Mace's Attempt

A/N:

"Hey!" - said aloud

{"I hate them."} - thoughts

________________________

It was easy enough to approach Tord.

The silvernette and him would spar a lot; both of them training their lightsaber forms and helping each other when they would notice something amiss. Tord's already doing so well in mastering Vaapad and the Jar' Kai maneuvers that the elder would do was faultless.

Mace himself had never before seen such a brilliant Jar'Kai master as compared to the owner of green gem eyes. That said, Tord would immediately deny of wanting to be officially known as double wielding Saber Master. Tord had consistently remarked that his preference leaned to the single use of a lightsaber in battle.

Nonetheless, that didn't make any changes on how well the other is with his two weapons or how Tord was now basically using any excuse to avoid one of their own friends. Which brings Mace to the current issue.

"Tord, why are you avoiding Qui-Gon?"

The dark-skinned man had seen the silvernette visibly flinch while doing a few Katas of Vaapad and Juuyo and the other's purple lightsaber was abruptly deactivated. "I'm not, in anyway, avoiding the young one."

"Then why do you turn away when he's near? Why do you turn down his gifts when before you'd readily accept it?"

The Korun heard Tord sigh, "It's complicated, Mace. Even if I do my best to explain it to you and sound absurd; I don't think that it would change anything. After all, I have already made up my mind."

"You have already made up your mind of distancing yourself from Qui-Gon?"

"Yes," the elder answered as he crossed his arms.

"Then does that mean that whatever it is that bothered you about Qui-Gon can have you turn on us just like you did to him?"

"Wait, what!? No!" Tord squawked as he dropped his hands and walked toward the younger yet taller man, "I won't turn on you, Plo or Kit! I know I won't. My visions were proof enough that nothing would happen that would end up the four of us falling apart!"

"So, it was your visions that made you distance yourself from Qui." Mace remarked dryly as he eyed the obviously frazzled elder.

"I have good reasons for distancing myself away from him, Mace," the silvernette defensively rebutted and for some odd reason the Korun was able to feel the other's anger, unease and hatred rolling in waves as the Force crackled and small bursts of purple lightning danced on Tord's skin.

"Tord?" Mace then tried calling out his friend as green gem-like eyes became dull and the lightning grew in strength.

"I cannot let him hurt my child, Mace. I saw him hurt my child and because of that I cannot forgive him." The silvernette's soft calm voice stated as the temperature dropped and frost began to grow out beneath the elder's feet.

"But, Tord! You have said before that not everything is set in stone. That things could change. Besides, what do you mean of your child!? You do realize that Jedi can't have children!"

Dull green gem-like eyes then brightened to an unnatural degree as if they glowed and Tord came closer towards the dark-skinned man. Now, just inches from each other, the shorter explained. "I know that not everything is set the way it is. It is by choice of people who change the fates and the consequences which come after it. Nonetheless, I have no trust in him changing.

I have no trust that he would not harm my child; the child that the Jedi Order itself would allow. After all— as normal of a human I look—I am the last of my kind, Mace. Coming from a time older than the Galactic Republic itself, I understand that you might not know of my people—a subspecies of human but generally much more superior in many aspects.

To be exact, even that of the feared Eternal Empire coveted the blood of my people. It was reason enough on why almost all of us died; in exception of me, since my father, the Emperor, of my world sent me away during the war."

"But—��

"It changes nothing, Mace. The Jedi Order would allow me of having children since I am the last of my kind. To die without leaving anything behind would render my species extinct. Which in the Order's laws is enough reason for me to be given an exception and have younglings of my own. Our laws itself allows it so I have no reason on thinking why would the Jedi High Council deny me of my right."

The pressure of it all was suffocating.

Mace was being suffocated by the piercing stare that he was receiving and the aura that the other was releasing. It was just becoming all too much and the Korun was feeling the utmost need to kneel and submit as the pressure only grew stronger and the Force wrapped itself around the angry Jedi.

"But Qui-Gon is no more but a child," the taller man forced out when the purple lightning shrouding Tord came close in touching his person.

"Yes, Qui-Gon is no more," the red garbed Jedi sounded out but soon after faltered and came close to soft whisper as he trailed off, "but a child. A poor helpless child…"

Then to the taller male's surprised, Tord backed off as if he was burnt and he began looking around the room as if he was just now waking up from a bad dream and realizing how close he was to being something so dangerous. The confusion, anger, doubt, hatred and regret that Mace was now reading was making the Korun understand that Tord was now basically having a battle of wills within himself.

{"Was it the darkness which made Tord the way he is right now?"} Mace internally mused. But as he went and checked with Force sight, the dark-skinned man was shocked that it was the harsh and cold darkness which was now anchoring the silvernette back to normality.

The light which he knew to be of righteous nature was the one who screamed in anger and violent passion while the darkness loomed in a controlled manner as it did its best to soothe and calm its counterpart. Light and Darkness surrounded the red garbed elder as more lightning and ice now found its way around the room.

Honestly, Mace was getting scared by what he was seeing.

The way how the Force worked was taught to them when they were no more but younglings in the Crèche. That being said, with the way how the dark and light interacted in the room that he was going against that. At the moment, the Light was the one that wanted nothing more but to destroy while the Darkness wished nothing more but to protect and nurture.

For Mace, his very own beliefs were being challenged and he was starting to feel as if everything was a lie. That as may be, the surging storm of forces and unyielding pressure began to calm down as the darkness covered more of the light until pure darkness was felt in the room.

Tord then rose up from his crouched form and with a few shakes of his head neither the Light or Dark could be felt anymore. Everything felt as if they disappeared as everything in the surroundings slowly turned back to normal.

Glowing green gem-like eyes met brown and Tord blinked. The glow of Tord's eyes dimmed until the elder's eyes were normal again and the silvernette sighed as he fixed himself up with the wave of his hand as his robes immediately righted itself.

"Pardon me, Mace. It seemed like you ended up seeing such an unseemly sight and for that I sincerely apologize," Tord articulated as if what had just happened was just a small stumble in their lives."

The said Korun may be confused and a bit overwhelmed. However, he wasn't that lost yet to not realize that the silvernette was now trying to evade whatever it was that had happened.

So, the dark-skinned man gathered his courage and walked towards his older friend. Taking Tord's tightly clenched hands into his own, he forced them to relax and be intertwined with his. "Tord, I know that what you think that you're doing is protecting me. That said, I would have none of it!

I am your friend. You should be able to trust me along with the rest of us. Besides, if you're being guilty for the display and simply hiding it; then know that I'm at fault too. I went over the line without knowing things."

"But Qui-Gon…," Tord weakly trailed off.

"Okay, I think I dealt with this far too poorly," Mace murmured as he shifted and squeezed the other's dainty and well-cared for fair hands. "Look, why don't we have this discussion with the guys? Maybe have it during our next scheduled snack time at the Forgotten Garden?

Last that I remember, Master Dooku and Qui-Gon would be heading for a mission that would last a week in some Mid-Rim planet in a couple of days. From there, you can explain to me and the rest of us on why were you avoiding Qui and what had just happened right now."

"I—"

"Tord, please," the taller man pleaded and soon after the silvernette closed his eyes and sighed.

"Fine."