Open Event Little "Treasures"

[Nykoria Tallis]

Both Izel and Nara were spot on, and the pirates retreated. Nykoria had no illusions though: it would only be a matter of time before they could return with help. They could even strafe the house and Nara's ship out of spite. The Jedi had to beat them to it. Nara was of the same mind, and literally took it off the Zeltron's tongue. Maybe with a milder wording. "We can't stay here," she added. "Maybe we could put it into a thermos or something..."

"Or not..." Nykoria mumbled as she stepped into the house. What a mess! Under different circumstances, she would've taken the time to sort it out properly. But time was off the essence. With a conscious effort, she let her pheromones spread across the room, to help the kids calm down and prepare them for what is to come. "It's for the best," she assured the children quietly, and with a calm smile that could make a rancor curl up and purr. "That's a way how the Force is telling us it's time to leave." Implanting this sort of suggestion was perhaps a wrong thing to do, but Kori was running out of options. "Izel, help them pack up please."

There was no arguing. This time, Nykoria was the Jedi Master she was needed to be. Confident in her decisions, and with a plan in her head. She walked into the room where Knight Dayla's body had been resting. Noticing his bag, that had been left unattended, the Zeltron picked it up and walked outside. It remained to be seen what they'd find inside, but there and then it didn't matter.

Outside, she would stand by the pyre, waiting for the Jedi and the children to gather round. She knew from experience that it was the hardest part of saying goodbye, yet it had to be done. A part of her thought that what she was about to do was wrong. But again, had to be done. The effort to maintain the pheromones and to affect the minds of the children with the Force was great, but it was the only way to avoid a lengthy farewell. If her Mind Trick and pheromones could make it easier on the poor kids, then all the better.

"Let us say our farewell to Knight Dayla. Mourn him do not: he gave his life doing the right thing, and would've been proud to see you getting this far. His duty done, he returned to the Force in peace... As we all once will. With that, Nykoria took off her glove and put it the purple palm on the pyre. She was nowhere proficient with pyrokinesis, but being a Jedi Master imposed certain requirements on a person's skillset. Besides, all she needed was a spark to light the fire. And a spark was what followed.

As the fire spread around, Nykoria turned to the gathering. She was feeling the slight pressure from continued use of the Force already... But only little remained to be said: "Rejoice for Knight Dayla who has fulfilled his purpose. It's on us to carry the torch now and make sure it's was not in vain. For that, we must go."

And there it was. The Zeltron stopped and exhaled, looking at her fellow Jedi and their proteges, hoping that all the effort hadn't been in vain. So much for a Boonta Eve...

@Reyn @Charndley

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel could only let out a sigh and rub her head as she witnessed the scene before her. It seemed these children still had a long way to go before they'd be anywhere near Jedi material. "Oh well," She said finally, not wanting to show her frustration. Sure she was hungry, but it wasn't going to kill her. "It's not the end of the world." She said to Riz in particular, seeing the young Twi'lek was clearly the most affected.

Again she sensed Kori's tampering with the younglings' emotions, and as much as she was becoming vexed by her continued use of the Force and her natural abilities to make things easier through manipulation, she understood why she felt the need to. At the Jedi Master's word she would coax the children to gather their things and prepare to leave, though pointedly with only her words and without the assistance of any mind tricks.

Outside things took a bit of an ugly turn. Izel had gone along with Kori's influence for the sake of expedience and keeping everyone safe until now, but trying to trick the younglings into not fully realizing what was going on was unacceptable in the Vratix's mind. As the Zeltron was making her speech Izel stormed forward and rather uncharacteristically grabbed the Master's wrist, yanking her around to face her.

"Stop this." She demanded with a force in her tone that was rarely heard. "Let them have this moment. You help no one by doing this. Especially not them." She was well aware saying goodbye to a loved one was difficult, especially for children. But she could see no long term benefit to artificially forcing someone to rush through their grief. It prevented any kind of closure and would only create more problems for the younglings further down the road. Izel would continue to grip Kori's wrist tightly, staring her friend down. She didn't mean to be so rude, but this was clearly a matter of principle to her.

