Continuing the Search

[Armaud Eden]

[SIZE=10.5pt]He looked down to his hand as she squeeze it. She might have found that it wasn't as easy to release at first, though it may have been that he was caught off guard by the presence of the Jedi. As they came to a stop, Maud got out - cautiously - and approached. It was in these moments, with perceived trepidation, that he might have shown more of his wild nature than he desired.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Like an uncertain canine approaching a master he had thought dead, Maud rushed forward and gave the man a hug. "[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]I...thought you were dead.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Relit smiled, his emerald eyes shined beneath the darkened spectacles, as he hugged Armaud with a few gentle pats on the back. "Oh, no. Not quite yet. Not for a lack of trying though..." He mused as he forcibly removed Maud from the hold. Then turned to look at Kinsey with a cool gaze. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Who is your friend..."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]"[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Oh. Sorry...[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]" He scratched his head. "[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Relit Vandal...meet Kinsey Starchaser.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]"[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.5pt]"Starchaser..." He interrupted. "Related to Coren Starchaser?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Maud didn't really know and before he could say anything more, Relit waved the need away. "Nevermind. You two must go now..."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]But...[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]" Maud responded before turning to look at the Grove. It was everything he thought, like something had come and twisted and corrupted the thing he loved most. It was the mightmarish version of the woods that were once his home. Relit must have sensed it in the boy as he approached, placing his hands on the young man's shoulders. "Armaud. Listen to me right now!" Maud focused, or he did his best. "Your father burned this forest down to keep it from them. But he prepared. There are more. Nothing is lost and all can be redone." Maud felt reassurance as Relit embraced him. "The fire stopped at the swamps. Find your way through, wait for this to pass. Remember...everything is a cycle."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Relit looked to the young woman, tampering with the vehicle. "Take him...don't look back." He looked back to Maud. "Say it with me."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Maud's expression was stubborn, but he quickly relented as they spoke in unison. "[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]And from the dust I came, so I shall return...[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]" Relit laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "That's my boy." Removing his spectacles, he laced it in Maud's neck line. "You'll need these more than me, I think. Now go."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Releasing him, Relit turned and began to move towards the incoming speeder. But it wasn't just one, it was a convoy now. And Maud could feel the swelling of the force within the Master, unlike anything he had ever felt.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt][member="Kinsey Starchaser"][/SIZE]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Wide-eyed blues peaked from behind the side of the speeder as the stranger name dropped Coren. When folk knew her Uncle it wasn't always a good thing..."I," she began but found the need waved away. Shrugging, she popped the wire and wiped the records of the speeder and clipped the tool to her belt.

Gaze flickered uncertainly between the two, knowing this was a private moment more than anything and she was nothing but an outsider. She grabbed her jacket and rummaged through the bags, stuffing a few things in her pockets. There's no way they'd be able to take all they'd found. Lugging out Armaud's cloak filled with things, she handed it off to him.

"Chit," she swore, seeing a small army coming toward them. She instantly regretted not hiding in Baron's Head. Maybe they'd been after the stranger the entire time. A hand wrapped around Armaud's upper arm and she tugged.

She really missed her blaster right about now.

"Armaud. Come on. I'm sorry but we can't stay."

Atleast the self-serving spacer bone in her body was working.

She tugged again, pulling him toward the mangled and burnt woods and the swamp that apparently lay beyond. Blues followed the back of Relit, wanting to ask Maud more about him but realizing this wasn't the appropriate time.

 

[Armaud Eden]

Relit had a way of putting things into perspective. And more importantly, he had a way of presenting a circumstance without giving Maud any options. If the wanderer took some time to think about it, he would have realized how un-jedi that seemed. But then again, he couldn't think of an orthodox Jedi who wasn't, in some fashion or another, confident to a fault.

Maud took the robe satchel and lugged it over his back. If they were going to the swamps, which was where the fire would have died, then he would quickly realized how cumbersome this bag was. But they needed fuel and apparently they needed potato chips as well.

