Ask Kashyyyk Ikigai

[Roanoke]

As far as Roanoke knows, Jedi are a "bunch of goody two shoes who get off on helping poor schmucks". Or at least that was what his roommate liked to gripe about when he was still an acolyte. It's the kind of stereotypical nonsense—one of them, at least—that his peers back in the academy tried to drill into his head since his first day there, and it's one Roanoke secretly bristled at. What's wrong with helping people who need aid? And it wasn't about being a goody two shoes—it's about being a decent person. But he was surrounded by a group of teenagers who were avid fans of the Dark Lords of the Sith both old and new, so it was expected that they were all for dominating all sentient life rather than nurturing them.

(He still can't fathom why some of his former peers downright adored Darth Raze's abominations, gods-)

As a mere Initiate—and a former Sith acolyte to boot—Roanoke is not allowed to leave the temples or Starlight Beacon without a Knight accompanying him due to some mandate he hasn't read yet. He isn't allowed to participate in missions, too. But he finds himself being guided into a transport ship by a pair of Knights and a group of ten Padawans who talked about traveling to Kashyyyk. For training, said one of the Jedi when Roanoke asked why. For a mission, answered the other.

After the ship touched down on the planet, Roanoke makes sure to stick with the group as they venture into a small but bustling settlement by the coast. Come to think of it, being here in Kashyyyk feels kind of... off to Roanoke. He's ex-Sith, and this planet was a victim of the deceased Empress Andruil's wrath. Fire almost swallowed this world whole and yet life flourished here once more, all thanks to the collaborative efforts of those who cared enough to help Kashyyyk in that time of strife and chaos. But still, being here...

He shakes off the thought immediately. He knows he can't dwell in the past now, and it's as if he was involved in the attempted glassing of the planet.

While the Knights guided the Padawans through the settlement, Roanoke is content to hang around to watch and learn. The group go about helping the Wookies with whatever they need helping with, and Roanoke shyly offers his aid. Par for the course for the Jedi Initiate—this is what he's comfortable doing, what he feels he should be doing. So immersed with being an impromptu translator between a traveling Corellian merchant and a curious Wookie, Roanoke doesn't notice that the group of Jedi who dragged him here have boarded a boat bound for one of the islands in the Wawaatt Archipelago. He's further distracted by the sight of a small Wookie child running off to the forest while their parent is distracted checking out wares.

Without thinking Roanoke distractedly excuses himself to follow the child. "Hey," he calls out to the parent even as his feet steer him towards the forest. "Hey, your kid ran off-"

The ex-Sith's gaze shifts forward, expecting to see the Wookie child to still be in his line of sight. His heart sinks when he sees the stick the kid was carrying discarded on the grass, and the youngling nowhere to be found. With a complete disregard for his own safety, Roanoke searches for any tracks left by the kid, follows it, until it disappears and is replaced by tracks made by something large. He barely hears a panicked shriek back in the settlement as he disappears deeper into the forest to chase after whatever it is that grabbed the kid.

Back in the settlement, the Wookie mother is causing quite a scene as she roars and cries for her missing child, imploring the sentients surrounding her for their help.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

For once, Natalie wasn't around a group of Padawans because she was told to by some higher power. As a Warden, she could relatively do whatever she wanted. The freedom was great! No more eating cardboard steak on Starlight, or whatever the hell they called food at the temples. Becoming the Warden of Ord Mantell had its perks too: like Mantellian spices to flavor the cup of ramen she held in her hand even more. Her trusty spork shoveling the noodley goodness into her mouth.

She normally wouldn't care about what traditionalists in the Order did; when a group of Knights decided to take Padawan out for a training mission to Kashyyyk, however, Natalie felt a knot form in her stomach. So here she was, a chaperone to the chaperones. Chaperones that weren't doing a very good job of keeping their flock tidy and in order. If Natalie had done that in that swamp village when the goat-man-thing appeared, or against the killik queen more recently, there would be a lot less Padawan available to the Jedi. Wait, when did she start caring? Fuck.

Natalie followed the stray, her black tank top and dark jeans giving away nothing about her being a Jedi. It was the lightsaber hilt that hung at her right hip that gave that away. There was no reason to hide herself- not here at least. She kept a pair of phrik knuckles in her front left pocket, and her EZPhone rested easily in her front right pocket. Despite her difference to the other Jedi, she kept her distance from the stray, content to just follow and see what trouble the kid got into.

They couldn't see the village aside from the lights, anymore. Natalie glanced back, shovelled another sporkful of ramen into her mouth and slurped them up. Guess it was time to announce herself, lest the kid get into trouble he couldnt' handle on his own. He looked like he was searching for tracks. Smart. Breaking away from the pack, and using his head to try to solve a problem- Natalie liked the kid already.

"So when you actually find this thing you're looking for, what do you plan on doing about it?" Natalie asked, nodding her head before sporking another mouthful of ramen. As entertained, and anxious of the dark forest as she was, her body was completely relaxed.

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

As he delves deeper into the forest, keeping an eye out for the tracks he is following, a small part of Roanoke screams at him from the back of his mind that something is amiss. The ex-Sith chalks it up to him going after the wandering Wookie child without a blaster, at least. Of course it can also be the fact the the now missing kid is possibly kidnapped, or maybe even snatched by a predator, because Force knows what kinds of predators reside in this planet. Or maybe it's because aside from the distinct scent of the forest, of crushed grass and leaves and fallen twigs, he can also smell ramen - it's so out of place, like, what the heck? Maybe he's just hungry...?

Still, the former acolyte presses forward, not giving a thought if anyone has followed him. All he's thinking about is that little (well, as little as) Wookie youngling and their safety.

A light breeze sweeps past in between the trees, and Roanoke swears that he can smell a hint of Mantellian spices mixed with the ramen. His stomach growls in response, but his mirror neurons scream louder.

In the stillness that covers the forest, a woman's voice breaks through the more natural sounds that surround the teenager.

"Poke it with a stick," he sighs, brushing a hand over his face and taking a deep breath.

