Ask Just A Little Bit Pt. 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Ezra Thorne]

Saleucami
​

He was surprised he had agreed to take on a Padawan, but it didn’t feel as miserable because it was someone he knew. The idea had been creeping on him ever since the Council had laid out the criteria for him to ascend in the order - have one fully trained Padawan. Ezra’s dislike of working with others was a huge hindrance to it, but he had known Theia forever so it didn’t seem as bad.

He landed his ship on the outskirts of a village that was dealing with some issues with disappearances. It didn’t sound like Sith activity, so he figured it was easy enough to manage with Theia. His university was allowing him a modified schedule to do his classes and also train as a Jedi, so he was juggling both.

The Thorne stepped off the ramp, checking all his equipment. He had a huge backpack on his back, knowing this village was very low tech and almost medieval standards. He and Theia were both going to be out of their element here. He checked his chrono and looked over his shoulder, “Come on!” He called out, “Stop trying to bring an entire lab with you, it’ll freak everyone out.”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

"Its not a lab, its what I use for my hair..." she sighed to the mess she created right before the landed. He had told her to just bring essentials and thinking she had everything packed like she needed, she stubbornly second-guessed and emptied out her pack. "Comingggg!" she hollered back as she blindly shoved her belongings back in the pack, stuffing it all in with one final push to get the zipper closed. Theia grabbed her jacket and threw her pack over her shoulder, nearly taking herself out across the ship from the sheer weight of it.

"COMING, HERE!" She gasped running up to fall beside Ezra, slowing her pace and trying to act like she has it together, but her disheveled hair spoke otherwise. "Did you know Saleucami means oasis?" she felt her foot sink into the mud and it took a moment to yank her boot free and caught up again with Ezzie, "Scholars think it one of the more successful attempts by systems to draw out settlers from the core and colonies, now they have just over one-point-five billion beings out here. Its-" she paused feeling a bug buzz in her ear and gave a swat and continued to swat as she seemed in her inattention to what was ahead, walked through a gnat swarm. Though harmless, they were nonetheless annoying for the teen as she let out a sigh.

"So where are we going first?" she asked.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“Yes,” Ezra answered coolly, “It’s also on the Talcene Transit which integrates with the Perlemian route, so this planet is very strategically positioned,” He remarked. Jedi may have been all-inclusive in its list of assisting planets, Ezra was not. He picked up missions on planets that had strategic value, and this one was a great one to build some positive influence.

He reached into his bag, pulled out a bug spray, and sprayed it all over Theia. She would find out soon enough he was one of those people that packed everything for an excursion. It was a trait passed down from Jaikus, the clear opposite of his Pops’ minimalist ways.

“Let’s see,” Ezra said as he pulled out a physical map, unfolding it to stare at it. They had been advised not to use too much modern tech which could startle the locals, so usual Holomaps were off the table. The part Sephi stared at the giant piece of paper from all angles, finally finding where he marked it, “Okay, we are here,” He pointed on the paper, “We have to go north to this village here,” Theia would see a smiley face by that location, “All of this terrain is deadly swamp,” He pointed to where he drew a sad face, “Apparently people have been waking up and wandering off without a word. Our job is to find out where they went and to bring them back if possible.”

He rolled up the map and pulled out a compass, starting to walk in that direction. Ezra kept his gaze trained ahead, “Did you remember to pack your training vibroblade?”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia started coughing when Ezra sprayed her with the bug repellant, trying to make a mental note to remember some next time. However, the mental note also added to just avoid swampy places; even being on Naboo she made note to stay home sick on field trip days when they did their outdoors learning experience in the swamps. The teen busied herself with flicking away bugs that were still stuck to her arms and clothing while Ezra took out his map. Theia had to do a double take, not used to seeing maps being used outside archives or museums, though she was certain this one was not anywhere...

"Is that a smile face?" Theia was not listening for a moment as she walked around to better look at Ezra's map. Her brow narrowed in her bewilderment, but let him continue as he pointed out their path. She took note of the deadly swamp and hoped Ezra was right with all his markings. When he took out the compass, she had an overwhelming feeling that this was going to be harder than it seemed. "How come we just can't ask the Force to tell us what is happening to these people who disappear?" Theia asked.

