It was a struggle for Aeris to keep her expression neutral, to not smile as she watched Jek with the boy. It was a side of him she’d not seen before, but she liked it. Then again, she’d seen a few different sides of him since they’d been reunited, and she had yet to find one she disliked. She continued to speak to the young woman, but her attention was on him, and some part of her mind wandered to thoughts of him as a father, of what their own children would be like.<br/><br/>When the woman left and the boy realized it, he had given Jek the lightsaber back and rushed off. Aeris watched him as he ran through the house and she felt a pain in her heart for them, knowing how painful it would be for them to separate. She felt some guilt over it, despite convincing herself that it was probably in both of their best interest for them to take the paths the Force had laid out before them. It seemed that it was always painful to take the paths the Force provided, in her experience. It was never the easy path.<br/><br/>She looked to Jek and nodded when he asked if she was coming with them, and again when he asked if they were just going to take her and leave the boy. She was quiet, listening as he continued, explaining that the boy wouldn’t allow that. “I know,” she replied, her voice soft, only barely hiding her emotions. “But it’s what we have to do. We can’t take him with us, and we can’t be here when the Jedi arrive,” she added, her voice returning to a more confident and decisive tone.<br/><br/>“No, it isn’t. At least, not in so many words. More like a nice old lady who couldn’t leave the children to fend for themselves,” she explained, trying to keep her voice level. “That’s a good idea,” she replied when he suggested that they find a terminal before heading off to find their next recruit. It would speed up their timetable for completing their mission and getting out of here, but it was probably for the best.<br/><br/>She felt his focus slipping and his attention shifting to their future, to what their own children would be like. She reached out her hand and took his for a brief moment, giving it a light squeeze, allowing a smile to cross her face for a moment as she looked at him, her eyes, her touch, and her presence all conveying her own thoughts on the matter, that she had imagined the same thing only moments before. She wanted to reach up and touch his face, but she felt the younger woman approaching, so instead she squeezed his hand once more and released it, shifting back into her serious persona once more.<br/><br/>The woman reappeared with her bags, and the little one still asking why she was leaving, if he could go with her. She tried to explain it to him, but he didn’t seem to quite understand and seemed to be on the verge of crying. This time, it was Aeris’s turn to try her hand at talking to him. She allowed her features to soften as she came down to his level in a squatting position, resting her arms on her legs and looking at him.<br/><br/>“Your name is Ryah, right?” she spoke to him in a gentle voice, watching him as he turned towards her and nodded. “I’m Aeris,” she told him, seeing the way he was looking at her, as if he was searching for something in her expression. It was something she’d often done as a child, and still did. “Are you taking my sister, miss Aeris?” he asked. Aeris didn’t allow herself to falter or hesitate at the words, nor did she allow herself to feel any sadness, knowing that the child would likely catch it if she did. “Yes,” she told him, nodding. “She is going to come with us, to train,” she explained.<br/><br/>“But what about me? I can train, too!” he exclaimed and Aeris smiled, “Yes, you’re right. But there’s a better place for you to train,” she told him, opening herself up to him in the Force, showing him some of her memories of the academy. "How did you do that?" he asked with wide eyes. "I used the Force," she explained. "You're good at figuring out how people feel when you look at them, right?" she asked and watched him blink several times before nodding fervently.<br/><br/>"I was like that when I was your age, too," she explained, "But you can learn to do a lot more if you train," she explained. "Like knowing my name? Or showing me things?" he asked, which earned him a smile and nod from Aeris. “You trained there?” he asked, referring to the memories she'd shown him, then looked to Jek, “And him, too?” Aeris nodded once more, “Yes, we did,” she answered. She could feel a little excitement building in him, but then he looked up at his sister and she could feel his sadness.<br/><br/>“I know it’s hard to leave someone you love behind. And it’s scary to go somewhere new all alone,” she told him gently, “I was about your age when I joined them, and I was scared at first, too,” she gave him a little smile, leaving out the reason why she had been taken in the first place. “I’m not scared!” the boy exclaimed and Aeris chuckled lightly, “Of course not. You’re very brave, so I know that you’ll make plenty of friends, and you’ll be just fine,” she told him with a smile. “Do you think you can do that?” she asked, tilting her head just a bit, watching his reaction.