As soon as they entered the woods, Maud stopped and dropped the satchel. "I'm sorry...I have to at least see." Relit didn't deserve to just go out like a candle though by the impression of the force, it felt more like an atomic bomb. "I'll only be a minute..."

Like something that had taken to tree climbing as his natural inclination, Maud moved up the burned snag with undeniable ease. As he approached the capacity to see, he whispered down to Kinsey - assuming she wasn't climbing up with him.

"He's approaching them..." Maud squinted his eyes. "He's removed his robe and he just threw away his lightsaber and machete..." Relit had always been a fan of the old weapons. It was likely where Maud had gotten his love for the arrow. "Wait..."

The ground shook as a small tremor deflected out from the confrontation and rippled through the woods, moving the trees above in waves. "Consitor Sato...on himself." Another surge of energy rippled out from the Jedi Master, shaking the ground for as far as Maud could see. A blast of light erupted, casting over the woods, as Maud was knocked down to the ground below.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

The girl was quick to follow Armaud. She hated water, not climbing trees. She was an explorer, after all. Still. Since he want up first, he got the better view. She didnt trust the structure of a burnt out tree that much. She hugged the bark just below him.

Gaze trained back the way they'd come. She could really just see the edge of the convoy. She wasn't high enough to see the Jedi master.

"Wait. He's fighting nude?" Puzzled gaze drifted to Armaud.

She yelped as the ground shook, feeling herself slip down the bark. "That was...," couldn't finish the close part as she was temporarily blinded and her own grip of the tree ripped free as a familiar body slammed into her from above. Stars danced across her vision as the ground none-too kindly caught her back. A weight pressed against her top and somewhere in the back of her concussed mind she imagined it was Armaud and his tangle of dreads, limbs, and tattoos.

"ow," the girl painfully managed.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He huffed as he landed against Kinsey. He could have been graceful about it but between the daze and the trauma from the tremor, he was just content to come down like a rag doll.

"Ugh..." He blinked, in a somewhat awkward and arguably inappropriate position. This wasn't exactly the cuddling he remembered. "Sorry...I lost my footing..." He grimaced and convinced himself to roll off of her.

"Though..." He shook his head, still not understanding what just happened. "You make a pretty good cushion." He chuckled before lurching forward. "Come on, we gotta go now. They could be coming."

He flung himself up, despite himself, and grabbed Kinsey's hand to pull her to her feet.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She winced as she regained her footing. Fingers clung around Armaud's hand for balance. Why were there two of him? Head shook slightly and she blinked hard. Closing her eyes was a bad idea though, cause it made her want to throw up.

After a few steps and then several more, she finally pulled her hand free.

"Can we just....whoa," she wobbled and caught herself on a charred limb of a tree. "Need a minute," free hand came up to the back of her head and she winced. "Ah-ooh." There was a giant lump forming beneath matted dark hair.

"Next time I wanna be on top," she didn't really realize how that sounded in her concussed state. Squinting up at Armaud, she looked past his shoulder. "Flying mini dancing ewoks?" Her hallucination turned into blackness as she slumped against the tree.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He raised an eyebrow at that and couldn't help himself. "I mean, if that's your preference..." His charming smirk turned into a frown as he caught Kinsey beneath her arms, helping her slowly to the ground. "Nope, no Ewoks...just super powered Zelosians..."

He lowered himself to kneel next to her, rummaging through the pack of stones and ores. He left his satchel on the ship, left all his healing herbs and stones. But as they got closer to water, he'd find her what she needed. And for now...

He withdrew an Ankarres crystal and placed it in his quiver. It was the closest to her head injury, if he was guessing things right. "Rest now, we don't have far..." But they did need to get moving. Grabbing her left arm, he hoisted her up over his right shoulder - fire man style. Closing his eyes for a moment as he adjusted to the offset of weight, he lifted the bag of crystals in his opposite hand. The Ankarres began to throb against the crest of the quiver and he turned to begin walking.

