A Tale of a Jedi

[Cortana Jade]

Tatooine

She opened the door, and the desert heat whipped up her hair. Slight rumbling of rock and sand blowing across the ground and down inside the home filled her ears. She took a couple of steps up towards the surface. She was looking for someone, inside her heart yearned and she had no control of her body, she could only monitor everything that happened through her eyes. Coming up from the home below she was met with the warmth of the sunlight, and some feet away she saw the back of a man whom felt so familiar. Immediately her heart nearly jumped from her body, she was excited and she came to a slight jog.

However, she could only move in slow motion. Her mind functioned normally but her body became sluggish, and as she began to realize it only became even more sluggish. She looked upward, and reached her hand out trying to grasp this person she'd been seeking. Her breathing sped up as she panicked, then the world fell dark around her. Cries that came from the distance increased in pitch and volume and she could tell if it was herself or something else making those sounds.

Then she snapped out of it. She was daydreaming, standing in the middle of her home her mind slipped away. The cries were indeed her son, and she felt almost bad for not heading his call earlier. She would comfort him as only a mother could do. Her warm embrace told of a love that only the two of them could share, maybe even had grown since...

Time went by, and she would have to tend to her duties soon. She put her son to a restful sleep and proceeded. She had to pick vaporator mushrooms for the house, it was their source of food. Luckily the moisture vaporators weren't far from the house, she found it rather hard to separate herself from her son. Maybe she was paranoid, but she had been having this very bad feeling since the beginning of the day...

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Joshua hadn't been on Tatooine since the incident with the Techno Union, but to be honest, the Union could blow him..... A bunch of Tatooine sand because it'd phase him just as much as their threats did. But he had come with a purpose other then drinking to unwind this time around. An informant from the Silvers had mentioned that they had sensed an unidentified individual who seemed to be force sensitive. But so far, they had been unable to find them. They hoped he could take a look, though there wasn't much hope that anyone - even the Jedi Master - would.

The former Grandmaster wore a black leather jacket, mostly covering a dark blue t-shirt, below it black pants and armored boots of the same colour. His long blonde hair was getting full of sand, which seemed to be falling a lot today. His brimming brown eyes twitched in irritation as he tried not to get sand in in them. The question was... How did he look for them? And should he go to the bar first and hope he got lucky?

Ugh, this would take awhile.

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

Her tongue ran across her bottom lip, she licked it. Her mouth was growing dry, she looked up and the only thing that came close to water was the blue color of her eyes. She wouldn't dare touch the moisture vaporators just yet, she had to preserve what she could produce and it seemed like lately things were harder to get around here, besides the fact that she was raided now and again often. She took her hand and used the back of it to wipe the sweat that was forming from her head.

There wasn't much here for her or her family. For them to live under these conditions...the farm was falling apart as she wasn't able to afford to keep it up herself. The raiders came and took whatever they wanted, which was nearly half of what they had all of the time. Even if she wanted to keep her homestead up, she just couldn't due to the lack of resources to profit from. Honestly, it was no longer the same...when her husband was alive there was a reason to this madness; it was worth it

But now...she wanted better for her child, but she hadn't dared entertained the thought of running from these pirates. She couldn't muster the courage to place her son in harms way like that.

She fell backwards into a position that allowed her to sit and rest for a bit. A few deep breaths and she looked out into nothing...heat waves was all she could see.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

No matter how many times he came here, he never seemed to be able to adjust to the sodding heat. His mouth was dry, his tongue was dry, but no amount of licking either would do the trick. He let out an irritated sigh as he walked, knowing that he'd be here awhile. He was used to it by now. Although that didn't make it much better. You can adjust a thousand times to a situation, but the situation never actually gets better. And with the Techno Union now holding the planet, it'd likely get even worse.

At one point, he had lived here. With no memory, he found himself working as a podracer for a douchebag Toydarian who did everything but put a slave collar on him. And the moment he was useless to him, he threw him back out onto the street despite all the money that Josh had made him, with very little in return. Not enough to live on, that was for sure. But despite living here, he really only came back because the bartender at the cantina here was his friend. And he gave him discounts for stories and didn't water down his drinks. That was about it, really. He'd never live here again if he could help it.