<br/><br/>He looked up at his sister and she could feel his sadness and hesitation, but he needed anyways. “Okay,” he said, looking back at Aeris. “Good,” she patted his head and gave him one more smile. “I’ll take care of your sister for now. You take care of yourself, okay?” she asked and watched as he nodded, looking up to his sister, who knelt down next to him and hugged him. “I love you,” Veena told him, “Be good, okay? Don’t cause any trouble for the Jedi,” she added, looking him in the eyes and kissing his forehead before she stood.<br/><br/>Aeris felt the mischief in the boy and smirked, “A little trouble’s okay, as long as you work hard,” she whispered to him, giving him a wink. She was satisfied when she got a grin from the boy, a familiar glint of mischief in his eyes as he nodded to her. She stifled a laugh and stood up, looking around at all of them. “Alright. We should get going,” she said, although she would give them a little more time to say goodbye.<br/><br/>While the boy said his last goodbyes to his sister, Aeris approached the older woman and gave her some credits for caring for the boy. It was far more than what one would need to care for a single child for a couple of days, but she knew that the woman could use it. There were too many people willing to overlook suffering, even in children, and too many willing to cause such suffering, so it was nice to find someone willing to help them when she had no obligation or incentive to do so. “Thank you,” she said as she handed the woman the credits before turning to leave. When the woman protested, she waved it off and said nothing as she led the younger woman to the speeder once she'd finished her goodbyes.<br/><br/>“You can put your stuff in there and have a seat in the back,” Aeris told her, gesturing to the trunk and backseat, respectively. “Want me to take over?” she asked Jek as the woman loaded her things. She had finished her meditation, so if he wanted her to drive, she was happy to do so. If he wished to continue driving, though, she was also happy to allow him to do so. Once they were ready and he had given his answer, she hopped into her seat and gave a two-finger wave to the boy and the older woman as they headed out. “Do you know if there is a terminal nearby?” she asked the younger woman, who nodded and gave them directions for how to reach it. Luckily, it wasn’t too far out of their way, so it shouldn’t slow them down much.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Jax remained in the speeder as An-Lok got out to talk with the alien. He hated the idea of manipulating someone, or even playing some part in it. Nothing she said was necessarily a lie, but it wasn’t the truth, either. He knew that this—lying, deceiving, manipulating—was what the Sith did, so it wasn’t surprising, exactly. Still, it left him feeling dirty and uneasy. He kept his thoughts to himself and didn’t let his unease show as he took a deep breath to focus himself before An returned to the speeder.<br/><br/>She was grinning, excited after the fight with the last recruit when she pointed towards the south and instructed him to head at way. The last man was there, and she was hoping it was be just as fun as the last encounter. He felt torn. He was happy to see her look so happy, and that she was so excited, yet he still felt uneasy about the whole deceit and manipulation thing. He was also not accustomed to the idea of conflict or fighting being something to look forward to on a mission or being referred to as fun. That didn’t necessarily bother him, nor did it surprise him, it was simply different than what we was used to.<br/><br/>He shrugged the feelings off, nodding to her before he drove them to the south end of the city as she had instructed, clearing his mind and focused. When they arrived at the next house, he quirked a brow, looking up at the large home before them. “Yeah,” he agreed with An-Lok’s comment about this posing a problem. “Probably,” he sighed a little and hopped out of the speeder and followed her to the front door.<br/><br/>He couldn’t help the hint of amusement he felt when An puffed herself up to her full height in order to look more like a Sith Lord. He kept his amusement to himself, though, pushing it down and focusing his mind. He stood a couple of steps behind her, so that he wouldn’t look so imposing, and so that it would be clear that she was the one leading the mission and making the request for him to join.<br/><br/>When the door opened, it was a young man in what appeared to be servant’s attire who stood before them. “Can I help you?” the young man asked, but before they could answer, a well-dressed man who appeared to be in his thirties walked into the foyer. “Who’s here?” he asked, looking them over as they came into view. Jax glanced between the two and then to An-Lok, allowing her to take the lead and answer the questions.<br/><br/>He got the feeling that if he stepped up and answered them, the men would want to focus on him instead of her, which would put them in a precarious position, if they weren't already in one. The older of the two men, at least, seemed like the type who would jump to the assumption that the man was always in charge. Based on his choice of housing and his impeccable appearance, the man probably placed a high value on appearance and first impressions as well, so Jax thought it best to allow An-Lok to assert herself from the start.