Private A Curious Force of Nature

[Willow & Ivy]

Vanir Eris

The benefit of living in the Palaces of Broka the Hutt was that they were huge. Massive, in fact. Much like the size of the Hutt's girth. And even though Willow and Ivy did not have complete access to every room and hallway, there was still plenty of places for them to explore.

Under escort of course.

Broka had acquired the twins from Nartuuk, a small time crime boss that tried to compete against the Hutt's organization. Nartuuk had failed. And paid the price. Now he slept in a slab of carbonite.

Willow and Ivy were kept as paid advisors, helping Broka to stay alive and outsmart his enemies. They could see an abundance of futures. But what they ceased to do was to look at their own. Twice they had done so and twice they didn't like what they saw. It scared them. And so they vowed not to do so again.

It had been months since they became employees to Broka and by now their free reign to wander the Palaces had grown slightly. Yes they were still tailed by a couple of guards, but there was a bit more ease to it. Neither of them were planning to run away and the ability to do so was also hampered by their attachment to eachother, making escape to be even more unlikely. But as they were earning credits, the two didn't fully consider themselves to be prisoners anyways. They just had restricted access to the outside world and beyond.

Today that could change.

Willow and Ivy wandered the hallway, fingers interlocked together. Both of them had their attention diverted to the other people and aliens walking by. Some were armed, some weren't. Some had slaves, some were on their own. They all had stories to tell and by now the twins were a common sight, so they weren't stared at so much anymore.

"Did you see that, Ivy?"

"See what?"

"I don't know what it was. Something new. Let's go see!" Willow's eyes searched up ahead as she led her sister around the corner for the strange thing that she had seen.

 

[Vanir Eris]

Martiesh scowled, his arms crossed and one foot tapping. One of the creatures got loose, the last to be loaded and he sent a couple of his crew to retrieve it. Blessedly it wasn’t one of the more likely to be dangerous ones, but the time this was taking wasn’t ideal.

In the halls a glittery bird fluttered down a hall to land and wander. It had flitted above the heads of two humanoids and apparently caught one’s attention. However as soon as the pair would catch sight, said bird was also gently shooed back into a cage and sent floating back via a droid to the ship as the men followed.

The hold of the ship was still open as they were running final checks, just to make sure and waiting for the last of the supplies.

Meanwhile the owner of all this cargo was in a holo-call with the captain getting an update on the eta. Vanir made a note for later to spend the extra money to bypass that particular point in the transport. He’d had one other issue with an idiot inspector unleashing something that was destined for his location and he wasn’t going to make it a third.

Still, the man was competent and he would be giving him a generous tip for his efforts. In fact, he might see who he is contracted for and buy said contract out to employ the man himself. It would certainly be something he would discuss upon arrival.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy continued down the hall, following the strange flying creature. Their guards tailed them at a reasonable distance, as the pair weren't easy to lose. They couldn't run fast. One trip and they would both fall over, so their steps had to be calculated.

Yet still they moved well, almost as though their steps were guided. Willow frowned as she saw the creature end up in a cage. "The poor thing. It just wants to be free. Not trapped." She wanted to add 'like us' but refrained from doing so. They were trapped, in a way, unable to leave Broka's properties. But good work gave them more freedoms and trust. So they did their best to earn that.

"Look, it went into that ship, I think."

"And the ramp is still open."

"We could go in and free it."

"Yes, I love that idea."

But how to do it without getting into trouble? Ivy thought of a plan quickly, acting on instinct more than anything. She led her sister towards a grumpy Wookie and 'accidently' stomped on his toe. The Wookie growled and put up a fuss, throwing his arms up in rage at the two. Right on cue, the twins' guards came in to take care of the Wookie while others looked on.

Using the chaos to hide their movements, the Willow and Ivy walked up the ramp of the ship to look for the flying creature's cage.

Vanir Eris

 

[Vanir Eris]

About a minute after they cleared the ramp, the hatch closed with a hiss as it sealed shut. A few heartbeats later, the ship transitioned from stationary, to moving, in one fluid motion. The cargo hold was massive, the neat and orderly rows of supplies and then the carefully placed cages of animals. All with a stamp to where their destination was to go.

Food and water wouldn’t be hard to find and even a place to hide where they couldn’t be easily found was readily available. It wasn’t as if the two would starve. In fact, save for a droid poking around to feed the animals, the twins would see no sight of the crew.

For almost a week the ride was smooth and uneventful. However they would feel the change immediately as the ship rumbled smoothly through the atmosphere. It didn’t take long for there to be the settling of the ship as it landed. Then the hatch lowered and people as well as droids moved in to get everything unloaded.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Oh no....