Finally, he found himself having to sit down and take a rest. The sand and heat was a lot worse then usual today. Must be the season, gazing beside him he realized he wasn't alone. A woman had sat in the same place and he hadn't seen her until now.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I inconveniencing you?" He asked curiously, ready to leave if she wished to be alone.

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

Before she could even settle she jumped at the sound of someone else. All the way out here, it was rare. She sat up, moving her body forwards. It became clear as to why she hadn't noticed him before, he was sitting on the other side of one of the moisture vaporators. Even when she leaned forward she could only see his feet and his shadow. She forced herself up and moved so that she was standing to his right but in his line of sight. She squinted her eyes, because he was simply unknown to her.

"Uhm hello?...can I ask what your doing?" her tone of voice was very confused, yet it had a stern undertone.

He didn't seem to be one of the raiders, she'd never seen him among the group before. Her blue irises peeked through her squinted eye lids, a sight. Her hair blowing in the dry air was visible in her shadow. There was a brief silence while she waited for her answer...she licked her lips and turned to looked behind her and then back at him again. Shrugging her shoulder quickly, she hoped to get an answer.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Oh, and he'd scared her too. Just great. What a day, huh? First the (Darune) sandstorm, annnnd now he'd managed to scare the pants off some poor gal. What a day, what a day. All he'd meant to do was ask if he was inconveniencing her, but it was pretty obvious the answer to that question when she nearly jumped out of her damned sand-filled pants. He got to his feet and peeked over from the other side of the vaporator. He'd heard her question, but how to answer in a matter that wasn't his usual brand of sarcasm and casual?

"..... Well, I'm sitting here. Taking a break from walking in a sandstorm. I look like I'm doing so many other things, right?"

Force damnit.

She didn't sound like a raider. He doubted a raider would attack someone in this cover of sand either. What if they attacked a space wizard? Oh wait. He WAS a space wizard! They'd be bloody damned karked then. He licked his lips, waiting for an answer. This was different from how he had envisioned this day going.

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She sighed, and ran her right hand through her hair. While she was still suspicious, at least from his answer she knew he wasn't dangerous...from the people she knew around these parts they wouldn't waste time talking. She was getting strong vibes from him, like a subtle pulling affect was happening, his presence was strong or maybe he was just nice to look at...whatever it was she couldn't put a finger on it but she felt as if she was in the right place at the right time.

"I apologize...its just lately there's been a ban of raiders or pirates terrorizing these parts...things have gotten a little rough and ya know...the paranoia kicks in." she said looking at him, trying to get a better look at his face.

Sandstorms were likely to continue throughout the day, with her having the heart she does, and just looking at how dusty this guy was she figured she'd provide him shelter...for reasons of her own.

"Hey...listen...if you want a proper place to rest, your welcome to stay a while here on the farm. I have to be getting back soon anyway.."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi let out a sigh as well, sifting a large hand through his golden blonde hair, irritably trying to work out the sand that seemed to be getting stuck in it. But as much as he oh-so tried, it just was never enough. He needed to get out of the sandstorm. Not just because of his hair, of course. But in these storms, it was more and more difficult to breathe. His breathing was messy, he could feel it. It was more raspy then it usually was, it was more prominent, more shaky. He hated when these things kicked up.

But in the midst of the chaos, he felt a strong presence in the Force... But from where? The woman? He wasn't sure... But it was best to investigate. He nodded to her apology, and smiled politely. "It's fine. I understand, I hear you. This planet is dangerous. You need to always be cautious around here" He would respond.

To her offer, he nodded a bit. It would be a good way to get out of this blasted storm, and maybe figure out if this was the Force sensitive he was looking for...

"Of course. Lead the way"

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She took a step backwards, with a nod as to stand out of his way and allow him enough space to stand up and maneuver around. Then she turned around and motioned for him to follow her. You could see the home just off into the distance, it wasn't a far walk but it would take a few minutes. She wrapped her arms around herself, you could tell it was getting later when the wind started to pick up, and it made her feel cool. Though that didn't take away at all from the fact that it remained hot.

