Continuing the Search

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She caught the bag of chips. "My hero." The girl climbed up and across the counter after him, landing in the mid-sized cantina. Fingers rubbed some dust and dirt off the chip's label. "Ooo. Hot honey." Opening the bag, she began to munch on the well-expired food. Still had a slight crunch to them, too.

"Picking up on anything worth sharing with your force touchy-stuff?" That was her mature way of asking about his Kiffar abilities. The explorer moved away from him, meandering toward a back door to the shop. Light filtered through the open window they had just climbed through. There were some essentials back here that didn't expire. Like salt. Some other spices. Kinsey began pushing some of the containers into her pack.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He looked at her, his nose growing more and more wrinkled as it scrunched towards his face. He almost said something before she ate the chip but then deflated, letting out all the resistance he had for the situation. She was lost to him now, might as well have been strangers. "Gross." He uttered under his breath as he turned around, picking back through the various items.

"Force-touchy stuff..." He lifted one hand, the other continuing to work it's way around. And then his fingers began to wiggle. "Very technical." He looked over his shoulder, smirking, before it twisted into a neutral expression that properly fit the following shrug.

"Not really. Not sure what the expiration date is for those is but my abilities..." He sighed as he chewed on his thumb nail. Far more appetizing than a processed centuries old potato chip. The problem with his ability is that it strengthened with attachment. At a place where someone worked, it never really did much good. He shrugged again. "I'm just fondling bags of chips at this point."

They needed to go somewhere else if he was going to be productive. Otherwise, they'd have to investigate the old fashioned way.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She shrugged, a matching neutral expression on her face as she slowly and deliberately made a show of popping another expired chip into her mouth.

"Mmmm," she munched thoughtfully.

Kinsey liked pushing buttons, even beyond those on a starship's instrument panel. Back turned to Armaud, a big ol' smirk on her face. Putting the bag of chips down, she walked over to the back shop door and yanked it open. Actually had a handle on it instead of a powered spider. Peeking inside, she was surprised to see a long corridor that disappeared into the darkness instead of just a supply closer.

Maybe it went all the way to the base. A passageway to connect things. Taking out a headlight from her bag, she secured it over brown chunks of hair and flipped it on. A hand motioned over her shoulder, blues seeking out her companion.

"Chip fondler, come check this out." Head turned back to the passageway as she took a step inside. And then another. And another.

 

[Armaud Eden]

If he noticed her eating another chip, he didn't show it. Instead, he was moving down the rack of chips like it was an array of flat toned tambourines. Until he ripped one out from the metal prongs of the rack and nestled it between his hands. It wasn't necessarily that the chips were expired, though that didn't help. It was that despite being here for decades and even more beyond it's proper date, they were still good. The amount of processing put into the chips.

That just couldn't be healthy.

Slamming his hands together, the bag popped and sent rigid chips all over the shop. Letting out a sigh with a loft of his brows, he hopped over the counter and came around to where Kinsey was standing. He peered into the doorway, from the side, and whistled. "It's dark in there..."

He paused, eyes drifting over to the woman. "Could be all sorts of things in there. Monsters, bugs...water."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She nudged his side with her elbow, a smirk on her lips even though inside, she felt a very real pang of fear at the mention of water. "Yah, yah. Tunnel could lead to the darkest pits of Hades or it could lead to the base. Where we might find even more expired chips." A snort of laughter crossed her nose as she stalked forward.

Not like pools of water could get into a place like this. Right? Right.

"C'mon. And let me know if you start sensing anything weird." Since he was the one that actively used the force between the pair. Though, even if she wasn't hiding her signature, the sensing stuff of danger or other force sensitives had never really been her thing. The tunnel seemed to curve downwards. She lost track at how many turns they took. Pace slowed as her ears picked up on a distinct dripping sound. And it definitely smelled mildew-ey. Head turned, light shinning at one of the walls. AT some point they'd turned from industrial to pure rock.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He feigned injury as he rubbed his side, grievously wounded. "All of those things are true. Every option worse than the last." Though if this base was used for any form of forward operation, she would likely find all the over-processed and expired foods that she would ever need. Meals ready to eat, freeze dried packets of fruit and veggies, stored containers of water that were no doubt contaminated at this point, and yes - expired chips.

