Ask Crash Landing

[Maura Starwalk]

"I don't know! I just pretended to be a possum and they tied me up and brought me here with you."

The padawan fell back onto her behind, though it was a bit of an awkward position considering her hands and her feet were bound together. Ruz asked if she was hurt, and without missing a beat she lied. "Yeah, just bruised." In reality, she was pretty sure she'd cracked or bruised a rib. The right side of her chest really hurt, but she didn't want Ruz to know. He was already hurt. She didn't need to be hurt too.

Maura didn't really know how to respond to Ruzaan's apology, so she just gave him a weird look and shrugged. "I mean, it's not all bad! They could be friendly, and I dunno, maybe they can help us?" They hadn't been rough at all tying her up or setting either of them down. "We should still try to escape though."

The kid relaxed her wrists as best as she could, then scooted her way over to Ruzaan with her fingers curled and outstretched. Maura usually kept her claws trimmed down, but she could still try to cut her way through. "Gimmie your hands!"

Try as she might though, Maura's claws were far from sharp enough to cut through whatever woven rope material the "sneople" had tied them with. "Uh, lemme try teeth!" She would then attempt to sink her teeth into the ropes binding his wrist and gnaw through it.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as Maura mentioned a "possum". Shili didn't have such animals, leaving him to wonder exactly what it was. He didn't push the discussion point further, though, as they had bigger fish to fry. Fortunately, Maura was confident that she wasn't injured, which helped Ruzaan calm down a little. Although he didn't share her optimism that their captors were friendly- they had, after all, been forcibly captured- but at least they hadn't been killed.

Ruzaan did his best to shuffle in such a way to allow Maura to try and untie him, feeling though the bonds tying his wrists together behind his back that her attempt to cut through his bonds with her claws was unsuccessful. He was about to try to untie hers, having a decent sense through his montrals exactly what he was working with, when the girl changed tactics.

"Teeth?" the Togruta echoed, horrified, but it was too late; Maura had already rolled over and was enthusiastically gnawing away at the bonds, with limited success. Ruzaan's eyes widened as he felt something that he hoped was moisture from the cave come in contact with his wrists when his montrals picked up a new sound. "Stop!" he hissed, hoping Maura would hear and desist. "I hear someone coming!"

Suddenly, light flooded the cave, momentarily blinding Ruzaan as three snakelike figures cast their sinuous shadows across the floor. "Yesss... theessse two will ssssuffice", said one.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

When Ruzaan hissed at her to stop, citing that he could hear someone coming, Maura did. She didn't really have time to move though, so as their captors entered they set their eyes on the padawan with her teeth still sunk into the other padawan's bindings. Maura looked over at them like a dog caught doing something it wasn't supposed to be doing and froze. The three snakelike figures paused and exchanged a look, perhaps unsure of how to unpack that particular situation.

They didn't stay like that for long though. "Sssiaklsss, bring the colorful one to Dsssiod. Noweaj, we'll take the other one."

The two named sneople slithered toward the two of them, reaching out to grab them and pull them apart. Maura immediately began to thrash about, ignoring the creature's pleas. "Ssstay ssstill!"

Eventually, "Siakls" got her in a position to pull her along without her sharp teeth being a concern. He continued to pull Maura along, too worried about getting bitten to carry her. The padawan continued to fight him until he snapped and said, "Ssstop! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"I don't believe you!" Maura huffed, to which Siakls responded with wide eyes. "You can understand us?"

"Duh. It'sss not hard, sssnerssson." She emphasized her s's, purposefully looking to provoke the man dragging her along. He didn't take the bait though - if he even recognized it as bait at all - and instead looked excited.

"Wonderful! Thisss will make things much easssier than we expected!"

"What are you-" "You will find out sssoon! Dsiod will explain!"

Back in the tent, the remaining two sneople would try to bring Ruzaan toward a large, central tent decorated with large, colorful feathers with an entrance marked by two staked beast heads.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Unlike Maura, Ruzaan wasn't in much of a position to put of a fight; let alone resist two sneople. Still, he did his best to make things as difficult as possible for them, thrashing around before eventually deciding on the "limp body" tactic as he felt blood begin seeping from his torso as his wound reopened slightly. He didn't like being separated from Maura, and he really didn't like being carried to a large tent with two beast heads on stakes. The Togruta didn't have much choice, though, and before long he was being held upright as a large snerson- a leader of sorts, he supposed- peered at him.

