Hey guys! Here's a little blurb on how Quailius and Calaca met. It suprized me how many people liked him from the epilogue, since he's an out of the blue character I didn't originally plan on being part of the story. But I am glad you guys like him! So here's a bit more content that explains his Backstory and Quailius'. Enjoy~
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Quailius' POV
So, I first met him when we were padawans..
I was laying on my back, staring at the Corasuant afternoon sky. It was between classes at the temple and I needed some solitude. So I did the only logical thing to do, climbed one of the many large trees in the Temple Courtyard. The bark on that particular species was very smooth. It didn't irritate my hood. So this branch had become a regular haunt for me. While I was up there I meditated on the history lesson I had just got out of: "How The Zygerrian Empire Rose To Power."
Slaves. It was through slaves. How horrible. Then again almost every country has some kind of dark past, so who I am to judge?
I did think the teacher was a bit biased. She was a Twi'lek jedi, and what were the zygerrians main targets for trade? Twi'leks. So I understood why she would be ticked off, I'd be too. But I heard and felt how her voice and thoughts turned angry as she talked about the society and economy they'd built. She'd even called them 'the evil zygerrians' once. Which I don't think is correct. A whole species is never evil, there are always innocents. Only the individuals that do wrong and convince others to do so are the evil ones. Plus, while they're the sellers of the slaves, most of the buyers are different species. But, of course the corruption and evil of most of the Zygerrians was still plain to see.
At the end of class we were posed with a question: if we met a Zygerrian, what would we do?
I already overheard some of the other padawans talk about arresting one or trying to use the force and make them forget they're a slaver. For me, I wasn't quite sure how I would espond. After all, I know what it's like to be of a species called monsters.
As I was contemplating, as if the Force has a sense of humor, a group of my 'classmates' chased someone into the courtyard. I raised a brow and turned to watch them. They were all in my history class. A brown furred figure darted towards the garden wall, and spun around to face the group of five.
"Look, I didn't do anything to you guys. Just leave me alone." His voice was accented, though only lightly, and he sounded a bit panicked.
"Yes you did, slaving scumbag." The leader of the group hissed. He was a twi'lek. There was one other twi'lek, a togurta, and two humans. All frequently enslaved species...
Crap.
"Yeah. Zygerrian. Your people tormented mine for millenia. We just heard about it." The Togurta spat. The group encircled their prey, who looked a few years younger then them, and much smaller.
"Yeah. Look I know what we did but-" He sounded very remorseful.
"There's no defending yourself here scum. I'm a just a helpless little Twi-lek, what are you gonna do, whip me?" The lead taughted and grabbed the zygerrian's arm, pulling him forward and to the ground. Wow, such inventive insults. My mental voice was heavily laced with sarcasm. Just leave him alone, what are we, 5 year olds? One of the humans aimed a kick at him but he dropped into a roll and dodged. He ran right under my tree with the group right behind.
"I know I know, look I'm sorry for you guys, really. But I can't stop it. C'mon mates please just go away." The Zygerrian pleaded, his ears were flattened against his head in fear. The body language was not unlike serpents with hoods. He's really scared.
"Uh uh. You need to pay for what your kind did." The leader growled as they closed in. That's it. I made a final decision and jumped down from the tree, right between the group and their prey. They all flinched back in suprise.
"I think it's time to go inside now iikas." The word slipped out, but it did describe them. Idiots. However their startled faces quickly turned menace, though I could tell they were slightly intimidated. My hood was flared and neck arched, if they wanted to pick on a monster they'd pick on me.
"Why are you here, Quailius?" The pronouncation of my name was laughable.
"I was trying to meditate peacefully, but you were being too loud and stupid for me to get anywhere." I snapped back. My accent came out alot more then I wanted, it usually did went I was mad.
"Move over." Twi'lek boy demanded.
"Nah." I shrugged and crossed my arms. The twi'lek narrowed his eyes and reached forward to shove me. I stopped his arms with the Force, though it required a lot of concentration.
"Hands to yourself." I hissed, eyes narrowed threateningly. My concentration broke after only a few seconds, but it was enough. He stomped his foot childishly and backed into the safety of his group. My body language is giving you every sign that I am not playing around. Back. Off. I was still unused to others not paying attention to nonverbal cues more then verbal ones. This place was much different then my home. The bullies did not heed my clearly displayed warnings, They moved in closer. It made me nervous, being trapped between them and a tree with a fuzzball behind me.