Stars, he hasn't even managed to track either the kid or whatever he is following down, and he's already hearing voices. But then there's a faint slurp! somewhere behind him, and the ramen scent just grows much stronger. Roanoke turns around, dark brown eyes alighting upon a woman clad in a black tank top and dark jeans, eating ramen. So, that's why I'm smelling ramen...

His gaze falls to the lightsaber hilt that hangs at her left hip. Jedi? Is she with the group he accompanied here on Kashyyyk? Roanoke blinks, frowning slightly. Why didn't he notice her?

He shoves the questions in the back of his mind for the time being with a visible shake of his head. Introductions are in order.

"S-Sorry, I, uh..." he stammers, suddenly feeling embarrassed for not noticing her. Stars, if his Dad's here, he would've already told Roanoke how incompetent he is. Like fucking always. The ex-Sith then remembers her question, and instead focuses on it. "G-Get the kid back," he answers without thinking, showing that his priority remains with the Wookie child. Then he pauses for thought, suddenly so nervous about doing things wrong, or seeing this lady frown at him with disapproval - but above all letting the kid down. "Ah, w-wait, I mean... Identify whatever it is if I can, and, uh, fight it t-tooth and nail to get the kid back if I have to..."

His face flushes red with embarrassment, but at least he manages to keep his gaze locked with hers.

"I-I'm Roanoke, by the way. Just R-Roanoke. I'm an Initiate," he finally introduces himself, voice growing steadily quieter with each word. "Are you here to help?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Poking something with a stick was certainly a way to fight it. In the the long history of the galaxy, the spear had long reigned supreme until the lightsaber came about. Of course then people just put lightsabers on the end of spears, so truly the spear was still the king. This kid didn't seem like he had a stick or a spear though. Natalie shoveled another bit of ramen into her mouth as she studied the kid finally noticing her, then going through a myriad of internal thoughts and questions. That was cute. Last time Natalie put a man on his back foot just by existing was when she shot back some bourbon at a bar on Ord Mantell and the man sitting next to her was not at all ready for it.

"I liked your original plan of poking it with a stick better," she said, poking what was left of the ramen in her cup and taking a sip of the broth. She was probably going to have to start going on runs and working out again with all the food she's been getting her hands on across the galaxy. "It had less words and you were way more confident about it." It was also the most fun. There was a tone of seriousness to finding the Wookiee child, but that didn't mean stabbing things wasn't fun.

"Roanoke huh..." The kid was an initiate and already running off on his own? His confidence seemed to fade with every word, too. Natalie found herself almost interested in the kid's story to have made him such a way- but he did come with a group of traditionalists so that could explain a whole lot. They were an uptight bunch. Philosophy of what was good and evil became a whole lot easier as a Crusader.

"Alright then, Initiate Sticky," she said with a grin. "I'll give you some help, but only because you don't even have a stick. Not really living up to your new title without a stick." Natalie paused, shovelling the last of her ramen into her mouth and chugging the broth. She flicked the spork free of any remnants and attached it to her belt on her right hip behind her lightsaber hilt. Her heel dug into the soil beneath her, carving a small hole that she dropped the empty, bio-degradable cup into after crumpling it up. With the same foot she covered the cup back up with soil, making it seem as if it had never even entered the forest. Within a month, the cup would be decomposed into nutrients for the forest.

"The traditionalists you came with won't be too happy with you runnining off on your own," she said, folding her arms across her chest. Her hazel eyes started searching for clues and tracks as she spoke. "You usually run head first into danger without any weapons?"

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

Roanoke's face explodes in a brilliant shade of red at the Jedi's sort-of-praise, and averts his gaze to hide the small smile that lights up his features. Although there's a hint of chiding in her words, she didn't yell or get mad at him. That's good—much better than the scolding he received back home or in the academy...

It's not difficult to make Roanoke laugh given his unhappy childhood, but the nickname earns the Jedi lady a soft chuckle from the ex-Sith. Bashfully he listens to her speak, looking back at her and watching as she finished her ramen and disposed of her cup. When she mentions "the traditionalists" and how they won't be too happy that he ran off on his own, the teenager squares his shoulders and stands a little taller. If he's going to be rebuked for it, well, he really can't blame those Knights and even this lady. He did run off without giving anyone a heads up.

"I-I'd gladly receive any punishment," he tells her, and despite the slight tremor in his voice it is laced with an unwavering resolve. Besides, being a literal punching bag is nothing new to him. It's only a matter of finding out what kind of discipline Jedi subjects its learners into. Hopefully nothing too painful. "As l-long as I got the k-kid back."

With a quick smile at the Jedi lady, Roanoke resumes looking for tracks. It now comes with the goal of finding a stick sturdy enough to be used as a weapon, because as she insinuates, danger could be anywhere. And here in the forests of Kashyyyk, danger is guaranteed for him, weaponless as he is. He finds the large tracks, and he frowns when it morphs from something being dragged into something clearly eight-legged. Roanoke pauses, turning a little pale. He knows there are giant spiders in Kashyyyk, and while he kept jumping spiders as a kid...

He shakes his head and takes a deep, fortifying breath. Nah, it can't be a giant spider that took the kid. No way in hell.

"I, uh, didn't think," he finally replies to her question as he shoots her an awkward smile over his left shoulder, painfully honest as usual. The former acolyte then politely gestures for her to come over so he can show her the tracks he found. "I know I-I should've, 'cause..." He helplessly gestures at the tracks leading further into the forest.

Gazing back at the Jedi lady, Roanoke frowns curiously at her. "Also... traditionalists? Then w-what kinda Jedi are you, if you d-don't mind my asking? Also, what's your name?"

The last question is asked shyly, as if he's just realizing his manners and belatedly applied it.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The shades of red over the kid's face, along with the chuckle and the talk of punishment had Natalie arching a brow. What kind of punishment did he think the Jedi would be whipping out? The ol' game ender of a wagged finger and a stern talking to. Many a Jedi had lost their lives to such a punishment. And by lives, Natalie meant the fun part of them. So many potential friends, snuffed out by traditional Jedi with no time for fun. Terrible, just terrible.

