Ask Lothal Hunter's Moon

[Haela Iskall]

"I've been tracking and hunting for as long as I can remember." Haela pondered out loud, responding to Elidan's question about how long they'd been doing their job. "Bounty hunting, though, has been paying my bills for a little of a decade or so now." they explained. Well mostly their father's bills, actually, but the Jedi didn't need to know that. As enticing as some higher-profile bounties were, Haela had settled comfortably around the middle tier of guild hunters to avoid attention and too much risk. Without them, their father had no clear income.

With the ship having made its way well outside the city, the Tiefling engaged the autopilot and leaned back in the pilot's seat, looking over at Elidan as he signed out a response to Haela's explanation of their sixth sense. They supposed it made sense that a Jedi of all people would have similar abilities given all their meditating and magical powers, but the bounty hunter's mind failed to connect the dots in the Annfyn's comment that set up his next question.

Did they have this Force thing too?

Haela stared at Elidan like he'd grown ten heads, eyes slightly wide with confusion. After several seconds that seemed to last minutes, the Tiefling burst into laughter. "You're saying I'm what, a Jedi?" they asked in between laughs. It sounded ridiculous — and it probably was. Yet there was a small voice in the back of Haela's brain pointing out that Elidan's logic was sound, even if it was untested. What if the Jedi was right?

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”I see. I have been in the Order as long as I can remember too.” Elidan’s life in the orphanage on Chardaan was a blur, with him not being able to remember all the details. It seemed that his life had only started when he was found by the Jedi, as if he was born at that moment. “I became a Padawan nearly a decade ago and a Knight some years later. Then I decided to use my abilities to heal people that need it, rather than going to fight in the Crusade.”

Since they had left the city, it wasn’t necessary for Haela to continue piloting the ship. They left it on autopilot and turned their attention to the Knight. The Tiefling stared at him with a face that made the half-Annfyn wonder if there was something on his hair. Then they started to laugh and he was pretty sure that they went mad.

His eyes widened with their question, before Elidan burst into laughter too. Did they really think that they were Jedi? He always thought that was hilarious how some people confused being a Force sensitive with being a Jedi. These two being synonymous was common among the citizens of the Galaxy, but was a complete false idea.

Elidan was laughing so much that didn’t even notice that he was making sounds and his voice could be heard among it.

“No. I think that you can be Force sensitive, which is very different from being a Jedi.” he explained, when finally stopped laughing. “To become a Jedi, you need to take vows of our Order. It isn’t because you can use the Force that we’ll give you a lightsaber and robes. There is a lot of stuff between these two.”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

As if the rest of his behavior hadn't made it clear, Elidan's explanation that he was a healer rather than a warrior allowed everything to suddenly make much more sense in Haela's mind. Then again, it also raised some questions; what exactly was the Jedi capable of healing with his flow of life magic, or whatever he'd said it was? Could it help their father?

The thoughts passed with both of them breaking into laughing fits, even if it was for different reasons. Haela thought it was laughable that they had the same powers as a Jedi, while Elidan seemed to be laughing less at his assertion and more at the bounty hunter's question about being a Jedi. Curiously, the Annfyn was actually laughing, which meant that he wasn't mute. Yet at the same time, he couldn't have been deaf if he was able to hear the Tiefling talking. They made a mental note to ask him about it later, instead focusing on Elidan's explanation that having this "Force" didn't make someone a Jedi.

"I suppose that makes enough sense, I guess you would be the only authority on the matter that I know." Haela responded. "I suppose if I ever need to find religion, I'll know exactly where to go." Admittedly, that seemed very unlikely. The Tiefling was in no rush to be swapping out their broadsword and the thrill of the hunt for morning meditations and unflattering robes. Not to mention, if Elidan's stature was anything to go by it seemed like there'd be little time for a lifting routine.

Jedi or otherwise, the concept was only relevant it Elidan was actually correct; and as much as Haela wanted to dismiss the idea entirely they couldn't deny the question lingering in their head. "How exactly would I know if I'm..." the bounty hunter paused, taking a moment to remember what the Jedi had said, "Force sensitive is what you called it, right?" they asked. "It's not like I have a habit of floating rocks around with my mind."