"You're siding with a slaver? You were in class today snake girl, didn't you hear how bad they are?" A human piped. "Why won't you let us get at this one?"
"What I heard was a lesson about how picking on those smaller and weaker then you is morally wrong and against the Light side of the Force. Clearly you all weren't paying attention." I said nonchalantly. I was met with indignant looks. I wasn't interesting in a verbal battle with them today, just wanted to make them leave. So I went for a few quick blows. "I can't wait to see your faces when you fail our next test, since your brains seem too concerned on coming up with boring insults then absorbing information." My eyes glinted. Final strike. "You know, back on my planet. Bullying was always taken as a form of pusillanimitas. That is, insecurity and cowardice." Aaand I've successfully made myself the target. Great job Quailius. Again, heavy sarcasm.
"What did you just call us?" The Twi'lek seethed.
"Do your ears not work? I did speak clearly." I smirked. The leader growled, fists balling up at his sides. The others worse similar faces of insult and fury. Lucky for me, they choose to back away instead of start punching.
"Yeah! Well! At least I have ears weirdo. And normal skin unlike you two freaks." He sputtered as they all stormed off. I wanted to laugh. Really? At least try to be creative with your words.
"Oh, and shouldn't you be speaking Basic? Pull-si-mitas." He taughted, purposely butchering the word, and the group laughed in annoying sinc as they walked away. Shooting glares over their shoulders.
Ok, that one hurt. I'd heard that line one too many times. Sometimes I just didn't know the Galatic Basic word for something, or my accent would act up and I'd trip over my words. I've only been here seven years, I wasn't a good speaker yet. The jedi teachers liked to get on my tail when that happened. Everyone was required to speak Basic at the temple if they were able to. "Quailius, speak Basic." Was something I heard at least three times a week. Usually accompanied by snickers from the other padawans. I was born in this language, I'm going to hang onto it.
I sighed, glad the tension was over. And turned back to the tree.
"Hey, uh, thanks for that." The Zygerrian muttered behind me.
"Don't worry about it." I said without looking back. I grabbed hold of the first branch and began climbing.
"Where are you going?" He tilted his head curiously with furrowed brows.
"Up." I pulled myself to the first branch and got ready to jump for the second.
"Wait up! Can't we talk? I want to get to know the heroic lady who swooped down to my aid." His voice swelled with bravado.
"Wasn't trying to save you, just teaching my fellow padawans a lesson about respecting others." I brushed it off. I laid down on my branch and ignored him, hoping that he'd leave. My eyes were closed but I still heard him shuffling and clawing at the tree beneath me. Then there was a yelp and loud thump against the ground. I chuckled and rolled onto my stomach to stare down at the boy, flat on his back five feet below the nearest branch. Another thing I liked about this tree was the branches were spaced in such a way that only someone with my lean and long build could weave their way up, so no one else could climb up here without help. Complete seclusion. Until now.
"You're really bad at climbing." I shouted down at him. Even if I had helped him, I wasn't saving any kindness for this stranger.
"Yeah, well if the pretty girl who's already up there would help me I'd get it." He complained as he got up. He didn't just? Ugh, boys. I rolled my eyes. He brushed himself off and once again tried at the tree. I watched silently as he struggled and grunted over each branch.
"I hope you fall again, it was rather amusing." I teased.
"Hey, I though you were on my side." He whined. I shrugged.
"I'm on my own side."
After several embarrassing minutes he finally reached the branch just underneath the level I was at, if he could reach his next branch he'd be right next to me. Why is this boy so determined. I quickly changed from amused to annoyed. I didn't want anyone else up here, that's the reason I was here in the first place.
"So, you come here often?" He deepened his voice and attempted a precarious jump to the branch above him, which was several inches too high for his reach. He landed and swayed, almost falling off his current limb. It was quite pitiful to watch him, though I was surprised he'd made it this far up. He jumped for the branch again and once again nearly fell to the ground. He went for a jump again but I could tell he'd never make it, or the branch below him.
I'm really going to regret this aren't I? At the last second I caught his wrist and heaved him up to the final branch.
I sat up and watched as he situated himself on the branch and shook his head. He looked over at me with a grin.