"Outsssider" it said, unblinking eyes running over the Padawan and assessing him. "Can you underssstand usss?" Ruzaan thought about playing dumb, but eventually nodded- much to the relief of the chief snerson, it seemed. He had to work a little harder to sort through all the hissing sounds, but he could hold a conversation.

"Theresss a problem you might be able to help usss with" said the Cheif snerson, piquing Ruzaan's curiosity. He'd expected to be thrown into the boiling vat in the corner, and as he debated how to answer, the Togruta wondered how Maura was doing.


@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura was ushered over toward a smallish tent made up of a myriad of dyed leathers and further decorated with strung-up and draped bones and feathers. She felt a bit nervous as Siakls carried her there, unsure of what would be behind the tent flaps.

Once they were inside, there was a lot to look at. It was simultaneously much bigger than she expected and quite cramped. There was stuff everywhere. The sight of it temporarily caused the padawan to forget about her nervousness, and it only came back to her when Siakls set her on the ground and slithered around to face her.

"I'm going to untie you. Pleassse don't run. I promissse we aren't going to hurt you," he pleaded and assured as he undid her ankle bindings, then the ones on her wrists. "Dsssiod might look a bit ssscary, but I promissse he isss harmlessss."

After Maura was untied, Siakls slithered back around her and exited the tent, leaving her alone in the cluttered space. She began to twiddle her thumbs, unsure of what to do when a set of drum-like instruments caught her eyes. With no "Dsiod" in sight and no sound of him arriving either, Maura scooted forward and scrambled over to the instrument. There was an unmistakable weight in the Force around it, and though she recognized it, it didn't seem dark like her past experiences with it.

Thump. Thump thump. Thump... thump thump.

The girl reached out, and with the palms of her hands, began quietly imitating the pattern she could hear echoed in the Force. "Heavy. Light, light. Long... light, light." It was while she was mimicking the echo, mesmerized by the sound, that a different figure finally slithered into the tent.

Back over in the large tent, the chief snerson continued to address Ruzaan Kai.

"Firssst thingsss firssst: Noweaj. Yusssaod. Untie him." The two who'd carried Ruzaan over did as they were asked, and the Togruta padawan would soon be free from his bindings. Noweaj would offer him a hand to help him stand if he chose to take it. "I will firssst apologize for our methodsss in bringing you and your friend here. We have received lessss than savory visssitors in the passst. It isss a neccessssary precaution we choossse to take."

The chief would clear his throat before continuing, but he ended up entering a short coughing fit instead. "Alasss, we have a problem. There is a sssicknessss that hasss ssspread to our people, and we have no treatment for it." A solemn look fell over his face. "We know that off-worldersss like you have accessss to unimaginable knowledge. Pleasssse, could you help ussss?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan hadn't expected the sneople to untie him, but he gratefully rubbed at his wrists to restore some of the circulation that had been lost. Still feeling unsteady on his feet, the Togruta used Noweaj's proffered hand to help support himself as his body adjusted to the change in blood flow.

Ruzaan still didn't like the way he and Maura had been treated at the hands of the sneople, but at least they didn't seem to be in danger. In fact, the sneople were asking their help treating a mysterious illness. Ruzaan's desire to help people- even ones that had captured him and Maura- outweighed any lingering bad feelings as his curiosity got the better of him. First, though, he had to check in on his fellow Jedi. "Where did you take Maura?" he asked, unwilling to offer aid unless they were both safe.

"Ssshe'sss ssspeaking with Dssiod" answered the snerson, as if that explained everything.

Ruzaan waited a beat for elaboration that never came, eventually deciding that he could be wary without being distrustful at the same time. "Ok. Do you know how your people are falling ill?"

The Snerson Chief shook their head. "With so many getting sssick, we haven't been able to invessstigate" he replied, pausing to cough again; alarm bells rang in Ruzaan's head. An airborne illness was bad news, as anyone in the vicinity could potentially be exposed. He'd heard stories of the legendary Blue Shadow virus, which had terrorized the galaxy during the Clone Wars.