@Charndley @Catbert

 

[Juniper]

The chaos creating by bickering children quickly subsided as Kori laid it on a little bit thick. The kids looked around at each other, their fight momentarily forgotten as they nodded. There wasn't really the time to tidy up. Instead, all three of them went and got their little coats and wrapped themselves up. The seriousness of the situation seemed to have dawned on them... or rather, been placed upon them.

Whilst they readied themselves for the pyre, Nara brought the bikes over. She gave them a quick once over to check they weren't about to fall apart. She doubted they'd be sabotaged, seeing as the thugs'd rode in on them but it never hurt to check for stupid tricks. She found nothing worthy of concern, aside from a clicking accelerator on one and a very well-worn through seat on the other. They'd be fine for the short trip.

The bikes were gathered just outside the cabin, a little bit away from the pyre. Nara joined them as Kori was lighting it up. She could definitely feel the influence of the Force around them, nudged by Kori. It certainly wasn't to her taste at all, leaving Nara feeling conflicted. But then Izel stepped in first, and quite firmly too. Staring right into Kori's eyes with a tone that was most, well, forceful.

"Is this really the time?" Nara hissed to them both, glaring, "for either of you? Sort this later when we're on the ship and the kids are asleep" she told them, moving towards the pyre. The three children stood, looking up at the pyre. As their saviour was returned to the living Force that surrounded them. As their guide left them alone for the adventures that were to come.

Nara noticed a single, glimmering tear trail on Jhes's cheek. She gave them a moment or two of silence to take it in, standing beside them.

"I'm sorry to do this, but we're going to have to leave now, quite quickly. Just to keep everyone safe. We have three bikes, so each of you is going to go on a separate bike with one of us. Riz, you can go with Izel," Nara instructed, pointing to her. They seemed to get on well, it'd keep him calm.

"Finla, you're with me and Jhes? You can go with Master Tallis," she instructed. Finla gave her a strange stare, as if she doubted Nara would keep her safe in any way at all, but she said nothing. Jhes looked over at Kori, wide-eyed at the thought of being on a swoop bike with her.

"I have so many questions!" Jhes said quickly, making her way to Kori's side.

Spoiler: OOC

Last posts and then we're done. Thanks for an awesome thread, guys! :)

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Izel stood up to her, and in front of others no less. Nykoria hadn't seen that coming, too focused on doing her thing. But there was the Vratix, staring at the Zeltron like never before, and her forceful tone quite different to the usual Izel. Caught off guard, Kori didn't know what to say. But it didn't matter; with Izel and Nara, the Zeltron didn't even need to say a word. Her reply came in a different form, perceivable only by the two Knights.

A purple palm touches the chopped wood, setting it on fire by mere pressure. The fire spreads as the Zeltron steps back, not saying a word. Riz bursts out crying, and a weeping Jhes puts her webbed fingers on his shoulders. Even Finla can't hold back tears. The pain and sorrow of the children creep into Nara and Izel—amplified—and gnaw at them relentlessly. The pain reaches its crescendo as the pyre engulfs Knight Dayla's body in its entirety. For a while, there is nothing else: only that moment of pain...​

In an instant, that image fades, and a much less vivid one appears.​

When the time comes, the children refuse to go. They cry, bargain to stay a few moments longer. It's only the howl of an approaching spaceship that makes the Jedi grab them against their will, lest they get captured again. The trio has to flee on the swoop bikes, as the pirate ship blows up the house, the remains of the pyre, and pursues the fleeing Jedi towards Nara's vessel. It becomes a race against the clock, but the pirate vessel strafes at Nara's ship, blowing it up in front of the fleeing Jedi.​

The visions faded as Nara approached the two Jedi with a reproach directed at both of them. Nykoria didn't say a word, and simply nodded with a step back. They may have disagreed; but her friends had once again proven that they were no less deserving of the title of Jedi Master than Nykoria herself.

