Ask Folds and Knots

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra subtly leaned forward in anticipation for him to speak, fully expecting him to have known it all this time but never bothered to use it. However, when he opened his eyes and spoke, his response was anything but her name and instead questioned if it were something she would desire to call herself. The acolyte did a double take, it seemed like a ridiculous question and opened her mouth to tell him as such, but paused, her thinking falling deeper, her eyes settling on the ground just beside Emryc as she thought about his question.

Changing who she was called was never something she thought about, but she knew some Sith would take on a new name to represent their accomplishments, to better describe who they were. She did not identify with many who had been training all their life, perhaps she did not feel deserving of a new title or to call herself by anything than her given name. Lyra closed her eyes, falling into a moment's meditation.

If she had never went with Emryc, who would she have become? She was just hiding and surviving and when others would find her, she would have to recover, learn to survive all over again while feeling further defiled, undeserving, shameful and guilty. However, here with Emryc, she couldn't recall a time where he made her feel shameful or degraded, or forced to make a decision she did not want to make. She did not feel like the same girl who first walked into the nexus on Eriadu where she discovered the power and strength that was trapped and chained by a destiny set by others.

The acolyte opened her eyes, exhaling slowly, feeling a renewed sense of self, "I'm not going to use that name because it is not who I am, it is what others have made me." she spoke softly, but confidently. "I'll have to explore this later." she decided. Her gaze fell onto the dark that swallowed the path of the tunnel, the storm continued to rage on, the lightning seemed more intense. Lyra stood up and grabbed her pack, pulling out a small brick of a device and she turned it on, reading the numbers and meters that were fluctuating, "The atmosphere is unstable..." she said, watching silently for a moment before pulling out her holopad and connected a cord to the brick to record the readings, "Could be many things...natural environment...the salt flats don't help, contributes to a charge and its strong... can impact the magnetic fields like this reading here..." she spoke her thoughts out loud, standing in stillness before suddenly packing up.

"I'm ready, lets get going." she said pulling the straps of her pack over her shoulders.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc rose from his seat when she declared she was ready, stretching and cracking his neck and back as he did so. He turned towards the dark tunnel and began to walk in silence, relying on Lyra to light the way forward. He normally liked to have more of a plan and sense of direction, but both were missing here.

The tunnel went on for a long while before he could make out a giant gap from one side to the other. Emryc came towards the edge of the tunnel, glancing down at the endless abyss below. His gaze flicked up as he saw the gap - it was rather wide. He pondered for a moment before looking over at Lyra, glancing down at her backpack and various equipment.

“Can you make that?” He asked quietly, looking back at the other side where the tunnel continued.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra led Emyrc through the tunnel with an illumination rod to give some light to their dark trail. She wasn’t too worried about finding any living creatures, the salt flats were unforgiving to anyone or anything that tried to settle permanently. There was not a hint of organic plant life either. She felt her ears pop from the pressure change and pulled out her holopad to read for any abnormalities, a mechanical tone growing high and then low filled the tunnel, a green glow on her face as she focused for a moment on the readings. It told her what she knew, they were close, but the acolyte need further guidance and sought the Force to tell her.

“Here, hold this...” The acolyte handed him the rod and continued, a feeling grew stronger. The tone from the device would start to ring higher and her pace slowed as they approached a large gap in their trail. As Emryc walked to the ledge, judging the jump, the acolyte felt her gaze be directed along the walls. Physically, she reached out, fingers running along the cool, smooth stone, eyes widening as she tried to see better. She could feel something but not see exactly what it was. Emyrc inquired if she could make it across and something struck the acolyte as she quickly set down her pack and dragged him and the illuminator rod to the wall she was observing, “We will definitely jump...” She knew Emryc would not necessarily see what she saw, but there was a distinct square outline of where the salt residue settled.

Lyra took out a tool from her pack and started to chisel away salt build-up that had found it’s way from the surface. Working across the wall, there revealing a crease. She ran her finger to clear the salt dust and toss down the tool. Lyra took a couple steps back, hands outstretched and focused. The Force followed her command; the air became heavy as she pulled, her teeth gritted and there was a crack as part of the wall shifted, revealing a niche that hid technology untouched for several millennia.