With his focus on the crystal and its healing properties, he let the force flow through him and guide him. These were paths he had walked before, it was just a matter of muscle memory.

"God these stupid ingots are heavy..." He uttered under his breath as he swayed through scattered and burned trees.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Dark tangles of hair swayed against Armaud's arm and shoulder as he trudged on. The throbbing in her head eventually eased into a lighter ache. Eyes began moving beneath closed lids. Foreign sounds of chirping birds and skittering of tiny claws and feet began to pierce through the veil of blackness she'd been submerged under. There was also a slosh-sloshing of water sound.

Like the ground was wet.

A frown tugged at her lips as she slowly came to.

Face pressed against the sleeve of Armaud's shirt. Head tilted as her eyes opened, dark lashes fluttering. She squinted trying to understand her vantage point. "Where are...what happened?"

 

[Armaud Eden]

They were trudging along and as far as he could tell, they weren't being pursued. By the time she came to, the foliage had changed from the burned crisps of trees to luscious growth of evergreen and broadleaf trees. Large growths of rotan vines sprawled across the upper canopy, finger stitching their way through branches and dead limbs, forming a network of almost impenetrable growth. There was a reason that many swamp planets made for a priceless resource, for the fugitive who was willing to risk it.

"Keep your eyes closed..." He muttered, the glow of his eyes weren't apparent to Kinsey but it was potent. His connection to the crystal was as perfect as he could get it, forming a conduit to the ribbons of the force that would help her heal. "You...I...someone hit your head pretty hard. If you look around to much, you might vomit..."

His grip tightened on the back side of her thigh, holding her firmly, as he mindlessly moved through the swamp. The real reason he didn't want her looking around is because she might panic. The inundation gave the illusion that dry land was nowhere to be found. As he moved, he transitioned from walking in ankle deep water to stepping on exposed cypress knees - the very same he had balanced on before. "And don't fidget...you'll knock me off balance."

The chirp of birds filled the air, the smell of earth and pine tar. Frogs croaked as the moon twirled, finding itself in the rare twilight between the light of the Sun and the light of Sullust. Kinsey would actually get to experience a Sulon evening, it was a rare and joyous thing. "We're almost there."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

It was like waking up in a different system. No more dry or scorched earth or burnt out tree-husks. No more silence from lack of life. And lots and lots of....water.

Blues widened and face paled.

Fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt, wrapping under his arm tightly. On instinct. Pure, basic instinct to survive. Good thing her head still ached because it prevented her from lifting her head too much off his shoulder that smelled like a mixture of mint and pine. And maybe a little musty, like fresh-churned dirt.

Almost there?

“Almost where?” She managed, voice small. It was clear she was trying to keep her terror and panic levels checked. She felt every wobble in his footstep. Every measure of balance and her eyes alternated from squeezing closed to taking quick peaks.

“Is it too late to go back and face the First Order, instead?” Meek voice added.

 

[Armaud Eden]

They had walked much further and for longer than Kinsey realized, particularly if she thought there was any way of finding a route back to the First Order. He found himself worrying that the crystal wouldn't help and that she might need more than just simple healing. Concussions had a way of sneaking up on people, that's what his mother used to tell him.

"Home away from home..." He uttered warmly as they transitioned from the swamp waters to a dry island of peat and moss. The interior island was entirely overshadowed by growth, though did allow for patchwork viewing of the night sky, and the surface was blanketed with thick carpets of healthy moss. If someone hadn't known better, it would have had the appearance of a land underlain by permafrost - and thawing in the summer time heat.

He continued to walk forward as the foreground of trees peeled away to reveal a small hut that seemed almost permanent. It was formed from tree trunks and dried clay, a roof composed of hardwood and overlapping dried thatch from the wild switch cane. He was honestly surprised that it was still standing and in somewhat decent shape. Setting the bag down on the ground, he knelt as he brought Kinsey to her feet and quickly stood up to prevent her from falling over.

