Ask [Endor] A Nest in the Forest

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyosuke gently held out his hand, letting Nightshroud take another couple steps forward so that his head was against the Knight's palm. A soft smile perked up on the young man's lips as he calmly brushed the shaggy orbak. After a few moments he turned his gaze to the horse's left tusk, which seemed to be split by a few cracks along its length. The docile creature's trepid sturdy gaze watched Kyo closely, ready to gore the human if a wrong move was made.

There was a faint empathetic hiss from Kyo as he looked at the splintered tusk and tried to send his feelings through their bond, letting Nightshroud know that he meant nothing but compassion for the animal. The orbak snorted and gently bucked his head back like he was nodding at the Knight. Kyosuke nodded back, then slowly dropped his hand back to his side and proceeded to walk towards the plants that his new companion had been trying to rummage through earlier.

A few moments later he'd be picking berries, and holding them out in his hand for Night to easily start feeding. Kyo swore he could feel a grateful hint through the bond they now shared.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

After a few moments, Sacha calmed down, her energy overdose having seemingly been expanded to her satisfaction.
Smirking, Seela couldn't resist the tentation to mess with her mentor a little bit more, and, with a few mental images and feelings, Sacha was quickly on board for some mischief!
And so, carefully making their way back to the clearing, Sacha let Seela pick some moss, leaves and ferns from the trees they passed.
Sacha's steady gait and occasional heads up about turbulences allowed Seela to focus on what she was crafting in her lap. It would have been easy if she could have used the Force, but she just couldn't focus on the plants, and Sacha, at the same time!
Weaving ferns and leaves to contain a double fist-sized ball of waterlogged moss, Seela bid Sacha to try and be as stealthy as she could, and to approach the man from behind.
Seela then called forth her Cloak ability, trusting in her frienship with the equine to keep her on track despite having stopped using the force to make her do as she wanted.
Seela felt relatively confident that she couldn't be heard, her excitable mount surprisingly silent in her approach, but she knew her skin color definitely was very visible in the neutral tones of the shaded forest.
Almost arrived at the clearing, a low branch caught Seela by surprise, right in the face, and she yelped. Knowing her cover was blown, she fumbled to throw the plant ball at Kyosuke, tumbling off of Sacha in her sudden distraction and subsequent harsh movements.
Seela never saw the ball landing, for she very much landed herself in a big mud puddle, forcing her to close her eyes and mouth hurriedly.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyo had begun to laugh at Seela's predicament when he noticed the soggy moss ball just before it hit his right side collarbone. The damp projectile exploded as it impacted the immediately stupefied Knight, splattering across his face, arm, and torso while he tried to maintain his steady posture.

Nightshroud did not handle the series of startling commossion so well. The injured orbak whinnied and reared the front half of his body into the air. "Woah! Woah! Easy, buddy!" Kyosuke's eyes went wide, his palms went up to calm the beast, the remaining berries fell from his hand, and he staggered back as the mental bond he'd established with the animal was suddenly disrupted.

The young man barely had a moment to flick his worried gaze to Seela, before Nightshroud slammed his front hooves back onto the ground, and charged. Kyo barely had any time to react, and from the limitless choices he had before him, he chose the one that would hopefully damage the creature the least. He shifted his body away from the wounded tusk as much as he could in the chaotic instant, which meant he put his side right into the line of the good one.

The shaggy orbak gored Kyosuke just below the ribs, bucking his head back in the process as he charged straight through Kyo. "GAHH!!" The raven-haired Knight cried out just before Nightshroud's bulky head crashed into Kyo's gut and kicked up to use his tusk to lift and throw the human out of his way. The young man tried to brace a hand against the animal's head so he could help lift himself instead of letting the tusk rip up against ribs. He then very quickly found himself rolling over the top and back of Night's head until he crashed down backwards onto the beast's back and desperately gripped the shaggy coat tightly to keep himself from falling off.

"AhhhHHhhHhHHH!!!" Kyosuke let out a long loud yell that oscillated as he held on for dear life, eventually disappearing with the startled equine through a natural shrubbery of tall thick bushes in the direction of the Shinigami.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela cleared the mud from her eyes just in time to see Kyosuke get gored, then carried away by a distraught equine. She blinked once, then sprung to her feet, winced, and clambered atop Sacha, urging her to race to the ship. That gash looked nasty...
Seela was focusing everything she had in pushing her mount faster, and staying on her back, but she couldn't help feeling bad about what just happened. Really, again, her mentor got hurt because of her... Really, she should have known better than to try to sneak up to him while he was handling a skittish creature! What had she been thinking? She hadn't! She just selfishly decided he was taking too long, and got bored! Maybe she was a bad person after all! Good people didn't repay people they owed more than their life like that!
Splitting up really seemed to be the only solution, at that point...
Thundering through the forest at high speed didn't feel good right now...