It was like opening presents Life Day morning as Lyra’s eyes lit up and she smiled wide, “We’re going to jump, come, I need another set of hands...” she said stepping inside the compartment and begun to push aside wires.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc held the light as she handed it over, though he wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at. He followed her line of sight as she peered over the gap, clearly spotting something there. He couldn’t directly see what she was doing, but he did assist by shining the light so she could work. A glint caught his attention and he peered in close to see.

“What the…” His eyes were visibly wider as he realized she had actually stumbled upon something. This hadn’t been a fruitless trip after all. He crouched down next to her, “Okay, ready,” He said, glancing over at the gap. He began to follow her instructions, also stepping into the crevice to help operate the...terminal? It was certainly a terminal of sorts, but it was technology he had never seen before.

Within moments, a bright light emanated from their end of the platform, crossing over to the other side. The gap was covered by the light entirely, though it was translucent. Emryc stepped away slightly, genuinely surprised at what he saw. He remembered what she had said about still jumping.

“Uh…” He said, walking over towards the gap. It was quite rare for him to hesitate or display fear, but both were on his face. He glanced over at her, “Are you sure about this?”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He didn't hesitate to help her, she could feel the surprise and shock from her Master as she went to work; many components looked familiar in their function, but others she wasn't sure what their purpose would be. That was where she would use the Force to guide her fingers and thoughts. There was an eerily, albeit familiarity with the work as though she were accessing knowledge directly from the source. She double checked to make sure everything was still in-tact; the dry air in combination of the seal that kept this door in place prevented moisture from getting inside. There was strange marks on some pieces, she guessed it was possible from the ancient Gree civilizations and returned everything back to its place. Her fingers guided to a switch that clicked as she turned it.

One did not need the Force to feel there was a shift in the air and what was once an abysmal pit was now covered with a swirl of blue and purple light. Lyra looked over her shoulder, gasping in awe as she stepped out of the cubby to look what used to be myth in its existence.

Mesmerized, she nearly lost track of what they can now do and quickly blinked out of her awe. Emryc though was entirely beside himself as he approached the gap. She could feel his hesitation, his unease, worry and perhaps even fear. The acolyte walked up beside him as he glanced at her, asking if she was sure about it; she was excited, but of course, there was the worry too that this hypergate could be nothing that anyone believed them to be. She looked at a piece of the salt chunk that fallen from the wall and called it to her palm; weighing in her hand for a moment, she threw it, watching it disappear through the transparent energy field.

Lyra took Emryc's hand, "C'mon, I'm certain." she said taking a step onto the energy plain that covered the gap. They would take several steps, the light of the plain stretching what seemed for miles as they walked across until their world blinked around them and their steps crunched as the walked, seeing the plains of grasses and stone spires...

Lothal​

Lyra felt her legs grow weak as she turned slowly, looking behind from where they had entered through another archway. It was built from one of the protruding stone spires, but it would not have registered as something extraordinary as natural as it seemed. Lyra inhaled deeply, her eyes widened with elation as she let out a holler and scream, jumping around Emryc, then embracing him in her excitement and success. She released him and then ran back through the archway...

Nothing happen, she was still on the same world; she did a few more times, "Ahhh Kriff..." she ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her face, "I gotta...I gotta, find the thing." she waved, clearly out of breath from her excitement. She fell to the ground, sitting as she pulled her bag around to her and pulled out her holopad, picking up on her location, "Lothal..."

She fell back, looking at the sky, "We're on Lothal." she laughed.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread as she grabbed his hand. He took the first step, and the magic bridge thing actually held his weight. Apprehensively, he kept walking, half dragged by Lyra who was practically skipping along. He was far too nervous to yell at her and simply allowed her to yank him with her. He glanced around suspiciously, seeing the dark tunnel start to disappear.

The temperature grew warmer and he felt leaves crunch beneath his feet. His eyes blinked from the sudden light of the sun as they stepped out somewhere else entirely. Emryc’s eyes widened as he looked back, spotting nothing but an archway. What the hell?

He could only stare in shock as Lyra threw her arms around him and whooped in delight. Emryc stood still as a statue, face frozen in surprise at what just happened. He remained still as she went through the archway and….nothing happened. Shock slowly changed to concern even as Lyra excitedly chirped about them being on Lothal and sat down in the grass.

“Lothal?” He finally spoke, coming back to life. His gaze remained on the archway, “Why didn't this take us back?” He asked bluntly as he walked through the arch and nothing happened.

He went back and forth between the arch, “My ship!” He exclaimed as he looked at her tools. Emryc walked around and felt around the boulders and any other rock formation to find a similar ‘terminal’ as what they had seen before. He slowly turned to look at his apprentice.