Both Willow and Ivy had the same reaction once the ramp closed. Fear. And that feeling only grew once they had felt the ship lift from the docking bay, causing them to spread their legs a little to help maintain their balance as they stood in shock in the cargo bay.

<What do we do, Ivy?!>

I don't know! We'll have to hide somewhere and fast so that we don't end up in a cage too!<

Telepathy helped them to communicate in silence and as they moved themselves behind a crate, the two were all the glad that they had that gift with eachother.

The week felt long. And for the most part they entertained themselves with the other animals. Willow and Ivy worked out a little schedule for themselves, giving each of the animals their time, especially their favourites. Hunger drove them towards finding things to eat and drink, although it was difficult to do a lot of things on their own. They just didn't really know how. They never learned.

By the time the ship had landed, Willow and Ivy hid themselves behind some crates again, watching and listening as the cargo was unloaded. Just where they were, they hadn't a clue. Yet they knew they'd be in trouble.

Vanir Eris

 

[Vanir Eris]

When the ship touched down Vanir was waiting expectantly. When the Captain came out to greet him Van noticed the size of his crew had increased. He could feel more lives on his ship than he remembered. Two. “I see business with me has improved things for you since our first meeting, two new crew members?”
The man frowned. “Nah Lord Eris, I ain’t got new crew…”
“Are you sure? I sense two new souls aboard.”
“They ain’t mine, I’ll see they are dum--”
Vanir shook his head, his curiosity is caught. “No need. Whatever the circumstances I’ll be happy to take them off your hands. May I go seek them out as you unload?”
He seemed hesitant, but then shrugged. “Eh, no sweat off my back, probably got into your supplies though depending on where they hid.”
“I will manage, with no charge to you. Not every day someone can be overlooked by my security.”

He then walked into the hold looking around. His beasts were well cared for and in good condition, which he approved of. When he was in the approximate area he spoke. “I wouldn’t keep hiding. They have to move things out of the hold and I would hate to see you hurt. If you come with me I can help you return if lost or give you a place to stay that is safe. Your choice, but the Captain was less than pleased when he found out you had slipped in.”

The blonde haired man was dressed comfortably and tried his best to be unthreatening. He kept his hands where they could see them, kept his tone quiet. At six foot eight and two hundred and forty pounds he could easily be intimidating to a child. Now that he was focused on them he had a general sense they were young. Last thing he wanted was a child to come to harm when he could have stopped it.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

The twins froze in place, each holding their breath as Vanir Eris addressed them. It wouldn't be the first time that they had ever become trapped or cornered. More often than not, such events incurred change. But it wasn't always for the better.

Holding onto eachother tightly, both with clasped hands and arms, Willow and Ivy rose up from behind the crates. They stepped in near unison, eyes never leaving the monstrous height of the man that spoke to them. They barely came up to the bottom of his sternum and to say that they weren't intimidated would be a big fat lie.

"We didn't mean to."

"We were following a flying creature."

"And then the door closed on us."

"Broka will be angry. He'll think that we have run away from him" But it wasn't their fault. They didn't mean to.

 

[Vanir Eris]

The Lopara gazed at them with amusement, he’d never been in this kind of situation before. “I am sure it can be smoothed over. Until then you can stay in my care and take in the city should you wish. I don’t see why you can’t have some fun while you wait.”

He shifted so they could make their way out, they would be greeted with fresh clean crisp sea air and the sight of a bustling loading bay. Beyond that some structures that were covered in greenery and even more green around them. Behind the ships was the ocean down below and the roar of the waves and the feel of the sea.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy wasn't so sure that things would be smoothed out as well as Vanir Eris said that they would be. The twins knew full well that it'd all be a setback and that their freedoms gained would be reduced.

But in the meantime they could do a bit of exploring....

The ocean caught their attention. They hadn't seen one before, not even a lake. Or even a pond. Yet here was an ocean that stretched further than they could see.

"Galaxy's biggest bathtub...."

"Or water pitcher. I bet that no one gets thirsty here or could even die of thirst like they can at home."

"I wonder how much a cup of it costs to drink."

"Maybe not a lot. There's so much of it."

"I wonder if while drinking it that someone has ever swallowed a fish."

"I bet that's happened a million times!"

The twins were quite used to being entertained with just themselves. So their conversations were often just like that.

 

[Vanir Eris]

What was clear to Lopara was that these two had thus far been exposed to poverty. It didn’t surprise him of course, there was plenty of suffering within the galaxy and even within the Confederacy. There would always be strife of some kind and only a fool thought that could change. “No one has ever swallowed a fish from drinking water. At least not here.”

