Ask Between a Rock and Another Hard Rock

[Theia Durand]

Taris​

There was a sense of restlessness that Theia couldn't quite figure out; she felt fleeting, unable to remain still long enough to finish her books for school or long enough to focus on meditating (which was just boring anyways). She hadn't heard from her mom, which was not unusual, when she worked on her projects, she would be gone for some time. Then, of course, Ezzie was still off in a war against the darkness that was swallowing entire worlds from the one named Darth Raze. Same was Leon, and Jayna had not answered either, so Theia decided to follow this fleeting feeling, which landed her on Taris.

Theia had only read about this world, and never had she visited it, yet it was always the butt of jokes among herself and other school girls back on the academy on Naboo. Especially jokes about each other's mothers, however, for the most part, Taris was pretty normal, nothing at all like the stories that were passed around at either her old school on Naboo or the youngling and padawan stories on Starlight.

The young padawan was dressed casually, hands in her coat pockets as she let the pull take her where she needed to go, her mind letting go, her senses took over and soon she found herself in a questionable part of the city. Frowning the girl, pulled out her phone to mindlessly pull up her location and her eyebrows rose slightly as she saw a familiar noodle station as seen on spacetok. Normally she would be rushing to it, but an eyebrow rose as the questionable nature of the Force leading her to a noodle restaurant that was highly popular. At times when she thought she was understanding this Force stuff, there was moments like this one where she overwhelmingly confused. Regardless, with an empty stomach now demanding for spicy noodles, Theia decided to make a stop before continuing with her journey.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

As he often did, Kai took a small time job at a hole in the wall shop to both make some cash, but also to run a spice operation on the side. As soon as he closed up shop here, he would meet with some crooks to deal them some goods in exchange for intel on the black markets here. He had to set up smuggling operations from the Outer Rim, and there was no better way to network than picking up random low level jobs.

A bell dinged as a customer walked in and he was effortlessly slicing up vegetables and doing nifty sidlian tricks that always impressed non-Fiani. Utensils flew through the air and he didn't bother looking up just yet, “Welcome welcome welcome! What kinda spicy are we in the mood for? We range from a little bit of a tingle to oh-shit-Mustafar-is-in-my-mouth!” He said as he effortlessly lined the counter with a few bowls.

His massive ears swiveled and twitched as he finally looked at her.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

There was just one guy working behind the counter, busy with prepping for future orders as he greeted the girl when she walked through the door. He continued on, speaking, his hands moving quickly as he sliced and chopped and Theia was in a moment of memorization. It took her a moment to process what he just said and she was uncertain how long he had been looking at her while she blankly stared at the general space of where he was standing. The girl shook her head, clearing the fog that clouded her thoughts and grinned, watching his ears swivel when she caught his gaze.

"Oh, yeah? Mustafar-in-my-mouth hot?" she asked with playful skepticism as an eyebrow rose. She took a seat at the counter across from him, leaning forward to see if she could spot the types of spices and ingredients he used to cook. "Lets try it." she said, "No meats, extra veggies." she added. It sounded way better than the food she had been eating on at the temple. She was uncertain who let a droid start planning menus and cooking, but the food just tasted bland. Once he started preparing her meal, she tried to stir conversation, not really liking the silence of just sitting and starring at him or the table.

"How do you cut so quickly like that? Its like something one would see on a holo-toon." she grinned, thoroughly entertained.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai scoffed at her choice, skeptical that she would be able to handle it. However, he got to work nonetheless, the knife twirling between fingers. At one point, he tossed a knife up, did a spin and caught it with his other hand, chopping the veggies rapidly after he flipped the knife. He wasn’t bothered by silence, especially since there was generic music playing in the background for ambiance. Even so, he whistled to himself as he worked, his tail contently swishing from side to side.

He didn’t look up when she asked her question, tossing a few spice containers into the air before he sprinkled them on the bowl. After putting the noodles and extra veggies in, he ladeled the soup into it, “It’s a Fiani tradition,” He explained as he added the garnishes and slid the bowl over. The smell of spices would hit her at once, and it would feel as if the inside of her nostrils were instantly singed. The soup was a vibrant red and it became abundantly clear he wasn’t kidding about the heat.

Kai casually leaned back against the counter, curiously watching her as she took her first bites. He prepared himself to be impressed.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia frowned when he didn't respond, but his preparation for her meal quickly distracted her as he made it look so easy to prepare. She didn't find herself to be a great cook, her mom could make the best cakes and deserts around, Uncle Jai made the greatest meals, and Uncle Em was the best at making smoothies. For a moment she found herself missing them but as the spice containers were tossed around, she became curious to see what he would consider hot since everyone had their own definitions in this galaxy.