Ruzaan pursed his lips, considering the next best steps. On one hand, he wanted to go determine the cause of the illness if at all possible. However, if treatment was what was most important to the sneople, then he wasn't in much of a position to argue. "I can see what I can do" he decided, hoping that his intermediate skills in Force Healing would suffice, or at the very least provide more clues. "Lead the way."

As Ruzaan followed Noweaj and the head snerson out of the tent, questions buzzed in his head. Where was Maura? Why had the sneople split them up? Was she being asked the same questions as him?

Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura continued to play the drum for a bit, following the echoes in the Force brought to her by the padawan's psychometry. She didn't notice the man who had slithered in behind her, but he also chose to say nothing for a minute or so. His scarred, weathered features softened, and a nostalgic wave came over his saddened expression.

"Little one, do you know the sssignificance of that rhythm you play?" His voice was hoarse and worn, and Maura turned around with wide eyes when he spoke. She stared for a second, then shook her head. "Uh, no. I just... sometimes the Force gives me like, memories of objects," she answered. This puzzled the man, who clearly wasn't sure what that meant.

"That rhythm wasss created by my mother. Ssshe was our village'sss greatessst blessssing," Dsiod explained. Maura noted the use of the past tense, and thus immediately asked about it. "...was?" He sighed, nodded, and slithered into a more comfortable seated position. "Ssshe had a connection with the natural world that none of usss had ever witnessssed before. Ssshe usssed that rhythm to focusss, and then ssshe could heal our sssick and wounded." He paused, then continued. "We all missss her dearly."

"That sounds like the Force," Maura decided, but she chose not to share this thought aloud. Instead she stared at the man until he cleared his throat and went about with whatever he'd come here for in the first place.

"Right, anyway." The man placed the palm on his chest and introduced himself. "My name is Dsssiod, and I am thisss village'sss healer." Maura nodded. That tracked. The tent, though filled with oddities, was mostly filled with weird plant oddities and other primitive maybe-medicinal thingies.

"Okay, that's cool and all, but why did you knock me and my friend out and bring us here? Cause like, that's kinda really rude."

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

The faint sound of music reached Ruzaan's montrals as he followed who he presumed to be the chief snerson across the camp and into another tent. The sound of coughing, which sounded like raspy hissing noises, assailed Ruzaan's senses. The Togruta counted at least seven sneople in various stages of illness, most of them appearing to be quite sick. A couple of nurses, their faces showing fatigue and strain, bathed foreheads and tried to keep their patients comfortable. A lump formed in Ruzaan's throat as he realized the significance of the three forms he'd seen in the center of the village on the way over. He'd thought they were sleeping bags at first glance, but now he wasn't so sure.

Ruzaan walked over to the nearest sick snerson and sat next to them on a stool, trying to center himself so that he could connect with the Force easier. His track record for healing was inconsistent at best, and he had no idea what this mysterious illness was. Besides, he was having difficulty concentrating with so many questions rattling around in his head. Not all of them were ones he could do something about, but being separated from Maura with no explanation was worrying.

"I will need my companion's help" he said to the chief snerson, knowing he could relax easier if Maura was in sight. Funny how that had changed since they'd begun this mission, when he'd have done anything to get some personal space... nothing like a crash landing and captivity to strengthen a bond with someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over in Dsiod's tent, the healer looked like he'd swallowed something uncomfortable as Maura asked a very valid question. The Padawan's insistence eventually broke down Dsiod's defenses. "About the sssame time the sssicknessss arrived"- Dsiod paused guiltily, as if they'd accidentally revealed more than they intended to- "ssso too did a mysssteriousss outsssider. Our huntersss reported them ssstalking them from a dissstance, and sssome have not come back. Capturing you wasss a merely a precaucsssion."

As Dsiod finished talking, another snerson entered the tent and bowed respectfully to the healer. "The girl isss being asssked for in the sssick tent" it reported.


@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

The sickness? A mysterious outsider? Stalking? "What the heck is goin' on here?" It seemed these sneople had a bit of an issue on their hands, to say the least, and it excited her. She could try and help them! "This will be so much more exciting than solving a stupid dispute! ...or whatever our actual assignment was..." Maura wondered, only for a brief moment, how long it would take before they were reported missing.