After any response Elidan had, the ship's navigation console would beep to indicate the two were coming up on the poacher's camp. Haela turned to look out the window, quickly identifying a pair of tents and a landspeeder aligned to the left of a large campfire, with an AMS-8500 freighter parked to the left with 5 cages of roughly the same size and some more storage crates stacked underneath the ship's wings. "We're here." the bounty hunter commented.

Turning off the autopilot, the Tiefling regained manual control of Solee's ship and pulled it around to face east so that the boarding ramp would face away from the poacher's tents. "I've got a plan, although it's a bit rushed." Haela explained. "I'll get out and talk to Solee's partners here, while you sneak around their ship and do your Jedi magic to get those cages open. Ideally I can keep them talking long enough for you to get the wolves on our ship, and then I'll incapacitate them." They took a deep breath, standing up and checking their armor and weapons to make sure everything was as it needed to be. "But plans rarely work out as intended, so be ready to throw that all away and improvise; maybe float some rocks or something." the bounty hunter said with a smirk.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Haela’s comment made Elidan rise an eyebrow. “Good, I’ll give you my agenda, so you will know when I make the services. I’m also open to spiritual counseling, and if you want to marry someday, I do it for free.” the half-Annfyn signed, before bursting into laughter. The way that the Tiefling talked about religion gave the impression that he was some type of priest. Well, technically he was a monk, but it wasn’t the type that went around preaching.

“Yes, the correct term is Force sensitive.” the conversation became serious and Elidan straightened himself in the chair. “There is a test that can be made to identify it. The Jedi did it with me when I was discovered. It’s very simple. I can do it, if you want.” the half-Annfyn wasn’t going to force her to do it, but he felt very curious with the possibility of her being one.

Whatever Haela’s decision was, it would need to wait. The navigation console had announced that they had arrived at the poacher camp and Elidan immediately went into serious mode. He paid close attention to the Tiefling’s plan, nodding when they finished the explanation.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Elidan signed, while turning to look at Haela. “I’m used to plans not working, so I have learned how to improvise.” he showed them his mechanical hand, the greatest symbol of plans going wrong in his life. “It’ll be fine.” the half-Annfyn hoped that nothing really bizarre would happen.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela regarded Elidan with confusion as he laughed about having scheduled Jedi services and counseling, half expecting him to offer a datapad with a calendar for making an appointment. Apparently, such a concept was literally laughable. It just went to show how much the Tiefling actually knew about these Jedi.

Elidan was rapidly altering Haela's understanding of what Jedi were, and for that they were grateful. The old adage of "knowing is half the battle" rang true every time they took a bounty, and being wrongly informed could be even worse than having no knowledge at all. Not just about others, but about themself too. To that end, the Jedi's proposition of a test to concretely identify Force sensitivity was very intriguing—but it would have to wait.

Haela nodded at Elidan's acceptance of their plan, exiting the ship's cockpit and walking down the boarding ramp while signing for the Jedi to stay hidden. They turned, walking around the back of Solee's ship to see a male Weequay and a female Trandoshan, both carrying blasters, exit the two tents in the site with confused looks on their faces.

"We were exxxpecting Sssolee." the Trandoshan hissed, clawed fingers tapping along the barrel of her blaster rifle. "Who are you?"

"The name's Carmine, I met Solee during his last drop-off on Klantooine." Haela lied. "He encountered some trouble with a bounty hunter sent by the Hutts, so he sent me to keep the transactions on schedule. Got a problem with that?"

Spoiler: Roll to convince the poachers

9

"He didn't tell us about all this though, did he?" the Weequay responded. "Why don't we give our friend a call to confirm all this, hm?"

Haela's eyes briefly flicked over to the cages, hoping Elidan's job was going a little more smoothly than theirs. The bounty hunter's hand hovered near the pistol on their waist, the Trandoshan inched a finger closer to the trigger on her blaster, and the Weequay held a pistol in one hand while pulling out an EZPhone with the other.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan remained on the ship while Haela walked toward the poachers. He wondered if they were good at making up lies, because it was going to be necessary to fool those people. Anyway, he could only tell the Tiefling the most cliche phrase that existed in the Galaxy. “May the Force be with you.”

