Ask Naboo The Sun and the Shade

[Quin Leonkri]

Hearing Elidan’s enthusiasm about taking the gualama back to Yavin was making him a little giddy about it too. But the fact remained that they would be responsible for caring for it, and the first place to start was with food. At his friend’s question, Quin frowned in thought, trying to think of anywhere that could possibly sell what they were looking for.

“I can’t say I’ve been to one before,” he began slowly, looking at the gualama as if it would somehow give him the answer. “But…” He turned back to Elidan, his eyes brightening. “Maybe the central marketplace has a farmer’s shop. It won’t hurt to check.” That being said, even if there wasn’t a shop and someone saw the two boys with a baby gualama, there was a chance they might offer some help. The Naboo did love their animals.

When Quin looked back at the baby though, he realized that it was still sitting in front of its mother. He didn’t want to separate them so abruptly, but time was running out. Their confrontation with the poachers from earlier and the rescuing of the gualama had taken out a large chunk of their day, and if he and Elidan wanted to get back before nighttime, they would have to hurry.

He bent down, patting the gualama gently on its back. “Hey. Everything will be alright. Elidan and I are going to help you.” He wasn’t sure it understood, but when he picked it up, it didn’t try to resist. “Okay. Let’s get moving.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan nodded in agreement when Quin said that they could search for a farmer shop in Theed’s central marketplace. The half-Annfyn was certain that they would find something like that here. Naboo was famous for its fields and pastoral culture. It was impossible that there was no shop of this type on the planet.

The auburn-haired boy watched his friend comfort the baby gualama, before picking her up. The poor animal had stayed all this time in front of her mother, probably trying to wake her up to feed her. They needed to get back to the city and find some food for her immediately.

Once Quin was holding the gualama, the two would start to follow the path that would return to the city. “It seems that we aren’t going to finish our trail.” Elidan said, breaking the silence that had arisen after they had started to walk back. It was still strange for him to see how talkative he could be during some situations. “Maybe we could finish it another time.”

While their free time had been ruined because of the problems that they faced during the day, the result ended up being good. Elidan shuddered thinking about what could have happened with the gualamas if the two Padawans weren’t walking at the trail. The hunters probably would have killed all of them.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Heh. Definitely not,” Quin agreed at Elidan’s statement about not finishing the trail. “But it’s for a good cause.”

As they headed into the city, the sun was already starting to set beneath the mountains. They would have to move fast to make it before the shops began to close. Fortunately, when people in the streets saw two urgent-faced, roughed-up looking boys moving quickly in the street carrying a baby gualama, they had the sense to let them through without getting in their way.

When the pair arrived at the marketplace, Quin immediately spotted a Duros man in a large hat beginning to pack up a stand whose sign read “Farming Supplies”.

“That’s the one! I hope he’s still willing to sell us some gualama food,” Quin exclaimed, looking quickly over at Elidan. “Let’s check it out.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan nodded in agreement to what Quin had said. “It ended up being better this way. If we didn’t come here, these guys would have killed all the gualamas of the herd.” while they could make a trail again later, the lives of these animals would not be able to be replaced.

They arrived on Theed when the sun was already setting. The gualama had started to groan some time ago. The half-Annfyn considered that it was an attempt by the animal to signal that it was hungry. He doesn't blame her, the Padawan would like to eat something too. Elidan didn’t eat anything since they started the trail hours ago.

When Quin found the shop of farming supplies, the half-Annfyn turned to look at it. The place was still open and there were some items used in farms outside. Elidan nodded in agreement, this place seemed to be perfect for them to find food for the gualama.

After they entered the shop, a woman approached the two Padawans. “Hello, darlings! What do you two want?” Elidan turned to look at Quin, expecting that he would answer her question. The half-Annfyn wasn’t prepared to talk with strangers.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Looking at the gualama, she seemed pretty eager for some food. She had that half-tired, half-hungry look in her eye that Quin had seen plenty of times. Fortunately, she wouldn’t have to wait long once they entered the shop. He and Elidan were greeted almost immediately by a woman, who presumably ran the shop.

“Hello ma’am, would you happen to have some gualama milk for our friend here?” Quin asked, showing her the baby in his arms. The woman smiled, gesturing for him and Elidan to follow her.

“Of course. Right over here.” She went into the back of the store, pulling out a large container from the conservator. Then, she rummaged around in a box nearby and took out a small bottle, showing it to the two boys before giving both items to Elidan. “This is what you’ll have to use to feed your gualama. Normally I would charge someone for this, but since you two darlings look like you’ve just walked through the woods to get here, I’ll say it’s on the house.”

