The Other Side

[Sreeya]

"Excuse me, even Sith need vacations sometimes. And I was enjoying the view till your big head blocked it."

Andraste was surprised at her own words. She wondered why she wasn't simply killing him, but decided that he was far too amusing to destroy. Andraste watched as he wiped the mud off himself, completely missing all the grass and some flowers that were smeared across his behind. Rolling her eyes, she wandered over to where the flowers were next to the river, plucking one and once again sniffing it.

"Andraste."

It felt strange to say her own name. Most of the times she was referred to by her title and nothing else. She suddenly scowled at Aeslan.

"What the hell are you doing here besides stinking up the place? You didn't come here to cry and kill yourself because the big meanies at the temple picked on you, did you? Quite frankly, you look the type.."

 

[Demiurge]

The caked up mud made Aeslan's feel weighed down. His robe was dirtied, with grass stains and darkened with mud. In short, it flat out wasn't worth keeping anymore.

"Yeah, vacation spots past your own borders? Bolshavit... either that or you really are as crazy as you look."

Aeslan began pulling his cloak off, discarding it to the ground. Even without the added weight of the caked up mud, the thick cloak was a welcomed loss on his body. It was more ceremonial than anything else, least of all, practicality.

"And excuse me, but Naboo? It actually is within Alliance space. Hell, I don't even need a reason to be here. Oh, and..."

Aeslan began, with a discretely placed grin in the corner of his mouth, "As far as types go? From the looks of it, I'm not the one with all of those obvious ''love-slashes'' on their wrists, now am I?"

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste began to tell him to shut up, but his words stopped her cold. She quickly pulled her arms to herself, feeling self conscious.

"I didn't..I'm not emo..I do this becau- oh to hell with it!"

Without further words, she launched a massive push his way. Without warning, it would make him fly backwards and land directly into the middle of the river. With any luck, she hoped he'd land on some sharp rocks, get carried by the current or get eaten by piranhas or something. Anything to get his infuriating face out of her sight.

"Let's hope your swimming skills are better than you saber ones!"

 

[Demiurge]

"SCHUTTA!"

It was a painful irony every Jedi faced. Aeslan was able to sense events through the Force as well as any Force user. And when the girl, Andraste, used the Force to push him afar, the Force alerted him to it. Unfortunately, there was a distinct difference between seeing a danger, and reacting to it.

The young Jedi Knight was lifted off his feet and hurled backwards, being sent back and plunged into the middle of the nearby lake. As he slammed into the water and drifted inches beneath the surface, the first thing that went through Aeslan's mind was that that schutta was crazy.

Swimming back up to the surface, Aeslan shot a glare at Andraste, who was laughing while yelling out that she hoped he could swim better than he could fight. The young Jedi Knight deviously grinned at the remark, and motioned his hands beneath the cover of the waters.

"Oh, I'll do more than that, schutta..."

At that, Aeslan generated a telekinetic vacuum force, strong enough that it would pull Andraste into the very river waters she had cast him into.

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste grinned, noting that he disappeared into the river. She hoped he would get pulled underwater and simply get carried away to the ocean or something. As she got lost in wishful thinking, she felt herself get abruptly yanked forth. Andraste screamed as she was flung into the water. The first thing she noted as she splashed into the river was how ungodly cold it was. Andraste came up to the surface, spewing out a string of profanity.

"I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

She attempted to call electricity to her fingers, considering using lightning to fry him. However, she realized that in water, she would end up shocking herself as well. That was when another horrible realization hit her: she couldn't swim. Andraste clawed her way out to the surface, taking huge gulps of air, but she kept being dragged back under. At that instant, she couldn't think about the Force or her abilities, it was simply a desperate situation she never thought she would find herself in. Within moments, she disappeared underwater, the current only making the situation worse.

 

[Demiurge]

It went against everything a Jedi should exercise, behaviorally and and in regards to maturity. It was petty, it was vain... but it was a priceless moment he wouldn't have missed for anything. The glance of her face as she was pulled into the water, the shock of her expression... it was a moment that couldn't be valued for him.

Then, more than satisfying following it was her reaction. The frustration and irritation, mingled with her rather colorful language, then her emphatic intention to use Force Lightning, only to realize she'd essentially commit suicide in the process - Aeslan couldn't help but to smile with enthusiasm. As he began swimming back to the banks, the thrashing sounds caught his ear, and as he looked back, he could barely believe his eyes.