"Weirder than an adventurer that's got issues with water?" He mentally poked at her again, though her concern would become his concern should they ever end up in a sticky situation. That was the nature of traveling together. If one got into a tight spot, it was the others job to get them out. Maybe that's why he had never done well, traveling with his brother. Whether Des had ever cared for Maud's well being, it was hard to tell beneath the torrent of lecturing and condescension that both leveled against one another.

As Kinsey walked, she might notice a sound of metal against stone. Awkwardly cradling his staff in his hand, Maud pulled the hatchet and was chipping the corner of every turn against the wall - to keep track of where they had gone, should they need to make a quick getaway. He cleared his throat as he knocked away another bit of duracrete, catching it in his hand. "The crete is old. Really old."

He perked up at a sound, like a rock being thrown down a long tunnel and bouncing for an annoyingly long time. "To be honest, I was hoping we would get to see more of the scenery." He admitted it openly, preferring a hike to spelunking.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

"Just wait until I find something out about you. That you have an issue with." The girl knew how to poke right back. Turning the corner she almost stopped. as her headlight swept a massive space. It was clear at one point nature and erosion won out. The floor just ahead gave way into a large, cave-like cavern. Old duracreet clung broken to rock and massive vines. There was a small feature where water pooled from the 'ceiling' at one end into a deep, clear pool that held flecks of bioluminescence.

Along the edge of this underground like was a half-broken ladder that looked like it lead up to a hatch along the roof. Seemed like part of the structure remained in tack. "Whelp. If we can get to that ladder, looks like you'll get your wish."

Voice was flat. Face paled just a tad. Eh. She could always go back the way they'd come.

"Maybe you'd like to go first?"

Sandy-dark brows rose in Armaud's direction.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He'd probably tell her his worries or fears, if she simply asked him. But he suspected she wasn't the charitable sort, preferred to earn that sort of intelligence. And that suited him as he may have been an open book, but in a language many had trouble understanding.

"Hmm." He sighed as he looked down through the crevasse. He couldn't tell if this was intentional, an artifact of poor construction, or simply the nature of time and the re-assimilation of this man-made thing.

Setting his staff against to wall, he approached the hole and gaze downward. Slipping his satchel off his shoulder, he set it down and proceeded to plop down. His legs, dangling from the edge, were nestled between two rods of thick rebar that stretched out from the duracrete like claws from a cats paw. Beneath them, the pool looked like a tad pole pot hole that was illuminated by a weak flashlight beneath.

He flipped open the satchel and rummaged through it, pulling out a tanned hide pouch. Extracting a roasted sunflower seed, he chewed slowly on it as he peered down and then around. Spitting out the casing, it fluttered effortlessly to the water below and floated about in the caves natural draft winds. "It's beautiful...isn't it?" He scooted the satchel to his other side and patted the duracrete next to him, looking over his shoulder. "I think it's safe."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She inched closer to him. Face was strained. Kinsey wished she could turn off her fear like a switch. In most cases, she could. It was easy to put on the mask of the carefree and confident explorer. Smuggler. Adventurer. But with water?

It was just different.

She felt....vulnerable. And a part of her hated that Armaud had to see it. That anyone did.

She took another inching step closer so that she was nearly at the lip. She sunk to the floor, so her knees pressed against the duracreet. Otherwise, she was afraid her legs would start trembling and she’d pitch over the side.

Peeking down the hole and into the water below, she could see a floating platform and that ladder on the other end.

(Devils Den FL: https://goo.gl/images/kr4Bhk)


There really was no other way down besides to follow that sunflower seed casing and swim to the platform. She gulped, blues tearing themselves away from the ominous body of unknown and back to Armaud.

