Ask Cosmic Trips

[Altair Din]

“Bandomeer,” Altair answered, revealing he was from a Sith controlled planet. He walked with Ren, surprised she wanted to climb the mountain now that it was going to get dark soon. However, he had no problems with the outdoors, and he could keep pace. The tiefling hummed to himself briefly as they walked, following behind Ren and dodging any plants that could get tangled up in his horns.

“Yeah I got nine siblings,” He said, grinning at the thought, “All Matukai, all Force users. We grew up real poor but we get by,” Altair said as he walked, gingerly stepping past poisonous plants. He looked up towards her, “You? From Dathomir probably, but you got a family too I imagine?”

The air grew cooler as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. They made it to the foot of the mountain, but it was still a bit of a hike to the top. Altair would follow her lead, easily adapting to whatever she wanted to do.

 

[Renfry]

Bandomeeer. Now that was a world she hadn't been to personally, but she knew of it and she knew that it was an Imperial world. Matukai, but not Sith? Or was he Sith? Altair, she turned the name over in her mind. Why did it sound familiar? And it wasn't just from Huttball.

Her mind was pulled away from that question, but it lingered in the back of her mind as he answered her other question and asked one of his own.

Wow, nine. Almost a whole clan, she said. The uh... she frowned, realizing she didn't know his last name. Well, whatever your family name is Clan of Bandomeer, she declared.

She maneuvered smoothly through the branches of the jungle and started ascending the "trails" of the mountain as the sun started to shrink down.

I was from a large Clan, she said. Everyone in the Clan is your mother or sister, so I suppose you could says I had dozens of sisters, she said. The thought of her family was mostly sweet, but the memory of killing her Clan Mother still lingered in her mind even all these years later. She didn't regret it, but she would never look back on it with joy.

She grew quiet for a moment before snapping back to the present.

I think the next part will be more of a climb. We should probably set up camp for the night rather than free climb in the night. Or get so high that there's no wood or game, she said.

You want fire duty or dinner duty? she asked.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair listened as she described the lifestyles on Dathomir. He was quiet for a moment before speaking, clearing his throat first, “So.. is it true that dudes are third class citizens? Like they’re just there to work and knock some ladies up but otherwise get a pretty rough life?” He was nervous about even asking this. For all he knew, she was only barely tolerating him. He suddenly felt a bit self conscious in her presence. Did she look down on him since he was a guy?

The tiefling looked around and nodded, agreeing to her choice of a camping spot. It took a special eye to find the perfect kind of terrain for camping, and she easily managed it. Altair smiled at her, “I believe I owe you a meal this time,” He said as he extended his hand, “Mind if I borrow your bow and arrows though?” While he specialized in Matukai and hand to hand, hunting was always best done with a weapon.

If she let him borrow the bow, Altair would turn and set off in the opposite direction. He jumped down towards the woods, quietly making his way through with the light rapidly beginning to fade. He wasn’t familiar with the planet, but most critters operated the same. He could hear chirping and other noises to guide him towards animals. Altair had a unique method of hunting. He hunched down and slowly prowled through the forests, keeping a low profile and putting his horns on display. He often appeared as a herbivore when animals spotted him from a distance and just saw the horns. It was a nifty trick he learned from his family.

The tiefling would take his time, venturing through the forest to find a sizable beast to hunt. His arrow was already nocked, ready to fire the moment he angled up the target.

 

[Renfry]

His question was one that had caught her off guard and she was silent for a moment, weighing her answer.

Yes, she answered honestly after a moment. The Nightbrothers tend to prefer brawn over brain, though whose fault that is could be hotly debated, she said. Individuals like Draugr had argued that all the Nightbrothers lacked was opportunity and it was their upbringing that kept them down. She'd at least given him opportunity to prove that true.

I try to judge people based on their merits, though, she added, having no real idea what he would say to that or if he'd actually believe her. After all, she had certainly fallen in love with a man, and that not just to use him as breeding stock.

She nodded as he asked about borrowing her bow, making her way over to it. It's an energy bow, though, she said, unfolding it and handing it to him. She gave him a thirty second rundown of how it worked, where to grab the string, and the other basics.

It's generally the same as a bow, though. If you know how to hunt with a bow, you know how to hunt with an energy bow, she said, letting him run off to find them dinner. That left her with fire and camp duty, the easier but more boring of the two jobs, though she didn't mind in this case.