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Within a couple minutes the black shaggy orbak busted through the forest's edge at the clearing with the Shinigami. Kyo's blood was still stuck to the front of his good tusk and lightly scattered in small drops from his face to his back. The injured Knight grunted through his teeth as Nightshroud caught some air in the emergence, then suddenly landed back onto the ground with enough force that Kyosuke couldn't hold on any longer, and was thrown to the ground.

"Ghh..." The young man landed face down. His body felt exhausted, his fresh wound pained him greatly and sapped his focus. Seela had accidently gotten him hurt once again. It was gradually becoming clear to him that if he didn't leave her alone then her playful pranks might just end up getting him killed.

Kyo weakly tried to push himself up, but he'd been jostled extremely hard in the intense ride through the forest. The energy he'd barely had from recently waking was gone. A faint groan and whimper escaped him as he struggled to barely lift his head and shoulders off the ground. Then he faltered, trembled, and collapsed onto the dirt and grass.

Nightshroud kept running on for a few more moments after he'd finally managed to get the human off his back, but then he gradually slowled to a walk and stopped a couple dozen meters away at the edge of the clearing. The guilt could clearly be seen on the orbak's sullen expression. It was clear he hadn't meant to hurt his new friend that he'd just bonded with as he stood and watched the young man he'd just left on the ground.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela flung herself from Sacha's back, then yelped when her bad ankle erupted in pain. Throwing herself down besides Kyosuke, her mouth just letting out a constant stream of apologies, as she tried to gently turn him on his back, tears in her eyes, as she summoned the force to heal him.

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyosuke's eyes were closed, his body limp. There was no response from the unconscious Knight. A small puddle of crimson was under him, having drained from the hole below the side of his ribs while he'd been laying on his front. The unsteady attempt to Heal his wound seemed to not do very much over the several moments it would take Seela to try mending the injury through the Force in her unfocused state.

Eventually the blood would gradually stop pooling in the crater that went about a third of the way into him, but the Heal would only be able to help close most of the wound. The rest of the hole remained, requiring a dip in the new bacta tank in the passenger quarters across from the refresher on the Shinigami's upper deck to finish mending.

The sleek bracelet on Kyo's wrist would allow Seela to lower the ship's hangar ramp or cargo lift, if she chose to get into the nearby starship where she'd be able to help him recover.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela could see how her healing wouldn't be sufficient, but at least the man wasn't bleeding out anymore.
Lowering the cargo lift, she centered herself, taking deep breaths, and extended her hand toward Kyosuke, using the force to lift him and lay him down in the lift, hopping on one foot to follow, then made the lift go up.

"Shini, anything you can do to help prep the bacta tank, and have Gremlin meet me there!"

While the lift went up, Seela proceeded to remove the man's shirt, letting it in a pile on the lift's floor. She then removed his shoes, and any other gear he might have on him, leaving Kyosuke in only his briefs and pants.
Once up to the higher deck, Seela took a few deep breaths, then used Telekinesis again to transport Kyosuke as smoothly as possible to the tank, hobbling along behind him.
Finally settling the man in the tank, she hurried to put the breathing mask on him, and closed the lid, before sinking to the floor, panting in exertion.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Affirmative, Sea-Luh." Shini pleasantly responded as she began routing some of the ship's auxiliary power to the bacta tank at Seela's command. The machine whirled up in the room that was slightly brighter than the rest of the dim-lit ship, and once closed would begin to fill with the restorative liquid.

Gremlin's worried cries could be heard from the hall as the little scout droid came pattering down it. A moment later he'd turn the corner with a happy cheer at seeing Seela safe and mostly unarmed, but then his attention would turn to the bacta tank. "Oh no!" Grem beeped and whined as he jumped up onto the tank, looking down once he landed on top to see his bestie unconscious and injured once again.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Once certain the tank was filling, and working fine, Seela looked towards the little droid, her gut clenching in guilt and shame.