"You haven't been around Jedi for very long, have you?" she asked. She turned toward the trail and started down it. The kid could either follow or not, but there was a child Wookiee to save. Such a great people, the Wookiees. Covered in hair, like walking carpets! The average Wookiee could rip a man's arms off without much effort though, so Natalie was inclined to believe that whatever it was that took the child of a reasonable, and fun, size. Hopefully it had a very punchable face too.

"Try thinking more," she said, keeping her hazel eyes on the trail. Scan left, then right. Try to pick up any patterns, any differences. Another search-for-clues-and-hopefully-get-to-stab-something type of mission. Made her miss Ord Mantell. Since becoming Warden of her own home planet, she could just tag along with counter insurgency operations. Every single one ended with a firefight of some sort, and helped keep the new found peace on the planet even more. It was a win-win! "You'll live longer."

She shot him a raised eyebrow again at his question of traditionalists. Kid must have been super new. Granted, there weren't too many Crusders sticking around the temples anymore. The moment they got permission to go out and actually do shit, they took it. Natalie knew because she was one of them. Most of what she'd done had been with Vanya herself, who'd started the schism in the first place. Wonder how she's doing? Natalie hadn't seen her since Bilbringi. Speaking of, maybe Natalie could get a custom ship from those shipyards. Yeah, take that Mr. Jawline. Don't need fancy clothes when you can have a fancy ship. Of course, Ezra had both, but- Focus Natalie! Wookiee child! Right.

"The fun kind," Natalie answered, flashing a shit-eating grin to the kid. "Jedi are broken into two tracks. Traditionalists are the boring philosophers that brought you here in the first place. Crusaders fill the roles of shadows and sentinels, but more openly. We go out and seek darkness to destroy it, and we gather resources, armies, fleets, rule regions and planets, all to help in that mission of destroying darkness." She paused, giving him a moment to process. It was a lot of information, and Natalie was a great orator if she did say so herself- which she did; would make it even harder on the kid, no doubt, being in the presence of such... Natalie.

"I've got a lot of different names. Warden of Ord Mantell, Quip Queen, Glorious Leader. You can call me Natalie. Play your cards right and be a good boy and you might get to called me Nat someday."

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

"I haven't," Roanoke admits easily, still embarrassed but for a much different reason this time. When she begins to lead by turning towards the trail he dutifully follows, easily keeping up with her pace but he remains a respectful distance behind her. At Natalie's advice of thinking more, the teenager bashfully nods, biting on his bottom lip as he tries to tune out the voices of his disapproving parents and their rebuke as best as he can. He doesn't need the ingrained disparagement to distract him, or make him want to just hide, not right now.

"W-Well, I want to live longer, so I, uh, I'll do just that," he replies lightly, but the sincerity and appreciation in his words are undeniable. She's not teasing him or even the barest hint of being patronizing, and Roanoke appreciates that. Natalie seems the kind of person who says exactly as she thinks, and he respects that form of straightforwardness.

He continues to look for more tracks, more clues. He's too focused on the task at hand, too eager to engage in conversation with one of the first few Jedi who doesn't seem to mind his presence, that he belatedly realizes something crucial. But his thoughts have been given pause when Natalie flashes him that shit-eating grin that has the ex-Sith chuckling at, more so her comment about being the fun kind of Jedi. He's not even going to argue about that bit. He pays close attention to her explanations with regards to the roles played by the traditionalist Jedi and a Crusader like herself. Roanoke understands her simplification easily enough.

"The Crusaders are a new thing to me," he says after a beat. Roanoke meets Natalie's gaze and almost nonchalantly clarifies, "I mean, I-I never heard of that kind of Jedi from my master or from the academy..."

Okay, now tell her you're ex-Sith.

The sudden thought, and the earlier clarification—a slip up, more like—has Roanoke averting his gaze again as he hides his wince under the not-guise of looking for more clues. His earlier musings about something seemingly wrong in a quiet forest comes back to him, and his eyes widen in realization. Where's the birdsong? The brush of critters in the undergrowth? The distant calls of the local fauna? It's quiet. Too quiet.

A forest is never quiet.

Total silence usually means that there's a predator around. But it had been quiet since the two of them began following the trail. The cause for such silence makes its appearance soon enough.

A lone Wyyyschokk suddenly drops from above the trees, landing a few yards behind Roanoke. The teenager reflexively takes hurried steps backwards, closer to Natalie, as he looks at the creature with evident fear and disgust. Why do spiders need to be fuckin' gigantic? They're fine being small, for kriff's sake!

But despite the fear, he's been trained to react accordingly, taught how to defend himself. So even as the thing hisses and casts out a wad of webbing towards the pair of Jedi, Roanoke reacts the way he's been taught. The distinct blight of the Dark Side taints the teenager's defensive maneuver as he uses the Force to bat away the Wyyyschokk's offensive.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"Crusaders are a new thing to everyone," Natalie said, folding her arms across her chest as she stopped to looked at some tracks that disappeared. "We've only recently had the schism. Get a bunch of pissed off, hangry Jedi that would rather stab things than talk about them together and all of a sudden you have a unopposed rebellion and a shift to a decentralized leadership scheme." The Jedi had a few Masters and Wardens, Natalie being one of them. None of them took responsibility of leading the Jedi, however.

"Academy?" Natalie turned, arms still folded toward the kid, brow raised. She was about to question the sus little nugget further when a big ol' Nope with eight legs dropped down from a tree. It always had to be some sort of arachnid or bug didn't it? Could never be a reptile, or a mammal, or an amphibian- always a damn multi-legged nope that anyone in their right mind would rather burn from orbit. Unlike the killiks that Natalie had encountered, however, this nope shot webs naturally.

Suddenly the master and academy made sense. If the kid had a master he wouldn't be on the trip, and the Jedi no longer had academies- they were temples. Then as if it were a cherry on top of a cheesy-meat-pie, the kid tapped into the Darkside to use the Force to bat the webs away. It wasn't hard for Natalie to sense the stench of it in his movements. Why he had to tap into the darkness to use telekinesis was a question unto its own, but he did.