"Well, I forgive you for capturing me and my friend then," she began. "But what kind of sickness? And do you think the outsider caused it? Or hurt your hunters?"

While Maura was in the midst of her slew of questions, another snerson slithered into the tent and addressed Dsioo. He revealed that she was being asked for in the sick tent in his interruption, causing an odd expression to cross over her features. "A sick tent?" That didn't really sound...nice.

But, Dsiod seemed willing to let her go, so she supposed she had to. "I'll sssend her over ssshortly," the healer answered before the messenger left. Dsiod then rotated himself to face her once again and sighed. "I assssume they wisssh to sssee if you and your friend can do anything to help. But, firssst, I would like to ssshow you sssomething."

Dsiod briefly disappeared, then reappeared moments later with a hand drum with him. Unlike the ones she'd played earlier, it was small, worn, and very plain. Maura gave him a curious look, but thankfully he explained. "Thossse drumsss," he began, gesturing briefly to the drum set not far away/ "they were what my mother played for ceremoniesss and for ssspecial eventsss. This..." He ran his hand gently across the leather skin of the batter head. "...thisss wasss her drum. If you could find memoriesss in the ssset, then perhapsss thisss will give even clear memories."

Touched by the offer, Maura straightened her shoulders and accepted the hand drum in the most polite manner she could think of. The Force was alive in the object. She could feel the pulsating rhythm from before, but this time there was more to it than music.

"I hear a voice..." she muttered while she placed her ears against the batter head as if it would clarify the words. It sounded calm and wise, but the padawan couldn't catch any drawn out or slurred s's like she kept hearing from Dsiod and the others. Whoever was speaking, whatever they were saying, Maura had no idea who they were. "I can't make out what they're saying," she said, a look of disappointment on her face as she pulled away.

"Perhapsss it will come to you with time," Dsiod reassured her. "But, for now, let'sss go sssee what they need of you in the sssick tent."

A bit later, Maura and Dsiod would arrive at the sick tent where Ruzaan was already. Her eyes would brighten up at the sight of the Togruta, and she would immediately run over to greet him with a hug. She was careful not to smush the hand drum in between them despite her relief.

"Ruz! Did they tell you about the sick people? What's wrong with them?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Despite his obvious relief to see Maura, it would be clear to the girl that he was worried; and not just about her. "Maura! Are you ok?" he asked. Twisting his torso slightly so that Maura didn't press up against the injured part of his torso, he fixed Maura with serious grey eyes. "It'sss-" he caught himself slipping into the unique speech patterns of the sneople. "I mean, it's not good" he said in a low voice.

Conscious of the sneople nearby, Ruzaan glanced around the tent and decided that it was best to discuss this out of the presence of the sick sneople. "Let's talk outside" he said, motioning for her to follow. The chief snerson came as well, but Ruzaan wasn't certain how much the leader would understand.

When they were outside and hopefully out of earshot of their patients, Ruzaan turned to Maura. "It's the Dark Side" he said, almost afraid to voice his fears. He'd not managed to connect much with the Force in the sick tent, but that much he was certain about. The foul taint of the Dark Side was brimming just below the surface of the patients' bodies. "It's sapping their strength and slowly killing them."

Even harder to say was his next admission. "I... don't know how much I can do" he said, staring at the ground. Physical wounds were difficult enough to heal, but he'd seen something like this on Felucia; and it had nearly killed him. Of course he would try, but there was simply no way he could save everyone in the tent; and that was only one part of the problem.

"We also need to find out what or who is causing this" he said to the cheif snerson. "This kind of stuff doesn't happen randomly, although we also don't know why your people are being targeted. If we can't locate the source this will keep happening to your people."

The Togruta felt overwhelmed with the tasks in front of them; the mental strain of their challenge combining with the physical strains of the crash, being impaled, and then stunned that left him swaying a little on his feet. But as awful as he felt in the moment he felt even worse for Maura, who'd definitely deserved a smoother mission than this. The Togruta heaved a heavy sigh, glancing over at his fellow Padawan; feeling absolutely powerless in the face of the enormity of their challenges. "Where... where do you want to start?"


@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura followed Ruzaan outside, keeping close to him as she did so.

"The- the Dark Side?'" she repeated, her eyes wide and her voice hushed to a whisper. Though a look of disbelief - or perhaps surprise - crossed over her face, she could feel her chest buzzing with excitement. " How do you know?"