"Aww, SITHSPIT!!" he yelled, swimming back toward Andraste. "You can't--? Seriously?!"

Aeslan swam down beneath the surface of the water, grabbing hold of Andraste as he then swam upwards, keeping the two of them afloat in spite of the girl's clawing and flailing.

"Stop thrashing, dammit!" he said, as he started toward the banks.

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste felt herself get yanked from underneath the water. She came out above the surface and took a huge gulp of air. For a moment, she didn't look to see who had saved her. All she cared about was staying above water level. Andraste put all her weight on Aeslan, pushing down so he was dunked underwater so she could breathe. Her vision was blurred and she waved her arms about pathetically, accidentally sending out a Force push. This caused small waves in the water, carrying them back into the river.

"YOU'RE SO USELESS!"

She tried to climb onto Aeslan's back in an attempt to use him as a flotation device, but obviously it only pushed him below. She coughed and hacked, spitting out water. The banks appeared far away, and she began to panic. As someone who didn't know how to swim, it was impossible to work out that she needed to stay calm to stay above water. She decided her best course of action was to fight Aeslan, who was obviously trying to kill her.

 

[Demiurge]

It was only moments into his 'rescue' that Aeslan began thinking this was a stupid attempt. She was hysterical and in a panic, pushing him down to lift herself up above the water. Aeslan braced repeatedly as his head and body were periodically forced underwater, only to come back up, gasping for air.

"I'm trying to swim, you BITCH!" he screamed, gurgled as his opened mouth filled with water.

Aeslan managed to gain just enough composure to see forward as Andraste send an instinctive Force Push toward the river banks, sending them back into the currents of the torrent river. At hearing Andraste's comment on him being useless, Aeslan felt himself snap, though each time he attempted to rebuttal her, he found himself taking in too much water from her attempts to climb ontop of him. After struggling with her, Aeslan finally pushed himself up through the water again just in time to see where the current was taking them, across the falls in the opposite direction of the Naboo cities.

"Aww, damn it..." he said, as his eyes widened as they approached the waterfall, "DAMN IT ALL!"

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste came up for air right as Aeslan spoke. She scowled and promptly slapped him across the face. She didn't have time to grin evilly, as she was quickly pulled under once again. Underwater, she attempted to hold onto him for dear life. She had an iron grip on him. It was a constant battle, as she wanted to hurt him, but he was also her only ticket to staying afloat. Andraste came up again, ready to punch him. However, she noticed him staring off ahead, terror in his eyes. Andraste turned and her face mimicked his expression.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

Her voice echoed out loud in one long note, drowned out by the waterfall. Andraste gripped Aeslan's shoulder hard enough for her nails to dig into his skin as they fell over the edge. She attempted to call upon the Force, grabbing at tendrils of it to cushion her landing. Andraste's eyes were squeezed shut as she screamed her head off, completely terrified.

After what seemed like a century, they splashed into water at the base of the waterfall. It was deep water, which ensured their survival. Regardless, it was still a very painful landing. Andraste had to fight her way to the top again, taking a huge gulp of air. She raised her hand above water and found that all she was clutching was the entirety of Aeslan's sleeve. Andraste cursed profusely, splashing around helplessly and clawing towards the edge of the pool of water. By some miracle, she dug her fingers into the muddy edges, hauling herself up. She slipped and landed face first in the mud, quickly peeling herself off to plop down in the grass. She rolled over onto her back, breathing heavily and looking up at the sky, her face completely caked with mud.

"I..hate....Jedi..."

 

[Demiurge]

"GET OFF ME!! DAMNIT, STOP!"

Aeslan found himself yelling incessantly. He was caught in a current, weighed down with a Sith girl that wanted to wrestle as they both headed toward the falls. It was everything going wrong, at the worst possible time.

"BIIITCHHHHHH!!!" yelled Aeslan, as he and Andraste were sent over the edge of the falls.

With barely enough time to think about what to do, Aeslan attempted to used the Force to induce a state of levitation, only to have his concentration and connection to the Force slip from his like water around his fingers. Between her nails becoming entrenched in his back, his overly stressed state of mind, and her own simultaneous use of the Dark Side of the Force disrupting his own connection to the Force, Aeslan knew what was coming, and braced for impact.

The shock of the crash into the bottom pool of water dizzied Aeslan's senses, and for several moments, his vision, equilibrium, hearing and other senses were dulled and dazed. His ears rang as he floated back up to the surface on his back, in pain, gazing up at the clouded sun shrouded by tree branches above. At some point, he realized Andraste must have finally let go, as he watched her claw herself to the riverbanks. "Damnable sithspit..." he said in somewhat of a whisper.