Natalie lifted her right hand, using the Force to reach out and grasp a fallen branch. With a flick of her wrist the branch angled itself and then launched like a missile toward the spider. A just like that, spider on a stick and the immediately thread was over. Natalie knew that there were more. Wyyyschokks were pack hunters, and her trick of using the Force to throw a javelin into one would have been observed and learned by the others. That's what reading about a planet prior to going there will get you, she supposed.

"So..." Natalie said, turning an unconcerned about the now impaled and dying spider gaze toward the kid. "Masterless kid with a master, went to an academy, uses the Darkside to defend themselves in front of a Jedi that just said they seek out darkness and destroy it. You really like sprinting towards your death, don't you?" As if to say that she wasn't going to kill him, she refolded her arms across her chest. They would have to be careful about the other spiders that would no doubt ambush them soon.

"So, Initiate Sticky, let's find you your missing Wookiee while you start from the top," Natalie said, turning back toward the trail. The tracks she had followed stopped, but new tracks started ahead. They were as good as any to go off of, That and now she knew to look up, and could see more wyyyschokk in the trees. Assuming the child was taken by one, going in the direction where most were would lead to a nest.

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

With Roanoke batting away the wyyyschokk's intial attack, it leaves the creature open to Natalie's own offensive. He watches as the fallen branch strikes through, a grating hiss escaping the arachnid as it keels over, legs curling in its death. Before he can say anything, comment on how big the spider is—because he has to be a realist, Roanoke has zero clue about wyyyschokk—Natalie beats him with her own observations, none of them directed at the dead creature.

He looks at her, looking like a child caught red-handed doing something bad. Or like an accomplice to a murder, really. Color drains from Roanoke's face, incisors digging onto his bottom lip as he averts his gaze. Shame mars his features with a deep frown, and yet he doesn't deny the comment about him sprinting to his own death.

"Well... the wyyyschokk's the only one dead here at the moment," he mutters, tone bordering on petulant. Then he flinches, mentally chiding himself for giving Natalie a reason to be more than annoyed with him—if she isn't yet, that is. He didn't mean to be a smartass, but then again, teenage brain. Or maybe he just doesn't know how to redirect the self-consciousness he feels. Most likely it's the latter; Force knows how much he silently endures the other Padawans' suspicious looks and clear distrust. But Roanoke doesn't blame them, cannot blame them.

Natalie is speaking to him again, but she's still calling him by that funny nickname. Truth be told it sets Roanoke at ease, the mere fact that she isn't just straight up icing him on the spot. She just... wants him to be honest, and open up. That he can do. Doesn't mean it ain't gonna be uncomfortable either way.

With dogged determination, the ex-Sith takes a deep, fortifying breath and follows her, keeping an eye out for more eight-legged nightmare fuels. He's had this conversation with Shaw and Victor before, but it doesn't mean that it's going to be easier to talk about it this time.

He speaks anyway, honesty and sincerity his constant companions.

"I was a Sith," he begins, voice soft but loud enough for Natalie to hear. Roanoke stays close, watching her six as they make their way through the trees. "An... An acolyte. My parents are devout followers of the Sith, and they already decided my path when I was born. I was supposed to either be a soldier or a pilot, and I was content with that as a kid. Then I find out I'm Force-sensitive.

"I hid it from them. Growing up, I realized I didn't want to be a soldier, or a pilot. I didn't want to be a Sith. Mom and Dad saw I was soft, and while they didn't beat that out of me, they sure as heck put me in the meat grinder to try and tamp it down. I didn't like fighting. I didn't like hurting others. Being cruel scares me; being someone to be feared terrifies me. I was—am scared of Darksiders. If they find out I'm Force-sensitive, they'd send me to the academy. So I hid it. I wasn't able to hide it well, though."

Roanoke pauses for breath, eyes flickering warily over to Natalie to gauge her reactions, before continuing.

"They sent me to the academy in the end. Proud that their kid's an acolyte and has a potential to become a Master. The training, my parents' conditioning, they did nothing to curb the softness, the compassion, the weakness. I was... alienated, had no place among my peers because I'm gentle. I was relentlessly bullied for it.

"I didn't fight. I just... took them all in."

Finding a fallen branch, Roanoke picks it up and tests its strength. When he deems it sufficient enough to be used as a bat, he resumes with his story, as well as keeping an eye out for more wyyyschokk as well as tracks.

"A Champion was soon assigned to be my Master, because as much as I didn't want to be a Sith, I had to learn how to use the Force—the Dark Side. She was needlessly cruel, and would treat me horribly whenever I fail during training, or when she saw me being kind, being soft." Roanoke's grip on the branch tightens. "I was terrified of her, and it was the only thing she praised me about. So when... when we came across a Jedi Knight and her Padawan during a mission, I did nothing to help her. I didn't freeze, I didn't escape. I... I shot her, to catch her off guard, so the Knight could..."

He stops, hoping that the way he trails off is enough to paint a picture. This is something he hasn't told anyone up until now, because he doesn't want to be seen as untrustworthy. Or a coward, or a traitor. If truth be told, he still feels ashamed for what he did. To be an accessory to his former Master's downfall, her death... Maybe what he did is a betrayal to the Sith, but then again he never really saw himself as a Sith. He never wanted to be one, anyway.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie ignored the kid's petulant response. Just because she had killed the wyyyshock instead of him didn't mean she couldn't. Maybe the kid was just nervous. Couldn't fathom why, though. Natalie was an absolute darling if she said so herself, which she did. It was the glorious leader comment wasn't it? Intimidation at its finest. Tell someone you want to be called "Glorious Leader" and all of a sudden they're afraid of you as if you're a dictator or something. Silly kid. Of course, now that Natalie thought about it, he could be nervous because she was, to him, a harbinger of death with nice hair.

The word Sith caught her attention. Luckily the word "was" came before it. Boy was about to meet the business end of some phrik knuckles. The kid began to explain, from the top as Natalie had requested, his life and how he came to be a Jedi initiate that could tap into the Darkside. Natalie was not prepared for the length of the story, though. The kid was barely an adult and he already had a novel about his life. She preferred to wait for the movie adaptation. It was always a credit-grab and worse than the books, but it was two hours instead of how ever many it took for someone to read a book now-a-days. That's a thought! Introduction movies to every initiate and Padawan. Oh yeah, gonna make bank, Natalie.