Regardless of how he knew, they really did need to find out who or what was causing this. "How exciting!" She did her best to not appear outwardly so, but there were only so many ways Maura could hide the devilish sparkle in her eyes or the way she began bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Dsiod said that they spotted a mysterious outsider and that people went missing after spotting them! We should start there!" Maura finally exclaimed, though to her credit she kept it to a whisper-shout. "What if the outsider is some kind of Sith? Or darksider? That could explain things! Or maybe they've got some kind of dark side sickness and it's spreading to the villagers..."

"We can have one of our huntersss lead you to the last place we saw the outsssider," the chief chimed in helpfully.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan wished that he could tell Maura that the sickness plaguing the sneople was simply the common cold, or the flu, or something of the sort. Unfortunately, there was no denying the foul, tumultuous presence of the Dark Side that he felt when examining the sick sneople with the Force.

Maura didn't seem deterred, however, which was both a cause for relief and a little resentment. On one hand, it was good that she wasn't deterred by the challenges in front of them. However, they'd both been through a lot today, and from the sound of things Maura was ready to go chasing after rumors and shadows at the drop of a hat. The Togruta held up a hand to forestall the rush of ideas and plans from Maura and wincing slightly at the pain that minor movement caused. Getting impaled sucked.

"Hold on, hold on" he said after the chief snerson offered to lead the Jedi to the offworlder's last known location. "We're in no shape to be doing anything today" he said, unfairly extending the statement to include Maura despite the fact that it was really him who wasn't 100%. Force Healing only did so much, and while his wound wouldn't heal much at all overnight, he did want a night's rest before doing any fieldwork.

"We can start with the mysterious figure, but not right this moment" he said, unsure how the chief snerson- and, more importantly, Maura- would react to him putting his foot down.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"What do you mean no shape?" Maura asked, though her expression would quickly change from confusion to realization as she remembered, one, her falling out of a tree, and two, Ruzaan getting partially impaled by a thorn. The padawan's excitement would quickly transition away. "Oh, right."

"I could offer to go off on my own," she thought to herself, but Ruz had a pretty stubborn look on his face that made her figure he would object to any such proposition. So, for now at least, Maura ceded. "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow, at least."

The chief snerson didn't seem upset by this at all. "That isss underssstandable." He ungathered his tail and slithered off a few feet before turning and gesturing for them to follow. "I will ssshow you to a place in which you may ssstay," he explained before slithering off again.

Maura looked at Ruzaan, shrugged, then followed after the guy. They were brought to a small tent at the edge of the village that looked a bit older and was pretty much bare inside. "I'll have sssome pillowsss brought over," he commented. "And sssome warming ssstonessss..." he trailed off, studying them as he did like he wasn't sure if they would even want the stones. After all, the Togruta and the, well, Maura, were much different than the sneople. They didn't have the lower body of a snake.

Either way, he slithered off to leave the two of them by themselves.

"Well, this is a lot more interesting than trying to solve a dispute between two people," Maura decided once the chief heft. "How long before someone notices we're gone, do you think?" Even though she wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on here - to help the sneople - it would kind of suck if no one ever came looking for them. She hoped, at least, her master would worry for her. It would suck if she didn't.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Tomorrow, yes" Ruzaan agreed, grateful for the reprieve. One day was hardly enough time to recover, but it was better than nothing. Even a warming stone sounded good right now, and Ruzaan felt himself fighting a sudden wave of exhaustion as the image of a pillow was conjured in his head.

His desire for rest might have been why Maura's question caught him off guard, and the Togruta rounded on his fellow Padawan. Hadn't she just agreed to wait until tomorrow? "We are not sneaking off to go find this guy!" he said in a hushed tone that was still animated, completely misinterpreting her question and figuring that she was proposing a foray instead of simply asking when the Order might begin searching for them. "Maura, don't you get it? There's just you and me. No Knights, no Grandmaster; nobody to save us if we get in trouble." He felt powerless to help the sneople, himself, or Maura, and his physical pain only added to his frustration. "Of all the irresponsible--! Fine. If you want to go off on your own, then go. Good luck, and may the Force be with you, and all that." It was most unJedi-like to lose one's temper like that, but Ruzaan turned and marched as best he could into the small tent.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura's eyes got wider and wider the longer Ruzaan went on, and her ears bent down and pressed against her skull. His tone was harsh and something was clearly bothering him - that something being her. "I- that's not what I-" Tears welled up in the padawan's eyes as Ruz continued on, and by the time he finished with his "good luck", she was staring straight at the ground with her hands closed tightly into fists.