With Haela keeping the poachers distracted, Elidan sneaked out of the ship. With careful movements, he moved toward the cages where the animals probably where imprisoned. It wasn’t the first time that the Jedi had to use stealth in a mission, but it didn’t mean that he liked it.

To someone with a long story of anxiety, stealth was never easy.

When he finally reached the cages, Elidan stared at them with surprise. With the exception of one, all the others were empty. The one that was occupied had only a tiny white-colored fur ball, curled in the middle of it. He immediately recognized it as a loth-wolf pup, probably only some weeks old. Its eyes weren’t even open.

The half-Annfyn wondered what had happened with the pup’s family. He had some suspicions, though.

He turned to look at the door, frowning about what he should do. Elidan had no idea of how to open the lock, with his lightsaber being the only way to open it. However, the sound would alert the poachers. Closing his eyes, the half-Annfyn found the mind of the two criminals and used the Force to give them a single order: Sleep.

It would be enough to make them fall asleep while talking with Haela, leaving Elidan to use his lightsaber to cut the cage and retrieve the pup. The little animal immediately curled in his arms.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela's muscles tensed, ready to draw their blasters at a moment's notice. The Trandoshan looked equally eager to start blasting away, her reptilian eyes fixed in a staring match with the Tiefling's own shining yellow ones. The Weequay raised his phone to his ear, all three individuals anticipating a fight about to break out—

In that split second, Haela felt themselves become aware of another energy; almost like an electricity in the air, yet more subtle.

Without further warning the two poacher's expressions softened, their postures loosening, eyelids drooped; finally, both dropped to the ground, apparently asleep. Haela stood over them, hand on a holstered blaster as they cautiously nudged at each of the two with their boot. Was this more Jedi magic? An energized snap-hiss sound coming from the cages quickly drew the bounty hunter's attention, pistols whipped out of their holsters to train on the sound's source: Elidan, using a bright green laser-sword (no, a lightsaber, right?) to cut through a cage door and rescue the loth-wolf pup trapped within.

The Tiefling lowered their weapons, holstering them once again as they walked over to where the Jedi stood soothing the sleeping pup. Haela felt a soft smile, impossible to suppress, spread across their face at the sight of the animal. For all the gritty experience of a veteran bounty hunter, there was no way to avoid the warm feeling brought on by seeing a cute puppy. It reminded them of Boga and Örvar, twin anoobas who'd been abandoned runts of their litter and now kept Haela's father company back home.

"I suppose those two back there were your work?" the Tiefling asked Elidan, gesturing to the sleeping poachers behind them. "Maybe I should try out your meditation hours, normally I have to knock people out the old fashioned way." they chuckled, punching a fist into their palm for emphasis. "If that one is all they've got here, get it onto the ship and double check the rest of the camp while I restrain the scum running this operation."

While Elidan took care of the wolf pup, Haela placed stun cuffs on each of the sleeping poachers and dragged them into Solee's ship, shoving them inside their own cages in the cargo hold and stripping both of their weapons. The thought of leaving them stranded in restrained in the wilderness crossed the bounty hunter's mind, but they'd get more money by dropping them off at a Lothal jail. Not to mention Elidan would probably disapprove of and protest against doing so.

His moral code reminded Haela of their father's urgings to always treat everyone with the same kindness the Tiefling showed him. For better or worse, they couldn't help but worry about the Jedi's opinion of them.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled at the loth-wolf when the little animal started to bite the sleeves of his tunic with a toothless mouth. The poor thing must be so hungry, he doubted that poachers would feed it properly. Once they left this place, the half-Annfyn would find some milk for him to drink. Perhaps he would be able to give it a formula that was used for other canine-like animals.

When he turned to look at Haela, the half-Annfyn saw that they were lowering a blaster. He frowned, wondering why the Tiefling had pointed at him to begin with. He wondered if they had felt his use of the Force and that had scared them. For some reason, the Knight felt very bad for scaring them.