And then there was that asshole of an emotion, empathy, that crept it's asshole face into her mind. As much as she wanted to tune out the kid, she found herself unable to. When did she start getting all compassionate about people? It wasn't the neuro-divergent kid, no she had shown compassion before that. Was it really just Ezra scolding her for ordering tanks to shoot at running bandits? Give that man the time of day ONE time and it has lasting effects the rest of your life. Natalie sighed.

"So you don't like to fight, but you ventured off into a hostile forest by yourself to save a kid you don't know without a weapon?" Natalie stopped, raising her hand slightly to her side to tell the kid to stop too. Wyyyshocks were above them and positioning themselves to strike. Natalie's hazel gaze were fixed on them, craning her neck to keep them within her sight. Her right hand slowly begant o reach for her lightsaber and unclip it form her belt.

"You're a weird kid, Initiate Sticky," Natalie said. Both the creatures and she were preparing for a dance off involving burning blades of plasma, spiney legs of ick, and probably a lot of web like one of those multi-verse holos with the people in colorful tights. "You shouldn't feel bad for what you did. You stuck up for yourself the only way you could think of at the time. You escaped an escapeless Order. You did good. Now if you would stop running to your impending doom, that might help your chances a bit." Any second now spiders. "And, don't tap into the Darkside. Whatever Darkness you feel inside you, kill it. It won't do you any good holding onto it." Especially now that he had a stick for a weapon. Who needed the Force when you had a stick?

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

Roanoke is prepared for anything—pity, disdain, disgust. He is prepared for the worst as soon as he finished telling Natalie what equates to as his origin story. The moment he understood that he's been dealt with such unsavory cards, Roanoke understood that art really does imitate life. And his life, the experiences he shared with the Warden? They're almost straight out of a sad novel. If he's the one on the other end of the spectrum, he would've considered making a redemption movie out of the tale.

But even then, this is reality. His reality. He didn't like it before, but now, with a chance at salvation?

Like he told Shaw and Victor back in Starlight, he's going to grab it with his bare fucking hands.

Roanoke smiles at Natalie's question, equal parts sad and hopeful. "My parents did say I'm a failure the last time they saw me."

Always running headfirst, without thinking, when it comes to helping others. Their self-serving sensibilities always bristled at both sight and thought of it.

He stops upon recognizing Natalie's signal. Every word she said—the reassurance that he shouldn't feel bad for what he did in his time of desperation, that he did good for escaping the clutches of the Sith Order, the indirect advice about learning to think before acting, as well as to not use the Dark Side—brings a certain lightness to his heart that he always wanted to feel. Warmth begins to bloom in the backs of his eyelids, but he bites the inside of his cheek and blinks away the tears before they can form. He feels so grateful, feels so seen, and while he wants to just finally cry in the ways he's never been allowed to before, he holds it back for the sake of the Wookie child he wants to save. And for the sake of watching Natalie's six while doing so.

"U-Understood, Glorious Leader," he quietly tells Natalie, his voice soft and relieved and thankful.

So, when the wyyyschokks launch their attack, Roanoke is kriffing ready. When a group of four, oversized spiders land to surround him and Natalie, the ex-Sith is quick to cover Natalie's back, stick held like a bat. The pair of spiders facing off against the Warden lumber forward to try and overwhelm her, fangs poised to rip and tear the Jedi apart. The other two engage Roanoke, one of them casts out webbing in an attempt to ensnare the mohawked teen while the other skitters forward.

Roanoke bats away the webbing like he did earlier but this time he uses the stick. The web clings to it, and while the force of the web-spitting would have staggered someone, Roanoke has planted his feet firmly on the ground and has been prepared to receive the brunt of it (he's been tanking beatings from his bullies—this eight-legged nightmare fuel is just another bully to him). Still, he has to face the second, charging wyyyschokk, and when the fangs come snapping at him Roanoke uses the stick to block. Wyyyschokk #2 keeps chomping forward anyway, so while bracing the branch to keep its fangs at bay, he swiftly lifts one hand—curling it into a fist—before punching one of the spider's eyes. A loud, disgusting squelch! heralds the success of Roanoke's punch, and he's rewarded with not just a loud, agonized hiss, but also spider eye fluid and blood splashing on him like a scene straight from a B-rated movie.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The way the kid just threw that “my parents said I was failure” comment made Natalie shake her head. There was a severe lack of self-confidence in the kid. She could sense his fluctuating emotions, and how he brightened up when she had told him that he did good. Oh my Quigon, was she adopting a puppy? Natalie couldn’t hazard a glance with the spiders doing their spidery things above them, but he did kind of have that puppy look to him. Initiate-Sticky to Padawan Runny-Yoke the Puppy. It was perfect. Wait, did she just decide to accept him as a Padawan? FUCK!

Oh look! LITERALLY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT! It just so happened it was the spiders launching their spidery attack. Fantastic. Natalie held her lightsaber off to her side, igniting the azure blade before the spiders even touched the forest floor. Alright kid, time to show what you can do with at least something akin to a weapon. Hey Nat, remember all that shit you gave Ezra over giving The- NOT NOW!

The spiders weren’t aware that they were more unprepared for Natalie than Natalie was for them. She stepped away from Initiate-Sticky, slashing upwards through one wyyyschokk. It moved just in time to save its thorax, but it lost three legs in the process on its left side. Probably not as good as irling legs, if Natalie had to guess. Wyyyschokk probably tasted like a lot of things on Kashyyyk tasted: gross. Natalie didn’t let the spider get away with just three legs missing though- she brought the lightsaber back down and through the wyyyschokk’s middle with her right hand while the Force coiled down her left.

She reached out with her left hand just as the second wyyyschokk lunged, gripping it in place with the Force and pushing it backwards in a heap. It recovered quickly, but not quick enough to be able to escape Natalie putting her lightsaber between it and her. When the spider lunged against, Natalie took it’s two front most legs and its fangs. The spider screeched, flopped around in pain, and then scurried off into the darkness of the forest. Natalie knew she tasted good, but trying to eat her would cost you an arm and a leg. If only Vanya was around to hear the pun.