She moved her pack to her front, carefully pushing down bulges to move the zipper slightly and was able to pull out her vibroblade before everything else spilled out of the backpack. "I got it...." she whispered as though she were conducting careful surgery to close the zipper hole. Swinging the bag back around, she held up the vibroblade to show Ezra. "I don't like it..." she didn't like the sword.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra largely ignored Theia’s criticism of his crude drawings. It got the job done, and that’s what mattered. When Theia asked why they couldn’t just use the Force to ask what was wrong, he had to fight the urge to grin. He was reminded of a vivid memory three years back when he first met his best friend on Kashyyyk and had asked him something similar during a crisis. That day felt like centuries ago now.

“The Force doesn’t work like that,” He said simply as they continued walking. The fact that she didn’t immediately know whether or not she packed her vibrosword was concerning, but at least she had it. Ezra rolled his eyes at her complaints about it already, and he said nothing about it. Weapon choice was trial and error. For this excursion, he actually brought his compact bowcaster that he found on Kashyyyk.

A downward incline took them towards a village. The sun was disappearing over the horizon and it was a sleepy dwelling with small homes and farms set up. There were cows and pigs being led by farmers and it was clear technology hardly existed here. A big well marked the center of the village.

There was a tavern up ahead called the Prancing Porg and he stepped in. There was a young woman playing a lute in the corner and singing. His gaze lingered on her for a bit - she was definitely beautiful to behold, but he quickly shook himself out of it. Ezra took a seat and ordered himself something called an ‘ale’. He looked around himself, “Man..it’s like being in a different century,” He muttered quietly, “Keep an eye out,” Ezra suggested as he looked around for groups to eavesdrop on.

If Theia paid attention, she would realize that the musician was actually singing original lyrics about people going missing in the village and the legend of a beast in the rivers.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

She gave a pouting frown when he stated the Force didn't work in her ideal suggestion; the redhead sighed and remained quiet, taking in her surroundings as they followed their path to the village. She could see the lights blinking in windows and someone was walking along the streets lighting the lanterns that illuminated the shadows. They passed small herds of cows and pigs and Theia couldn't help but to scratch behind the ears of a mouser who sat beside the stone wall pf the well, keeping a watchful eye over the passing beings. She leaned over the well for the sake of curiosity, clearly not able to see anything before she rejoined Ezra who lead them to the local tavern.

Prancing Porg

Theia heard the music, though her sense of smell seemed to occupy her focus, a mix of manure, alcohol, and smoke that she was uncertain of what to make before looking up at Ezra who mentioned something about being in another century. Theia frowned, agreeing silently as she decided to listen around, but her attention turned to the musician as she sung her lyrics.

A lullaby of a siren's call
Sleep, sleep, sleep
Wash away into a water's grave
Thrashed by bladed scales,
Teeth of piercing ire
The River Pye, where we must die​

The musician continued onward, talking about the victims; she took notice of Theia, dancing around the padawan and running her fingers through her red hair before the woman locked an arm through her own. Theia grinned as she joined in, listening through the verses of the song while enjoying herself in the moment.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra watched as Theia was swept away by the singer. He was privately glad she didn’t try running her hands through his hair, as that would have caused an altercation then and there. He took a sip of this ale, finding it surprisingly pleasant. He wasn’t a big drinker by any stretch of the imagination, but coming to a tavern and not drinking anything looked odd.

The singer looked over at him every now and then, biting her lip and smiling before tossing her hair over her shoulder. She returned her attention to Theia and Ezra kept to himself, any eavesdropping opportunities drowned out by the singing and dancing. Ezra sighed, drumming his fingers to the beat for now and keeping an eye on Theia to make sure she wasn’t doing anything stupid.

Two customers were loudly cheering nearby, one of them loudly talking, “Oh she’s done it this time! Captured the stories just right!”

“Haunting, right?”

It was then that Ezra actually bothered to listen to the lyrics. He hated talking to strangers, but he couldn’t wait around forever for an opportunity. He scooted his chair a bit closer to the two men, giving them a nod, “She’s talking about the disappearances, right?”