"Thanks mate. I owe you two now."
"Mate?" I asked suspiciously. As far as I knew that word only constituted romantic partners which if that's what he thought I was I would knock him out of the tree there and then.
"It just means friend." He clarified. "You know, it's like buddy, bro, compadre?" His ears flicked curiously.
"No." I deadpanned. He blinked.
"...Ok then. Well what's your name if I can't call you friend?" I remained silent. He was beginning to look nervous. Good. I helped him once because it was right, I don't want a friend.
".......em'kay. So my name is Calaca Shrine. You can just call me handsome, obviously." He blinked with just one of his eyes. The yellow one, the other was a shade of green.
"Why?" I asked.
"Well 'cause I am." His lips pulled up in a smirk, revealing the point of one of his fangs. I rolled my eyes again. Completely ignoring that, I decided to at least be polite.
"Quailius." Well, as polite as I usually am. He perked up, clearly happy to get a response.
"Oi, cool name." He chirped. "I haven't really seen you around before, do you normally just hang out here?" Of course Quailius, you just had to save the inquisitive one. Though I did appreciate that he liked my name. Most other padawans just made weird faces or mocked me when they heard it.
I shrugged. " I don't hang around the common areas as much, only my age groups' classes and rooms. And I like being by myself, that's why I climb up here, it's quiet." I couldn't resist a pointed glare at him. "Usually." He remained oblivious to my sarcasm.
"Well I like the common areas. I don't like being by myself that much, I like having a lot of friends. I'm 10 buuuut I train with some of the 11 year olds sometimes. Because I'm just that good. I was actually on my way to go find one of my friends when those other guys found me." He babbled. Did I ask for a life story? I almost said it aloud.
"But then I get chased by that mob because of my species. Even though I didn't do anything to them." He paused to take a breath, which might have been his first one in minutes. "And then a pretty girl comes along to save me. Thank the Force."
"Stop calling me that." I hissed, hood flaring out. He flinched.
"Geez, What's so wrong with it? I thought girls like compliments." He teased.
"Not this one." I gestured to myself. "And don't call me 'pretty'. 'Pretty' implies that I'm nothing more then just something pleasing to see. An empty shiny shell with nothing inside. I'm much more then just what I look like. I'm my character, smarts, strength, and strong will. I'm not pretty, I'm powerful. Don't forget that." I lectured with my head held high. He blinked for a second.
"Em'kay. My bad." He shrugged. "Cool monologue."
"It wasn't a monol-, "I struggled around the word. "Mono...whatever." I hissed and crossed my arms. I hated when my tongue messed up on Basic words. Great. Here comes the snickering. I thought bitterly.
"It's ok. My accent trips me sometimes too, I get it." His ears flicked. I have to admit I was surprised by his acceptance, and a bit unsure how to respond. It's easier to be rude to people who were rude to you first.
"So I've never seen someone like you around here. Is your species rare for jedi too?" His head tilted to the right with curiosity. "And I'm sorry about calling you something you didn't like."
"Accepted." I nodded. "And yes. My species is.... less advanced then most. We don't have ships or the ability to leave our planet. I was only found because a jedi crash landed after a miscalculation. Not many in the galaxy actually know of my people's existence."
"Oh wow. So you guys don't know about jedi or this galaxy too much do you?"
"No. We didn't. Even this is still very new to me." I answered in truth.
"Yikes. That's almost worse then me." He looked down for a second. "So how'd your parents react to you being Force sensitive?" There was a strange tone woven around his question.
"Well, I don't know. I never met them." I shrugged. Just an orphaeris, an abandoned baby, worthless and unwanted. Those cruel voices taunted me very often. I took a breath and pushed them away. I liked to lie to myself and say I didn't care anymore.
"Oh." He looked concerned, but not pitying like most would. "That's sad. Did you even know you were?" I had to think for a second.
"I doubt it. I was six when I was found. When I was a toddler maybe I could lift things or feel things. But if I did, then my..." I struggled to say caretaker, or adopter. Because she was not that to me. She was so much less. "-the one who raised me wouldn't have known what to do about it." I was very done with talking about myself. Suprised already by how much I was revealing to this stranger.
"What about you?" I decided to turn his interrogation around at him. Bad idea. He flinched, his expression one of pain.
