as he was aware his inaction was giving reason, Maul said nothing.

Maul said nothing.

Tiq entered, and Maul was vaguely aware that Plo and Mace were hovering at the edges, as was Eeth, though none but Tiq had crossed over the threshold.

Maul said nothing.

Maul was vaguely aware of the brief call, and realized that the other three had bustled in. There was the sound of tea brewing, the sharp smell of a chemical disinfectant being spread over the sick, and…

Maul closed his eyes, his fingers hooking his horns and pulling, pulling…

There was a familiar tug on his rearmost horn, short and sharp and firm all the same, Maul found himself pulled back against Eeth, who tucked him close. His horns locked with Maul’s, and he sat there, leaning against this elder Zabrak, and feeling the bond in his mind as it thrummed quietly.

“Nightmare?” Eeth asked.

Maul said nothing.

He didn’t deserve their comfort.

Maul had done nothing but cause pain and he would continue to cause nothing but pain.

Maul did not deserve this.

They did not leave.

Maul did not sleep.

-

Tiq was buzzing.

Maul was showing every sign of a tremendous backslide and he had absolutely no idea why.

Tiq had spoken to Yaddle, hearing that whatever had happened had happened during a small scuffle among the clans, a fight that she had had to see to. She did not know what had occurred, only that Maul had left very quickly and not responded to anything. Tiq had not even had that information when he had first seen Maul.

All he’d had was trailing bloodstains that followed Maul, his claws digging into the palms of his hands.

Tiq had immediately dropped everything and gone to him, and now he found himself with yet another conundrum. Maul should have slept for much longer. Tiq had felt the urge within Maul and merely let it overtake him. He could tell that it had been solid and strong which should have provided a deep enough sleep to avoid dreams.

This perhaps was wishful thinking.

But there was no doubt that the elements had been there.

Maul was deeply rattled once again to the point of hurting himself and it worried him.

Tiq shared a glance with Eeth, who had pulled Maul close, locking their horns together. It was a good gesture, a very comforting Zabrak gesture of affection…and Maul had not fallen into it.

Not truly.

Maul was almost…holding himself apart from it, stiff…

As though he did not deserve it.

Tiq was worried.

It was getting to the point where he needed to ask Maul what was wrong.

Something was going to break soon and Tiq would be damned if that something was Maul himself. They had come too far and there was further to go yet.

Tiq would not let him miss the things that were yet to come. Not when the future was still so bright…

The artificial horizon orbiting Coruscant was shifting, turning the sky dark, scattering it with stars.

“I think…” Tiq paused. “I believe it might be a good time for a midnight snack.”

Maul blinked, looking up at him, one of the first true responses he had had, and Tiq watched as Eeth straightened, the other men nodding in agreement.

Maul allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, still not saying much, but after having thrown whatever was in his stomach up, Maul needed to get something back into him. Even if it was simply a few slices of fruit… He needed more than the tea he had sipped.

Though truthfully Tiq was grateful that the tea had stayed down, he had been worried at first that Maul was sick, but now it seemed as though his anxiety had spiked so high…

The procession to the refectory was a very quiet one, but it was also something that was needed.

It was removing them from Maul’s personal space and own private rooms into something that was more open and less emotionally charged. There were few people in the refectory this late and it would be good to get Maul walking and moving, it at least would put his mind elsewhere.

Tiq needed to talk to him.

This was at the point where ignoring Maul’s reactions was too dangerous, but he needed to get food into him first.

Maul followed Eeth’s prompting, the Zabrak doing a very good job at quietly nudging and guiding the younger, mostly to keep him moving. Maul was still vaguely dazed, but he was slowly coming back to himself, even though…the more he came back the more it seemed he was pulling away from Eeth’s touch, and this…

Was worrying.

What had happened?

They finally managed to sit at a table, all of them with a bit of something before them just so Maul was not alone. For a while they ate quietly, no attempts at conversation made…and then someone approached. Tiq looked up to Lumin Mou, someone that he had seen as a patient for a while after the death of his Padawan and smiled in recognition. Lumin dipped his head in return, the slightest of smiles at his eyes, but there was a deeper worry there.

Tiq drew Lumin’s attention and slowly drew him into conversation. Tiq did not want Mou to talk directly to Maul just yet. Maul needed a bit more space.

-

Maul heard a name drifting back and forth as though in a cloud, for a moment not even truly understanding it.

Maul had not understood much of anything, trapped in a daze as he was. Maul wanted to let go of them, to get them to let go of him, but for as much as he tried to insist to himself that it would be best, Maul would always cling. But the name…the name. Who was that? Who…

“Who?” he asked without really considering the question, without considering what the answer could possibly be. Maul looked up towards Lumin, taking in the slight surprise in his expression, before he sat down at the table across from them. There was a weight to the movement. Something that suggested he needed the support if he was to talk about this.

“My…my Padawan,” Lumin answered roughly, swallowing. “My Padawan that was lost, Eldra Kaitis.”

Maul felt the dread pool in him, a horrified awful and ugly feeling swelling within him as he turned to look directly into the eyes of…

“Sometimes I think it would be easier to know what happened, but there are times…there are times…”

“I killed her.”

The silence was omnipresent, the confession whispered out of lips that were already going numb, Maul finding himself in that terrible spot where he teetered on the edge of an abyss. And still…still Maul met the eyes of her Master, stared at the man who had raised her.

The silence was so omnipresent it was deafening, and Maul could not…he could not breathe, could not think…

Those eyes focused on him and in that one moment Maul knew… If he wanted to strike him, then Maul would let him. Maul found his chin tilting up, instinctively baring his throat, instinctively opening himself up if he…if he…

Maul watched as those eyes darted to his face, to his bared throat, and then to Lumin’s own hands and Maul watched as he took a deep breath, pushing himself away, breathing in…

Breathing out.