"I know, I'm so sorry, I accidentally spooked the orbak he was feeding, and he got charged..."

Seela was sitting on the floor, her head low, lekku hanging limp and dejected.
Seela allowed herself a few minutes to rest, and keep an eye on Kyosuke, before hobbling back to the lounge, grabbing an ice pack from the fridge in passing, then sitting herself on the floor near the couch. She didn't deserve to sit on it now. In fact, she didn't even deserve to be on the ship. All she deserved was being left back in the forest, to fend for herself. She deserved her pain!
And so, from that conclusion, Seela put the ice pack back in its place, then steeled herself, and started to hobble around, gathering kyosuke's things to bring them to his room.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyosuke would be unconscious for quite some time, leaving Seela alone with the ship and droids. Gremlin couldn't make up his mind between whether he wanted to stay with his bestie or follow his other bestie. The little scout released a set of faint whimpers while he looked back and forth as Seela left. Hoping that she would be alright, he then decided to curl his legs, and rested on top of the tank as he patiently waited for any sign that his bestie was okay again.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Once Seela had his gear in hand, she grit her teeth, and headed to Kyosuke's room, placing his devices on the bed, and his shoes nicely tucked in a corner. Then, heading to the refresher, she started running cold water in the tub, tossing his bloodied shirt in. Stopping the water once it sufficiently covered the fabric, she went to her room, and started packing her things, putting all her clothes and blankets in a big duffel bag, with her dancing shoes, her toiletries, and her comms.
Then, she hobbled out of the ship, asking Shini to alert her comms if anything happened with Kyosuke.
Once out, Seela made her way to a small brook, putting her bag on a rock in the sun, before crawling in the water. The cold immediatly made her hiss and shiver, but she pressed on.
Once she got her clothes as clean as she could, she removed them to hang them to dry on nearby branches, and went back to the water to clean herself.
Then, Seela set out a blanket on a sun-warmed rock, and sat on it, letting her skin dry, and meditating, while still shivering.
The brook being roughly halfway between the ship and her nest, once Seela was sufficiently dry, and her lips and extremities started to look bluer than they should, Seela put on dry clothes from her bag, and set off towards her nest, with her blanket back in the bag, and the strap tossed on her shoulder.
She could have called for Sacha, or swung in the canopy, but Seela felt like she needed to be in pain right now.
Leaving her stuff in her nest, but taking her phone and her comms with her, she hurried back to the ship, where she started cleaning up the mud and blood trail she and Kyosuke left behind, down on all fours, scrubbing the floors, mentally still beating herself up.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

The Shinigami remained quiet, with a couple faint rays of light that managed to poke through the canopy of the forest and the ship's upper deck windows. Gremlin was silent. Curled in a little ball with his faceplate facing his unconscious bestie.

The wound wasn't too horrible, and with the bit of Healing that Seela had been able to conjure up Kyo was at least coming along perhaps a little faster than he would've otherwise. It would only be a couple more hours that the injured Knight would need to heal enough to reemerge.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela ended up scrubbing the whole floor of the lounge, kitchen, and cargo lift platform, finding a basic bucket to not have to go back to the sink every minute to rinse her rag. Then, she got started with the hallway leading to the quarters, dragging her water bucket along. Once the hallway was done, she changed her water in the 'fresher, then did the floor there, before going to "her" room, then heading to Kyosuke's room, before again changing her water, and going to the room with the bacta pod.
Seela slid in a strange almost meditative state while working, centering herself in the now pulsating pain coming from her ankle, which she had visibly aggravated by walking on it non-stop earlier. She focused on her pain, making sure she felt it all, while her body just continued scrubbing.
This pain was but a part of what she deserved, but for right now, it would have to suffice.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Gremlin perked his head up when See-See entered the room, and let out a small happy cheer when he saw her reappear. He remained with his legs curled on the tank as he watched her. She seemed like something was bothering her, which he calculated must've been due to the accident. This was usually how she seemed after one of the two of his besties hurt the other. It was unfortunate, he always thought they were going to be so good together...

The little scout droid tilted his head and rested the side of it on the tank while he watched her continue to scrub the floor. He'd wait until she was nearly finished, then he'd silently shift himself into a low crouched stance, steadily prowling while he wiggled his tiny hips back and forth with anticipation.