Her stomach growled as she watched him put together the soup, informing it was a Fiani tradition. She wasn't familiar with their culture, but the bowl of soup looked savory, pretty, and dangerous with its bright red coloring. Her nostrils burned as she caught a catch of the spices, feeling the sting from inside her sinuses, to the inside of her ears and already down her throat. The girl cleared her throat, feeling it already responding in anticipation as what was to come, "It smells and looks amazing!" she said picking up her spoon and chopsticks and immediately dug in without any regard to the consequences later.

At first, it seemed mellow, nothing too much of a kick as she washed down a large mouthful of veggies with the broth. Second bite, just the same, and it was a delightful dish, but the third bite, something told her that perhaps mistakes may have been made. In the middle of a sip from her broth, Kai would see the girl's cheeks turn as red as her hair as she froze for a moment, beads of sweat formed along her hairline and brow and she subtly shifted in her seat. For Theia, she was certainly experiencing more than Mustafar, but more like a star that super nova'd in her mouth. She finished her bite, tears running down her face, she could no longer feel her jaw as her whole mouth seemed to go numb.

"This...is the best..." she squeaked; she decided she couldn't admit it was too spicy because after all, it was really good, "I'm serious, ignore the tears." she whispered, picking up another scoop of noodles, "They're tears of how happy I am to eat this." she whispered hoarsely.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai took out a pocket filer and began to file one of his claws as he leaned against the back counter. His eye flicked up as she began to struggle with the soup. Initially he only scoffed and returned to his filing, flexing his fingers to gaze at the shaped tips of claws. He knew better than to dull them, so they looked ‘friendly’ but remained sharp if he ever needed to swipe at someone.

“We also have an expansive list of smoothies if you’d like to sample one,” He said without looking up, though a knowing grin played at his lips. Without waiting for an answer, he put the filer away and walked over to put several fruits, some liquid and ice into a blender. He finished up quickly, walking back over to hand her a tall glass of a pink, milky ice drink. It would immediately put out the fire in her mouth.

Kai said nothing about her pathetic display with the soup, nor did he seem to notice the tears running down her face, though he did hand her a big stack of napkins. He returned to work, picking up a glass mug to clean it as he whistled to himself while his tail contently swayed from side to side.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia kept at the soup, it was certainly delicious even if she looked like a mess while eating it. He mentioned something about smoothies and her eyebrows rose, and she nodded, watching him prepare the drink expertly. Relief came immediately from the sample and it wasn't bad, perhaps too sweet for her, but it did the trick. The napkins were also helpful and Theia reached into her pocket to grab some credits just as the chime on the door rang again. A feeling washed through the girl's entire body, one that made all the hair on her neck stand up as she turned to look at the three giant beings came stomping up to the counter.

One, a rather matted wookiee, pointed a finger at Kai, and spoke, but even his wookiee seemed jumbled enough that Theia struggled to understand what was being said. The second being, an overly muscular gran, translated, "He said you're the slime-o who sold us the tainted spice. Our boss wants a word with you cat-boy."

The third was a herglic, and despite the muscles of the gran, this guy seemed to be the muscle of the group as he grabbed Theia by the collar and threw her to the side in order to rip the counter out of the way to get to Kai. Theia ducked from the debris that flew over her, trying to quickly process what was happening as she jumped back to her feet, the Force released from her palm toward the trio before she could even stop herself and think if she really wanted to do this. However, she felt herself gawking at the ability to throw them back as she did, still clearly surprised and not used to her Force abilities. Fuuuuuck she internally groaned realizing instead of throwing them away from the Fiani, she threw them at him.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Theme​

Kai had been in this position many times before. You didn’t run in shady circles without pissing someone off now and then. It was how he lost his eye, after all. When the thugs walked in, he initially kept his cool.

“Catboy? Tch..” He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, mocking being profoundly wounded at the implication. Kai glanced around for an exit strategy, not even flinching as the red head teen was unceremoniously tossed aside, “Now, now I’m sure we can come to an understand-” He began smoothly, only for all three muscled idiots to sail right at him like torpedoes. It was a credit to his heightened reflexes that he sprang up and jumped clear over the bar as all three crashed into the rows of glasses behind him.

The Fiani landed in a low crouch next to the redhead, casting her a dirty look, “You’re one of those?” He asked gruffly before he bolted up again. Acting on his quick reflexes, he drew out a knife and hurled it at the herglic’s leg, embedding it into his knee to make him double over. From there, Kai grabbed a plate off a table and slammed it against his head. Since he was in a restaurant, he had to improvise..