"There is a small bed in here...please lay down for a bit while I gather willow stems..." He stopped her before she could say anything. "You said I get to make dinner."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She found herself leaning into Armaud’s standing frame because she very much felt like when she did her space-walks. Face tucked close to his, fingers finding purchase against his clothing and shoulders. She told herself it was because of dizziness. Eyes squeezed closed and then she opened them, determined to get past this disorientation.

Inhaling, she finally eased back, fingers releasing him. Head turned slowly, so as not to have the dizzy monster return. “This place is like out of a space tale,” she breathed. Very much wonderstruck. Well. The island thing was a bit terrifying but she was on solid ground now. Squishy solid ground. But still. Solid. Ground.

“Dinner?” Brow crinkled. “Oh right. I said that,” voice held a note of uncertainty. “But no sorrel seeds please,” she attempted the smallest of smiles.

She began moving toward the inside of the hutt taking baby steps. Little small steps. Luckily, the edge of the bed wasn’t far, which she quickly sat upon.

“You build this place?”

Seemed to have Armaud written all over it.

 

[Armaud Eden]

He helped her to the bed, slow and steady wins the race. He had to admit that he was a bit distracted by the dinner situation, he wasn't really sure what to make for dinner that Kinsey would find appetizing. He knew there were fish around, given that this area drained into a large lake. And based on the sounds, there were night fowl and frogs.

Night fowl was a tricky situation, this was when they were at the greatest advantage. And he couldn't imagine an Owl would be too tasty. Frogs could work but given Kinsey's situation, bringing that up might make her vomit on subject alone.

He sat down on the bed next to her and reached beneath the wooden frame, pulling out a rough linen blanket. He rolled it up and stood up, setting it down at the head of the bed.

"I'm not answering any of your questions until your lay down." He crossed his arms. "Consider this me holding you verbally hostage."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Kinsey huffed. She was the greatest adventurer and was not told WHEN she should rest. "Is that so?" Challenging gaze settled on his freckled face. But her head was already drooping. Fingers came up to cradle her chin.

"Ugh, fiiiiiiine. But I'm lying down because I want to. Got it?"

Easing down, she curled up on her side, so she could still track Armaud. The ache behind her eyes was dimming a little. "You, mister, DO have a lot to explain."

 

[Armaud Eden]

He chuckled. It was hard to take what she was saying too seriously when she was all curled up and just looked sleepy...and cute.

"A lot to explain..." He knelt over the small fireplace in the corner of the hut. Pulling a few small cut slabs of wood out from beneath a drying cloth, he placed them on the metal rack. Folding a bit of peat in between the logs, he took to cracking some stones over the top. "That sounds like a lot of work..." He grimaced until an ember caught and knelt down, blowing cold air until it found life.

"I'm not a fan of work..." Particular types of work, anyway. Satisfied that it would catch, he approached Kinsey and knelt down so he was at eye level. He assumed craning her neck to see him wasn't particularly comfortable. "Yes. I built this place. Now...can I please go get some willow branches? It'll only take me a moment, we passed one...just twenty feet back."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

Not a fan of work.

"Yeah, I can tell. This bed coulda used more fluff," she smirked, clearly teasing, poking, and prodding him. Maybe it was a sign she was at least on the road to recovery.

A slow blink in his direction.

"I suppose so," absently, she reached forward and pushed one of his scruffy dreads away from his eyes. "Just yell," she yawned, wincing slightly. "If you need me to come rescue you."

 

[Armaud Eden]

"Of course..." He tilted his head as she moved a dread. "You're the first person I would call..." Though obviously he wouldn't yell. They were hiding from the First Order after all. Standing up, he stretched and looked to his boot for his knife. "I'll be a bit. Don't stay up for me."

He smiled as he exited the hut.

The willow stood on the edge of a stream, carving its way through the swamp. It was hard to notice except for the drift lines running along the trees, leaving a permanent cut in the trunks. The willow, as he had learned, didn't favor swamps but instead favored moving water - streams were the breeding ground for the seeds that were transported along the bank. Going to work with his knife and hatchet, he started by cutting some new growth stems free from the branches. Then he moved to peeling them with his knife, fancying himself an experienced carver.

