Lost and Longing.

Ahsoka was timidly and hesitantly sorting through the piles of jewelry. She was still a bit concerned about Harry's casual dismissal of such pieces. She could tell that some of them were finely wrought and might have ceremonial value. But… she also didn't doubt Harry's claim that he would just destroy every piece. So she was searching carefully, looking for several gems of the right size before testing the compatibility with the gem itself by the Force.

She completely ignored the presence of the two Masters, who without Harry had only her to focus on. She was also using the time to continue to sort the remaining memories she had that hadn't been sorted, recent events, including today's experience.

In the absence of Harry's presence, Shaak Ti approached, watching as the former Jedi padawan searched through and tossed aside pieces of jewelry so elaborate and ornate that some could possibly be sold to buy a brand new starship. Some of the pieces were incredibly detailed and others were gaudy and elaborate. She finally spoke up to the Padawan, "You may not be a member of the Order anymore, but I could request that your lightsaber be returned to you if you desired."

Ahsoka ignored the Jedi Master, not even acknowledging the words. She didn't even look up at the her.

Shaak Ti raised an eyebrow and turned her head to look over at Aayla, who had a puzzled frown on her face. Once or twice was circumstance but this continued silent treatment and reluctance to acknowledge her at all was something that caught the Jedi Master off guard.

Aayla was every bit as confused. When they had first met, Ahsoka had been defensive and suspicious and had been very formal, but she hadn't responded with indifference to Aayla's presence, much less outright ignored her, so why would Shaak Ti be any different?

Ahsoka continued to slowly search through the pile, her eyes half closed as she moved through the various pieces, doing her best to ignore those around her and doing so by working as much in her own head as she was with the gems.

"Do you require assistance with your search?" Shaak Ti inquired.

Ahsoka continued to ignore her presence entirely. Her hands fell on a thick bracelet with several embedded gems, some were on the bracelet itself, some dangled from charms. One of the larger ones she specifically held between her fingers. It was a relatively large bright orange gem. It was a much stronger and brighter shade of orange than most crystals found on Illum of a similar color.

She rubbed the gem slowly between her fingers. She could sense the Force… or magic she reminded herself, within the gem. Ahsoka wondered if any of the gems had magic in them that would prevent her from making a connection. She decided that she would need to set the bracelet aside and come back to later when Harry was around to answer questions and returned her gaze to the pile.

She looked at the rest of the pile sitting on the floor. there was a lot to go through still, and inspecting just one of the larger gems had taken an considering amount of time. She stood up with the bracelet still in her hands, intending to set it aside as one possibility and didn't want to get it accidentally shifted around.

She turned to put it safely out of the way, then seemed surprised to find herself nearly walking into Shaak Ti. She shook her head slightly, saying nothing and avoiding the gaze of the older woman and then stepped around her and headed toward the table in the room.

"Ahsoka?" Shaak Ti inquired, clearly curious to find out if something was wrong.

Ahsoka stiffened a bit and sighed, her face impassive. "Is there something I can assist you with, Master Shaak Ti?" in a monotone voice, complete devoid of any tone of familiarity or feeling. The same way she had been speaking since the older woman arrived, she didn't turn around to face the woman, her shoulders stiff as she looked away.

"Ahsoka, are you okay?" Aayla finally asked, concern in her voice now as she stepped closer to the person who was acting very differently than the young woman she had been close to these past few days since leaving Nar Shaddaa. As she walked closer, she cast a worried glance at the jewelry she had just been sorting through.

The mentioning of how dark some of the pieces had been, had Aayla wondering if Harry had missed a piece of bad jewelry and it was having an impact of some sort on the young Padawan.

Ahsoka tilted her head to look at Aayla. "I'm fine. I just have little interest in speaking with Master Shaak Ti."

"Why?" Aayla blurted in surprise with a frown on her face as she glanced toward Shaak Ti, who merely tilted her head curiously in response.

"Because the last time I saw her was in the Chamber of Judgment while she silently gazed down on me as I was expelled," Ahsoka's voice was clipped and full of accusation.

"I did not agree with decision of the council. I was outvoted." Shaak Ti replied calmly, her dark eyes not leaving Ahsoka.

Ahsoka snorted and rolled her eyes. "I could tell. You were quite outspoken in my defense."

She spun around to face the Togruta Jedi Master, with narrowed eyes, her voice filled with sarcasm, "Oh, wait, I wasn't there for any of the so called 'defense' since my Jedi trial was nothing but a formality. Just as Skyguy said! You all gave me no chance before expelling me, and then sending me back to my cell to await being turned over to the military so I could be put on a public relations farce of a trial for the military and public." Her words were heated and filled with resentment.

Shaak Ti's countenance closed and turned impassive as she met Ahsoka's gaze unflinchingly. "Beware anger. It leads to the Dark Side."

Ahsoka stiffened, her shoulders visibly rising as she took a breath and then another, her jaw clenching as she looked up at the older Togrutan, who was once a role model to Ahsoka, but whom now she could barely tolerate the sight of. A low rattling started to fill the room.

Neither Ahsoka nor Shaak Ti broke their gazes from one another, but Aayla was looking around the room, remembering the scene from the hold of the ship and the rattling of items on the shelves. Only this time it was accompanied by a stronger sense of building Force pressure.

"With all due…." Ahsoka trailed off, as a thought occurred to her. Rather a memory of something Harry had said to her the day they met, as they were leaving the bar. Then she refocused upon the Jedi Master before her.

"No… you know what? Fuck respect. Fuck the Jedi Council. And fuck you, Master!" Ahsoka spat as she finally seemed to snap. "Take your useless platitudes, along with my lightsaber that the Council confiscated and shove them both up your ass."

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