"Oh.. well in Zygerria it is, well it's custom to." He hesitated. "The queen and the other leaders hate the jedi so much that any zygerrian born force sensitive is executed as soon as they show signs. So when I started lifting small bits of food to my parents' slaves to thank them for their work. My parents... offered me up to be killed. Didn't even try to fight for me." His ears drooped against his head. "I'm only alive because there was a jedi spy in Zygerria. He saved five of us from getting murdered that day. But the other four Zygerrians weren't as force sensitive as me or they were older and didn't want to be jedi. I was only four. So of course I wanted to stay here." He sighed. I can't imagine... As chatty and annoying as this boy was, I felt deep sympathy for him. I knew what it was like for your parents to willingly give you up. It sucked. And the fact they knew he would get killed made it much worse.
"Oh. That's just awful." I was never the best at comforting words and struggled to find some then. "..I'm glad you were saved and are now here. That situation was sad." He looked up at me, his ears raising slightly.
"Thanks. It's ok I've been here six years and I'm safe here. I do wish people would stop chasing me around courtyards for an industry I had no part in. It happens all the time just because I'm one of them." He was frustrated, but hid it well. Then he shook of the feeling quickly, and returned to curious.
"So why did you help me anyway? You're not nice." He deadpanned. I huffed, amused at his blunt observation.
"Becausw I know what it's like to be labeled 'society's monster'. Back on my planet serpents are hated and called liers and traitors because of a war that happened hundreds of years ago. And because we look like snakes." I explained.
"Wow. So they think you're a monster just because you look like you huh." He stated satirically.
"Yep."
"Me too mate. Sucks." He grumbled.
"Agreed."
He chuckled at that and looked me over for a second. "So why'd you cover yourself in glue and roll in a pile of almonds?"
"What?" My hood shot up in confusion. He let out a laugh at my expression.
"Those." He reached over and tapped my arm. "They look like almonds. It was a joke." His ears flicked back and forth. My scales don't look like food. I narrowed my eyes.
"They're my scales. I was born with them. Don't mock me." I hissed.
"Calm down, I wasn't mocking." He raised his hands in front of him in a dramatic surrender gesture. "That's just what they look like to me. Must be hungry." He shrugged. I continued to glare at him. "You're so serious all the time. It's so boring." He leaned back on his hands and gazed off lazily.
"I'm not boring." I argued. "I just don't find anything you say funny."
"Well then you have bad humor because I am hilarious." He flourished her wrist and I rolled my eyes.
"Sure you are, Fuzzball."
He perked. "See, you can tease me about my skin too and I don't get ticked." He poked. I offered him a half grin.
"Guess so."
A loud bell rang from inside the temple and we both turned to look. Padawans began shuffling through the halls at a much faster pace, determined to get to their assigned class before it started.
"That's our cue." I stated.
"Aw man, already?" He whined. I leaned forward and stepped to the next branch, then slipped in between each until I touched the ground. Calaca fell with a shriek to the ground right next to me. I sighed and helped pull him to his feet.
"How do you do that so easily?" He asked as he brushed himself off.
"Practice mostly. And I naturally have always liked climbing." I explained. He shrugged.
"Makes sense. Anyways," he held out a fist. I've seen this before, I just bump it with mine right? I brought up my own fist and tapped it against his. "See you around, fellow monster?" He asked with forward pricked ears.
"Sure." I agreed. He wasn't that bad of a person to be around. I might as well have one friend in my life.
"Awesome!" He cheered and then turned on his heel and scampered off to who knows where. I smiled. That wasn't that bad. He's a funny little guy.
At that moment I didn't know it, but I'd just met my first Tensi Sikui.
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Calaca kept meeting up with Quailius after that, he wanted a friend. And Quailius began to see him as one, and soon see him as even closer. She adopts him as a tensi sikui a couple before the months before the war. She tells him what that means, and he's honored and thinks of her as a big sister too. Calaca gets sent to help Q and the gang two times during the war. Both times they bicker like siblings. And Calaca has always been a natural flirt. But he knows Quailius will never reciprocate so when they're adults he just flirts with her to tick her off and it works.
Anyways hope you guys enjoyed! I have no idea how to write in th dialect of 12 year olds so I actually asked my baby brother to come up with insults 😂.