“Think you can swim that? I think...I think I might go back.”

 

[Armaud Eden]

Even the sound was different here, like they were sitting in some mystical auditorium. The wind rushing down the tunnel, the droplets of moisture on the cavern ceiling as they fell into the pool, the sound of breath and anxiety.

Maud smiled at her comment, chewing on another sunflower seed.

"The best way to get where you're going is to walk away from where you've been..." He said quietly as he picked at his glove, wondering where he had heard that before. Perhaps it was an old children's book that his mother had read to him. Or maybe it was some phrase Gabe had used, wondering around lost in the woods. And whether he learned it from one or the other, he also picked a few tricks along the way.

Kinsey might not have been sensitive to the force, but everyone was vulnerable to mellowing aura's. Special energies put out by the certain inclined force users, an intent to calm and clear the mind. "We don't have to swim. Or go forward. We can just sit for a bit." He nodded as he looked away from her blue gaze, peering down intently towards the water. "This was intentional...right?" He pointed. "No way this forms on it's own. Well..." He shrugged. "I guess it could have formed on it's own."

He stole another glance at the adventurer. "What do you think? Man-made or no?"

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She didn't respond to his first statement. That was, well, obvious. But sit?

The girl shot Armaud a questioning look. Okay. Well. Maybe she could do that. She released a long exhale. “Okay,” she took a small breath in. Legs uncurled from beneath her to sit cross legged. She inched closer. A knee rested against Armaud’s thigh. Her shoulder against his arm.

She certainly wouldn't let her legs dangle over the lip of the hole. But she was closer that before. Blues peeked over the edge to follow his gaze, hands gripping her shins tightly. Sandy strands of hair shifted along her shoulders.

“I think. It’s half and half. Reminds me of a sinkhole. At some point someone knew this was here. Would explain the floating platform down there. But the part we’re sitting in? Maybe happened when people left. Or when folk didn’t care anymore.”

Head cocked to the side.

“Do you....hear that buzzing?”

If Kinsey knew Armaud was doing something with the force to help calm her, she didn’t show it.

 

[Armaud Eden]

"Probably just a bee..." He waved off the sound carelessly. Having grown up on the homestead, bees were a very common part of that life. Relit had even taught Maud had to interact with them on a more intimate level, learning their dances and their means of culture and communication. The young traveler always wondered if it was that aspect of his life that gave him such an appreciation for the simple things in life.

Furrowing his brow, he continued to chew on the sunflower seed - far beyond it's time. It was finding its way from a hard shell to a slightly salty and roasted flavor paste. "There was a swimming hole back home, nestled just beneath the roots of a beautiful tree..." He held out his left hand and then sticking his fingers out on his right hand, he mimicked the large root system. "You could swim beneath the roots. The water moved from there to ducts that provided the soil with water."

A ghost of a smile formed on his lips, hesitantly. He enjoyed recalling his family, appreciating the memories he had with them. But as much as he loved his family, he loved his freedom. If Kinsey could ever tap into his aura, into his thoughts, he wondered if it would rival her phobia of water.

"When I was young, they told me that the tree reaches far into the sky, pulls the very clouds to the ground, to give us water. But with the way the pool sparkled in the sun, I was sure it caught some stars as well. This water reminds me of that in some ways." He nodded, grabbing another sunflower seed. "You're probably right. It's likely both. Husbandry, but with the planet."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

"Hm," she listened quietly as Armaud spoke. She liked when he spoke so openly about home. It made him seem more familiar. Their relationship more tangible. And that far off look he got in the depths of his verdant gaze? She could tell home and the past meant a lot to him. She'd actually been there once. It seemed so long ago. And it was. In a way. She'd been a very different person and very sick.

If things had been different....maybe. MAYBE. She wouldve liked seeing that tap tree then.