Exchanging a partly embarrassed glance with Elidan, Quin took the gualama and followed the woman to the front counter. He looked down at his clothing, and he really did look like he’d crawled through a thorn bush.

“Thank you, ma’am. You’re too kind,” he said before giving her the necessary credits. Once they left the store, all that was left was to feed the gualama.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

The half-Annfyn watched his friend talk with the woman, asking her for milk for the gualama. For his relief, she has. Elidan saw her retrieve the container with the milk and the bottle, before happily accepting it from her. Now they could feed the small animal and she would not suffer from hunger anymore.

A great smile appeared on the auburn-haired boy’s lips when the woman said that it was on the house. While the idea for them to go to the shop to buy food for the gualama was his, Elidan doubted that the few credits that he had in pockets would be enough for them to buy all that.

He stared at Quin, before shrugging. The half-Annfyn disliked being dirty, but he would ignore it if being this way helped them get the food for the gualama without needing to pay. “We can clean after we finish feeding the gualama.” he said to the other Padawan through their telepathic bond.

However, Elidan felt bad when he saw that Quin had decided to pay for the products. It made him conclude that it was wrong to accept it for free, the woman probably would need money to maintain her store. The half-Annfyn picked the few credits that he had in his pocket and offered it together with his friend. He gave a smile at the woman, showing that he was grateful for what she did.

When they left the store, Elidan turned to look at Quin. “We need to find a calm place where we can feed her. Do you know where it could be?” the half-Annfyn thought that it wasn’t correct to feed the gualama in the middle of the street. People were already looking strange at them, it would only make it worse.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin had just been about to ask Elidan for the milk and give it to the gualama when he realized that Elidan had a good point about it drawing too much attention. It was already enough that passers-by could see the boys were Jedi from their lightsabers, not to mention carrying a baby gualama out in the middle of the street. They already had enough eyes on them, and they didn’t need any more.

“Right,” he answered, half-embarrassed as a staring couple passed the pair of Padawans with wide eyes. “We could take her back to the ship. It’s quiet there, and we have space for her in the cargo hold. Not to mention clean water for a bath.” He looked in the direction of their ship. It wasn’t too far from here, since they’d landed it in between the trail and the city. “Unless you can think of someplace better, that’s all I’ve got.”

When they decided on wherever they were going to go, Quin suddenly felt just how tired his arms were from carrying the gualama and set her down. He’d put her down once or twice on the way to the store, but his muscles were aching now. The thing was, he didn’t know if she would follow them if he wasn’t going to carry her, and he briefly regretted not asking the shopkeeper for a leash of some sort. Now it was up to the gualama.

“Hey, uh, baby gualama…” He tried calling her after taking a few steps. She didn’t even glance at him. Well, that’s not going to work. Then an idea popped into his head, and he turned to Elidan.

“Do you think she would respond better if she had a name?” he asked thoughtfully, half to himself. “I think it’s worth a try. You want to do the honors?”

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”I agree. The ship is the best place.” Quin was right, they didn’t know anyone else in Naboo. Well, there were his friend’s parents, but they weren’t very friendly with the Jedi. There would be more problems for them if they went there, the last thing that he wanted was to deal with anti-Jedi people while they needed to feed a small gualama.

After deciding where they should go, the two Padawans walked toward the ship. While Elidan carried the gualama’s food, Quin was the one doing most of the work by carrying the young animal. The half-Annfyn was so distracted by the way that the people were looking at them that he didn’t even remember asking if his friend wanted help.

When they finally arrived at the ship, Elidan went to put the milk inside the recipient, which looked exactly like a baby bottle. While he did it, Quin was placing the gualama on the floor. Once he returned to where his friend was, the half-Annfyn saw that the other boy was trying to talk with the animal.

“Yeah. I think that would be better this way.” he answered Quin’s question. By giving a name to the gualama, they would strengthen the bond between them and the animal. “I can do it.” then, he turned to look at the gualama. He was deep in thought, trying to think of what could be good to call her.

“What do you think of Nyssa?” Elidan said, after some time of contemplation. He had read this name in a holobook and always thought that was nice. Maybe it could fit for the gualama.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

It seemed Elidan agreed with him about coming up with a name for the gualama, and Quin wondered what would fit. He hadn’t ever had a pet before, and the task seemed daunting in itself despite how trivial it sounded. It would determine what the baby was called for the rest of its life, and he was content to let Elidan come up with a suitable one that the gualama would hopefully like.