The half-Annfyn nodded when Haela mentioned the poachers. “Yes. I used the Force to make them sleep.” he used one hand to sign, while the other held the pup. It had stopped to bite his sleeves and was now staring at the Tiefling with curious eyes.

“I wanted to avoid them noticing that I was using my lightsaber, but now I’m tired.” using that ability in so many at the same time was exhaustive. Elidan could feel his legs being a bit shaken. When he was going to step forward, his legs gave up and the half-Annfyn fell with his back on the ground.

“I really need to rest.” he said, before closing his eyes. The last thing that Elidan felt was the loth-wolf curling to sleep on his chest to sleep.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela watched as Elidan signed a confirmation that the poachers' sudden drowsiness had, in fact, been his doing. Apparently his magical abilities had a similar effect on their user though. The Jedi signed that he was tired, and his buckling knees quickly gave out. The Tiefling ended up staring down at the man as Elidan lay on the ground, the loth-wolf curling up on his chest as he told them he needed to rest before promptly falling asleep.

"Well that's just great, leaving me to do all the work while you take a nap in the middle of a job." Haela muttered in irritation. "You know, some of us actually have to work for a liv—"

Hold on. The Tiefling paused mid-complaint, the gears in their mind turning slightly delayed given the surprise of what had just happened. The Jedi had spoken to them; out loud, with working vocal cords, in Galactic Basic. Was he afraid of speaking or something? Most people who communicated with sign language did so because they had to, either because they were deaf or mute and couldn't afford any cybernetic implants to assist them. What in the hells was this guy's deal, some kind of trauma maybe?

Whatever it was, they'd have to wait to find out. For a moment, Haela wondered if they should leave Elidan where he was. After all, the poachers were taken care of and the loth-wolf was safely rescued; each had gotten what they wanted, and the most hardened bounty hunters would've considered this to be the partnership's end.

The Tiefling let out a sigh as they knelt down to pick the Jedi up princess-carry style, careful to keep him level so as to not disturb the sleeping puppy on his chest as they carried him towards the ship. No, it wouldn't have been right to leave him out here even if he had fallen asleep on the job. Haela didn't know exactly how Elidan's magical Force stuff worked — okay, they didn't know at all — but whatever he'd done to tire himself out so much had saved the bounty hunter from a dangerous 2-on-1 situation. If nothing else, that meant something. They laid him down on a couch in the main hold of Solee's ship, before collecting the two similarly sleeping poachers.

---

When Elidan awoke a few hours later, he'd find himself laying in an unfamiliar bed with the loth-wolf pup snuggled up next to him and the covers drawn halfway up. Haela sat a few feet away from the bed, counting out a pile of credits. Their yellow eyes pierced through the dim lighting of the room, gazing over they bed where the Jedi lay.

"Oh good, you're awake." the Tiefling began, placing the credits in neatly stacked rows. "Don't panic, you're in my ship's sleeping quarters. You're lucky I didn't just leave you out in the wilderness after you fell asleep on me." That's right, play the hardened persona. "While you took your little nap, I dragged those poachers to the Capitol City authorities and got paid handsomely for capturing those scumbags." Haela focused intently on Elidan as they spoke, dextrously flipping a credit between their fingers. "I suppose you deserve some of the payment too, but I'm only giving you a third since I had to do all the heavy lifting. That's seven thousand credits for you, Jedi." they added.

They had a thousand other questions for the Annfyn, but it was probably better to let him fully wake up first.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

The first thing that Elidan noticed before waking up was that he was over a very soft place. He slowly opened his eyes, finally seeing that he was in an unfamiliar bed with a blanket covering part of his body. A movement on his right drew his attention, right on time to see the loth-wolf pup sleeping next to him. The half-Annfyn smiled, the poor thing must have been tired too after all that happened with him.

While he watched the loth-wolf, Elidan wondered where he could be. The last thing that he remembered was using the Force to put the poachers to sleep and being overcome by tiredness shortly after. Since this bed wasn’t his, the half-Annfyn had no idea where he was.

Then, he heard a familiar voice and turned to look at the source, staring back at Haela. The Tiefling was seated in a chair next to a table. It was full of credits. He wondered where all that money came from. Then, he realized there was something more important for him to be concerned with. The fact that Haela had to bring him here after he fell asleep.