The man looked at him with suspicion at first. However, he was already a few drinks in, “No shit, sonny, what else? Not like there’s anythin’ else to sing about in this town,” He said, guffawing loudly. (Roll: 14/20 for talking to villagers)

“..They think it’s a monster?”

“Oh it’s just a rumor, don’t need to be worryin’ your pretty head over it,” The second man laughed, “About some river serpent that lures people. Yeah right. I say it’s just these kids wanting to get outta this boring village and bein’ too ashamed to tell their parents.”

The men laughed stupidly and ordered a round of drinks, now to include Ezra. He knew he was in trouble. He didn’t do well with a lot of drinking, but it was getting the men talking…

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

While Ezra had his ale and gathered more information, Theia continued to dance and encourage the bard to sing more of the tale of River Pye. She quickly caught onto the chorus, singing along, noting the numerous names and people that came along with this song. Theia wondered if they were really the villagers that disappeared or anonymous persona's to fit her song, but she paused, curiously looking at the dancer, "But was there ever someone there to kill the siren?" Theia asked and the dancer slowed, fingers slowly moving along the lute to play several sorrowful chords.

"Alas, no hero could hear the sirens cry,
So he followed their paths to the River Pye.
There he found stone and bone,
A path so dark, a fear so dire
His eyes became white as bone,
and no one could hear his cry -"

The dancer begun to play the downbeat note of the chorus and Theia jumped in, "But, there was one that did," she started to sing, "She was of no hero or name,
Of light she marched to River Pye,
Teeth of ire, scales of blades,
Fell in loss along the banks,
The waters swelled, bathed the lands
The souls freed, their names remembered
The River Pye, flow in peace"

The dancer rolled her notes, speeding up her tune as she turned to something more jovial in response to the girl's addition. It seemed to turn attention and more ale for herself, even Theia found one shoved into her grasp before she was able to bow away and find Ezzie. She handed the ale pint to another sitting nearby, there was a pull, instinct guiding her sight and her gaze caught a shadow from the corner of her eye. Down the hall she followed, seeing the figure leave from the backdoor of the tavern; he paused, looking behind him, almost as though he were looking right at Theia. However, what shocked the padawan was his eyes, pure white, no other color. Certainly he could have been a humanoid without irises, but they were as white as bone.

Theia paused, keeping her gaze on him, waiting to see what he would do next, but he turned and continued out the door, and naturally, Theia followed.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“How do people get lured to this…monster?” Ezra asked, feeling the drinks hitting him. He really didn’t do well with drinking, and the impacts were instant. He felt way too relaxed and loose, and his foot was actually starting to lightly tap to the rhythm of all the songs around them.

“Well they say it’s a voice they hear..or something they see..” The older man said, chugging his drink, “Something familiar..something with meanin’..but these are just rumors ya know,” He guffawed.

Ezra’s silver gaze briefly flicked to the side, catching a flash of red that disappeared through a door, “Fuck,” He muttered, hit with a sudden sense of clarity. If Auntie Tia found out he lost Theia within five mins of having her as a Padawan, he would never hear the end of it. He tossed a few credits on the table and followed after Theia.

He hit the top of his head on the doorframe, this town used to shorter people. Rubbing his head, he ducked and followed through a corridor, “Theia!” He called out, fully buzzed by now. Ezra was sluggish and not entirely in the best shape after chugging several ales.

Meanwhile, Theia would be led out of the building and into an empty alley. She would see the figure up ahead, but he disappeared around a corner and towards the woods.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia looked up one way and then the other of the alley when she saw the figure turn the corner. The young jedi quickly ran to the end to see where he had gone, only to watch his shadow enter the forest. She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the faintest chime in the cool night breeze.

...of no hero or name...
march...march...march...
child of starlight
seek your truth...
River Pye....
will...
show...