“Are we stuck here?”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

It was certainly a set back, but nothing the acolyte felt that was totally called for panic and really the level of concern she was seeing within her Master now while he ran back and forth through the arch was an over-reaction. He asked why it did not take them back to Dantooine and Lyra stood up, she felt the answer was obvious, "Well...this gate needs to be activated to send us back..." she answered quietly as she watched him blindly move along the surface of the arch, having yelled about his ship, "Your ship is fine, you locked it before we left right?"

He slowly turned to her, asking if they were stuck here. Lyra met his gaze and then slowly looked up and away as she ran through all the possibilities, "Temporarily, we just need to find a town and then we can get a ship and be off!" she explained, starting to see how he could get annoyed at her questions when there was fairly obvious and reasonable answers. "I mean..." she walked back through the arch, examining it carefully, "At least we came from Dantooine to here and not the other way around...we could have fallen in that pit!" Lyra was still feeling pretty good about this accomplishment and wished Emryc would also enjoy the same enthusiasm.

"I probably can activate it, but it'll take time..." she said as she crouched at the base of arch, digging away some of the dirt and sand before standing back up, hands on her hips, "There's probably another 10 feet of sand and dirt, just some natural changes over the course of millennia, we can definitely get it dug out to fix it up." Lyra took out her holopad to make some notes and then turned back to Emryc.

"You're worrying too much, this could be so much worse." she said putting away her equipment, "We can't be too far from a port."

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Five hours later..

“All right, this isn’t working,” Emryc grumbled as he rose to his feet and waited for Lyra to gather up her things. He was more on edge than usual, and she would catch him reflexively reaching for his pockets a few times. He had left his cigarra packs back on the ship. It was probably the one time he had ventured out without them.

“Come on, we have very little light left to get to any town,” His datapad didn’t work out here - no technology really did. He could only hope that civilization was only a few miles out. Emryc scanned the horizon, not spotting anything in the distance. With a sigh, he began to walk.

They had a long hike ahead, and they were losing the light. Emryc wasn’t the type to get agitated or hold grudges, but the lack of being able to smoke certainly didn’t help things.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra sat in a divot she created at the base of the arch's pillar, still unable to reach any mechanical components that were still buried deeply under the terrain. She focused in her meditation, her fingers flinching slightly as though she were trying to physical feel and manipulate the components to the hypergate. It was still a new process to her and the unfamiliar technology made it even more difficult. There were several points where she had to stop and start over, Emryc was growing vastly irritated by the situation and was far from the patient master she had grown accustomed to over the years.

Eventually he would speak, determining the plan was not working. His grumpy demeanor distracted her and she felt her grasp slip, unable to keep a hold of the pieces she was working on currently. The acolyte gritted her teeth in annoyance and felt her fingers curl into fists in his rush to head out of the area before it became dark. Lyra inhaled deeply, but couldn't find her exhale as she hastily gathered her belongings, his irritation was certainly rubbing onto her.

"I don't know what the hurry is, this is exciting stuff!" she said rolling off the high of jumping across the galaxy with only a hop and a skip, "You could at least not be so grumpy about it." Lyra pouted, "Well reach a town in no time." she said as they continued; Lyra would admit she was enjoying the fresh air and as the sun was starting to fall into the evening, a cool breeze rustled the grasses around them. She ignored Emryc for a little while as her thoughts processed her calculations of their jump from Dantooine to here. She begun to wonder where else she was going to find these gates now that she knew what to look for.

The acolyte would look back, still able to see the arch in the distance, finding they were not getting far any time quickly and the girl tried to stifle a yawn and threw back her head in an exaggerated fashion and sighed loudly.

"Ok..." she huffed unable to handle any silence, "How far do you think we have to go?" she asked Emryc, "Where do you think we are on Lothal?"

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc kept walking in silence, his gaze trained forward. It took a lot of self restraint to keep his composure. Normally he had his meditation, his smokes, his ship, his books….he normally was far more prepared than he was right now. He ignored her complaining for the most part as they kept walking. Emryc noticed that no matter how much they walked, there was nothing in sight. With a sinking feeling, he glanced down and saw that their datapads still had no service.