She turned back around stopped in her tracks, so that he could catch up and she was no longer in front of him. She was curious about him, where he was from, why he was here, why his face was so perfectly chiseled. All of that dawned on her.

She wanted to speak, her thoughts were on the tip of her tongue and on the top of her mind. She just wasn't sure if she was asking too much to have only known him for a few minutes. However, she felt she had to know as she was inviting him in.

"So where are you from?"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He nodded as she'd give him a little room to get his bearings back from the storm and move around again. Once he was up and about, he would wait for her to take the lead, following behind her with a curious glint in his eye. Was this woman a Jedi? No... He could feel... Sense something in her... But it was untrained, unpolished. This might even be what he had been sent to find... But it wouldn't be long before the homestead would come into sight, although still a few minutes away. And of course, the wind just had to start picking up around now. Just great, right? He didn't know what was worse. Hot Tatooine, Cold Tatooine, or annoyingly hot and windy cold. It wasn't even WARM! It was just... Irritating.

He noted she had stopped taking the lead, so he deigned to just continue walking alongside her even without her in front of him. To her question, he looked over at her and tilted his head.

"Naboo" He responded calmly in return.

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She turned her head, a smirk formed across her face. She never heard of that planet before, but she figured it was much better than here and twice as far. She turned her head again, now smiling and her eyes squinted, appearing nearly closed. Her eyes could never really take the sunlight of Tatooine, especially at its brightest.

"I've never heard of that place...sounds lovely, also sounds pretty far. I'm sure you didn't travel all this way for nothing."

Conversation always made the time go quicker, that is when she was lucky to have it. The trip didn't seem to take that long this time. She sped up so she could maneuver herself in front of him to enter the home. Her hair bounced on her shoulders as she descended the steps. Opening the door and welcoming her visitor. She knew her personal protocol droid her husband bought a while back would look after Jonas for the time being.

"Well welcome, it isn't much but it works. Could I get you anything?"

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

You know, he could almost swear she had been staring at him when he wasn't looking. He didn't know for sure, just had this odd feeling. Huh. Anyway, most likely... Probably was. Although who knew how much longer that would be the case with the Karkno Union running around.

"It's lovely, for sure. Maybe you could visit sometime?" The Jedi would offer in return. "Might be a nice break from the desert. There's actual water"

"Actual water" is a tourist attraction when you live on a desert planet, after all.

As she would let him into the house, he would smile and shake his head to her question once he stepped in. "I couldn't bother you, your shelter is enough" He would respond. "I've been looking for someone, so it's nice to be able to plan things while I'm out of the sandstorm"

"Do you live here alone?" The Jedi would inquire.

[member="Janina Jaxx"]

 

[Cortana Jade]

Well she had dreams of seeing other places someday, but their circumstance pushed those goals further away. She did know however that it'll happen one day when the time was right, maybe when Jax was older.

"I will definitely put it on my list for places to visit someday, i'm sure most places are much better than the desert. There just has to be." she said smirking to herself, and looking down as if she visualized it all in her head.

When he responded to her question about whether she could get him anything, she forced herself to sit down. For some reason she felt maybe she had to be doing something, tidying up even. Just being in another persons presence was rare.

He was looking for someone? He was well away from the nearest town so whatever his business was must've been something beyond her.

"Yes...it's just me and my son."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I suppose so. Except maybe not Mustafar.... It's muuuch hotter, trust me, I've been there. And it's so much easier to catch a death of the deathsicles on Mustafar! The lava is so attractively dangerous, it's quite the tourist attraction!" He cracked, laughing in return. When it came to places like Mustafar existing in the galaxy.... Well, you were better off staying on Tatooine. "And of course, we can't forget Hoth, right? And..... Ilum, I think it's called. They're as cold as Selena Halcyon" He cracked, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"Just you and your son?" The Jedi would inquire. "And what do you do to support yourself?" He would ask.

Now that he had a chance to relax... He could feel something from her.... A connection to the force perhaps?

Was this the person he was looking for?

[member="Janina Jaxx"]