And then it stopped, Theia opened her eyes, finding herself next to the well in the center of the village, and swiftly she turned, from her left to right, a feeling of confusion and unease crept weaved through her body. She took a few steps back and looked to see Ezzie stumbling out of the alley from the back of the tavern. There was a feeling of relief as she quickly ran up to him, "Ezzie!" she gasped, "I heard it!" she told him in a hushed tone, looking back over her shoulder to where the man disappeared into the forest, "And I saw this man, his eyes were like the song, and he-" she was ready to point to the woods when she looked at him again and sniffed.

"Are you drunk?" she asked, her brow narrowed in disbelief.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra exhaled in relief when he spotted the redhead. She was rambling about some man with some eyes, and he was struggling to remember what he heard at the bar. He had to relay it all and compare notes before his brain got fuzzy. The Thorne nodded along vacantly, “Yeah, so apparently the village people have been lured away-” He paused when Theia asked if he was drunk. He got a scandalized look on his face, far more emotive than his normally stoic visage allowed.

“What?” He asked, “No. You’re drunk,” He accused her, his speech slightly slurred and alcohol clearly in his breath. He peered into the well, “Wow… that’s real deep..” He mused as he stuck his head in, “Helloooo?” He called into the well, hearing an eerie echo. Ezra did a few times before drawing back to look at Theia.

“What were you saying, again?” He asked, a dazed look in his eyes.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia took a step back, looking at him with disbelief that this was happening. She thought he was more responsible than this and their first field task together it was seemingly pointing to disaster. It allowed the doubts to seep into her thoughts, telling her this was a foolish endeavor and being here was a mistake, but she quickly pushed them aside. With Ezzie nearly stumbling about, she quickly reached out to grab his arm, trying to keep him from tipping too far into the well as he yelled and listened to his echo before standing up again.

The girl's lips pursed to a pout as she tried to not say anything, nearly grasping his entire arm as he remained with his head dipped into the mouth of the well before coming back up to ask what she was saying. She wondered if there was a Force thing that could be done for too much alcohol, to at least get back on track, could she use the Force like that? The more she thought about it, the more confusing it became, "I said," she looked back to the forest and then back to Ezra, feeling torn for a moment, "I said nothing..." she frowned, realizing she was still clutching his arm tightly, but didn't let go. There was something about this village that the stories held truth, but how much, Theia didn't think they were going to find out that night.

Theia looked again at the tree line and then back at Ezra wondering how many drinks he had to have, "C'mon we should wait until morning." she said, leading him back to the tavern, still holding his arm. She dropped some credits for a room, making sure he followed her and not going back to the guys who bought him the drinks, "You gotta rest."

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra felt her clutching at his arm, and he saw the disappointment in her face. His head was fuzzy and he shook it. He was rubbing at his forehead, “Ugh, no.. we can’t waste time,” Ezra said even as he slightly stumbled, leaning on her a bit on the walk to the tavern, “I don’t want this to be how you experience being a Jedi,” Ezra was mad at himself for allowing things to go this far, but he also had no other way to get the men talking.

He didn’t let her pay, forking over his own credits, “The men I was drinking with…they were talking about the rumors around the village. The woman..her song was about what happened,” Ezra opened the door to the room that was spacious enough for them both with two individual beds. However, he only sat on the edge of his, “Something…lures them into the forest…a song or face that’s familiar..” Ezra grabbed a nearby bottle of water and chugged the entire thing.

“Who were you following, Theia?” His words were slightly slurred, but he wasn’t completely sloshed. He was already attempting to channel the Force to clear his head, calling upon the focusing techniques of the Jedi.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Satisfied that he wouldn't fall over when he sat down on his bed, Theia finally released his arm. He spoke about the men he was drinking with and the stories confirmed what were happening in the village. The song too that Theia could hear through the floorboards spoke of individuals who disappeared. Though the hero part, she wondered did the dancer make it up and it was merely coincidence, or was it truly a ghost she saw leaving the tavern.

Theia seemed lost in her own thoughts as she dropped her pack beside her bed. "The hero," she answered when Ezra asked who she was following, "Eyes of bone, he was following the river Pye." she hummed, trying to remember all the words to the lyrics. She turned to Ezzie, sitting down on the edge of her bed across from him, "I heard another song too and I ended up at the well." her face showed her confusion, "It was a little spooky, the voice sang like the dancer but, I don't think..." she paused, trying to rationalize what she experienced, "It couldn't have been her, but it said words I said, and called me starlight like Mama does."