Next, as the gran charged at him, Kai picked up some chopsticks and hurled them expertly at his face, jabbing at least two of the three eyes with his aim. The Fiani snickered to himself, “What does the fox say, BITCH?” He called out as he kicked up a table and ducked behind it as the Wookiee fumbled out a blaster and tried shooting him.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Luckily the Fiani was more nimble that she had expected and landed next to her, hissing something her being one of those. The girl's brow narrowed first in confusion and then in annoyance as she let out a "Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" she said in exasperation watching as he hurled a knife into the legs of one of the thugs. As the Gran took charge to Kai, Theia jumped to her feet, finishing the herglic with and overhanded slam of a chair across his back. She heard agonizing screaming from where Kai was fighting off the gran, and Theia turned her head and then quickly turned back away to avoid seeing one of the sticks stuck in his eye socket.

However, that left the Wookiee who seemed panicked and as the Fiani ducked behind a table. Unconcerned with the redhead left him vulnerable as Theia let out another another pulse from her palm. The wookiee was thrown back off his feet and behind the counter into the grill, the fur immediately burning and as he cried out in a howl.

"Time to bail, c'mon, I'll help you." she said extending her hand to him with her own foot out the door.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Instead of taking her hand, Kai was a blur as he darted out past her. Fiani were known for their superior speeds, and he demonstrated just that. The most she would know of his presence was his tail practically smacking her across the face as he ran. However, since she was also scrambling to get out, she would eventually turn a corner and find him in an alley.

She would come across him right as he was stashing something away in his pocket. For a moment he looked like an bantha caught in the speeder light. However, he quickly cleared his throat and straightened up, giving her a fanged grin, “My bad, I was in a rush to get out..those guys were gonna eat me alive,” He said with a sheepish smile. His hand lingered above his pocket. Which happened to contain Theia’s wallet that he snagged as he bolted past her. The fact that she was now here put him in a very sticky situation.

“Thanks for your help, your dinner’s on the house,” Kai said as he breezily waved at her before turning to leave.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Instead of a hand, she nearly received a face full of tail as he darted out faster than a sith ghoul out of hell. However, she didn't waste any time jetting also, quickly trailing the Fiani and into the alley where he also taken pause. He was hunched over awkwardly, fingers near his waist, his eyes wide as though he were caught in the middle of something forbidden. Theia's face contorted in a look of disgust as her mind ran wild with imagination before giving him a judgy side eye, ready to leave the opposite direction until he cleared his throat.

He spoke, giving a grin, mentioning how they were going eat him alive. The girl scoff, "Yeah right, they'd pick the meat from their teeth with you instead." her gaze fell onto his hand near his pocket; something didn't feel right as he thanked her help and decided to skitter off. However, Theia, light on her feet, quickly followed behind and to his side, "Hey, wait, can I ask you something?" she asked, but didn't wait for him to give her permission, "How do you know how to fight like that, like did someone teach you, did you learn it on your own? Also, I didn't get to finish my meal, do you know any other place that serves noodles just as good, I'm still hungry." she continued, a stream of questions seemed to flow at an unnatural rate, and no matter his pace to get away, Theia was there.

"Also did you know those guys? They seemed to think you were a cat guy, but you don't look like a cat, that would be more like the cathar. They must have been really dumb, did you really give them the slip on whatever you were selling? They seem dumb enough for you to do it a few times before someone complained." the girl gasped, "Do you think they will think I'm with you? Are they gonna keep bothering us? Are they just here on Taris or do they work elsewhere?"

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai rolled his eye as she quipped about his size. It was rich coming from a shrimp like her, but he was above insulting children. He stared blankly at her as she rattled off question after question. Initially, he opened his mouth to start answering, but the flood kept coming. Eventually, his brow furrowed and he simply turned and started to walk.

The Fiani kept looking over his shoulder, not hearing the thugs that were after him. He went down some steps and took another turn, shocked to find that the annoying girl was still following him. Eventually, Kai sighed and turned to face her.

“Look, kid, I just had a really stressful day. Why don't you call your mom and have her pick you up and get you some food?"

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

He looked as though he were about to start answering some of her questions, but did something Theia was too familiar with as the Thorne family often gave silence and went about their business. Regardless, when he came to a stop, it seemed he had enough of her questions. She paused slightly in her own step, but continued a subtle roll from her toes to heels as she listened to him while he gave his leave me alone talk. Though the mention of her mom took her by surprise, more so of the sharp pain that accompanied the thought she had been missing in this time.