Suddenly, he felt ashamed with the fact that a Jedi Knight couldn’t stay awake after using the Force and ended up bothering a civilian for help. Elidan's face got completely red and his ears folded nearly completely, showing his embarrassment. For some reason, he was concerned if Haela would have a bad impression of him. He stayed in silence for some time, trying to process the situation.

“T-thank you and sorry for bothering you that way.” he said, while staring at his hands. It seems that his psychological side had finally agreed to talk with Haela. Good, because signing with shaking hands wasn’t easy. Elidan moved his eyes to the credits that he had apparently won by helping catch the poachers. “I don’t need that money, Jedi don’t accept rewards. However, I will donate it to the local hospital.”

After he finished talking, an awkward silence fell over them. Elidan blushed once again, while his ears folded. He wondered if it was Haela’s bedroom. If it was the case, the half-Annfyn would feel even worse.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela didn't need to be a Jedi, or even have whatever "Force" for that matter, to feel Elidan's embarrassment from across the room. Great. Now he was making them feel bad for making him so nervous. The Tiefling took a deep breath, reminding themself that the Jedi wasn't a client or a colleague or some mystical warrior they needed to put on an uncaring facade for. Truth be told, as much as the bounty hunter wanted to be annoyed at Elidan they felt like they needed him to judge them correctly. To see they were more than just their job.

"Oh, I'm just giving you a hard time, don't worry about it." Haela quickly replied, easing up on the uncaring tone they'd been using before. "Honestly, you saved me from a tight spot with those poachers and I can't really blame you for exhausting yourself to finish the mission. Plus, I'm pretty sure my sword weighs more than you do."

Okay, the Jedi hadn't been that light when they carried him. Still, the Tiefling was sure they benched probably double his body weight during their daily workouts alone.

"So donating your spoils to the hospital, huh? I can respect that." Haela added, recalling what Elidan had done for Solee's shattered ankle earlier. What were the limits of his healing abilities? "You're uh, some kind of healer then? You seemed to fix the Rodian up completely earlier. Does that little trick just work for bones or can it help with something more... severe? Like diseases?" they asked. They couldn't afford the best hospitals or ultra-expensive treatments for their father, but an on-hand medicine wizard? Haela wondered if he'd actually be able to help.

Elidan seemed genuinely caring, not like someone who'd try to take advantage of their situation. Regardless, the Tiefling wanted to know more before entrusting him with something as personal as their father's health.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”It's fine.” Elidan said. No, he whispered. His voice was so low that Haela would need to do some effort To hear what he was saying. “I needed to use my lightsaber to free the pup and it would attract their attention. Since I didn’t want to see you in trouble, I decided to knock them up this way.” he should have been more careful though. Fainting in the middle of a poacher camp was dangerous. If the Tiefling wasn’t there, he would be the one in trouble.

Then, the half-Annfyn realized something important. If he was there, someone had to carry him. He turned his eyes to Haela, ears folding like a pup that did something wrong.

“You carried me.” Elidan's face wasn’t simply red anymore, it was completely scarlet. He felt terrible for having made the Tiefling do that and even worse with the fact that he probably looked like a damsel in distress. It was for situations like this one that the Knight still believed that he was a mediocre Jedi.

At least they changed the subject of the conversation, Elidan was grateful for that. “Yes, I'm a Jedi Healer.” he said, the color of his face was returning to normal. “It can cure a disease, but needs a lot of concentration. I heard of Jedi doing it for 20 hours.”

The loth-wolf stirred next to the half-Annfyn. It yawned and climbed on his lap. He smiled and caressed its head. “I never tried to cure a disease, only wounds and cases of poisoning. I would need more training.” he was sure that only a Master would be able to do it. “Why are you asking?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Despite their intentions for the opposite, it seemed Haela's explanation had only made things worse. Elidan's face turned such a bright shade of red at the realization the Tiefling had carried him that for a moment they worried his head might actually just explode. Was that something else Jedi could do?