She shifted, the unease clear in her demeanor, "I got a bad feeling about this place, Ezzie."

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

A chill ran down his spine as she described what she was following. Ezra remained silently, looking away and drinking from the bottle of water. Her testimony alone was enough to shake him back towards sobriety. His head throbbed, and he rubbed his forehead, “I won’t let anything happen to you,” He stated flatly. Ezra finally looked at her.

“I’m…sorry you had to see me like this, kid,” He said, exhaling, “But moving right along..” He hated lingering on sentimental shit. She knew he felt like an ass and that’s all that mattered. It was something he picked up from his friends and Dash - always own up to your messes, “This is bad,” Ezra met her gaze. What he didn’t pick up from his friends, however, was sugarcoating things. He was still his usual blunt and matter-of-fact self.

“I think you have been marked,” He stated curtly, “Whatever this is - it doesn’t ease off until the marked target is lured. So you will have to resist.”

Ezra walked over to sit down on the ground, motioning for Theia to do the same. He focused the Force, channeling it through his mind, “Clear your head. We have to put some safeguards in place.”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

She watched him take another drink from his water bottle and could tell he was not feeling well, even though his reassurance that he would look out for her, Theia would always look out for him. The padawan grabbed her pack and opened it up, its contents spilling across her bed as Ezzie apologized for his unintentional hangover. It was genuine, quick, always like him to do so as he preferred not to linger and get back to topic...or when they were much younger, all the more faster to get back to playing their games. Theia raked through her mess before pulling a small box and opened it to pull out a small bottle of pills reading: Aspirin and tossed it to Ezra.

As she did so, he further explained his own thoughts and Theia paused as she had started to put her stuff back into her bag. "Marked?" she questioned how bad it sounded, but his serious tone told her it was something to be concern about and what he explained, it made sense to the girl. Though the idea of resisting seemed vague, how did one resist a song, one you could hear, but didn't hear at the same time. She followed, sitting on the floor across from him; she opened her mouth to ask how, but paused, rationality kicking to tell her they were about to learn how, and so she remained quiet.

Though the idea of clearing her head was a harder task, there was always something going on in her thoughts; a constant stream of reminders, ideas, memories, questions, and clearing it was a chore. She watched Ezzie for a moment, her senses searching for something different from him, but instead, she felt a peace from him. For herself, it was like waiting for her mind to decide to slow as she tried to remember at the same time, the lessons so far on feeling the Force for moments like this. It would come though in the form of a quiet sigh, Ezzie would hear the breath escape from her lips as she became centered.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra concentrated with the Force. When it came to mental uses of the Force, it was where he excelled. The fact that Theia was trusting and comfortable with him brought him both a sense of humility that he didn’t realize it would, and a sense of empowerment. It worked in her favor and allowed him to bolster her defenses.

“When you hear the voice again, you need to clear your mind,” Ezra’s voice would echo in her thoughts, “Find this moment again, where you are now. It will allow you to isolate the voice and ward off the compulsion. The best way to track this thing is for you to follow the lure and play along.”

He despised this idea, of using Theia as bait, but he trusted her more than he did a random citizen. If she was going to be a Jedi, she needed to understand she was no longer the average bystander anymore.

“I will be with you every step of the way,” He said as he provided his own defenses to her mind. After a long moment, he opened his eyes, speaking aloud again.

“Do you understand what must be done, Theia?”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

His voice echoed in her mind and it gave Theia a startle as she winced in response, but was able to keep herself anchored. She wanted to explore this feeling further, it intrigued her, reminding her of the warm ocean waters of the cottage back on Corellia. However, as the rest of the world moved around her, she was still and could feel another beside her, Ezra. He continued, explaining how this feeling would help her; she felt safe, in control as to who would enter further if she permitted. She listened carefully to Ezzie's plan, it was not ideal but it made sense, despite having hoped this trick would remove the mark from herself.

Play along...

