[On the Wildstrike]
After leaving the Oria, Rylan sulked off to his quarters to finally change out of the Imperialist attire and back into his own, Republican uniform. The walk to his quarters had done nothing to improve his state of mind, however, it only seemed to deepen the foul mood he had found creeping upon him yet again. Why he was suddenly feeling so angry was beyond him. Everything had gone well enough. They lost an agent, but did manage to find DT, who'd be all right eventually. And the mission had been completed after the Karina had launched that whatever-the-Leih-had-called-it torpedo after it. And they had managed to walk away with some of the Time-Weapon's data cards for the Leih to study later. Not a bad day at all.
Course...there was that 'Action 18' thing, but since Rylan didn't have much more information to go on other then what it stood for, he decided not to worry about that until more information headed his way. Shrugging, and trying to forget about everything for a little while, Rylan opened the door to his room, and paused to frown slightly. He hadn't remembered that he had company. For that matter, what was she still doing here? He had thought the bar would've been reopened by this time.
Katara didn't seem to notice the confused frown on Rylan's features as she looked up from her isd and smiled at him. "Everything go alright?"
Without answering her, Rylan headed to the closet and pulled out a uniform. Katara's smile first faltered, then fell. "Rylan?" she waited a moment, watching him cross the room to the bathroom, but still he didn't speak to her. "Rylan? Are au alright?" Setting the isd down on Rylan's desk, she headed over to the closed bathroom door to speak to him. "Rylan? Tell me what's happened!"
"Na-thing's happened!" Rylan's weary - and bordering on angry - voice called back, making a bewildered look appear on Katara's face.
"Well, I know that something's wrong...." she spoke through the door. "Why won't au talk to me?"
Feeling his privacy was being unnecessarily invaded, Rylan shot back, "Just leave me the Areinnye *alone*!"
"What are au so angry about?" Katara asked worriedly, then paused to hear a loud thump on the door, when Rylan had hit his fist against it in frustration. "Rylan?" her voice turned scared, "Tell me what's going on?!"
Storming out of the bathroom, dressed back in his normal uniform, Rylan
glared at the girl for her repeated intrusion into his privacy...her demands for him to talk... "I said...." his voice turned low and cold, "That Na-thing was the matter. What don't au understand about the words 'leave me alone'?!."
Not understanding why he was so angry, Katara's brows knit together in
thought, then she finally whispered, "Have au been drink...."
Rylan whirled on her and yelled, "NA I HAVE NA!! Why do au always assume that I've been drinking?! I haven't even been anywhere NEAR a drink in DAYS!! I do NA have a problem!! QUIT TRYING TO MOTHER ME!!"
Suddenly angry herself, Katara yelled back at him, "What in the Areinnye is wrong with au?! What did I do to...?" she stopped to see Rylan's angry face turn to one of rage instead, the hands at his sides clenching themselves into fists, turning the knuckles white. Not knowing what his intent was, Katara remained silent, watching the boy carefully for any sign that he would swing.
Rylan's enraged expression changed, slowly shifting to one of confusion
instead. His fists slowly unclenched themselves as he looked away from her. Shaking, not understanding what was happening to himself, Rylan silently asked himself the same question, *What the Areinnye is wrong with me?* a hand came up to rub wearily at his eyes, as he sank into the chair at his desk. *Elements....I almost hit her! I'm acting like he did....I'm doing the same things....*
Katara starred at the boy, still watching him wearily for any sign that his mood would suddenly shift again. After a moment she stepped closer, and touched his shoulder gently, "Rylan? What's wrong? Let me help au, please."
"Au can't." he whispered hoarsely from behind the hand that hid his face from hers, "Na io can. It's going to happen whether I want it to or na."
Putting her arm around him, she crouched down to try and peer into his face, "Why don't au talk to the Khensia then, Rylan?" she asked gently, "Whatever it is, she can probably help..."
"Na io can help me!" Rylan glared at her, his anger suddenly returning.
"Don't au get it? Are au stupid?!"
Katara stood up and looked down at his angry face, "Just because I was a slave, does na mean I am stupid, Rylan." she said quietly, trying to keep her own anger in check, "I know au were about to hit me." She raised a brow, "Perhaps ninte friend was right...I shouldn't have gotten involved with au at all until I knew au better!"
"Then why don't au leave?" Rylan waved to the door in dismissal, "It
doesn't make a difference to me io way or the other!" he shrugged, turning his attention away from her, "Au'd just be the next in line to have done so!"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Because I don't give up that easily,
Rylan...though it's obvious that au do. Au need help, and au know it. And I've had enough of being mistreated at the whims of every-io around me. Either au go talk to the Khensia, or au will na speak to me again." She paused, letting that sink in for a moment. "I'll take au to see her." She offered, "Either come with me now...or I walk out that door alone, and I won't come back."
"Why is it so fvadt important to au that I see her?" Rylan asked oddly
quiet, "She can't help me, Katara. Na io can." he looked back up to her again, no longer angry at all. "Au would be better off if au did just leave."
Taking hold of his arm and lightly pulling him to stand, Katara was
surprised when she found she could actually lead him to walk with her.
"Whatever it is that's doing this to au needs to be stopped." she told him gently, leading him out of the room and down the hall. "She can figure out what it is, Rylan. She can help au, if au let her." The barmaid grew silent, not sure if Rylan heard her words, as he showed no reaction at all.
[A little later in holochamber 2...]
"If au take a seat, I'll be right with au." Morrigan said with a smile at the sound of the doors opening. She quickly finished what she had been typing into an isd as the sounds of footsteps approached her desk. They stopped in front of her, and she looked up, raising a brow slightly as she saw who it was. She hadn't expected him to return at all. "Rylan," she smiled, leaning back in her chair, "I'm glad au came back."
The boy didn't answer her for such a long period of time, that Morrigan
sighed, sure it was a repeat of his last visit. Before she could ask if he had come here to waste their time again, Rylan's eyes looked up from the floor and met her own. "I think I have a problem..." he finally admitted in a quiet voice.
Trying to keep her jaw from dropping, Morrigan nodded, and smiled. "Ie...." she motioned to the couch behind him, "Why don't au sit, and we'll talk about it."
Rylan shook his head at that, and looked away again, "Na...there's na much to talk about." he shrugged, "I was only curious if au can help
me...control my temper is all."
"Well...what causes ninte anger? Knowing that, I'd be able to help au." She smiled a little slyly.
"Then au can't help me." Rylan shook his head again, and glanced back to her before turning for the door.
"All right, Rylan." The Khensia shrugged, "I can't. Na if au won't talk to me."
He stopped, then turned around again. "I'm na going to talk about my past." he said firmly, "Either au will help me contain my anger, or au won't. But at least I came here to talk to au. It's na my fault if au won't help me."
Seeing this as an opportunity to establish trust between them, Morrigan
nodded agreement to this condition of his, and motioned to the couch again, "Then sit, Rylan...and we'll figure out a way to control that temper of ninte-a."
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