By the time he returned to the hut, he had a small pitcher of water from the water tank held outside the hut. It was buried but connected directly to the roofing of the hut, filled with charcoal and sand to filter out pollutants. Placing the pitcher of water above the fire, suspended by a rod, he placed a number of the shoots in the kettle. As they cooked, he went to work carving a fishing hook - as he chewed mindlessly on one of the willow shoots, sitting on the floor next to the fire.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She went in and out of sleep. Or was it delirium? She wasn't sure. Armaud was gone and then he was back again. The scene subtlety changed every time she opened her eyes. Disorientation was happening less and less, though once she woke, surprised that she wasn't swinging in her hammock on her ship with Pibs beeping and booping at her.

Atleast this wasn't as bad as when Felix had found her and she'd woken up clothed in a stranger's bed.

Armaud wasn't a stranger.

Finally, the internal ache in her noggin' subsided and it was only the external goose egg at the base of her skull that remained.

An earthy smell filled her nose. Limbs extended as she stretched slowly on the bed. Eyes opened and she sat up, slowly. She felt useless. She wanted to be doing something. Or at the very least, exploring. Well, as much as the dry patch of land allowed.

Firelight cast ebbing shadows snd glow across Armaud's features.

"How long do you think we'll need to stay here?"

 

[Armaud Eden]

Gabe had taught Maud many things. And what Maud had learned of the man was that his memories were filled with darkness. Dark memories, dark thoughts, and tragedy. It was for this reason that Gabe was always working on something, the work gave his mind reprieve from his idle thoughts. But for Maud, it worked in exactly the opposite way - so many of these practices seemed associated with muscle memory, which gave him time to ponder.

On subjects like Relit, a man who was really as close to a father as Maud got. Gabe was around and so was Stali, but they were both absentee in their own way. So, in a way, Maud was struggling with the idea that he just watched his close friend and father-figure kill himself, to protect him and Kinsey. A Kinsey who was likely related to a Coren Starchaser, someone who Kinsey hadn't thought to bring up before that time. Unless that Coren Starchaser was her brother or maybe her uncle. It was all speculative but the crackle of the fire and flakes of wood, falling gingerly to the floor, kept him hypnotized.

Until her voice stirred him from it.

"I used to live here for weeks..." He said with a smile, not ready to look away from his forming fish hook. "Whenever things were too tough back at the Homestead, or when the noise got too loud, I'd come here to enjoy the quiet." He looked up towards the ceiling. "It seems I'm a creature of habit. I return to this when I'm looking to escape..." He breathed in heavily and exhaled, blowing away bits of wood debris from the finished hook.

"We can leave in the morning. Not much time has really passed since we got here..." He fidgeted with a line, wrapping over and over again against the shaft of the hook. "...I hope you like catfish..." He smiled as he looked over, then rushedto get up. The kettle was bubbling over and he quickly pulled it off the fire. A couple of cups sat nearby and he filled one with steaming willow tea.

"It...uhh...won't taste very good. But..." He approached and offered it to her. "It's good for you. Natural pain reliever." He stated confidently, still chewing on a shoot of it.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Armaud Eden"]

She watched Armaud closely and accepted the tea, cradling it between two hands. “Thank you,” she spoke quietly, determined not to make a ‘yuck’ face when she first took a sip. “Fish sounds good,” she beamed.

Of course, she didn’t know how close he’d been with this Master Relit, though, she could guess by their earlier reunion. She did know he’d been through a lot, even if he’d been good at hiding it between his concern for her. Whether intentionally or not.

Lips pursed.

“Armaud,” one hand left the safety of the mug and reached to find his own.

“I know this wasn’t what you were expecting to find when you thought about returning home. I’m so sorry,” fingers squeezed against his own if he’d allow. “I’m here okay? You can yell, cuss, talk, not talk, punch things - preferably not me,” a brief smirk before her face grew serious again. “I’m right here and not going anywhere.“