Faction Catch Me If You Can (I Squeak) - [Jedi] - Tython

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Braze frowned as glass was shattered and he moved to try and clean it up. " Ah... again with the being dangerous... I see you're no fun. " He mused carefully trying to gather what remained of the shards of glass before any of the puff balls tried to lick it up. "And here I was trying to give you a fun little experience. " He huffed.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

"Fun for you, perhaps, at my expense" Xuko quite literally spat, as a nectarbat had tried climbing inside of his mouth as he spoke. "I do not find being covered in bat spit fun." The exodus of some of the bats had granted him enough mobility that he was able to carefully begin peeling off the nectarbats off of himself and into bags. Grateful that he wore his robes snugly, lest any of the creatures find a way inside the layers of his clothes, Xuko worked for several minutes to free himself of questing bat tongues., pulling the last few out of his hair and horns with a scowl.

Had Braze not used him as nectarbat bait, Xuko might've inquired about the wind-controlling Force power that the half-Echani had so expertly utilized. However, his treatment at the hands of the Jedi Knight had left Xuko resentful and embarrassed, and as a result he was eager to leave the situation lest it come to blows.

"One thousand, five hundred and forty four" Xuko muttered as he checked the updated count, noting a few puffballs still lingering on the training room, as well as others presumably spread around the temple. For all he cared, Braze could climb up himself if he wanted to, or else exert some of the fine telekinetic control that he'd boasted about earlier. Xuko , for his part, began walking towards the door.

He was going to go take a long shower.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Braze was, in short, absolutely buried in puffballs.

They clung to every inch of him, his sleeves, his gloves, his boots, anywhere that had even the faintest trace of the perfume. One particularly bold puffball was nested comfortably in his hood like it paid rent.

"H-Hey, wait… don't leave me," he called out, his voice pitching somewhere between dignified despair and pathetic wounded puppy. He tried to peel them off delicately, but the more he removed, the more seemed to materialize like some fuzzy, adorable curse.

He fumbled with a mesh bag, attempting to herd them inside without squishing their tiny round bodies. It was like trying to convince bubbles to form an orderly line.

"I'm sorry, truly I am. I didn't think they'd react this enthusiastically," he muttered, stuffing one puffball in only for two more to climb up his sleeve. "If it helps, I'm now their king. Or their mobile snack bar. I haven't quite figured it out yet."

One brushed against his nose and squeaked, and Braze sneeze trying to keep his arms up and out so he didn't accidentally squish one.

"I think that was a declaration of fealty."

As he spoke, several more puffballs began settling into his hair, tangling themselves among the strands with the confidence of creatures who had found paradise. One attempted to burrow near his temple. Another rolled itself up like a tiny, winged bun and refused to leave. Within moments, his once neat appearance had dissolved into a lopsided crown of fluff, frizz, and determined squeaking.

"Okay, okay.... That's fair," he said slowly, glancing down at the shattered remains of the perfume vial still glistening on his glove. A few more bats had joined the fray, clearly drawn to the scent and him.

Braze sighed and raised his hands in a small gesture of surrender. His tone softened, "Alright. I got carried away. I meant to demonstrate a technique, not unleash a tactical fluff strike on your person." A puffball began chewing idly on his belt strap. He let it.

His voice lowered further, tinged with something more sincere. "And earlier? I'm sorry for that too... With the snarking and the button-pushing... I was trying to challenge you. Get your guard down. Not piss you off." He gave a tired huff of a laugh. "Clearly, I missed the mark."

A nectarbat latched onto the hem of his tunic with grim determination.

"So… yeah. I'm sorry. Again. For all of it." He paused as another puffball squirmed its way down the back of his collar. His eye twitched.

"They're unionizing," he muttered. "I can feel it.... help? Please?"

Finally, he extended a fresh mesh bag toward Xuko like a peace offering, hand still absolutely covered in white fluff. His expression was gentler than it had been all day.

"Truce?"

​

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Zhaquxik.

Xuko paused, halfway towards the door, as Braze called out- not in jest or in sarcasm, but something more genuine. An olive branch, of sorts, and an apology. The Jedi Knight appeared to have made it off even worse than Xuko had when it came to the volume of bats that had descended upon them, and was little more than a vaguely-humanoid fluff at this point. The Zabrak hadn't realized how much perfume must've spilled on Braze, nor the potency, and mentally chided himself for losing control in the way that he did.

Xuko stayed facing the doorway while he had a brief tug of war with his conscious. On one hand, he was still smarting from Braze's words, and the feeling of helplessness that he'd felt while verbally sparring with the half-Echani; to say nothing of the indignity of what Braze had subjected him to with the perfume. One the other hand, Braze had been given a taste of his own medicine; and that had seemed enough to generate an apology. And unlike Xuko, Braze wasn't afforded the luxury of peeling off the bats himself.

Xuko briefly debated leaving the Knight there for someone else to find- and maybe even have a laugh at. The training rooms were frequented, and due the nectarbat hunt it would be only a matter of time before Braze would be discovered and assisted by someone else. But, Xuko had to admit, he would feel guilty; if only a little. After all, it was his fault Braze was in the predicament that he was in.

Xuko's conscious won.

The Zabrak wordlessly turned around and began excavating Braze from underneath his blanket of nectarbats. He focused on freeing Braze's arms first so that the half-Echani could both assist in the rescue operation and deal with the more personal areas that the bats had clustered on.

By the time they were more or less done- save for a few of the more intrepid nectarbats that Braze would need to handle himself- Xuko updated their count. "Severn hundred and sixty nine left (nice). I suspect the rest will find us once we leave this room." The bats had been removed, but the perfume they both liberally wore had not.

He gave one last look at Braze- guarded, but without the anger from earlier; very unsure about how he felt about the young Jedi Knight. Braze was annoying, condescending, and wielded a sharp and clever tongue. But to have made the rank of Knight despite that- and at such a young age, too- spoke to his immense capabilities; skills that Xuko hadn't had the opportunity to see or appreciate due to the contentious nature of their meeting. The Zabrak thought about how easily Braze had managed to keep him off-balance and on the defensive with just his words, and realized that he'd probably dodged a blaster bolt by not physically engaging with Braze.

Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from the half-Echani, but Xuko had too much on his mind at the moment to commit to anything now. And so he left Braze with the time-honored phrase of the Jedi Order; an acceptance of Braze's apology and a recognition of the olive branch. And also probably the closest thing to an apology that Xuko could muster without the benefit of examining the situation in hindsight.

"May the Force be with you, Knight Braze."

/Exit thread

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Braze visibly brightened when Xuko came to help, letting out a small, relieved chirp. "Thank you so much," he said, his voice genuinely touched.

There was no teasing in his tone now, just quiet gratitude. He did his best to assist once his hands and arms were a little freer from the eager tongues and tiny claws of the puffballs that had been clinging to him. With careful motions, he began ushering more of them into mesh bags.

"I appreciate your assistance, Padawan Xuko," Braze called lightly. "You've helped save a bunch of these cuties without hurting a single one… thank you. May the Force be with you Padawan Xuko~"

​