"Heh. Husbandry," gaze flickered in his direction. Starburst blues seemingly matching the sparkling pool, below. It wasn't the wrong use of the word. It was just unique. Very Armaud. And suddenly, she felt fiercely protective of him.

Before she could chew on that feeling, she realized the buzzing wasn't getting any quieter. If anything, it felt like it was getting louder. Still. Maybe it was nothing. Before she could think about her next comment, she opened her mouth.

"You make swimming sound like it was something really fun." She eyed the water again. "That brother of yours like it, too?"

[member="Armaud Eden"]

 

[Armaud Eden]

He thought on that question for longer than she might have expected. Staring off towards the wall across the gap, he fixed his view on particular cracks that had spidered up towards the ceiling and split apart. Like inverted lightning bolts, suspended in time.

"I don't know..." He admitted quietly. If he had the faculties for it, he might have been embarrassed for not knowing his brother better. They were never close, despite being twins. And they never cared for each others company. Though Maud often blamed Des for that, who seemed to be content to stick on the holonet in the darkness of his room. Alternatively, Maud had found comfort in the wild. The chirp of the bird, the croak of the frog, the howling chorus of the wild dog pack. They were opposite sides of coin, never meant to see eye to eye.

"Probably not." He left that assumption hang in the air, glancing over towards Kinsey. "Swimming can be fun. But floating, that's something else entirely. It's a matter of unlearning these tendencies that adults have, to resist the natural flow. To not trust ourselves." He looked away from her and towards the pool. "A baby is born instinctive with the know-how to swim. And then we forget. Or we let other things get in the way."

He took a deep breath. "It's effortless. Anyone can do it if they can just get out of their own mind, let their body take over." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, just beneath a thick row of dreads. "Sorry. I know you don't like water. We can leave if you want. We don't have to get to the ladder."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Kinsey knew enough not to press in about Armaud's brother. It seemed a bit like a strained relationship. She could relate but with a different relative. She eyed the water. He had a point but it wasn't just adults. She'd reacted this way to water her entire life because it was an UNKNOWN. Funny coming from an explorer who thrived on exploring just that.

"I just. We didn't learn how to swim. It's not like colony ships have big pools of water around. And when we went planet side, that's just what skiffs, bridges, or other paths are for."

In other words, she avoided it with her brother.

She shrugged, eyes drifting back to his face. "I don't think...." Voice was interrupted by that buzzing. It was quite loud now. Turning, she did t need that headlight on anymore because a whole swarm of the Hakara natives were making a beeline toward them. And they looked like they wouldnt stop.

Ears popped from the sudden pressure change from all that sound and change in air in the small space. She only had time to put her hands up defensively before she felt several sets of hands on her clothes, lifting her up.

"HEY!" The yelp left her throat as her boots left ground. Eyes tried to find Armaud amidst the sudden mass of bodies and fury of wings.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He understood. Even if he did seem pushy about the harmlessness of water, it was important to acknowledge others feelings. He heard that line from his mothers lips, repeating it to him as she persuaded him to be patient with his brother. But Maud had always been patient, it was more of a matter of learning to care. And showing it.

"It's alright...I undert-" He heard it to and was ashamed to admit, at least to himself, that he had even bought the 'bee line.' Now they were staring down a narrow tunnel with what he could only assume was a tribe of the natives. The sound of their wings, flapping through the corridor, was overwhelming. They were no different in size to common insects but their voices, their sentience...

Maud was lost in it for the moment, coming to a quick stand as he turned to face them. Putting his hands ups to block the swarm, he was overcome by it. Like standing in the ocean and hearing a singular massive wave, it was like their voices spoke in unison.