So, when he heard his friend’s suggestion, Quin looked first to the gualama to see her initial reaction. It was another question altogether whether or not she understood what was going on, but he had a small feeling somewhere inside that she did. She was gazing at Elidan as he said it, her eyes wide open. Approval? Quin didn’t know what it was, but at least she didn’t seem against it. And neither was he— not by a long stretch. It was a perfect name… Nyssa.

“I love it!” he answered with a grin. Looking over at the gualama, he made a gesture toward the bottle in Elidan’s hand, beckoning her closer. “Nyssa, you hungry? We have food for you here.”

And to his surprise, Nyssa walked right over, nudging Elidan’s hand that held the bottle of milk.

“I think she likes her name too.” Quin smiled. “I’ll get the water ready for her once you’re done feeding her. She’s been through a lot today— a warm bath wouldn’t hurt.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled with Quin’s approval. Nyssa was an old fashioned name and he was unsure if the other would agree with it. However, he was wrong with feeling this way. “Yes! This was the name of a Grizmallti Queen and since Naboo was colonized by them, I thought that it could fit her.”

As if showing her approval to the name, Nyssa walked toward Elidan’s hand and nudged him. The Padawan smiled and approached the bottle from her mouth. She eagerly started to drink the milk. The poor baby was so hungry that she barely stopped to breathe. The half-Sephi held the bottle tight, fearing that she could drag it away.

He nodded at Quin and continued feeding the animal. Without a mother to help Nyssa get clean, she would need their help. “Try to not make it too hot. She already has fur, so what is warm for us can not be this way for her.” Elidan wasn’t sure what the optimal temperature was for a gualama, so his friend would need to search for it in the Holonet.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Grizmallti queen?” The term Grizmallti sounded vaguely familiar, and Quin remembered learning about them in history class though nothing more. It seemed Elidan knew more about Naboo history than he did, but the Padawan saw no problem with it. Nyssa was a good name either way.

Heeding the advice of his friend, Quin warmed up the water to the point that it wasn’t cold to the touch, but not hot either. When the shower was ready, he went back to the entrance of the ship to check on how Elidan and Nyssa were doing. It was evident that the day’s trip had taken a toll on the gualama from the way she still refused to let go of the bottle. He was glad that she was able to recuperate now, though.

“The shower’s ready whenever Nyssa is,” he said as he approached the pair, giving the gualama as long as she needed to finish her meal. After a few moments, she appeared to slow down, her eyelids becoming droopy. Quin gave her a soft pat on the head as she finally let go of the bottle, and he smiled at Elidan.

“Let’s get her cleaned up!” With that, he gently nudged her toward the bathroom, grabbing a towel for himself and throwing one over to Elidan. “I’ll wash; you want to dry?”

Regardless of however they decided to get it done, soon Nyssa was clean and dry. Her eyes were completely closed at that point. As Quin looked at the gualama, he felt a sudden rush of affection. She looked so peaceful, despite everything she’d been through today. Above it all, he was glad that he and Elidan were able to give her a second chance at life.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Yes, from the planet Grizmallt.” Elidan said to Quin, a bit surprised with his friend’s question. He thought that since the other was born in Naboo, he would have known about the history of his homeworld. It seemed that the half-Annfyn was wrong and the other Padawan wasn’t much informed about it. Perhaps he could teach him some things.

While Quin prepared Nyssa’s bath, Elidan continued to feed the gualama. Her desperation to drink the milk had disappeared and now she was more calm. The half-Annfyn smiled at the poor baby. It only took her drinking nearly the entire thing for her to stop trying to drag the bottle away. If they didn’t find her, the gualama would have starved to death.

When Nyssa finished the milk, Quin returned. “Yes, I can do that.” Elidan said, while grabbing the towel that the other Padawan had thrown at him. He followed his friend to where he had prepared the bath. It was going to be interesting, the half-Annfyn never had a pet. Hopefully there would be no more problems.

The bath happened peacefully. Nyssa seemed to be very tired after all that happened during the day, or perhaps only because she had drunk an entire bottle of milk. After all she still was a baby and something like that was normal for them. Elidan noticed how Quin looked with affection to her and it made him smile. He was happy that the two were able to save her.

/End Thread

@Sicadorito