Natalie sighed and turned to Initiate-Sticky. Of course, he was making do with just a stick and his fist. If by making do Natalie meant he was more than likely outgunned and making a terrible mess. The spider fluids and blood reminded her of the killik pheromone goo at Molly’s house. Fucking Molly. Still haunting her to this day. Electro-Suicide-Tooth was too good a way to go for that bitch.

“Do you see now the error of running off without a weapon, oh messy-one?” Natalie asked, moving slower than maybe she should have been moving but she wasn’t worried. The web shooting spider charged forward while the kid dealt with its messy, quickly blinding comrade. The wyyyschokk tried to stab her with a front leg, which of course Natalie twisted her torso to dodge before slicing the leg off with her lightsaber. Another leg came, and another leg dropped to the forest floor without a host. Natalie was collecting them at this point.

The spider decided much to late to retreat, turning to scurry away only to have a burning beam of glorious blue light shoved into its rearend. It didn’t last very long in the realm of the living after that, collapsing in a heap of spindly legs and carapace. Natalie turned back to the kid, watching him deal with his spider. The thought of how much easier the kid would have it if he had a vibroblade or sword, even a training saber which was nothing more than a glowbat, was ever present; wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining though. Ooooooo! Padawan glowbat fights! She could make a whole Jedi business off of that. Amazing idea again, Natalie! You’re on a roll.

“Guess now is as good a time as any. If you’re not too busy making a mess, try focusing on those extra senses of yours. Use your free hand to push the spider back without touching it.”

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

Roanoke is busy throwing hands with Wyyyschokk #2, fist still firmly lodged into one of its ocular sockets. Despite the spray of eye fluid and blood, the former acolyte doesn't jerk away with disgust. As the oversized spider screeches in agony and continues to chomp down on the stick, Roanoke responds by digging his fist deeper. More blood and miscellaneous fluid drips down along his arm and down his front.

He knows that the stick won't hold up for much longer as the wood cracks and splinters. Through his own labored grunts and the wyyyschokk's noises, he hears Natalie engage with the three other spiders, and most probably with ease. Not wanting to be a burden while avoiding doing anything unnecessary that might lead to him being seriously hurt, Roanoke begins tapping into the Force again to subdue the giant arachnid. Keeping Natalie's earlier advice about not using the Dark Side in mind, the ex-Sith tries to channel the Force again, this time willing to choke the life out of the wyyyschokk—

No! Not that! That horrible woman taught you that! he mentally chides himself, gritting his teeth as the arachnid begins to push him back. Roanoke plants his feet more firmly on the ground, but the danger of getting stabbed not by the fangs but by the spider's leg would become reality any moment now if he doesn't act. Listen to Natalie!

Focus on his extra senses, Natalie says. Roanoke pushes back, not with the Force just yet, his arm now elbow-deep into the wyyyschokk's eye—where's your damn, kriffing brain?!—before attempting to do as the Crusader instructed.

Taking a leap of faith, trusting in Natalie's instructions and the hope that he could one day wield the Lightside of the Force, Roanoke thrusts out his free hand towards the wyyyschokk while simultaneously wrenching his arm out of the now mangled eye. He feels the Force flow through him, and then a well of energy bursts forth from his palm to push the spider back.

It does the trick, miraculously. But the force behind it is not enough to send the wyyyschokk flying. The spider is pushed back and off balance, legs scuttling to keep itself upright. Roanoke has to visibly fight the surprise that crosses his face as he picks up the stick, before charging forward and impaling the wyyyschokk through its maw when it screeches angrily at the mohawked teenager. Shocked and in excruciating pain as Roanoke pulls the stick back, the wyyyschokk rears back on its hind legs. With its thorax revealed, he then stabs the with a loud, strangled yell.

He has to abandon his stick and scramble backwards as the wyyyschokk falls to the ground, dead. Roanoke wipes the blood and eye fluid off of his face, chest heaving as he catches his breath. He stares at the spider he just killed, eyes wide and a little bit frantic.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie was certainly no stranger to gross things. She wasn’t even a stranger to a good, gross, brawl. Lightsaber still ignited at her side but at the ready, she was thoroughly entertained by the spectacle in front of her. Of course, she was still ready to jump in if the kid needed her. Looked like he had it though. Even with all the fluids and spider blood being flung about, mainly on the kid, it was still less gross than getting puked on. Of that she was certain.

The kid did what he was instructed to do, and he did it fairly well to boot. Shame about the abandoned stick, though. It was a good stick. That stick will be remembered, along with all the other fallen sticks. Hero stick, stickiest of the sticks. Literally, now that it was covered in spider juice. But the spider was dead, and now they could continue their journey to save a Wookiee child and attract more man-eating spiders.

“Well, you’re gross now,” she said, looking the kid up and down. She disengaged her lightsaber and clipped it back on her belt. “Made quite the mess, but you did good. Find yourself another stick that isn’t so… sticky. The same way you concentrated on pushing the spider away, call the chosen stick to you.” Natalie grinned her shit-eating grin. Yeah, she was definitely hoping the kid would smack himself with the stick by missing the catch. Maybe she really should open up a Padawan fight club? No no, that’d be too much fun. Can’t have too much fun; battle nun rules.

“And for future reference, that same concentration can empower yourself. You can run faster, hit harder- all the things you needed to do against that spider. It’s pretty useful for tricking guys into arm wrestling contests… and survival.” The arm wrestling was more fun though. Natalie turned toward the darker area of the forest ahead of them and began walking again, assuming the kid would follow once he was done with the stick task. On to save a child!

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

He is, indeed, gross now, with arachnid bodily fluids and viscera on his face and down his front. Roanoke lets out a soft huff, wholeheartedly agreeing with the comment as he peels his jacket off and wipes his face and mohawk on the back of it free from spider blood and ocular fluids. Face and hair sufficiently clean (for now), the Initiate glances at the discarded stick and lets out a brief pout, lamenting the loss of such a reliable impromptu weapon. But he's in a forest, and there are still plenty of sticks to be found. Joy abound!