She was good at that, not only with him, but Jayna also would hook her into their games and more so to wiggle their way out of trouble from either Uncle Jai or her mom. Rarely did either of them snitch on the other, a mutual understanding between the youngsters that tied them to some of their outlandish escapades. Though hearing it now, it felt different in a way, and perhaps it would be that these were no longer games.

Ezra spoke out loud and Theia opened her eyes, locking with his gaze, and she nodded, "Y-yes, Yes," she repeated despite her nerves, she felt she could do this. The idea of some ghost siren having one over her seemed annoying enough, but there would also be a competitive part of her that wanted to tell it that it picked on the wrong person this evening. "We will get this done." she said rising to her feet and started to push her belongings back into her pack, her thoughts returning to the peacefulness she felt while grounding herself.

"Ezzie, do Jedi go into other people's minds? To like control them?" she asked, remembering the news stories she saw on the holo about the Grandmaster using her powers to control the senate.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra said nothing at her question initially. It was a difficult one, and one that people often asked in the ISC. The Grandmaster unwittingly made herself famous for delving into the mind of the Chancellor. There were many cases of Jedi abusing those powers and it opened up an entire ethical dilemma on whether Jedi should have the ability at all.

“Not to control them, but to protect them,” Ezra said after a moment, “If someone is going to harm others, a Jedi would sway their mind to put the weapon down. However, if a Force user takes over someone’s mind and compels them to act on the user’s behalf, that’s what a Sith would do. It’s a Jedi’s job to respect the power and never abuse it,” He said, surprised at his own words. Sometimes he sounded wiser than he felt, but he chalked it up to those years of training. He was strong with Force abilities of the mind, which meant he was especially wary of crossing lines.

“You’ll mess up a lot during your training. Everyone does,” He stated flatly as he rose to stand, flashing her a half grin, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Auntie Tia,” He said as he opened the door to walk out. He felt substantially better after the water and detox, and he was ready to chase down this siren phenomenon.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia paused and listened closely to Ezra as he shared his thoughts on some abilities the Jedi may access. She thought it made sense, but she didn't expect anything less from him; Ezra had the tendency to be right about a lot of things and there was no reason not to doubt. However, for Theia, hearing that she was going to expect to mess up a lot during her training made her stomach sink. His reassurance that everyone also made their fair share of mistakes did not help her feel any better, and the face she made with worried concern would be easily interpreted by Ezra when he looked at her.

"No! Don't tell Mama if I mess up, then she'll be calling me and asking so many questions!" despite knowing he was kidding around, she wasn't sure how her mom would not know. The woman seemed to know everything and was like everywhere at times; she told her it was a mother's instinct, but understanding her mom had the Force too, maybe she used her power to know things. Her thoughts floated for a bit on the idea, mentally noting to ask her mom later about some of these things if Ezra couldn't answer them.

She followed him out the door, noting the chrono on the tavern's wall behind the bar, "Hm...witching hour..." she said quietly in observation. She lead part of the way, showing Ezzie where she had seen the man disappear, the tall trees were eerily still and quiet, not even the natura fauna were making their nocturnal cries. Theia paused as she tried to listen for any movement, hoping the man would appear again; her eyes seemed useless, shadows had their own shadows and if she were standing beside Ezra, she probably would have been lost quickly.

Theia inhaled and let out a deep breath, trying to remind herself of the patience she needed to have; her mind switching to the formula's her mom made her recite to calm and center until she would hear her speak. However, the voice she heard was not her mothers.


Born of no hero or name...
child of starlight
come with your flame,
seek your truth...
In the waters...
River Pye will flow...

Theia felt herself grow curious and yet soothed by the voice; it had returned, and as Ezra suspected, it had marked the padawan. The girl hummed to herself as the voice echoed in her mind, and she subtly cleared it, allowing the voice to remain as she followed its pull. It was not like any task Theia had done before; she studied impossible puzzles and this was no where the struggle she had to keep herself from faltering under the will of the Siren. It pushed against her walls to the deeper parts of her mind, the voice was like holding water as it seemed to move and form to wherever it desired.

Though Ezra wouldn't hear the song, he could see and feel his padawan pushing back so she remained in control. It was no doubt her strong will and even stubbornness would work out for her.

@Sreeya