After a bit of walking, Lyra began to whine. He didn’t turn to look at her, but he did gaze ahead, his jaw tightening, “I’ve never set foot on Lothal before,” He said icily. He scanned over the horizon, and still saw absolutely nothing. There were no lights in the distance and no rivers or streams nearby. It was nothing but endless fields that stretched out for miles in every direction.

“It could be twenty miles, it could be a hundred,” He offered rather unhelpfully, a definite edge to his tone. Emryc closed his eyes as he drew in a breath and slowly exhaled, remembering his training. That little noise of breathing alone was the closest she would ever get to an apology - it was him actively checking himself for slipping with his irritation.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"What?" Lyra stopped mid-step when he informed he had never been to Lothal, then again, she never been here either, but she was silently wishing he would have been more well-travelled than herself. He took a guess as to where they could be and what it told her they could be anywhere. The acolyte let out another sigh, feeling her body grow achy, she was uncertain how long they had been traveling between Dantooine and here. At least now he was more visibly calm, but his tone spoke there was still that irritability deep underneath.

Lyra's pace had certainly slowed, but her mind was busy, trying to think of other options to figure out where they were instead of picking a direction and going. "I should have told you we were leaving the arch until I got it working." she regretted, and looked up at the cloudy sky, admiring the orange and purpled that streaked in the clouds. At least it was something nice to look at instead of...grass.

She remained physically quiet, but her mind was anything but quiet, "We can't keep walking." she stated rather forcefully as though she had fought with her own inner dialogue to speak up, "We don't know where we are or where we are gong." Lyra stopped, "We could be going in the wrong direction!" she felt her voice get higher and then she sat down, her body welcoming the relief.

"I'm staying right here until a better idea comes." the acolyte proclaimed.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc kept walking, not even remotely tired. It was mostly flat terrain, and he could walk for miles. It was irritating, but not unmanageable. Lyra started complaining again, and this time it was far more grating than before. His jaw twitched slightly, but he didn’t dignify her with a response.

And then she just plopped down.

He stopped walking when he was a few feet ahead of her. He slowly turned to look at her, watching her casually sitting in the middle of the field and refusing to move. Crickets chirped, the wind blew, and she didn’t move. Night was beginning to set in and they still had a respectable distance to go. That look on her face was familiar to him - she had no intention of moving.

“We are going North,” He said coldly. He heard a growl in the far distance, his sensitive ears picking it up, though he was sure she hadn’t heard it. In his cigarra lacking rage, he almost considered leaving her behind. Would he truly lose anything? Instead, he brought up a hand to rub his temples for a moment.

He paused only for a few moments longer until he walked towards her. He grabbed her backpack and placed it backwards on himself so the straps went on his back and it rested on his chest. Next, he reached down and easily picked her up, tossing her into the air and spinning around so she grabbed onto him by instinct when she came down, his hands catching her under the legs. As a result, she was on him piggy back style. It was easier to do the trick instead of trying to convince her for an hour.

“If you’re going to talk, I don’t want it to be whining,” He said curtly. With that, he began to walk while carrying her and all her equipment.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra watched as he kept going a few more feet and then stopped. Her body tense with an expectation that he would just be done with her and the quiet whispers of her past brushed in her thoughts. As he turned to face her, she was stuck in her determination, walking nowhere was not her idea of finding where they needed to go. Her eyes spoke loudly, almost as though she were daring him to walk away, but he didn't. She wished she did not ask him to have come with her, it was always better to do things alone.

Emryc walked over and grabbed her pack and before she could further protest, he grabbed her and swung her onto his back to carry her. She felt herself holding onto him tightly, needing to take a moment to figure out how she felt about this. Emryc spoke again, instructing how she should speak and Lyra didn't say a word, remaining silent and annoyed that he just did not leave her behind.

"I could have had that hypergate working in another couple hours." she sighed, "This is ridiculous. I can walk." she rested her forehead gently against the back his head, but made no effort to wiggle out of his grasp. "Lets just go back to the arch, I can fix it, you just need to have a little more patience. Then we don't have to walk to town, you can get back to your ship and I will never ask you to come with me on one of these again." Lyra bargained, feeling a bit more defeated from how exhausted her body felt.

Though, Lyra would lift her head, a bit more alert and unease spread through her body, "The crickets stopped." she observed.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc cut Lyra off mid-speech before she could even get the words out about how they should have stayed.

“I said no whining,” He said firmly, putting that entire line of thought to rest. Couldn’t she sing a song or something? She purposely made the journey more difficult than it had to be. Emryc kept walking, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Despite all the extra weight, he appeared largely unfazed. He kept glancing up at the stars, and then down, hoping to see some kind of lights in the distance at some point.