Turning over, Aeslan swam back slowly to the banks of the river, crawling out of the waters on his knees, coughing and spitting up water still in his system. "You... happy now... schutta?" he said, lightly coughing and clearing his throat. "Couldn't... have managed THIS... without you."

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste caught her breath, glancing over sideways to watch him swim to the edge of the water. He pulled himself onto the bank and she scowled at him. Damned idiot survived after all! Andraste wiped the mud off herself, being sure to fling some of it onto Aeslan as he called her names again. Andraste looked up at the sky again.

"For a Jedi you sure do swear a lot."

She looked at him again, glaring.

"You're blaming me for this? You know how to swim! If you hadn-"

Her eyes widened. Andraste sat up and looked at him suspiciously.

"Why didn't you just swim away while I was drowning?"

 

[Demiurge]

Aeslan shook his head violently, shaking the water from his hair and head as he slowly got up.

"Oh, shut up," he said in reply to her, inhaling deeply as he finally caught his breath.

The young Jedi Knight placed his hand on his head, rubbing his forehead and temple as if he were having a wracking headache. Perhaps it was from the fall, or perhaps is was throbbing from the sound of Andraste's voice, which had now begun to irritate him to new levels. That was, until she asked him why he didn't leave her. The question puzzled him; he being a Jedi, he thought his profession would have spoken for itself. Strangely however, he found himself hesitating to reply, even though it wasn't a difficult answer.

"You're over thinking it," he lyingly said, as he began looking wayward, "I didn't save you, you just... latched onto me."

 

[Sreeya]

"Funny.."

Andraste raised an eyebrow.

"..Considering that I never used the word save. I simply asked why you didn't swim away."

She dropped the topic, scowling and muttering 'stupid Jedi' under her breath. Andraste slowly got to her feet, looking around at where they were. To her dismay, she had absolutely no idea. This was her first time on Naboo, and they were completely the opposite direction of the city. Andraste looked up and noticed that the waterfall began extremely high up, which meant that there was no immediate way to get back up to the level they were on. Andraste growled in frustration.

"This is all your fault! I was perfectly fine on my own and then you had to show up. Look where we are now!"

She kicked a boulder in anger. A second later, she bit her lip and lightly limped back as pain shot through her toes. Andraste paced around some more before turning to face the woods. She grimaced at the sight, but sighed. It was getting dark, and she needed to find a way back up. Andraste did not turn to face Aeslan, angrily walking into the forestry, with her clothes clinging to her. She was determined to find a way out. In her anger, she Force pushed things out of her way, ripping through branches and plants and even sending some small animals sailing through the air. She was making a ridiculous amount of noise in her fury, which would no doubt come back to bite her in the butt.

 

[Demiurge]

Aeslan didn't respond in words at Andraste's response. He was wet, tired, and phased from falling off a cliffside. Arguing was the last thing he wanted, and all he replied with was a brief, sharp exhale.

Looking upward, Aeslan tried to gauge the time of day. He frankly would normally never pay attention to it normally, but he was - for all intents and purposes - stranded. And Naboo wasn't known for its hospitable wilderness. Night was coming, and with it, predators.

"My fault?! I didnt---!" Aeslan started, clinching his fists and eyes shut, "You know what? It's not worth it. I don't have time to deal with someone acting like a spoiled brat."

His clothes were soaked and heavy, but they'd dry in time. And at the moment, they needed to find sanctuary. With the sun setting, they were already in danger.

"Hey! Enough!" he said in a loud whisper, glaring at her use of the Force to cause minor havoc, "We don't need more noise and nonsense, least of all right now!"

Aeslan then turned to the woods, and began walking cautiously into them, "Come on, and for the love of the Force, SHUT UP."

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste tripped over a root and almost fell over, quickly dancing around to regain balance. She slapped away mosquitoes and other bugs. Her hair was a mess, her clothes began to stink and she was overall having the worst day possible. On top of that, she realized that Aeslan was following her. Andraste glared at him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? Can't you flag your idiot Jedi friends over to come get you? Then you can go annoy someone else."

She almost walked into a tree, jumping to the side last second. She continued walking deeper into the dense forest. For a long moment, she said nothing, noticing that it was getting more and more difficult to see. Andraste finally paused for a second, sighing. The entire journey had been stressful and had her ignoring very basic needs.