With the conversation moving beyond the events with the poachers, Haela was glad to see the Jedi calm down a bit as his embarrassment faded. He mentioned hearing of a Jedi taking 20 hours to completely cure someone of a disease, which sounded entirely too long to the bounty hunter; but what did they really know about these kinds of things? They supposed it was better than months or even years of treatments that didn't work half the time and cost as much as a capital ship. Either way, it sounded like Elidan didn't have the experience necessary to even attempt such a feat. Maybe they should've seen that coming, considering making a couple guys sleepy had totally knocked him out. Whatever mystery affliction the Tiefling's father had was definitely beyond his stalents.

What Haela did see coming, on the other hand, was the dreaded question of exactly why they wanted to know about Elidan's healing abilities. Considering he couldn't actually help them, the bounty hunter debated whether it was even worth telling him the truth; it wouldn't be hard to wave the whole idea off as simple curiosity. On the other hand, there was a good chance Elidan felt like he owed them something, and that might motivate him to go ask some higher up Jedi friend to help. Who were they kidding? The Tiefling already knew he'd do that anyways, just from the way he had acted today. Because he cared about other people, even the worst people like Solee, in a way Haela could only respect.

After an awkwardly long amount of time spent just staring at the Jedi's face, lost deep in thought, they let out a small sigh. "You asked about my family earlier. The whole 'big family' thing? That might've... been a lie." Haela replied, a slight sheepish expression on their face. "I'm from a little hunting village on Abelor, where it's just me and my dad. He's been sick for years, ever since I was a kid; we don't really know what it is, but it's only gotten worse over time. The treatments I can afford from bounties haven't done much except make him a bit more comfortable."

Haela's face had shifted now, moving from embarrassed, to worried, and finally to sad as they spoke. Water welled in one eye, threatening to trickle down their cheek, but it was quickly flicked away on the end of a long black-painted fingernail. Compose yourself Haela. "There's not much I can do anymore so... I was hoping your Jedi magi— sorry, your Force, might be able to help." Gods, were they really doing this in front of a stranger? No, Elidan was more than that; as a Jedi and a healer, it was his entire job to deal with hopless cases like this. Probably. Right?

The day's events had made it very clear to Haela that they actually had no clue what actual Jedi were like.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan listened to Haela’s confession and he wasn’t surprised that what they had said was a lie. When they first talked about it, the half-Annfyn had felt through the Force that the Tiefling wasn’t being sincere with their words. However, his experience had taught him to not pressure others to reveal their secrets because it would only make them close themselves to him even more. He would always leave them to eventually tell him the truth when they were comfortable with the idea.

He was happy that it had happened with Haela and they felt comfortable to tell him it.

The half-Annfyn listened to Haela talk about their father. He could understand how difficult it must be for the Tiefling to talk about it. They were a hunter, and used to be powerful and strong. A situation like this one made them look vulnerable, something that they probably weren’t used to.

When he saw the tear rolling down their cheek, Elidan realized that Haela looked rough And grumpy outside, but they were very soft and caring. He liked it, because this contrast seemed to suit the Tiefling perfectly. He sat on the bed's edge, with the loth-wolf still on his lap, and touched their left knee in an attempt to give them some comfort.

“I'll help your father.” Elidan said, before giving them a smile. “I can train more of my healing abilities, until I'm strong enough to heal him completely. For now, my abilities can still alleviate some of the symptoms. I also have some friends that are real doctors, maybe they can also help.” he would call his colleagues to see if they could help.

“Don’t despair. We are going to find a way to help your father.” until now, Elidan didn’t had much motivation to proceed with his training with the Force, because he believed that what he knew was already enough to help people in need. Knowing that he couldn’t do much to help Haela’s father understand that there were more useful things that he could learn.

As if supporting him, the loth-wolf put his little paw over his arm and stared at Elidan.

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Just a few hours ago, Haela would've kicked Elidan right in his dumb, cute face if he'd tried putting his hand on their knee like he was doing right now. They briefly considered doing it just on principle alone; but no, the Jedi was trying to help. Unlike nealry everyone else the bounty hunter encountered on a normal day, Elidan was actually truly good. It was a breath of fresh air, a reminder to the Tiefling that there wasn't just bad in the galaxy.