"You know what? FINE!" Maura stomped off toward the entrance of the tent practically steaming from the ears. She turned just before she left, her nose scrunched up in her anger. "I wasn't even PLANNING on sneaking out, but since you seem so intent on PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH, I GUESS I WILL!" With that, she ripped the flap aside and ran off into the night.

A little bit later, a snerson slithered in with pillows and warming stones. "Here. I wasss told to bring thessse to you," he said as he set down the pillows and warming stones before Ruzaan. "Where'sss your friend?"

Meanwhile, Maura had run off into the strange forest with angry tears wetting her hot, freckled cheeks. Ruzaan was supposed to be the nice one, but he'd yelled at her for just wanting to know if anyone back home would miss them! The padawan kept running until she came across a small clearing with a pool of water in the middle to which moonlight streamed down from above.

"Stupid Ruz," she grumbled as she scooped a stone up from the ground and threw it as hard as she could into the undisturbed water. A large splash exploded from the point of contact, and ripples billowed out from it. It didn't make her feel any better. "Why does everyone think I'm-" "Stupid. Immature. Irresponsible'." "Ugh."

Crack.

"Who's there?" A branch snapped in the forest, causing Maura to snap her head around to look in its direction. "Hello?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

If Ruzaan heard Maura's response to his outburst, he gave no indication. He could tell that she was also angry, and that was enough to fill in the blanks for him. Jawline set, he closed the tent flap behind Maura, muttering under his breath about how bad of an idea heading off into the forest alone was.

He was still grumbling to himself when a snerson arrived with some pillows and warming stones. "I don't know" was all Ruzaan answered, his anger abating slightly in the presence of a third party. "I think she went for a walk."

"It will be sssunssset sssoon" observed the snerson. "Make sssure ssshe returnsss before dusssk. It isss not sssafe outssside at night"

Despite himself, Ruzaan glanced out of the tent flap as the snerson exited, noting that the sun had nearly dipped below the horizon. He was still frustrated with Maura, but she was the only person he knew on this entire planet and the Togruta did feel responsible for her safety; she'd probably be back soon anyways so he'd better process his emotions before he had to speak with her again or it would be an awkward mission tomorrow.

Settling down onto one of the warming stones (which, as advertised, were cozy and helped chase away the cool evening air), Ruzaan tried to meditate. The Togruta regulated his breathing, acknowledging his feelings of frustration and letting them go. It hadn't been fair of him to lash out at Maura like that, he realized, regardless of her intentions. A Jedi couldn't let their emotions cloud their judgement, as he had, and he'd not treated her like the peer that she was.

Throughout his meditation, Ruzaan's mind kept returning to Maura; more frequently as the sun finally set. Where was his fellow Padawan? Sinking deeper into his meditative trance, he focused on Maura. They didn't have a strong connection- this mission being the first significant time they'd shared together- but suddenly the Togruta's eyes snapped open. Wincing against the pain in his side, he shot to his feet and began making his way out into the surrounding forest as fast as he could- a slow jog. All he had was a general direction and the knowledge that Maura was in danger.


@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Hello there." A figure slid out from the shadowy forest into the clearing. They were completely covered by a dark cloak, and the only parts of them Maura could see were the blue color of their mouth, chin, and the short lekku that hung over their chest. Though the padawan was immediately on high alert, she didn't run. Something felt off, but she stayed put. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

The figure pulled back their hood, revealing a Twi'lek woman with soft blue skin, golden eyes, and tattooed lekku. Maura was visibly surprised, but not fearful. "She's not a Sneddon!" The sight of a woman with a friendly face of concern was more than enough to get the padawan to let down her walls.

"Um, my fr-" They weren't really friends, were they? Maura's face fell. They were just assigned on a mission together. Maybe she had assumed too much. "Someone yelled at me so I came out here," she corrected while averting her eyes. "He said I was irresponsible because I wanted to know if anyone would miss me while we were gone..."