She set her pack down and dropped down below along the lower plane of trees. She started gathering up wood in her arms and keeping an eye out for any edible looking plants or berries she might stumble across.

For Altair, he would come upon another animal shortly. It did have horns and it looked like it was definitely an herbivore. As he lined up a shot, everything around would go quiet. The birds stopped chirping and there was a momentary beat of wind before the animal started to dart... too late.

From above the treeline, another creature swept down, its talons tearing into the herbivorous creature and rending flesh to the horrible sounds of death. As of yet, this flying beast hadn't seen Altair or his horns, thankfully.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair wasn’t familiar with energy bows, but he picked up the basics on account of having used a bowcaster before. Thankfully, this one was much lighter and easier to maneuver. He had a shot lined up and was about to take it when something swept from the air and mauled the herbivore. It killed it almost at once and was about to carry it off. That’s when Altair lined up his aim and fired at the beast. Unfortunately the quick adjustment and his lack of expertise with the energy weapon rendered the shot useless. It only served to agitate it as it turned and began to sweep towards Altair.

“SHIIIIIT!” He cried out as he bolted in the opposite direction. He may have been a Force user, but he wasn’t prepared to take on a flying monster with endless rows of teeth. Altair toppled over and fell on the grass, turning to blast the creature with the Force. This gave it pause as it slammed back into a tree. The tiefling used this opportunity to run and find better cover. At some point the creature swept in low, one of its talons slashing Altair’s back.

With a pained cry, Altair toppled down and rolled down a short hill. He was in a world of hurt, but he was close enough to where Renfry would hear the commotion. At some point, the flying beast was joined by a friend, now both of them hunting the tiefling.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry was just delivering the wood back to the camp area when she heard the commotion. The shriek of an animal and the loud yelling over her companion. Without a second lost, she dropped the wood and berries down and ran at full tilt toward the sound.

She vaulted smoothly over fallen logs and ducked under branches, moving with well-practiced agility through the jungle before bursting out into a clearing to see...

She swore loudly as well as she caught sight of the pair of creatures. One seemed to have been knocked off its path by the Force, and she could still feel the residual energies echoing in the small clearing.

Another screech but she couldn't see Altair anywhere. That was when she spotted the hill and one of the creatures seeming to race downward toward the bottom of it.

She reached out to the Shadow, her hands glowing green as she gripped one of the creatures firmly. She let the energy draw from this world, flow through her, and dig its talons into the creature's body, hurling it to the side as it moved downward, slamming into a small tree with enough force that she heard a cracking sound.

The other - perhaps its mate - darted at her. She leapt aside, narrowly avoiding its talons as it dug into the ground where she had been only a split second earlier.

Altair! Are you alive! she yelled, hoping to hear some sort of a response, but knowing that if she turned away for even a moment to look, she was likely dead.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair spat out a clump of dirt from where he landed. He was having a rough time, and he felt the stinging pain across his back. Somehow, he wasn’t torn to shreds as something clearly got the attention of both. The tiefling groaned as he slowly began to get up, glancing back to see a flash of green and a sick crunch. The second beast was still distracted and he heard Ren’s voice call out.

“Sure ain’t!” He called back, “I’m a Force ghost now,” Altair grunted as he got to his feet, hiking his ass back towards the commotion. He was furious at these stupid things, enraged he now had an injury and annoyed his dinner plans were probably ruined. And to top it all off, he was now failing to impress jungle chick. He knew he couldn’t get close enough to punch the damn thing to death, so he drew out his wan-shen. He extended it and hoisted himself over the edge of the hill with great difficulty.

While the bird monster was distracted trying to go at Ren, Altair drew back and hurled with all his might. The point of the spear, a weapon he was actually skilled with, found purchase. It buried right into the neck of the beast, pinning it against the trunk of a tall tree. Altair eyed his handiwork for a moment before collapsing on the ground again, having overextended himself with a bad back injury.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry heard him shout back, which was a good thing at least. The fact that he was making a joke must have meant he was at least in decent enough spirits as well. He came back up the hill as she dodged another attack. The tail whipped around a moment later, slapping into her and knocking her back but otherwise not injuring her terribly.