He didn’t slow down even as Lyra pointed out that the crickets stopped chirping. Emryc kept walking, his gaze trained ahead, “That’s because sabercats have been stalking us for the last mile or so,” He had heard them for a while, “If they get close, knock them back. I’m a bit preoccupied lugging you around.”

The leaves rustled and gleaming eyes could be seen from the sides. One of the cats slowly began to stalk nearby, though it didn’t hiss or cry out just yet. They were strategizing on a plan of attack. Emryc still didn’t slow down, his pace exactly the same as he didn’t even bother looking at their very obvious enemies.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Having been interrupted mid-speech, Lyra did not give any further protest despite feeling out of the control of the situation. She knew she could have figured out a way back with just a little more time. Her body tensed with her thoughts, subtly squeezing Emryc a little tighter, though she did not let up as he explained the sabercats. "Stalking us?" she groaned softly, allowing her senses draw her gaze to the horizon, her mild shock slowly turned into scowl when pointed his current preoccupation with carrying her. She saw the glint in the eyes of the creatures, "Good, lug me around some more, its more comfortable than a speeder." she quietly sighed.

Exhaustion made the acolyte strain her senses as she kept check of the sabercats; they kept their distance but they were looking for any signs of slowing, faltering or even panic. Lyra could only hope whatever luck they had would keep and they would make it out of their territory, but that could still be miles ahead of them. A part of the acolyte wondered if they were curious about them and tried to think of how many beings wandered out in these regions. Perhaps they were an anomaly to the predators, they probably did not look or smell like anything the beasts would have hunted regularly.

"They probably can smell your cologne." she frowned, "At least its not the stuff the guys used to wear at school. I would happily have dropped them in a sabercat den." Lyra happily imaged the scenario, "However, it may have been so bad, it could have warded off the cats." However, there were also the girls who marinated in some body sprays that would deter even the Dark Lord themselves.

"Can you get perfume where you get your cologne?" she asked her gaze falling over her shoulder to see the grass rustle as one of the cats turned away from the pack.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc couldn’t help but grin when Lyra pointed out he was more comfortable than a speeder. Of course, she wouldn’t see it. He kept walking as the cats continued to stalk them, but they didn’t come much closer. Lyra glancing around and Emryc’s confidence both worked to make it clear that this wasn’t exactly a weak and worthy victim.

Lyra started talking more and mercifully it wasn’t more complaining. He remained silent throughout the accusations about his cologne - who knows, perhaps that was correct. He thought of his own life on the station as she mentioned high school. Everyone smelled the same then. Everyone had the same toiletries. Everyone wore the same uniform. It dawned on him that experience likely pushed him to venture out on smelling and dressing differently.

“There are perfumes,” He answered after a while, spotting some lights as he peaked over a hill. They would both be able to see it and his muscles relaxed to where she would be able to feel it. Emryc picked up the pace, almost running down the incline and letting momentum carry him. He didn’t stop till he skidded to a halt, finding a path that led towards what looked like a very tiny town.

“You smell fine,” Emryc said after a long pause, finally setting her down so they could walk into the town.

Exhaustion gripped his muscles and he didn’t realize it till the adrenaline rush from being in potential danger wore off. He made his way over to a nearby inn, asking for rooms. Naturally, there was only one left at this hour. He sighed as he led the way up, opening the door.

With tired eyes, he tilted his head to look at Lyra, “I’m too tired to be a gentleman,” He said simply as he took his shoes off and walked over to plop down one side of the bed. She was free to sleep on the same bed or take the floor. Emryc gazed up at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes and muttering the words of his prayer. He was too tired to even do the usual rituals.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Eventually the sabercats turned away, giving up on their stalk to find something else more vulnerable. Emryc didn't respond to her story but he did not seemed irritated by it and finally gave her a simple answer, confirming there were perfumes where he bought his cologne, but nothing more. A part of her knew even if he did not speak, he was still listening. With her head tucked and resting against his own, she was fighting to stay awake; the rhythmic motions of him moving through the plains was luring her to rest long enough that her muscles would relax and then suddenly jerk awake as her body did not wish to fall.