"Poor thing..." The woman came forward and knelt next to Maura. "You don't deserve any of that. Why would you let him yell at you like that?"

"I didn't!" Maura sniffled. She'd been angry before, and she was still emotional, but it was expressing itself through tears now. "I just- I just wish—"

"Wish he knew how it felt?" the woman interrupted, her voice barely above a whisper. "You have to make him feel how you feel, child. Otherwise he will never know, and he will continue to hurt you."

"I dunno... I-" The woman's hand lifted from her shoulder, so Maura paused and looked up, but she was gone. A complete look of bewilderment crossed over her, and she began to look around for wherever the woman had run off to.

A rustle in the forest drew her attention, but when Ruzaan was the one to rush out from it's her face dropped with disappointment.

Though it has gone unnoticed by Maura, there was a tinge of the Dark Side left present in the clearing.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Bruises from the day's trials- some that he knew about and others that were quickly becoming apparent- made themselves known, and he once again felt a trickle of blood running down his torso as his wound reopened. However, Ruzaan refused to let the pain he felt keep him from reaching Maura as fast as he could.

It was anything but a stealthy approach as Ruzaan traded caution for speed, and several times he nearly fell after tripping on the underbrush, but a glimpse of rainbow in the moonlight eventually heralded Maura's presence. Breathing heavily, Ruzaan entered the clearing and was relieved to see that Maura was in one piece.

"Maura!" the Togruta called out, equal parts pleased and pleading. "You need to come back" he insisted. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled as his montrals registered sounds of movement not far away, in a direction he couldn't pinpoint. "It's not safe here." He didn't have time to explain; his instincts were screaming at him to get as far away from here as possible.

Behind Ruzaan, approaching quickly from the direction he'd entered the clearing from, appeared two malevolent red eyes as the trap was sprung. Lured by the presence of the Dark side in the clearing, a wolf-like form made of smoky darkness charged at the the Togruta.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Oh, so now you want me to come back?" Maura's face twisted up into a mean expression, some sort of anger mixed with disgust. The tone of her voice was sharp and got louder and louder with each word. "I thought you wanted me to go? 'Cause I'm so "irresponsible" and all that." She could feel all her previous anger and hurt bubbling back to the surface. Her ears were pinned against the side of her skull, and her skin was flushed.

"Well I don't need you! I do stuff on my own all the time." Maura stood up and turned away from Ruz. "Why don't you go be responsible? I'm going to go be helpful."

She was about to leave, but the sound of running footsteps caused the padawan to turn back around. It was then that she spotted the wolfish figure charging at Ruz.

"Ruz, watch out!" Maura threw a hand forward and swiped it to the side, hopefully forcing Ruz to topple over just as the creature pounced at him. It would then be forced to face her, and the girl would furrow her brows and ignite her violet saber without daring to take her eyes off of it.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown[/color]

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Thoughts whirled around inside Ruzaan's head as he came face to face with Maura- thoughts that his desperate dash through the woods hadn't allowed him to process. The fact that Maura was still in one piece didn't change the fact that she'd run off on her own just like he thought she would've, or make him any less willing to take her criticism.

"Maura, I have to be responsible!" he shot back, "I'm responsible for you!" His heightened fear of inclement danger only added to his frustration; couldn't Maura understand the pressure he was under? "What am I going to tell the Grandmaster if I come back and yaaagh!" The rest of his sentence was lost as Maura's Force Pull sent him painfully down to the ground in a heap; the shadow beast's claws rending the air where he'd been standing just a second before.

His vision swimming as fresh waves of pain washed over him, the Togruta let out a colorful stream of curses in his native tongue- some directed at Maura, others at the frustrations of this Force-forsaken mission, and more than a few in surprise at the sudden appearance of the threat.

Scowling, Ruzaan glared up to where Maura was facing off against the shadowy beast- humming violet blade opposite blazing red eyes. He knew he would be a liability in this fight if he tried to join in his current state, so he scooted himself back and away from the combat. "Now's your time to be helpful" he grumbled, gathering the Force within him just in case Maura needed a hand. Although his tone was still grumpy, he did at least mean the words in a way he hadn't the last time he said them. "May the Force be with you."

@lizziie