Her gaze shifted, leaving the Fiani for her own feet, as though she were embarrassed by the idea her mom was not responding to her. Everything seemed to slow down as she verbalized her realization, "I can't, I don't know why Mama won't answer." Theia frowned, seemingly lost in her own thoughts that didn't seem to concern the Fiani, and possibly lucked him into being spared from the streaming question assault on his ears. Her hands dipped into her pockets, "I can buy my own food, I can buy you some too, I feel bad for accidently throwing those guys at you still." Food was always a great distraction from her problems.

Her hands shuffled quickly checking for her wallet only to realize it was missing. Her blue eyes grew wide and her stomach suddenly sank as she quickly grasped the idea she had dropped it while involved in the scuffle back at the noodle station. "Oh no, I gotta go back, its gone..." she sighed, thinking her day certainly just became increasingly more stressful than fluffy. "Maybe next time," she could feel her heart beating quickly as she turned to begin tracing her path back to the restaurant.

Though as Theia retraced her steps back, behind the Fiani, people screamed and yelled as a speeder furiously made its way down the walkway. Only stopping quite suddenly with blasters poised to fire, and a one-eyed Gran wrapped in bandages, snarling about someone Fuzzy was going to meet his end.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai stopped walking when she mentioned her mother wasn’t answering. His ears flattened at once and he turned to regard her, “Your mother in trouble?” He asked, suddenly interested in the topic. He would never admit that this was entirely close to chest. He still vividly remembered the day his mother gave him that necklace as a parting gift as she was taken away by slavers. He remembered how helpless he felt. Even today.

He watched her start to head back alone and sighed, a light growl bleeding into his tone, “Look, don’t you have anyone else?” Kai asked. His ears picked up the speeder in the distance with the Gran. The Fiani grasped Theia by the hand and ducked into a side alley to keep out of sight.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

She was nearly taken aback by his sudden concern that her mom was not responding to her, though the pressing thought of her wallet being missing and possibly left behind at the restaurant worried her more. She hoped none of the goons searching for the Fiani found it and now knew who she was. She was just about to head off when Kai growled to himself, asking if she had anyone else. Theia slowed, the realization of how alone she felt now in the greater galaxy, though things quickly escalated as Kai grabbed her hand, pulling her into an alley with him.

Before the she could fully protest, she felt his urgency, the looming feeling danger grew as the speeder with the now one-eyed Gran and his new buddies arrived. They looked more prepared and angry all at the same time and Theia felt her stomach drop, glancing quickly at the fiani as she peaked around his shoulder, "Dude, who did you piss off?" she whispered, grimacing as she watched the speeder driver walk toward the alley. She begun to step back, but paused, "We should steal their speeder and bail." an ornery smile breaking through, "I'm gonna steal their speeder..." she seemed to have made up her mind quickly, "They made me lose my wallet, interrupted my dinner, and now messing with my new friend..."

Theia took out her vibroblade and stepped out of the alley before Kai would stop her if he protested against the idea. However, the sudden shock of red hair startled the new Rodian thug accompanying the Gran. Despite raising his blaster, Theia exhaled, palm thrusted forward and the energies of the Force followed. He let out a cry of surprise as he flew backwards and it was enough to announce to the others the trouble brewing from the redheaded padawan.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai’s jaw practically hit the floor as the girl suggested stealing a speeder, “It’s not like in the Holomovies, you know, stealing a-” He couldn’t believe he was about to lecture her on the mechanics of stealing a speeder. He was a pro at hotwiring by now, but he doubted some rando civilian with the Force like her knew what she was doing. On top of that he still had those goons chasing after him.

He skidded to a halt as she drew out a vibroblade and unleashed the Force on the thugs again. She didn't just haphazardly use it, she was trained. Kai was always uneasy around Force use, “Are you a Sith?” He blurted out. It was a fair guess - he had been running into nothing but Sith lately after all. This girl seemed to use her powers willy nilly, so she had to be a Sith.

Kai looked up at the Gran, the only remaining passenger in the speeder as the rest of the group was catching up. Unfortunately for him, the Gran moved fast, leveling a blaster and firing. There was a fox yelp as Kai fell back, a blaster wound on his shoulder. He had been rushing towards the speeder to steal it, but he was downed where he was for now. The others were rapidly catching up and he gritted his teeth, preparing to get swarmed.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

"No way!" she shouted when he asked if she were a Sith, "I'm Jedi!" she explained, her vibroblade sliced up through the barrel of the blaster rifle as she stepped into her swing, sending a free elbow into the thug's gut who promptly let out a juicy 'ugh' before stumbling back. She saw Kai approaching the speeder where the Gran remained; something in her gut screamed in warning, but before either she or Kai could react, the blaster fired and she heard the yelp from the fiani.