Its jaws swept around, looking to clamp down on the semi-stunned Nightsister when a spear-like object came hurtling through the air. It slammed into the creature with a level of force that was certainly not natural and pinned it to a tree. It spasmed and hissed, but expired after the course of a few seconds.

She let her hands fall back down toward her sides, shoulders slumping slightly as she let out a heavy sigh. Her hands shook slightly as the adrenaline ran out and she flexed her fists several times. It was only then that she looked back to see Altair had slumped to the ground and her eyes went wide again.

She darted over to him, noting the abundance of blood along the ground and staining his clothes.

Oh no, no, no, she said. Hey, stay with me! she said, rolling him slightly to see if he was still conscious.

I need to find some kingsfoil, she said, thinking back to the medicinal herbs she knew and figuring in a jungle like this she'd be able to find some close by.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was face down and groaning on the ground. His back was in agonizing pain, and Ren would see his black blood pouring out. As she spoke, he would groan again, “Aranion? I saw some… below that hill,” He weakly pointed a thumb back towards where he initially toppled over. It was rare that anyone knew about the plants, as it was a knowledge mostly forgotten over time. However, it was a testament to his knowledge of the outdoors and having obscure survival facts passed down over the ages.

Exhaustion and pain took over and he finally just slumped with his eyes closed.

 

[Renfry]

Altair would awaken not in the outdoors but on a bed, laying on his belly. He was stripped of his shirt and although he would find his underwear were the same, he now wore a pair of men's sweatpants that were several inches too long for him. His back was wrapped up in bandages and his blood-covered pants and blood covered, torn shirt were next to the bed in a bin of some sort. A clean, loose shirt that also looked a bit too big for him was laying on a small stand next to him.

Looking around the rest of the room, he'd gather the impression that he was probably aboard a ship based on what he could see of a small common room outside the room he was in, which was quite clearly a makeshift but well-equipped infirmary. At the far side of the room was a top of the line medical droid. At seeing him awaken, it came over to him.

Move slowly, Tiefling. You have been wounded, it said. Please do not tear open your lacerations. I have worked hard to stitch you up, it said before turning and heading back to a table at the far side of the room. It was going to be entirely unhelpful in answering any of the questions he might ask.

Renfry appeared in the doorway a few moments later having heard the droid speaking. She was still looking quite wild in her attire, but the blood and some of the dirt had at least been cleaned off of her in the interim. She felt a surprising relief to see that he was alive and awake.

You know, you were pretty lucky. The droid says a few centimeters deeper and you'd be permanently paralyzed, she said, moving over next to the bed and crouching down next to it.

How're you feeling? she asked.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair groaned as he came to, still feeling the shooting pain from his back. He still had no idea how bad the injury was. He blinked a few times at the droid, still unsure of where he was. Altair felt goosebumps line his skin from being shirtless and away from the humid forest. While he could tolerate intense heat, he certainly didn’t like the cold. He worked out quickly he was inside a ship, a glance down suggesting he wore very loose fitting pants.

His face turned hot as he realized that Ren had to tend to his wounds. Altair tilted his head to look at her when she appeared, “I…I fucked up,” He said apologetically. He started to get up, winced and collapsed back down. Altair sighed, despising feeling as if he were being a burden, “I feel like shit,” He admitted, “And..” Altair looked around, “Looks like I took ya away from your jungle adventure,” He smiled sadly at her.

“How can I make this up to ya?”

 

[Renfry]

She smiled slightly as he talked about taking her away from her jungle adventure, and she wasn't surprised to hear he felt terrible. As he said something about making it up to her, though, her face momentarily scrunched up in a combination of surprise and confusion.

You pinned that forktail to a tree in spectacular fashion. I don't think you owe me anything, she said, pushing herself back to her feet again.

If I felt like you owed me something, I guarantee I'd cash in, she said. Besides, it may not be as jungle, but the adventure's continuing, she said.

She quirked her head to the side for a moment, clearly in thought before she spoke up again.

I'll tell you what, you feel like you owe me something then just keep chilling out and being... relaxed, she said. It wasn't often anymore that she got people to just feel relaxed around her. Where she could hang out and be someone other than Darth Andruil.

Are you hungry? she asked. She could have had a droid whip them up some food, but actually making something might be more interesting.