"Okay, I'll be back. I have to um...pee.."

The Sith did not make eye contact with Aeslan as she said this, pointedly staring straight ahead. She walked into the woods on the side, disappearing from view. For a long moment there was nothing but silence, the soft chirping of bugs. Suddenly the noises began to die down. The sun had almost disappeared completely, leaving the forest dark. However, visibility was still possible.

A second later, Andraste abruptly popped out of nowhere, running out of a small copse of trees while hastily pulling her pants up and hopping. Her eyes were wide with shock.

"HOLY MOTHER OF FORCE RUN!!!!"

Half waddling, half running, she dashed directly past Aeslan, deeper into the forest. Behind her, small trees were bent and pushed aside, debris rising. Two giant hairy legs pushed trees aside and emerged from the area Andraste had burst out of. The pincers clicked and snapped, revealing a massive spider that towered over some of the smaller trees. By now, it had set its sights on Aeslan.

 

[Demiurge]

"I'm not following you, schutta, I'm trying to get out of here. And could you be any more clumsy? How about you try to watch where you're going - it actually helps." Aeslan said, moving through the thick bush, "Besides, I came here by myself... Didn't think a Sith would come and get me screwed in planet-sized forest."

As irritating as Andraste's insufferable ranting was, it never ceased to annoy Aeslan how tactless she was in the jungle. If she wasn't nearly tripping over roots, she was almost walking straight into trees. It was ridiculous. After walking on for some time, the silence eventually broke again, as Andraste stated her need to pee.

"Hey!", he whispered loudly, "Don't wander off! It's dangerous out here."

Not much to his surprise, his caution went largely ignored. Sighing irritatedly, Aeslan sat against the bark of a nearby tree, closing his eyes to rest them a bit. Without the Force, Aeslan had poor eyesight due to his lineage of selective breeding, isolation, and albinism. Thus, the Force provided all the sight he required, even in darkness. It also supplemented his lack of affinity with Force Sight, but he managed. It remained quiet for a time, until Aeslan heard the shout. The young Jedi Knight's eyes shot and he stood up just in time to see Andraste waddling past him, raising an eyebrow and dropping his jaw in disbelief at the display. However, his attention was quickly drawn when he turned his head back in time to see the massive eight legged arachnid crawling out from the bush. Before he could react, he then noticed another, in the trees, then another, and another.

"Nightspiders..." he said silently.

Without hesitation, Aeslan ran, using the Force to augment his speed. With his eyesight enhanced to balance his rapidity and coordination, Aeslan navigated through the forest floor, although he could only move so fast through the congested bush and wildlife. He quickly came upon Andraste, who was still running in a swaying gait. Aeslan sighed at the sight of it.

"Pathetic," he whispered.

As he came up behind Andraste, Aeslan quickly dropped low, bringing his arm to her back and beneath her knees, lifting her upward.

"Ugh, you are SUCH a mess!" he said, as he continued to move through the thick forests.

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste's heart was pounding against her chest. She couldn't see anything, and quickly called upon the Force to aid her. This was hard to manage as she was still busily pulling her pants up. Andraste tripped over herself, feeling the spiders creep up on her. She whipped around, preparing to stab it with a stick, but realized it was Aeslan. Her eyes widened as she felt herself get scooped up.

"What are you doing, you ass!!! Put me down this INSTANT!"

She looked over his shoulder and saw an army of arachnids. The entire forest was trembling under their might. Andraste screamed and clung to him.

"Never mind never mind. RUN FASTER, YOU IDIOT!"

Andraste looked to the side, noting that they were going into pitch black darkness. All she could see were the countless eyes of the spiders behind them. She felt completely helpless and struggled to pull her pants up on the way, unable to believe that she was in such a desperate position. Andraste paused for a moment, looking up to see a spider descending quickly behind Aeslan, ready to jump down on his shoulder. Without thinking, she extended her arm above his head and shot off a streak of lightning. The lightning made the spider squeal in pain, falling over as it smoked. Andraste grinned in satisfaction, the grin quickly slipping as even more spiders came out into the clearing.

 

[Demiurge]

The forest was like a maze with no end. Clustered, overgrown, and for all Aeslan knew, he was leading them around in circles. Although he hadn't yet grown tired, he knew it couldn't continue in that way. If he did, they'd be dead by morning. While he began contemplating an alternative action, the decison was prematurely made for him when he eventually came head on into another pack of Nightspiders. Pausing in his tracks, Aeslan looked back, seeing the other group of Nightspiders closing in.