A flicker of a smile passes his face at the thought, before shifting his focus from the broken stick, the dead oversized spiders, then back at Natalie. The smile returns tenfold at her praise that he did good, looking like a giant puppy as he blushes and brightens up at the positive comment. But he tamps the giddy excitement down quickly, putting it aside for the time being. They still have a Wookie child to rescue.

Roanoke returns Glorious Leader's shit-eating grin with an eager smile nonetheless when she instructs him to use the Force again, this time to summon a replacement stick for the one he lost. With a determined nod and a burgeoning confidence, the ex-Sith goes off to look for a suitable stick—preferably something much sturdier than the first one. Eyes peeled both on the forest floor and the branches up ahead, Roanoke spots a branch that fits the criteria he's looking for. Long enough to be used as a bat, thick enough to hurt and maim with enough force generated by a powerful swing. It's still attached to the tree, however. Well. He'll just yank it off with the Force, anyway.

Taking a deep breath and concentrating on the swirling energy of the Force that flows through him, the mohawked teen lifts one hand towards the direction of the branch. He extends that same energy towards the branch, wrapping around it with a firm grip at the base and shaping his intent to tear the piece of wood and summon it to himself. The branch creaks in protest until it suddenly snaps when the flow of energy from the former acolyte fluctuates erratically as he listens to the rest of Natalie's words. The branch flies straight towards Roanoke, leaves and wood smacking his face and chest. He yelps, a mix of surprise and pain, as his new weapon falls unceremoniously to the ground. The accidental smacking leaves a red welt on hos broad forehead, eyes watering from the sting.

Embarrassed, Roanoke bends down to pick up the branch then begins to remove the leaves. As much as he hopes that the predicament won't amuse Natalie, he resigns himself to her teasing. Surprisingly, however, he just feels shy about messing up. There's no shame, no... fearing the consequence of failing. But Roanoke doesn't have the time for introspection as he follows dutifully after the Crusader as she resumes delving deeper into the forest. Everything grows much darker now, and Roanoke knows that he needs to be more focused now. He had been lucky with his bout against the wyyyschokk earlier; he doesn't know if he'd be afforded the same from here on out. He doesn't want to rely on luck, he mentally tells himself.

Thick, spider webs hang like morbid, silky festoons from the trees ahead. Roanoke supposes that they're from a nest. His suspicion comes true when he spots vaguely humanoid shapes encased in a cocoon of webs, unmoving. His blood runs cold when he reaches out through the Force. Some of those humanoid shapes still feel alive!

And yet...

It's far too quiet for a nest, Roanoke then realizes. No whisper of movement, no chittering mandibles, no scuttling of too many feet. Then, eyes.

Glowing eyes watching Natalie and Roanoke from every angle. Watching. Waiting. Mocking the two who dare trespass their turf.

- Stick summoning: 8/20

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

It was perfect. An initiate turned impromptu padawan that did everything she said and with a smile, that impromptu padawan picking a stick that was still attached to the tree, and that tree giving the padawan a switch "fuck you, homie" for stealing the branch. It was everything Natalie could have hoped for- everything she had dreamed of. The kid's yelp didn't help his case any. This kid in the small amount of time Natalie had known him and provided her with every bit of substance needed to keep herself entertained for the next year.

"And that, Initiate Sticky, is what we battle nuns call 'paying your dues.' Well... that and doing all my chores for me," Natalie quipped. While she put on a teasing, shit-eating grin fore-front, her hazel eyes checked him up and down to make sure the stick hadn't broken anything or hurt him in any meaningful way. A welt hear and bruise there was nothing. Freeing Ord Mantell had cost her the skin on the back of her left hand. Took a few bacta baths and a couple of weeks of recovery just to get it back. Do you have any idea how medical wraps look when wearing a dress? It's gaudy! Wait... when did she start caring about wearing dresses? Well shit.

"Next time, try catching the stick. Remember, you're smarter than gravity- you can always push the stick if it gets too close for comfort," Natalie said, clapping the slightly less gross kid on the shoulder. "Let's go save this carpet of a kid, yeah?" And with that she led the way deeper into the forest. It grew darker, more morbid, you know, the sorts of things you see in a horror flick and think "nope!" Natalie couldn't say "nope!" however- she was a battle nun! A Jedi Warden! Even if survival meant she only had to run faster than the kid, her rank and station meant that the kid was her responsibility. That and she'd feel bad. She hated feeling bad.

Nothing about their predicament was lost on her. Of course, the kid was practically oozing anxiety and not of the teenage variety. She could have painted an exact replica of this place just from sensing what the kid was putting out there in the Force. Natalie wasn't sure what exactly they were facing other than spiders, but she was sure in her abilities. What wasn't harmed by a lightsaber was definitely harmed by phrik knuckles. Everything was harmed by phrik knuckles. Her Mantellian pride refused to let her believe otherwise.

"Relax, kid," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Trust in yourself and your abilities. Oh, and every time I have to save you, you owe me two-hundred push ups." Suddenly it made sense to her why every Jedi male she'd met had been massive. Hell, why stop the tradition?

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

Trust in yourself and your abilities.

If it's as easier as catching a stick propelled towards him by the Force, something he'd failed earlier, Roanoke is in deep shit.

Well, not too deep, but one gets the gist.

The glowing eyes, surrounding the two Jedi and hiding in both shadow and tree, continue to simply stare at the pair. Then, they begin to chitter—softly at first, as if they were communicating with one another. Are they spiders, too? Could be, yes? Natalie and Roanoke were accosted by wyyyschokks earlier. The former acolyte inches closer to the Warden, eyes wide with agitation. His arm accidentally brushes against hers, and he jolts slightly when he hears rustling from the trees behind her. Roanoke takes his place behind Natalie until they stand back to back. Watching her six again, like earlier.

Her whispered reassurance remains inside his head, and he holds onto it like a lifeline. A hushed, breathless chuckle escapes him at the consequences she's set for every time she has to save him.

