-= Tipoca City, Kamino =-
22 BBY, Month 4
Rylann
Rylann tossed her lone bag and saber onto the small bed in the sterile room on Kamino, mentally griping about how stupid this was. She was doomed to the indoors on this sunless, rain-drenched planet.
Sitting on the stiff cot, Ry pulled out the large hair tie that held all of her long braids together, undoing every one. It got too heavy from the rain and Ry desperately needed a shower and a haircut. Shaak Ti said that long hair added an element of grace and respect in many cultures. But that only made Ry want to cut it more. As soon as I pass the trials, I'll cut it all off, Rylann thought in determination.
After a few minutes, she let her now curly hair, brushing her fingers through the small tangles. The release of the weight from the many braids alleviated her scalp. At least she had her own fresher. She heard stories of clones sharing one and the thought of it made her shudder.
Ry stood up, walking across the room to examine the datapad attached to the wall by the door. It was a schedule. Could she ever escape the routine and be able to make her own decisions? Maybe when she became a knight. Maybe she could leave the Order. She shook her head. They wouldn't allow it though. Besides, she couldn't leave Ahsoka.
With a huff and a growl of annoyance, Rylann kicked the wall near the door in frustration. That didn't alleviate her anger so she did it again. And again and again, but it grew softer as she lost heart and she ended up leaning against the wall.
She regretted joining the jedi—not that she had a choice. They took her from her home on Genetia when she was just two. No two year old would be able to rationalize a decision that changed their whole life.
With a weathered sigh, she slid down the wall, pulling her legs to her chest to stifle a sob. Why did life have to be this way?
Something hit the other side of the wall behind her. Then again and again. It was a pattern. Was someone mimicking her kicks? Someone heard that? Her face flushed as she flew to her feet, running to the door. She opened it with a wave of her hand, glancing out into the hallway. No one was there. Just a few clone troopers walking by.
Ry frowned, brushing her long, quite messy hair from her face before taking a step back into her room to her refresher. According to her schedule, mess hall for the special personnel was in an hour and she wanted to tame her mane before then.
【 ⌖ 】
Ry's hair was now dried thanks to the fancy electric contraption the refresher offered her. At least she could take care of her hair while she was here, even if it was frizzing due to the weather. Braiding her hair into one long braid, Ry pulled the vest on top of her tunic down to remove any wrinkles. With a sigh, Ry headed out of the room, walking down the hall. Knocking on the door beside her, she waited for her master to reply. There was no response. She must have already headed over.
Ry looked at the clock ok her wristcomm, internally cringing at the time. She was late again. But where was the mess hall?
Turning on her heel, she glanced down the empty halls, hoping that someone might come to save her. That's when she heard voices.
"I'm sooo hungry!" A young, gravely voice exclaimed to Ry's left, diverting her attention to the possible help.
"You're hungry 98.4% of the time, Wrecker," a more nasally voice replied as the group of young clones emerged around the corner. There were four of them, but at second glance looked vastly different than the other clones that Ry had seen. They looked around sixteen years old, a few years younger than her. The one who just spoke had more of a reddish tint to his hair and wore a pair of goggles on his head. It looked extremely modified and clunky on his head.
"It's just I love food, Tech," the gravely voice said again, coming from the larger clone. He stood a head taller and a bit broader than the others and very muscular. They must be heading to the mess hall, Ry thought, taking a step forward.
"Um, hi, sorry to intrude, but can I take a moment of your time?" Rylann asked, trying to mimic the gracefulness her master possessed. She tried holding herself high but just felt like an idiot.
"You already did," a cold voice cut through the air, slicing Ry's already dwindling self-esteem. Ry frowned, glancing at the other two boys. One had long hair with a red bandana and a concentrated look on his face and the other was a thin, silver-haired boy with a scowl.
"Cross, knock it off," the long haired one said, nudging an elbow into the silvery boy's rib only to deepen his scowl.
"What?" the thin one seethed, shooting his brother a look, brown eyes narrowing.
The long-haired boy gestured to Rylann discreetly, lowering his voice. "That's no way to talk to a lady." The silvery clone just rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.
Ry clenched her jaw, feeling the anger surge within her again. "It's no way to talk to anybody, if we're all being honest here," Rylann snapped, getting various reactions from the boys. The big one's eyes widened, the goggled clone just blinked, while bandana teen shot a look at the one known as Cross. The silver-haired teen looked down at his feet, not saying a word. Guilt seeped into Rylann's being. What would Shaak Ti say? She'd been getting on Ry's case about her emotions. "I'm sorry," Ry said hastily, taking a step forward. "I need to learn when to shut my mouth more."
"No, please, continue," the kid with the goggles stated, matter-of-factly. "Getting Crosshair to shut up with his demeaning comments would be a breath of fresh air."
"Says the dumper of information," snapped Crosshair, brushing past his brother.
The goggled kid looked over at Ry with a shrug. "See what I mean?"
"Now, what did you need assistance with, miss?" the long-haired one asked, brown eyes looking into Ry's.
"The mess hall," Rylann said hurriedly. "I'm already late for the special personnel time."
"Oy, we are heading there right now!" the big one said, placing his hands on his hips victoriously. "You could come with us!"
The auburn haired clone, adjusted the goggles on his face. "That would be wise for these halls all look the same and are easy to get lost in."
"Let's get going, then," the long-haired clone said, glancing at Crosshair who was leaning against one of the white walls, waiting for them. Cross looks like he's about to kill for some soup, right now."
We started down the hall, past Rylann's room, basking in the silence. Crosshair stood up from the wall, taking the back of the group. As they walked, Ry found that Goggles was right: all the halls looked the same. She would have to ask for a map to memorize it all.
"What's your name, lady?" the big one asked, brushing past his brothers to fall into step with the padawan, Bandana Boy still in the front.
"I'm Rylann Tetra," she replied, looking up at the growing teen at her side. He had to weigh almost 250 pounds by just looking at him.
"You're the new resident padawan," Goggles stated rather than asked. He offered his hand to Rylann. "My name is Tech."
Ry shook his hand with a smile. "Tech, got it."
"I'm Wrecker!" the big one exclaimed enthusiastically, raising his hands into the air in excitement. "I like to blow things up."
Rylann laughed, offering her hand to shake. "Surprised you're not called Bomber."
"Already taken," Wrecker stated with a shrug as he shook the extended hand, almost crushing her small fingers in the process.
"I'm Hunter," the bandana kid stated, nodding to Ry. Rylann was glad he didn't offer his hand. Her own fingers were still recovering from the shake from Wrecker.
"Nice to meet you," Rylann said, nodding to him. She looked past Hunter's shoulders, gazing at the silver-haired teen who refused to meet her eyes. "And, I heard them call you Crosshair. Is that correct?"
Crosshair just rose a brow as he finally met her eyes. She shivered from the coldness that exuded from his brown irises.
"Don't worry 'bout him!" Wrecker said, slapping Rylann on the back almost knocking her over. She coughed to cover up a wheeze, nodding to him.
"Oh, I think I'll be fine," Rylann stated, glancing back at the silver-haired clone. "I can survive the cold."
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A/N:
Yay, they meetttt.
Any requests for the next few chapters? I have some I'm working on, but if you have an idea I like, I can write it in.