"NO!" Theia shouted, she felt worry bubbling her stomach, but she couldn't panic, there would be no one else to save him or herself; it was a lesson Ezzie mentioned on their first field assignment, and one she heard her mom remind her only now to really understand what it meant. Things had changed and she knew what needed to be done or else these guys would be their end. The redheaded jedi inhaled deeply, clearing her mind from the what could be and what should be, it would just be as it was now as she could feel the Force.

The Gran went to raise his blaster again and the Force whispered, her grasp extended and pulled the blaster to herself as she jumped onto action. Quickly she rushed to Kai, the Gran meanwhile seemingly more agitated as he climbed over the seat, pulling out a knife ready to skin Kai as the others seemed to surround the two, ready to watch their boss take care of the problem until Theia would take care of him. There was a thump and a clatter as the knife he was holding fell from the grip of the detached arm, the Gran said nothing as the padawan had moved with her unnatural reflexes to disarm (literally) the Gran from hurting her friend.

With another thud, the Gran passed out on the ground, face planting before them, the others seemingly in shock or confusion, maybe both on what they should do next. Still armed with a vibroblade and a blaster, the girl turned to look at the rest of them, a warning look crossed her features as she tucked the blaster and held out a hand to help Kai to his feet and to the speeder, "We're taking the speeder." she stated and noone challenged, backing off from the Force-user, seeming weary of her ability.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Jedi? Kai had only run into the toddler versions of Sith, so he assumed this was the same but a Jedi. What were they called again? Parmesans? He had no time to ponder on it thanks to his searing shoulder injury that was actually smoking. There was light fur on his body and few things smelled worse than charred fur. Kai thought he was done for when the girl abruptly sprang into action. Within moments, the Gran had a missing arm and the sight caused his eye to fly open.

There was a long moment of silence where everyone looked terrified at her. Kai was among those that were terrified. It wasn’t Force use, so it didn’t make him bolt in the other direction, but it was certainly more than he expected from a teen. She made her demand and no one got in her way. Kai briefly wondered whether getting into the speeder was a good idea, but he climbed in after a moment. His shoulder burned badly and the arm hung limp.

It wasn’t till they started to coast away that he spoke again, “You’re way more badass than you look, kid,” He said with a tired smile. After a moment he thought about her earlier story. He drew out her wallet and handed it to her, “Here, I found it on the street while we were running around,” Kai lied flawlessly.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia wasn't even confident telling these guys they were taking the speeder would have worked; she could sense something...fear perhaps and she uncertain how she should have interpreted it. She didn't see herself as frightening or scary, but even the fiani had the look; he still did go with her, climbing into the speeder, which Theia was glad because he was injured pretty bad and she wanted to get them both far from these thugs so he can be helped.

The speeder took off; it was always an adjustment in piloting a speeder, but Theia adjusted quickly. Like her mother, she seemed to carry a knack for navigating based on feeling which she had learned later was the Force. She heard Kai speak, something about her being a badass and she couldn't help to grin, it wasn't often did she hear someone call her a badass, it was almost a contrast to being called delicate and graceful, which she was more used to from her years of ballet. The thought of being badass was different, and she was surprised he even said that when he looked terrified only moments earlier. "I'm sorry if I had scared you." she responded, it wasn't her intention to do so, but when he handed over the wallet she was missing, the red headed girl felt a weight fall from her shoulders. "You're AMAZING!" she yelled out, quickly pocketing it.

She took another glance to his shoulder and took the speeder down to a quieter level to help the Fiani. To their luck the med pack the Gran had been using still had supplies and Theia pulled out a few bacta patches and some gauze. "Here," she said opening the bacta patch, gently placing it the burn, "These will have to do, I'm not too good at healing yet." she said quietly as she worked, "So you got a name?"

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai was caught off guard when she apologized, and he said nothing in response. He was used to only Sith when it came to Force users, and they certainly didn’t have a habit of apologizing. She navigated the speeder perfectly to a quieter side of town and it gave him a moment to breathe. He was suddenly very aware of the agonizing pain in his shoulder. The thin layers of his fur were burned off and the smell was terrible.

“Kodi,” He said simply when she applied the bacta. The cool gel provided instant relief and he exhaled a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding. Theia saved his tail back there and it wasn’t something he was going to forget anytime soon.

“What’s your name?” He asked in turn, applying more bandages, “I thought Jedi were the peaceful sit around and do nothing types. You seem way more hardcore,” Kai said with a smile.

@GABA