"Aw, DAMN IT!" Aeslan said, gritting his teeth, "Why can't these things be cannibalistic like other arachnids?"

They were surrounded. Nightspiders were in the trees above, and on the ground pursuing them. If there was a chance to escape and run, it'd passed them by.

"Only got one choice now," Aeslan said, turning his attention to Andraste, and her saggy pants that slowed her down to such an extent, "We gotta fight - now!"

Aeslan set her down, and then instantly grabbed her trousers with both of his hands, ripping them off entirely.

"You're gonna get killed if you keep these on!" he said, as he pulled Godheart to his hand, igniting it's golden blade. "And I can't take these alone. So at least try to survive, if that's not too hard."

Aeslan stood ready as the countless eyes of Nightspiders filled the area, "I... hate... spiders..." he said in a curtling whisper.

 

[Sreeya]

As she was set down, Andraste continued to struggle with her pants, which were half torn from the whole adventure. She looked up just as Aeslan reached down and tore them off entirely. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU LITTLE-"

She slapped him across the face again, preparing to unleash lightning. However, she took a moment to look around and realized he was right. Andraste sighed, calling the Force to herself. She tried to hide the fact that spiders were absolutely terrifying. Why did it have to be spiders? Why every time? Andraste looked over as Aeslan appeared to share her fears. Of course, she would have to upstage him.

"Move aside, fairy."

She shoved him back and called lightning to both palms. The lightning streamed out, but she manipulated it expertly, as if holding a tangible whip. The bolt of lightning bent ever so slightly, frying through multiple spiders at once. She topped that off by making the Force take a hold around a spider. She pushed inwards, making the Force crush the arachnid and seemingly explode. Andraste dashed forth, jumping to the side as she continued hitting them with powerful telekinetic blasts. Her saber remained unused on her hip, clearly suggesting that she was more Force oriented.

However, despite her attempts, they simply weren't out of trouble yet. She was forced back, making her arrive next to Aeslan again. Andraste tossed another one back, panic clear on her features.

"There's too many! We have to get out of here!"

She looked back and noticed that some of the spiders began to scurry away. Andraste looked confused, then looked to the side. Her lightning had started a small fire and it was beginning to spread. Andraste coughed.

"....Oops.."

 

[Demiurge]

He got slapped. The moment after ripping Andraste's pants off, he felt the sting of pain wracked across his face. It wasn't as if it came unexpectedly - if anything, he'd be surprised if it didn't happen.

"Schutta..." he whispered to himself.

The moment she realized the situation, Aeslan had already recomposed himself and brought Godheart to his hands. As the first spider came toward him, Aeslan threw Godheart directly at the spider's head, near it's eyes. The connecting blow stuned the spider, causing it to squeal in pain while at the same time, Aeslan had used the Force to jump upward, catching Godheart mid jump and descending down upon the spider, stabbing it in the head. Then, using the Force to enhance his strength, Aeslan punched through the head of the massive spider, and then instantly created a telekinetic explosion, causing the spider's body to detonate at it's lower abdomen.

As the spider fell, Aeslan leapt forward, telekinetically lifting the dead spider, and hurling it at several others. With them stunned, Aeslan drew both of his hands backward, concentrating for several seconds before unleashing a massive impulse of psychokinetic energies, blasting several of the spiders away while blowing several of their appendages off. Although he had a moment of breathing time bought, it was quickly lost as more spiders came to take their place, just as Andraste came to his back.

"Get out of here?" Aeslan said, mockingly, "You think?!"

Just then, however, Aeslan noticed - as no doubt Andraste did as well - that the spiders were leaving, just as they were overwhelming them. And by the time he heard the 'oops' and saw the fire, Aeslan knew exactly why.

"Are you KARKING kidding me?!" he yelled in frustration.

Aeslan had some skill with Tutaminis, and was able to manipulate heat to a degree, but not to the degree of defeating wildfires. They needed a place to hide, to rest for the night. Somewere safe from the nightspiders and other predators. After several quick moments of glancing, Aeslan found what looked to be a temoporary sanctuary; a small cave opening on a nearby cliffside. Just large enough for humanoid figures to enter, but far too small for Naboo's predators. For the time, it was as good a safehouse as they could hope for.

"Come on!" he yelled, running in the opposite direction of the fleeing nightspiders, "If you're going to kill a forest, the least we can do is take advantage of it! There's a cave up there! Right now, it's probably out best bet, so let's go!"