SYZYGY
/ˈsizijē/
(n) an alignment of celestial bodies
Orona Erso was never ashamed of herself, until who she was shattered before her very own eyes.
Cassian Andor was ashamed of unspeakable things he had done, and spent most of his time convincing...
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"Can I ask you something?"
"Questions are entirely irrelevant to your current task."
Orona shrugged, eyes still shut. "Why do my eyes have to be closed?"
A sigh escaped Kenobi's old lungs as a second nature, akin to the countless sighs he'd awarded to witless young Padawans in his time as a Jedi Master. "Because, open, you look with your eyes. Closed, you look with the Force."
"Strange," she said, "but I think I get it."
Clearly, Kenobi wasn't in the mood for conversation, so she shut her mouth and kept her thoughts inside her head, for once. Her focus drifted from the task at hand to the sun beating down on her sun-kissed skin.
Sand swirled in the atmosphere around Orona, like ash from a volcanic eruption, sweat dripping a salty pathway down the curve of her spine. It left a burning residue that clung to her skin like blood amidst battle, soaking through her tan-colored camisole. Though a breeze brushed past her, it failed to cool her olive skin which baked in the suns' light.
She felt a lizard—one she'd seen earlier—scampering around her toes, curious of her blocking his pathway. It was ugly, with four eyes and a blue flickering tongue. She nearly kicked it away a few times, but resisted. Kenobi and his hippie-love-the-Force-ness wouldn't appreciate it.
"Kenobi, is this even working?" she spoke, eyes shut.
"Find out for yourself. Look around you."
When Orona blinked, the suns' light forced her eyes to flutter a few times before adjusting. What she found, though, was worth the wait.
Sand, for a ten-foot radius, surrounded her, completely still, floating as if strung up by invisible thread. Her lips parted softly, a sharp gasp pulled into her lungs.
The gasp was released as a laugh, a beaming grin as bright as the suns tugged at her cheeks. "Am I doing that?"
Kenobi almost smiled when she looked to him. "Yes, child."
"Holy shit!" she cried. Slowly, she lifted her hands like a puppeteer, and the sand raised higher.
"Now," said Kenobi, stepping forwards, "release. Feel the Force drift in and out of you with each breath, and release on an exhale."
Orona nodded, exhaling while her eyelids dropped in a slow blink. When again they rose, the sand had drifted softly to the ground, and her awareness of the earth around her faded.
"That was so fucking cool," she breathed, a high-pitched giggle following.
Kenobi ignored her vulgarity. "You are progressing quickly."
"I am?" she asked, still breathless from her actions. She thought she was doing pretty subpar. All she'd done so far was move some sand, but the Jedi from Kenobi's stories could lift starships.