“How?” he asked, staring at him. “Please, just…tell me…tell me what happened?”

Maul…Maul could do that, he would do that, if that was what…if that was what he wished…but… “They said you were dead,” he said roughly, and he needed him…he needed him to know that. He needed him to know that Maul would have told him earlier, would have said something if…

But the truth of it was worse. Maul had not even remembered her. Had not known of her until he heard her name. Maul had forgotten. Maul’s mind, torn and broken and utterly twisted as it was had lost all recognition of his deeds and he had forgotten…

Maul had caused pain.

“I survived,” Lumin said, and his voice was soft. “I survived, though I was gravely injured. I was left for dead, but I lived, and…when I came to she was gone, everything was gone. I was rescued…by a passing merchant ship. Were the pirates…were they with you?”

Maul shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “I do not know what caused it, or the attack. I merely know she was taken and…auctioned.” Maul found a grimace sliding across his face. “Xev Xrexus hosted it. There were…many, all looking for the chance to get their hands on a Jedi Padawan. There may have been others that wanted her for…otherreasons, but…my only goal was to kill her.” Maul was silent for a moment and because he did not know if it would help or hurt, he finally said, “I killed them as well.”

“You…” Lumin swallowed staring at him his hands over his mouth. “Please,” he said softly, “did she suffer?”

“No,” Maul answered. “I am not a butcher. I am not…” Maul took a breath. “She had no fear. Not of me, not of anything. We were…tricked, the ship we were on crashed to the surface of the planet below and the opportunity to merely hunt and kill the Padawan turned into something more… It was the opportunity to kill the one that had robbed them of their prize, me and…a few others. Bounty Hunters I had hired. We split. I fought beside her. We stood back-to-back against the ones that would kill us. The two of us held them off until there was none left to challenge us but each other. She…spoke to me through this. Tried to get me to stop, challenged me on hiding, on my fear… But I could not. I could not stop, and I could not…” Maul took a breath, realizing as he did so that he had not been breathing, the words coming out in a rush of poison. “She was a credit to you, to your teachings. She honored your Creed and would have…would have been a perfect Jedi, even able to put her emotions to the side in order to stand with her killer, with one who hated her. She did not suffer.”

There was a long pause as this was taken in, and Maul held himself so still.

Lumin stared at him for a moment and closed his eyes before slowly leaning back. “For your Master to have sent you against my Padawan, my Eldra…at your age…”

Maul was shaking his head, trapped somewhere in the need to tell the truth, in the need to give something to this one he had taken so much from, and he did not… “No. I…I was the one that decided to kill her. I was the one that wanted to kill her. I planned it. I executed it. It was me.”

Lumin said nothing.

“I…burned…” Maul whispered. “I had been given a Chwûq as a Wodza and it is not…an excuse and it is not reason but it imbalanced me and it destroyed me. It burned and burned, and I was constantly on fire, and I needed to get it out and the opportunity came, and I had hoped… I just…I wanted to stop burning. I wanted it to stop.”

“Did it?”

“No,” Maul answered, and his voice was so small… “it got worse…”

There was silence.

“This was…two years ago,” Lumin whispered. “You were…so young. So young. Just a child…a child killing… Was…was she the first that you killed?”

And Maul once again said, “No.”

Maul did not know how to take the surprise. He did not know how to handle the way he was looking at him the horror the…

“How old were you when you killed for the first time? Who?”

Maul trembled even as he once again softly quietly spoke, telling the truth that was the only thing he could give as he said softly, “I do not know. I was…I was perhaps…five? I believe? I may have been five. Or six. Or four… I do not know. I merely know that I was young, and I had been…I had been in a fight with the droid that was training me. And he broke my arm. He broke my arm and when I was told to keep training by my Master, the droid…hit me in the face, split my lip, knocked me unconscious and I bled and… I had been moved…to a new room and it was…so dark and there was no window and I had missed…I had missed that window so much I painted it on the wall in blood. My Master saw and he was not…pleased.

“My Master threw me out onto the surface of…of the planet that was not…hospitable to anyone, was polluted and burned and I could not…I could not breathe. There were men with masks, that were meant to protect them from the smoke, from the fire, were supposed to let them breathe and I just…wanted to live. I wanted to live and when I got close… I did not even think of killing them. I did not think of doing it at first, I just wanted… But they did not…appreciate the sight of me, grew frightened and they attacked me and I…killed them. I killed them and I stole their breath, and I made my way back. I was told later that I had been out there for seventeen days and only fallen asleep twice. He named me.”

“That…that was when you got your name?” Lumin asked roughly. “You were perhaps as old as six? What did he call you before?”

“You,” Maul answered roughly, “or boy, or it. It was…before I could use the Force, before…”

“Enough,” Lumin said roughly, “enough…” he stared at him, and Maul was so still and so silent. “Everything in your life has been pain, hasn’t it, child?” he asked so roughly staring at him. “Everything in it and that you have caused has been pain.”

And Maul was suddenly stricken.

There were words, other words, but Maul could not hear them, could not think of them, even as he felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him up, pulling him away, and Maul was taken and led out and he did not resist, and he did not care.

Maul walked and as he walked he was barely aware of Obi-Wan standing there, Obi-Wan staring at him with such…

And Maul could not look at him, could not make eye contact, was suddenly certain that he, too, had known Eldra, and he, too had… Maul had hurt him.

Maul had hurt all of them.

Maul would always hurt them.

Why did he…why did he…

Why was Maul always hurting?