They would reach the top of a hill and see the lights of a small town below; Lyra could feel his muscles relax in the relief they had finally made it to a town. He quickly descended the hill and Lyra held on tightly, not wanting to fall as he skid to a stop; Lyra wanted to smile as the reached the town, but even the muscles in her face were too tired. Helping her down, the acolyte took her pack and walked beside him. Even with the dim lights of the Inn she could see the weariness in his face.

Lyra couldn't care if they had one room or two, she would have slept in a barn if it meant she could rest. She dropped her pack on the floor once inside their room, watching Emryc step out of his shoes and made his way to the bed, taking one half and Lyra stood quietly, feeling a moment of conflict. The floor, especially facing the door was always safe; she would always catch unwanted guests if they tried something. However, she was not alone this time and it was with Emryc did she ever feel the safest. Slipping out of her boots and tossing her dusty tunic down with them, she climbed into the other half of the bed. The acolyte listened as he whispered his prayers, falling asleep to his words.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Thankfully Emryc was far too tired for his sensitive ears to pick up Lyra’s snoring. He slept in later than he had in recent years. Even then, he was awake before the sun was completely up. His morning began with a routine of prayer, followed by an absurdly long shower that finally relaxed his muscles. It took a lot of willpower to force himself back into the same clothes from the night before, but he hadn’t exactly planned on being stranded here.

He didn’t linger much longer, leaving the room to make his way out into the town. The first thing he did was buy a pack of cigarra and a lighter. That first drag was all it took to soothe him again, relaxing his mind. He simply stood outside for a moment, quietly smoking and gazing out towards the fields they had come from. Was his ship still okay? He worried about that ship more than he did people.

Emryc made his way over to the dining area in the inn which consisted of exactly four tables. He spotted a rack of tourism flyers that looked as if they hadn’t been touched in a few decades. Grabbing himself a plate of fruits, he snagged one of the flyers and sat down at a table.

The sites to explore all sounded dreadfully boring. His face scrunched up slightly when he read about a ‘petting zoo’ that involved touching bantha and other herd animals. How could that be considered fun? The smell alone sounded unbearable. He flipped through till he came across what looked like a picture of a random boulder. Emryc was about to move on when he read the description about how it was said to have mysterious abilities and how sometimes people went missing near it.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra didn't stir as Emryc prepared for the day and left the hotel room; it had been years since the acolyte had slept soundly and when she woke, she nearly had forgotten where she was. Sitting up quickly in the bed, she noticed Emryc was gone and instantly she reached out, feeling him not too far away. Letting out a sigh of relief, she laid back down, feeling she could sleep for a few more days. The sunlight peeked through the blinds at just the right angle to keep the girl from getting comfortable; surrendering to the day, Lyra decided to bathe and then search for where Emryc had gone.

Still in her clothes from yesterday, she tied up her wet hair to keep it out of her face and headed out of the room with her pack. Luckily she didn't have to go far to find Emryc who had settled in the kitchenette with some fruit and a couple of travelers brochures. She glanced at the pamphlets and back at the Sephi with bewilderment, "Interested in petting a bantha?" she asked having noticed the picture of a family entertaining farm animals. Lyra poured herself a cup of caf and sat down at the table across from him. "Where you able to find any ships off this world so you can get back to Dantooine?" she asked him, her attitude more tolerable after getting a full nights sleep. She seemed more concerned about him getting back to his ship, for herself though, she just wanted to get the portal activated on Lothal.

The acolyte took a sip of the caf and started to cough and sputter, spitting the drink back in the mug. She looked absolutely betrayed by the spoiled cup of caf, she wondered how many times it had been poured back through the caf filters.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc didn’t look up as Lyra joined him, his gaze fixed on the ‘mystery boulder’. It sounded like something from where they had just been. If they were going to go back there, he would prepare this time. Emryc ignored the question about bantha petting. He glanced up to tell her about the boulder right in time to see her dribble coffee back into her cup. It was one of the few times Emryc’s face betrayed expression as his lips curled down into utter disgust. He stopped what he was going to say, caught off guard as he blinked at her.

He glanced away to distract himself and popped another piece of fruit into his mouth, looking at a Holo that was playing nearby. It was switched onto a sports channel that was displaying a Huttball game. Lothal was Outer Rim and the local channels covered the games. Emryc’s eyes were fixed on the screen.

“Don’t want to leave until we solve how to use the gate,” He said as he slid the pamphlet over to her to read about the mystery boulder. His eyes did not shift from the game, a vacant look on his face as he watched.

@GABA