Before See-See had the chance to turn around he'd leap, and chrip with a gleeful cry as he went to land on her upper back and shoulders so he could nuzzle her neck, and then he'd tell her with Droidspeak how happy he was to have her around.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela was mindlessly cleaning, when all of a sudden, a small angular metallic object collided with her back.
She yelped, surprised, then quickly realised it was her buddy Gremlin. She giggled at the cute droid's bubbly personality, and nuzzled him back.
Her heart squeezed in her chest, knowinh she wouldn't be around for much longer, but she just couldn't bring herself to explain it to the robot roght now...

Seela would then reach behind her shoulder, to bring Gremlin around, and would sit on the floor, against the base of the bacta pod, with the small droid in her lap.
This was fine. She would deal with the problems later...

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyo's gash wouldn't take much longer to heal and bind thanks to the bacta tank. His dim blues barely opened once he finally regained consciousness. He continued to lay there, feeling listless and unsure of what to do about the latest incident. Again she jeopardized his life, and again she'd saved it.

'Kriff...' The torn Knight kept to himself. 'Maybe I should just leave now...' With a sullen expression he then tapped one of the buttons on the control panel inside the tub, and the liquid within the tank would slowly begin to drain. Gremlin beeped excitedly and perked his head up at the nosie, hoping that it meant his bestie was okay.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

/!\ Panic attack trigger warning, PTSD warning /!\

Seela had been happily not thinking about what she needed to deal with for at least an hour, cuddling Gremlin, playing with is adorable blue bowtie and little feet, when she heard the bacta start to drain, and felt the machinery in her back start to work.
All of a sudden, the meager artificial peace she had forced on her mind vanished, her muscles clenched. Her belly felt like her intestines were all tied up in painful twisted knots, her palms got sweaty.
She felt lightheaded, and there was a faint ringing in her ears. Seela didn't really move, her body freezing on the spot, her mind replaying flashes of when he scolded her for killing people after he rescued her from being kidnapped, telling her good people didn't do that. Then, it replayed the moment when the orbak gored him because she spooked it in a weird slow motion, allowing an uncanny clarity of the moment Kyosuke's flesh got torn, the tearing sounds echoing, while his body was thrown around like an helpless ragdoll.
Seela felt slightly nauseous, a cold sweat rolling down her back, a slight tingle in her extremities.
Her heart was racing, trying to escape her chest, and she felt like all the air had left the room.
Usually, she didn't worry about not breathing, because she didn't really needed to, just having to use force Sustenance to be able to stay breathless for extended periods.
Right now, though, her body screamed to breath, her lungs were burning, and she couldn't seem to get enough air, no matter how hard she tried.
Then, flashes of "The Box" started assaulting her mind, while she heard Kyosuke talking about locking her up, alternating with flashes of the shock collar and it's remote, then Master's "Punishment Syringes", her mind forcing her to relive the induced burning pain in her body.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

It would take the bacta a few more moments to finish draining from the tank, leaving only a few droplets in it and on Kyo. The groggy young man remained for a few moments longer, brushing his hands up his face to slowly cover and rub it. Then he thought he began to feel something else near him, bubbling and boiling like swelling fear. His head turned to the side as he gradually began to lift and turn his shoulders so he could see out of the tank's window.

Gremlin's head continued to try to get a good view to see his bestie, but he didn't want to bother See-See so he didn't really try to climb away from her either. After a moment Grem then realized that she seemed to be experiencing some kind of shock, since she wasn't reacting to the good news and didn't seem to be making room for Kyo to get out of the bacta tank.

The little scout would turn his attention to her, gently nudging her with his head before he'd begin to paw her with one of his tiny footpads while worriedly asking in Droidspeak, "See-See okay?"


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela's breaths were becoming shallower and quicker as time went on, she started shaking, and shivering, slowly curling inwards around the little droid in her lap.
While all this was happening, a small part of her brain was just calculating time until she passed out. It was usually how she got out of those episodes, when they were that intense and sudden, at the club. That part was weirdly calm and jaded...
On the other hand, Seela, despite rationally knowing she wasn't actively dying, certainly felt like it. All the alarm bells were going off in her brain, her heart was pounding, images and sounds and sensations kept flashing faster and faster in her mind like a merry-go-'round gone out of control.
Her hands were clutching Gremlin in a white knuckled grip, curling around him tighter and tighter, eventually falling to her side, but otherwise not reacting to the outside world.

@AdventCore