He took a step back, recoiling, and missed his footing. Stumbling, he fell backwards into the pool below. Fortunately, he hit a deeper pool and incurred no significant injuries. This time. Coming up for air, he coughed and shook his dreads as he wiped his face. His mouth was filled with the water and it had the distinct taste of limestone. "Kinsey...jump! I'll catch you..." Or something. He'd figure it out.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

The girl heard Armaud's voice from above the buzzing as she was being held up and over the gaping hole he'd just stumbled down into. She was being held up by hundreds of sentient insects. And they seemed angry? Or wanting to take her somewhere? The adventurer wasn't sure.

Legs swung beneath her and her hands went to instinctively swat at those little bodies holding her captive and airborn. Though, she knew the consequences and that scared her even more.

"Let...go!" She grunted and swung her legs wildly one more time. It worked. Well. Kind of. One side of her body was released which caused the other half of the swarm to release her other side due to the weight. And she went tumbling down. She couldn't help the scream that bubbled from her throat as all she saw was that water below.

And Armaud's head.

 

[Armaud Eden]

Absent the severity of the situation, the sight of Kinsey being propped up by a swarm of insects might have been funny. Like, if it were ankarres honey bees or something like that. And while Maud could sense no immediate ill intent in these creatures, he was admittedly not well versed in native Hakaran. So the situation remained serious until further review.

Given her positioning, she was floating right over the top of the floating platform when she attempted to make her getaway. Maud pulled himself up the wooden slats quickly and shifted his verdant gaze upwards. That's when she kicked out, freeing one side. He held a hand against his mouth and shook his head. "That's not good...nope." Her fall was going to be just a hair too far towards the water.

Pivoting back, he placed one foot between the rungs of the ladder and leaned forward. Just in time to put his hands out and catch her. And with a grunt, he offset the force of her fall and pulled himself back towards the inside of the platform.

He let out a huff as the insects continued their flight above, clumsily trying to get his foot unstuck from the rungs without thinking to set her down. "First the potato chips, now this..." He smirked. "Maybe I really am a hero."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Instead of the cold sting of water enclosing over her head like a tomb, she felt the strong grip of Armaud's arms around her and the brush of wild dreadlocks on her skin. Her own arms gripped him tightly, fingers digging into his clothes and hair. Wherever they found purchase. Eyes finally opened. She hadn't remembered closing them.

Even if he had wanted to put her down, he'd be hard pressed to with her iron-like grip around his shoulders and arms.

Bewildered gaze finally found that smirk on his face.

Oh.

She wasn't drowning.

Oh.

They were okay.

Oh.

Something about chips.

Her grip loosened just a little.

Oh.

"Holy kark," she blurted. That wild grin spreading on her lips. It was a grin of a sudden and furious relief. He'd find himself suddenly squeezed in an actual, semi-awkward hug because of positioning, but....whatever. "Fething good catch."

That was a good thank you, right?

Somewhere in the back of her head she realized she should let go, right?

Her legs were jelly.

She was okay. They'd be okay. Ease up the grip, Kins. They were okay.

 

[Armaud Eden]

It was a myriad of emotions spanning that small time-frame, all to the chorus of buzzes and swarms above. First was Kinsey's outright panic, which Maud only assumed was a result of the water and not the actual fall - he made a mental note to contemplate over her priorities later. And amidst her panic, he was sure he would have bruises and/or cuts in the odd shapes of fingers and finger nails.

Grimacing, he felt a pang of relief as she relented and it turned into something closer to a hug. Though even then, he was sure her intent was to grip the breath from him. Literally. But he saw that fear through their touch, even if it was unintentional, and immediately appreciated the relief that she felt. And hugged her back.

It was like being given bad news, just to find out at the last moment that it was just a false alarm.

"I can be nimble when I choose to..." He admitted, though it was more instinct than choice. While he envied the Trandoshan's for the hunting prowess, he wasn't quiet there yet. "So three things. One: you're pulling on of my dreads and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Two: did a wookiee train you for that grip strength or is that a just a space colony thing? And three..." He pulled aweay from her hug, smiling as he met her relieved expression. "You're welcome. Good thing you didn't leave me on the ship, right?"

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]