"You're sick." Lessa stated matter of factly as she looked at the red headed woman.

"What concern is that of yours?" The woman snapped back.

Tieg blinked, but Lessa simply shrugged. "None, but it would be best if you got rid of what is causing your illness."

Mara bit back a reply at the simplemindedness of the girl's statement. If only she could, she would be happy too. No one knew what the cause of the illness was; only the outcome, she was supposed to be dead. "I'll do that."

The girl frowned, and the auburned hair boy put a hand on the head of the huge black with white-stripped cat standing next to him. Their own kind of bodyguard, she guessed.

"Shanar is more than simply a bodyguard, Je'i Knight Jade Skywalker. Just as Lessa is more than a simple girl stating the obvious." The boy replied, his tawny colored eyes drilling deep into her own.

"Stay out of my mind." Mara snapped, irritated that this teenagers could rattle her so.

"Stop broadcasting so loud." Was his answer.

Tieg, stop antagonizing her. She's very ill and needs our compassion, you should know better.

She doesn't want our compassion, or our pity, Lessa. She's just ornery.

Jaina watched the exchange, her gaze centering on the girl, Lessa, across from her. The girl had black hair that had been neatly twisted back with a length of ribbon, and had eyes the color of rain. She wore a simple cream-colored tunic and functional black pants. At her side was a decent sized bag made of some kind of animal hide and was emblazoned with some sort of writing and a circle with a flame inside it.

"Who are you?" Jaina asked.

"Cadette Healer Lessandra Marek Nightseeker."

Jaina smirked at the girl. "Not big on words, are you?"

The girl smiled back. "Why waste two when one will do?"

"Cadette Healer Tieg Rhys ."

"And you're Jedi." Mara told them both. She knew it; Luke had found some new recruits for her to train. She didn't mind, but she wasn't going to let these two remind her of her illness every minute of the day.

"We're not Je'i and we're not here to receive training. We're here to help you." Lessa replied.

"First thing is to stay out of my head. If you'd been trained you would have realized that it's extremely rude."

Tieg rolled his eyes, and Lessa flinched a bit at her tone.

Is she always like this? Or is it because of her illness? A soft voice asked Jaina. Jaina stared at the two teenagers, wondering what they meant by it.

"She's always been a little gruff." Jaina replied. "But that's part of her charm."

Lessa sighed. "Je'i Knight Jade Skywalker, we aren't reading your mind, you're broadcasting loud enough that we wouldn't need to even if we were allowed. While you might have learned not to go into others minds, you certainly weren't taught how to keep your thoughts to yourself. Neither of you were." As if to emphasis the point Shanar growled low in its throat. Lessa stroked the dark fur.

"Shanar isn't sentient, but he can pick up on emotions if they're broadcasted loud enough. The fact that he's agitated means that your mental control isn't what it should be." Tieg added.

"Probably from the fact that you're using so much of the Force to keep that illness at bay. You're supposed to be dead, aren't you?"

Mara started to retort, but was beaten by the other girl.

"We might be able to help."

"How?" Jaina demanded. She didn't want to let any hope flare, but she could feel a tiny spark lit deep within her. Jaina had seen first hand how much Mara struggled with this unknown disease, trying so hard just to keep it from spread and getting worse. Jaina had seen what it was doing to her family, to her uncle. If these two teens could help, even a tiny bit, it was worth checking out.

"As our rank implies, we're healers." Tieg replied, bluntly.

"Did Luke send you?" Mara demanded.

"No one sent us, Je'i Knight. We came because it was what was needed." Lessa replied.

"The Force brought us here, to you." Tieg added.

Lessa reached out and took Mara's hand in her own. Before Mara could protest the girl had closed her eyes and the boy brought his hand up to Lessa's shoulder. "It's not a sickness. It moves like one, but it's not. There is no Force sense around it, no hint of any instinct which would characterize an illness."

Jaina swallowed as the girl continued her diagnosis. To know it wasn't an illness, but something else, something that they were saying was unnerving.

"It's something that was introduced somehow." Tieg let go and shook his head. "She's going deeper than I can follow now." He moved so that he was supporting her, and looked over at Jaina. "You might want to put an arm around the Je'i Knight. I'm surprised she's still standing."
 

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