After all, Elidan sat in front of Haela already pledging to train his abilities and reach out to his connections just to help their father. A sick man, yes, but the relative of someone he'd just met and even still knew not much about. Then again, he knew about their father; he might be the closest thing the Tiefling had made to a genuine friend in several years. Haela tried opening their mouth to say something a couple times, but ultimately struggled to put together a response to Elidan's declaration that they would find a way to help the bounty hunter's father.

Was this what the Jedi were all about? Dropping everything to help those less fortunate than them?

"I... I don't really know what to say." Haela finally managed to reply. "I can't even pay you since you already said you Jedi don't accept payment... but I'm sure there's something I can do for you. I want to be part of this too, in any way I can." As much as the Tiefling appreciated the mystical aid, they weren't about to let some religious order of monks heal their father without their help. Their facial expression shifted once again as they recalled Elidan's earlier assertion that they might share his gift, an idea quickly forgotten amidst the action that had followed.

"Actually, you mentioned earlier that you thought I had the same Force you did, right? So maybe... you could show me how to do some of what you do, so I can help." Haela pondered. "If that's something you're able to do, of course. I'm no stranger to trade secrets." they added with a smile. Well you can't learn anything if he was wrong, get some logic in between those horns. "I'm getting ahead of myself, sorry." the Tiefling quickly explained. "You mentioned earlier some kind of test to see if I'm like you, right? Is that something we can do here?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Haela’s lack of reaction to his offer of help left the half-Annfyn a bit concerned at first. Did he overstep by offering it too soon? They only met each other some hours ago, perhaps the Tiefling thought that he was trying to meddle in their family. Or they were a lone wolf that wanted to solve all their problems by themselves and the Jedi had offended their pride with what he said. These thoughts made him enter an internal spiral of panic.

Then he realized that his hand was in their knee and immediately thought that his attempt to reassure them could have the opposite effect, causing discomfort due to the touch of basically a stranger. He immediately removed his hand and panicked a bit more.

This was strange, though. These episodes of Elidan's anxiety seemed to have gotten worse since he started working with Haela. He always was shy, but now things were getting ridiculous. The half-Annfyn was a Jedi and knew how to control his feelings. He should use his training and get a hold of himself rather being a mediocre mess.

Before he could do anything, the loth-wolf started to nuzzle against his arm. The half-Annfyn looked at the pup and smiled. The little guy seemed to be trying to calm him and it was working. There was nothing more comforting than a playful puppy.

When Haela finally replied, Elidan wasn’t panicking with the situation anymore. He even smiled when they finished talking. “You don’t need to say anything. I'm a Jedi, we help anyone that needs without waiting for a reward.” with how most of the Galaxy despised the Order, they would never be able to help anyone if they always expected a reward.

“Healing is an advanced technique that only trained Jedi can do.” he said, while putting the loth-wolf on his lap. The pup immediately curled here. “You need to devote yourself to the Light Side first, because only someone aligned with it can heal. I can try to teach you, but it would take a long time.”

“The test is easy. We are going to see if you can summon an object to your hands.” Elidan said, while petting the puppy. It was slowly going back to sleep. “Do you have anything that we could use?”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Haela smiled again at the sight of the rescued loth-wolf cuddling against Elidan. They looked adorable together, and it made the Tiefling even happier to know that they'd helped to bring the two together. The galaxy would be a significantly better place if more people got themselves pets; it was a deep connection that put everything else in life into far greater perspective.

To their disappointment, Elidan explained that his healing techniques required significant training first. Haela wasn't exactly surprised — all good things came from hard work and practice — but it also sounded like "devoting yourself to the light side" didn't come with a pay raise. Money wasn't everything, but it did go a long way when you had chronically ill family members. Then again, would it be so bad...?

Maybe in time.