"I-I'm gonna be so fuckin' buff," he jokes nervously, voice soft and just as breathless as his earlier display of amusement. Then, playing along, he asks lightly, a tremble in his voice, "Cut it d-down to one-fifty?"

One of the humanoid figures encased in spider silk moves, and instead of hearing muffled screams, the sound of liquid sloshing emanates from within the cocoon.

(Does he throw up now or not?)

The chittering dies down. What replaces it is an ear-splitting shriek from deeper within the wyyyschokks' nest as a small swarm of spiders—looking no more than hatchlings but still sizable nonetheless—begin to emerge from the undergrowth to charge at the two Jedi. Oddly enough, the adult eight-legged freaks remain watching, as if telling the spiderlings 'hey kids, live food!'

Roanoke is kriffing grossed out, and understandably terrified (but not out of his wits just yet, thankfully).

He lets out a high-pitched yelp before batting away the first wave of spiderlings headed for him, not content with just augmenting his strength with the Force but also imbuing the sturdy stick with it. As such, any and all spiderling that gets whacked by the Jedi Initiate explodes into bits of spidery parts and spidery juices.

Why the kriff does it have to be spiders?!

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie ignored his brushing up against her arm. Kid was nervous, anxious, maybe peeing his pants a little. Who knew? Wasn’t really her concern at the moment. The glowing eyes the foreshadowed a boss fight, now that had her concern. Outwardly she was a smug, short woman with a shit-eating grin staring at what most people in the galaxy that seasoned their food with more than salt and pepper would immediately nope the hell away from. Inwardly, she was strategizing.

Just as she was about to tell the kid to focus, the spiderlings came out. All the strategizing in her head went out the window. Not because it was useless, but because she was expecting some big baddie to come waltzing out of the shadows and instead they send their kids out. Terrible parenting, absolutely terrible.

She observed the first wave, mostly seeing how Initiate Sticky would do, then groaned and ignited her lightsaber again. Instead of swinging for the spiderlings, she raked the blade through the ground in a semi-circle infront of her, burning the vegetation and creating molten dirt and embers. Her left hand shot forward as if scooping something into the air, and the Force blew passed the Jedi along the ground, spraying the molten dirt and burning embers across the horde of spiderlings.

“I can keep this up all day,” Natalie called, eyeing down a pair of glowing eyes that seemed intent on watching her instead of the kid behind her. Natalie tilted her head and extended her arms outward to the sides, blade still ignited. As many questions that humanoids with spider silk raised in Natalie’s head, she wasn’t about to start asking them in the middle of what was clearly some test.

“How are you doing back there Sticky? You’re not spider lunch yet are you?” She already knew the answer, but would she be Natalie if she didn’t antogonize everyone she met? Absolutely not! In a more hushed tone, Natalie added, “When the real fight starts, sneak out and go find the kid. I’ll deal with them.” Spiders and spider people? No problem. Natalie faced a goat-man-demon-thing and a Killik queen. Ooooooo was she an expert bug killer? Yesssssss!

@Graveyard Shift

 

[Roanoke]

Roanoke is scared as he continues to swing away at the horrible spiderlings, yes. But he's also growing increasingly annoyed when he hears Natalie groan. Oh, it's not directed at her—heavens, no. He's annoyed at himself because here she is, saving his butt again. For a big kid, he really should've been more reliable.

The acrid scent of roasted widdle spiders assaults his nose and he cringes, fanged teeth gritting in mounting frustration as the adult eight-legged freaks simply continue to watch as their offspring gets offed. "Not spider lunch yet!" he assures the Warden, trying to keep his voice from trembling. The teenager clutches the stick in a death grip, ready to beat more spiderlings that would dare try to cross the smoldering grass and dirt forming a protective circle around the two Jedi.

Her plan would've met by a look of apprehension from the teenager, but Roanoke refuses to let it show—not when the big wyyyschokks are still watching, waiting. He doesn't want to give the enemies any indication that Natalie is subtly plotting something against them. Roanoke doesn't argue doesn't voice out his concern for her safety (at least not yet). He just takes a deep breath in silent acquiescence, accepting her plan and trusting her judgment.

So when the wyyyschokk(s) watching Natalie make(s) a move to attack her, Roanoke uses the Force again—this time to imitate her earlier action of spraying molten dirt and burning embers towards the spiders readying to jump at the former Sith. With the distraction and attack successful, Roanoke wordlessly sneaks out of the fray to look for the missing Wookie child.

He runs past the trees and bushes, charcoal eyes adjusting to the darkness of the underwood. Occasionally the piercing cries of other spiders fill the air, but he focuses on his mission. Roanoke needs to find the kid, and fast, so he could regroup with Natalie and make their escape. He also silently prays that the kid's disappearance (as well as the other Jedi realizing that both Natalie and Roanoke aren't with the group for quite a while now) has been duly noted, and that a search party has been dispatched. He'd gladly do as many push-ups Natalie tells him to do if any god who might listen, well, listened.

Roanoke bats away webs that block his way. His stick then hits something, and a sharp cry pierces through the webbing above him. It struggles, until he hears the familiar warbling roar of a Wookie trapped inside the spider silk. Heart in his throat, Roanoke drops the stick and jumps up, grabbing hold of the Wookie until their combined weight wins against the webbing's tensile strength. They crash to the ground, Roanoke protectively wrapped around the Wookie child—she's alive! Thank fuck!—to cushion her.

He helps the kid break free from the web, a relieved smile breaking through the teenager's face. Before he can speak to assure the little Wookie, however, a deep, guttural groan sounds from somewhere to their left. He looks towards the direction the sound comes from, and notices something unmistakably massive heft its body off of the ground. The thing heaves itself forward remarkably sluggish on all fours, and as Roanoke's eyes widen to gape up at the slowly approaching creature, he realizes that he's not looking at an oversized wyyyschokk.

Roanoke swiftly scrambles to his feet, carrying the Wookie child with him after snatching up the stick from the dirt. As he runs back to where he left Natalie, he's reminded of a science journal he read in the holonet as a kid. Something about a certain type of tarantula keeping tiny frogs as pets to help keep the former's eggs safe from animals that seek to eat the arachnids' progeny...

@TheDudeMike