Or is there somewhere else you need to be? I can take you somewhere, you've been out for an hour and a half or so, she said, suddenly realizing that she still had no idea if there was anyone else expecting him or looking for him.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair eyed her while she spoke, a slightly curious look on his face. She was a mixture of uneasy and content to be in this situation. Something told him she wasn’t around people very often, or perhaps not in this capacity. He said nothing about, quietly laying there until she asked if he were hungry. Altair slowly helped himself up with a grunt. He was in pain, but the meds were working their magic.

“What ingredients you got?” He asked confidently, offering a grin, “I can prolly work with anything you got,” Altair looked over at the droid, “No offense, sparky, but I got this.”

With that, he slowly attempted to get down from the bed, “I don’t got anywhere to be. I’m on holiday.”

 

[Renfry]

Renfry quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

Oh ho, you're going to make me something? she asked, waving the droid away as he mentioned that he would be taking over to the droid.

Okay, then. I've got lots of meats and lots of spices, she said, making her way over to the fridge and opening it up.

And some carrot sticks and vegetable snacks, she said, barely covering the disgust in her voice.

And then some very sour fruits, she said, waving across the kitchenette. It's all yours.

So what do you do in your spare time? Just looking for special mushrooms on your holidays? she asked.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had to roll up the pants to fit him, silently wondering how tall this other dude was. He stayed shirtless for now, deciding that Ren had already seen his torso. He made his way over to the kitchen area, looking through the selections. To his surprise, he found quite a few exotic spices that looked interesting. Within moments, he was rapidly chopping and cutting up vegetables. His hands were a blur as he worked, everything cut and prepared with almost professional precision. Altair mixed together strange combinations of wines and vinegars for an interesting sauce. He even used some of the extract of the sour fruits to mix it into a spiced reduction.

“I perform for tips at festivals,” He said as he cooked, “I game a lot. When I got holidays, I like to travel around the galaxy like I’m doin’ right now,” Altair tilted his head to look at her with a grin, “Never know what kinda interestin’ folks I’ll meet,” He looked back at what he was doing, now throwing some vegetables into the sauce.

“How ‘bout you?” He asked, “And might I add, your boyfriend is a big ass dude,” Altair chuckled as he tugged at the pants he was wearing. The ship was beginning to smell absolutely exquisite by this point. He set up another pan to cook the meat, heating it up so he could do some searing.

 

[Renfry]

She watched him, her eyes going somewhat wide as she watched his hands work, fairly certain that he was using the Force to make his movements even faster as he chopped and diced. She wondered if he even knew he was doing it or if it was simply so ingrained in him.

Perform? Like a musical instrument? Or just your insane cooking skills, she asked. Or it could have been acrobatic feats as a Matukai. Or all of them, she really couldn't be sure. He was certainly accomplished and skilled for his age, but then, that was the way with eventually-successful Sith. She'd helped kill a Grandmaster when she was around his age.

Today certainly has turned out more interesting than I'd imagined, she said in agreement.

You ever think about how much of the galaxy we'll never see? I used to want to get away from my home and see it all. Now I realize there's no way any one person can see it all, she said. She'd not even see a fraction of it before she died.

As he mentioned Emryc's size, she once again thought about the fact that Altair was probably used to being one of the largest people in the room. Hew as dwarfed in comparison to the half-Sephi, however.

He was, she said and frowned. Or... is? she corrected, but that also implied that he was her boyfriend currently, let alone at all. I mean... she finally waved her hand through the air and rolled her eyes. It was always complicated. Now it's less complicated because it's over, she said.

And yet you still stock the fridge with veggie snacks. You're kind of pathetic, she thought to herself.

Anyway, you're lucky that I had clothes you could at least get into even if they are huge, she said.

 

[Altair Din]

“Music, of course!” He said, though he had never entertained the possibility of selling his cooking. He could certainly think about setting up some stalls for his pies. People back home raved about them. Altair flipped the steaks over, “I sing and use some of my Matukai training to dance for tips,” He said happily as he plated the food. She would notice he plated everything in a specific order, making it look like it was something out of a magazine. He topped it off with the sauce he made, sprinkling some chopped up herbs on top.