His tone was amused as he led them over to a railing so they could see the ocean pound at the rockface below them. This ‘Broka’ they mentioned raised his hackles. The fact that their disappearance would anger, instead of worry, made him suspicious. “So tell me where you are from? I can contact this Broka and assure him of your safety. However, if you are a slave, I cannot in good conscience return you. My personal values and that of the Confederacy forbid it. I can however give you what you need to thrive, with full autonomy over your lives returned to you.”

And if this Broka made a complaint, Vanir would personally seek him out and end his existence. His government need not be troubled because of one pitiful peep from an individual that decided to make poor life choices.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

No one had ever swallowed a fish? Well that would have been funny if they had. But maybe the fish were too big. Even the baby fish! That just had to be the reason.

Willow and Ivy leaned over the railing to watch the surf. The sounds were so relaxing....

However Vanir Eris ' words on not letting them go back to Broka unless they said that they weren't slaves didn't help them to relax at all. Instead their bodies stiffened whilethey both tried to stop themselves into prying into their futures, but also finding themselves scared of what could happen if they don't go back.

"Nar Shaddaa is where we are from. Broka the Hutt is our...."

"...Employer. He's our employer. He rescued us from a warlord and now we work for him and help him make the Hutts regain their power again."

"Oh yes. And he gave us a big suite to live in. AND we get a free drink in the Atrium every day."

Slaves never had it that good, did they? Hopefully not. They couldn't imagine the trouble being caused if they weren't allowed to go back.

 

[Vanir Eris]

These two must be some sort of sheltered and important pets of the Hutt they mentioned. They were so innocent and trusting, not something that happens all that often. They certainly weren’t pleasure slaves, so why would such a greedy creature keep two girls like these so isolated? “So what was your job? Sounds like if he’ll be upset you are gone it means he held you in high regard.”

A room and a drink? Stars and stones. These two had no idea what life was actually like to live. He did his best to keep his temper, but he wanted to rip the hutt to pieces with his bare hands.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

They kept their eyes on the ocean, wanting to be sure to make a good enough memory of it in order to be able to call upon it later on.

"We see things that others don't."

"We follow the webbings of the Force and they show us things that we look for."

"Broka has us attend important meetings, to discover those that want to cause him harm."

Both the twins could feel the emotions flowing through Vanir Eris as he stood behind them. "People like you that hate him so..."

 

[Vanir Eris]

Vanir took a breath and then let it out, tucking his emotions away behind a wall. All at once they would feel nothing from him. “I hate him for the harm he has caused. I hate him for what he will not do with his power. I hate him for what you have been denied, kept from and how little you’ve been given in return for your sacrifices. Him as a person, I care not at all, but for the pain, misery and selfishness? Oh yes.”

He walked over to them and took one of each of their hands. “What do you see of your life when you focus on me? I can offer you so much more and not a single bit of it would require you to use it for me as payment. I could train you to use your gifts better, for yourself. I could, if you consent, allow you both more freedom than you have now joined as you are. I am a healer and I swear to you that you will be free in whatever capacity you choose. Stay here for a time, see what life can be like and then after? If you decide to go back to where you came from… As much as I will despise it, I will accept your choice. At least this way you chose slavery knowing what is being taken from you.”

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Vanir Eris became less readable. They felt that as he hid his emotions from them. That didn't mean that they couldn't figure out his own future or anything, but just that they couldn't tell exactly what he was feeling at the moment. Only his words and actions would give them clues.

"You don't understand." The twins turned away from the ocean so that they could face him, both looking up at his tall form so that they could see his face. "Broka saved us from being put up on display all day, forced to tell people their futures and other things for a price, credits that we never got to see. He has given us a huge suite in his palace with a bed that can fit us both. We have protection. He has guards with us all the time that we are out of our suite."

"And we even get to go outside. We can travel with him. He's not mean to us...." It was difficult for the twins to even fathom what it was that Vanir was trying to tell them about sacrifices. As far as they knew, they were just doing their jobs in return for his gifts to them.

He approached them then and took hold of their hands, both surprised by the gesture, but also by his words. They were both horrified and intrigued at the same time. It was hard for them to focus when he had pointed out wanting their consent and offering them more freedom than they had when they had while joined. "Do you mean to separate us? We don't look to our own futures because that's what we keep seeing when we do!"

"I don't want to die. I don't want to leave Ivy alone! We've never been away from eachother. We don't want to be like everyone else!"

The twins planted their feet to the ground, not wanting to be moved away to have their nightmares realized. They were scared and for a lot of things. Separation was just one of them.