For now, the question at hand was if the Tiefling even had the abilities necessary to learn Elidan's Jedi techniques. Haela didn't think they'd ever floated objects through the air, but if Elidan thought they could then why not try? They walked over to a nightstand beside their bed, grabbing a dart out of a small case and throwing it into a board on the other side of the room. "Kriff, only a single bull." Haela mused as the dart embedded itself in the ring just outside the bullseye. "But we can use the dart, if that works. What do I need to do now?" they asked.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

When Elidan turned away from the loth-wolf and looked back at Haela, right on time to see them smiling. He thought that it suited the Tiefling far more than the tough face that they made when they met each other early that day. It made the Bounty Hunter look good. However, the half-Annfyn understood why they had to look tough most of the time. A smile wasn’t going to intimidate the people that they had to catch.

He thought that Tiefling could smile more times, though.

The half-Annfyn watched while Haela moved around the room. By this point the loth-wolf was deep asleep on his lap. Elidan reflected on what he should do with the pup. He could release it in the wild because the animal was too young to survive. The half-Annfyn had read how loth–wolves were semi-sentient, perhaps it was the reason why the little guy was so calm.

In the end, he decided to take care of it. When the loth-wolf was strong enough, Elidan would bring it back to Lothal to be released. The half-Annfyn also decided to call the pup Cyrus, since he noticed that he was male.

“Yes. It works.” Elidan said, while looking at the dart in the bullseye. “You told me about that sixth sense of yours. It’s always active, you only need to learn how to connect on it. Clean your mind from all thoughts, focus only on that sense. When you feel it, turn to the dart and visualize it at your hand.”

@René

 

[Haela Iskall]

Visualize it at your hand? Haela had been expecting something more grand, more awe inspiring; not something quite so simple. At the same time, it seemed to make sense. Their sixth sense had always just been there, not something they could turn off or on; something that was just there. The Tiefling stood up straight as they could, closed their eyes, and let their mind be calm like they would if they were lining up a sniper shot.

Breath in, breath out. Haela felt their diaphragm rise and fall, their exhaled breaths rush against the skin underneath their nose. They knew where Elidan was, were the dart board was, without even opening their eyes. The bounty hunter stretched out a hand towards the dart board and the dart embedded into it, picturing both in their mind's eye. All they needed was to bring the dart to their hand, plain and simple. Haela imagined another hand grabbing the dart, bringing it to them, but nothing was happening. They furrowed their brows, trusting in Elidan's silly assumption that they could bend reality to their will.

Spoiler: Force Pull Success

10 + 1 (instructions) = 11

The dart remained motionless for a few long moments, but slowly began to move up and down ever so slightly. The slow, jerky movements continued and even began to speed up, getting more obvious, before the dart shot out from it's spot in the board and seemed to almost flutter backwards about halfway between the board and Haela before dropping to the floor.

The Tiefling opened their eyes at the noise, head cocked in curiosity before their eyes narrowed in slight disappointment. "Well, I got it out of the board at least." Haela muttered, perfectionist tendencies overriding the fact that they'd just made an object move with only their mind. "I don't suppose I'm allowed to try again on this test of yours? I know I could get it to go all the way to my hand this time." they asked Elidan.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan watched Haela stare in disbelief at the bullseye, and a smile appeared on his lips. “I told you that it was simple.” he said, wondering what the Tiefling thought that they were going to do. It would be hilarious if they thought that the test would be for them to fight a Sith.

The half-Annfyn remained in silence while Haela prepared to focus. He saw them calm their breath and stretch an open hand toward the dart. While it wasn’t apparent for the Tiefling, Elidan could feel the Force changing around them. It was rippling in anticipation for what was going to happen.

Once the Bounty Hunter finally connected with the Force, the dart started to shake in the bullseye. Elidan watched with great expectation as it moved, with a big smile appearing on his lips when the object flew toward Haela. However, rather than reaching their hand, it fell on the floor before reaching their hand.

“Don’t be disappointed. You did well for the first time.” Elidan smiled, while carefully moving Cyrus out of his lap and leaving him in the bed. The half-Annfyn rose from it and approached Haela. “You can try it as many times as you want, but I've already seen that you are a Force user.”

He flicked his hand and the dart flew toward it. He offered it to the Tiefling. “With a bit more of focus, we’ll make it fly to you.” the half-Annfyn threw it back to the bullseye and waited to see if Haela would try again.

@René