The tiefling walked the plates over and set them down on the table, glancing over at Ren, “You wouldn’t happen to have a bottle of Corellian red, would ya?” Altair asked before walking over to pull out her chair and gesturing for her to take a seat. He heard her comment about the guy in her past, kicking himself for digging up unpleasant memories. Nevertheless, he clicked his water glass against hers, “Well sounds like it’s good riddance!” He smiled before sitting down across from her.

“Thanks again for havin’ my back,” He said before he took a bite. However, he paused when he realized he had unwittingly made a pun. Altair blinked a few times before suddenly chuckling as he looked at her. Maybe she wouldn’t catch it, because that was so awful.

 

[Renfry]

She stood up and headed back into one of the cabinets as she looked at what wine she had. I have a Bothan red! she shouted back. She'd picked it up at the same time she'd taken the throne on her visit to tell Emryc. It had been aging ever since, and this seemed as good a time as any to break it open.

She brought it out, marveling at how fancy the food looked. It was clear he'd been doing this for a while.

She didn't respond to his comment about good riddance. He was probably trying to be nice, but she wasn't so sure. She pushed past it, deciding she'd rather enjoy the evening than mope around like a fool.

She slid into her chair, smiling and lifting her glass to clink it against his. The smile turned into a laugh as she saw the bewildered look on his face for a brief moment as he realized he had made a terrible pun.

Okay, see, if you keep making puns like that we're going to have to keep doing this, she said, taking a drink of her wine. Thank you for a beautiful looking dinner. I almost don't want to eat it... she said

...but I'm going to, she said, proceeding to dig into the first bite and then groaning in an entirely unprofessional manner. That is so good! she exclaimed.

So what is it you want to do with your life, Altair? Going full time professional in Huttball? she asked. He was considerably younger than her, but sometimes she still didn't even feel like a "grown up."

 

[Altair Din]

Altair smiled widely when she complimented the meal, his face heating up. There were two types of compliments that usually got to him - compliments on his horns and his cooking. She would notice his tail eagerly swaying back and forth even while he was seated. He began to dig into the meal, finding it to his liking. In many ways, he was thankful to be back here rather than to be eating meat on a stick.

Her question caught him off guard, and he blinked a few times, “I…hadn’t thought about,” Altair said sheepishly, “The pros get so fucked up,” He grimaced, thinking of all the prosthetics they usually had. People joked that Bom Trady was hardly human anymore. Altair had little desire to go into a sport that guaranteed disfigurement, “The money was nice, not gonna lie, but I may have other aspirations..” He trailed off a bit, looking over at her, “More combat based I guess. I’m… a soldier, I suppose. I want to move up the ranks in that field.”

Altair skirted around the Sith topic for now - he wanted to gauge her first.

“So, since I showed you some Matukai moves, it’s only fair you show me how to do some of the cool stuff you pulled off against those flying things,” He grinned as he took a sip of wine. Truthfully, he had never seen Force use like that and Nightsisters would eat him alive if he ever asked one on Dathomir.

 

[Renfry]

She watched as his tail flicked around, and based on the expression on his face, it was an indicator of a positive rather than a negative.

She listened as he talked about huttball and the downsides to it. Though she wasn't an avid watcher of huttball, she'd seen enough to know that he wasn't wrong. In fact, the first time she'd watched part of a game, she'd thought one of the players was a droid. He wasn't...

When he mentioned the military she hummed slightly and nodded. She supposed that made a lot of sense, actually. His physical skills and natural instincts would have made him an absolutely excellent soldier.

Badomeer's forces? she asked interestedly. Most of the local defense forces had been centralized to the Empire, and that would mean he would be joining the Imperial Defense Force most likely. Or he hated the Empire and was going to leave in the hopes of fighting for the Republic or some such ridiculousness if he'd bought into all the propaganda.

Hmmm, she went on as he mentioned showing him something of her magick. She was wary of teaching others magick, but there were plenty of simple and generic techniques that were harmless enough to show him without compromising the sanctity of her home.

You've been to Dathomir before? she reaffirmed, more rhetorically than anything. Close yours eyes and see if you can feel it. I know we're not close, but even the faintest strings... follow them down, she said. She could sense them here, but she'd had many years of practice at it.

Hold out your hand and focus that energy into your palm, she said. If he did so, he would feel a sudden heat on his face and when he looked, a green flame appeared above his palm, licking at his skin but not burning him.