Luckily, the vision induced by Nykoria didn't come to life. Perhaps it was the pheromones and earlier persuasion... or maybe the kids were tougher than they looked. But to Kori's relief, the farewell didn't turn into a bog of pain and hopelessness. Jhes, the Mon Calamari girl assigned to ride with the Jedi Master, even showed some sort of enthusiasm. "I'll answer all of them once we're out of here," Nykoria tried to force a sad smile on her own lips, but their corners only curled up wryly. "Let's go, kid."

There were so many things to do. Getting off world. Outrunning the pirates. Getting the kids to safety. Answering Jhes's questions. Having a talk with Izel. Sorting through Knight Dayla's records and possessions more thoroughly... But for the time being, all that the Jedi could do was try and enjoy the ride back to the ship. It sure beat walking.

Spoiler: OOC

And there goes Kori's last post in this thread. Thank you, guys! The lasts posts were a perfect conclusion for a few arcs; and hooks for new ones, hopefully.
@Reyn @Charndley

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel was unimpressed by Kori's communicated vision of their doom, simply scoffing and releasing her grip on the Zeltron's wrist before turning and walking away. Any semblance of a good mood had been ruined by the confrontation with the pirates and the subsequent actions of her fellow Jedi. The Vratix crossed her arms and watched the children as she was tacitly proven right by the younglings' reaction. Obviously there was never going to be the sort of breakdown Kori had feared. Dayla had already been dead for who knew how long. The children had likely been in his presence as he passed. They had to prepare his body after all. No doubt the worst of their grief had already been expressed. This final moment was something subdued, something they were owed.

While Izel didn't speak to the others, she nodded along with Nara's direction, taking Riz's hand and leading him to one of the swoop bikes. The young Twi'lek kept looking over his shoulder back at the pyre. The Vratix could sense his pain. She would lift him onto the bike before taking a seat behind them and starting it up.

"Did Dayla teach you the Jedi Code?" She asked the Twi'lek softly. Riz looked up at her a moment before looking forward again.

"Yes..."

"Can you recite it for me?" She asked next. The youngling swallowed, trying his best to force down the grief he was feeling.

"Emotion, yet Peace..." As he started to speak the words Izel would take off after the others. The cold air stung against her face but she now used the power of Force sustain, a skill taught to her years ago, to envelop both herself and the youngling in a protective envelope of energy that pushed out the worst of the elements and offered something of a reprieve. "Ignorance, yet Knowledge... Passion, yet... Harmony?" Riz looked back up at Izel.

"Serenity." She corrected him gently. The Twi'lek nodded.

"Right... Chaos yet Harmony." He recited the next line, then hesitated.

"Death, yet the Force." Izel finished. "He's not gone little one, just somewhere else. We are all the Force, and the Force is with us. Forever." The Vratix would look towards her friends, contemplating. All that would come of it was a sigh. She had to take her own advice and let go of her frustration. They were all together in this after all. It was moments like these that reminded her of that.

@Charndley @Catbert

 

[Juniper]

Honestly. I don't know who the biggest kids here actually are.

Nara's stern look didn't fade as she climbed on the back of the bike, inviting Finla up there with her. The Pantoran girl followed, settling into the seat as Nara set off. Snow swished around the bike as she tore through the covered fields, straight towards the wood line. Following the path that they'd taken to get there, hoping it'd take a lot less time to get back. She shivered slightly on the bike, looking around to see her friends close by.

I suppose this is a good thing. If we hadn't been there, well... these kids wouldn't have had much of a life. Maybe we can give them a chance.

Her ship awaited. It'd be warm and cosy and safe. She could crank up the heating in the life-support, wrap herself in a blanket and hop them off planet. Away from this snow-drenched mess of a world. Maybe she'd lock them all in the passenger bunks and let them argue it out while she watched cheesy action-vids in her cabin.

As she rode, she said a silent prayer to the living Force that surrounded them all.

I am glad for the opportunity to help others. But next time, I really would like some treasure that doesn't argue back to me.

And something that doesn't whine all the time.

/End Thread.