Feet Don't Fail Me Now

[Yula Perl]

“Thank you.” There was gratitude in her voice as she accepted the bread and bit into it perhaps a bit too quickly, just now realizing how hungry she really was. Her stomach rumbled in agreement and she smoothed a hand over her abdomen as if to admonish it. “I’ve got some ration bars if you’d like. They keep you alive but they’re not exactly appetizing.” Yula always tended to keep a few on her given her transient nature, but most people would not find them palatable. She’d gotten used to them, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t take a bantha burger over the bland nutrient bricks.

Her eyes tracked to the knife as it found its way into Vik’s hand via a telekinetic grasp and she grinned from behind the piece of bread. “Wait, all of you have the Force? That’s pretty impressive. I didn’t think something like that was really possible.” She’d heard legends of entire populations being Force sensitive, but she thought they were just that; legends.

Leaning her head back against the rock wall, she chewed softly while exhaling through her nose in thought. “Mm, no. It’s not typical I suppose.” Yula had grown up knowing about her abilities from a young age, her brother as well. “People have different opinions about the Force, though. Some don’t care about it, some are in awe of it. Sometimes people are scared of it too, and I’ve met a few people who dislike Force users.” She shrugged, a frown curving her lips downward just slightly. “I try to keep a low profile unless I need to. Or if I’m showing off.” A smirk crept onto her face, her expression now more congenial.

“What about you? Any other talents I should know about?”

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"Maybe keep them for breakfast", as she offered up the ration bars, while he was cutting a piece of fruit in half to share with her. Everything in the pack had been halved and at her pleasure should she want for it, even a small amount of nuts and seeds for energy and of course there was water. Vik sat back against the rock wall and tucked in to the bread and cheese with gusto, her belly was not alone in growling with displeasure. And it is amazing how wonderful food tastes after a good work out in the out doors.

"Well, the Aelvar are few in numbers, but yes we all are. Some Valkyri are as well but they are fewer in that regard". Vik listened to her as she spoke the perceptions of the force in the wider galaxy, it did not really surprise that there would be differing views of it. Part of the reason the Aelvar had remained hidden for centuries from the Valkyri was because of superstitions, they considered it unnatural and many of them had killed them simply because of fear of the unknown. Even their own people, calling them witch or magician and hunted them. Many would hide their connection or simply did not know what it was but they will never tell for fear of being punished or worse. Attitudes are so much different now on Midvinter, the Silver Jedi from what Vik has learned are to be thanked for that, and those Heavenshields he keeps hearing about.

"I think keeping low is a good idea", his thoughts turned inward wondering if he should tell her of his other 'talents' inherited from his father. He decided not too, for the simply reason that he did not think she would believe him, he could hardly believe it himself. "No, not really .. no", he looked away to the sea and watched the rolling waves that would stretch out to the horizon for as far as he could see.

"I suppose I have good eyesight, and keen senses .. I can hear well, like, really well", he pointed to his pointy ears, which twitched with every sound constantly. "What about you? .. you have other talents besides the fire", which was rather impressive to Vik.

[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

“Good eyes, sharp senses…super hearing, huh?” Yula blinked, eyes a bit heavy from fatigue. “I’m sure that comes in handy with…hunting? Do Aelvar hunt?” It was an educated guess based off of what he had told her so far, about his home being situated in forest area. This was the first time she really noticed his pointed ears.

Yula hummed, filing through her mind to try and come up with any talents that weren’t already common with Force users. “Aside from the basics I guess…I’m good at reading emotions. Zeltrons have heightened empathetic abilities so we can read emotions better than the average person. But…” She shrugged with a soft chuckle. “I’m diluted so I’m not sure how good I am in that regard.” Being only a quarter blood, the only biological similarity she had was her skin color, even if it was a flush. No second liver here.

“Do they teach you when you’re really young in….Averlorn, was it? Are you like Jedi?”

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"Yeah, when hunting for food it is very handy", he noticed her eyes were growing heavy with sleep, which made him yawn. "I keep hearing this term, Jedi. I don't know what or who are they to be able to answer that. But we do use the force, and are trained to use it from the moment we walk", there is no dark or light in Averlorn, it is simply the force or rather, the Frostvatn. "I suppose the only thing we do adhere to is nature, we use it to do lots of things but we are highly attuned to our surroundings".

Vik looked around for somewhere more comfortable in which to lay down, and for her too. There was nothing to provide them with a soft bedding save for the sand and so he attempted to dig a 'bed', a troth of sorts in which to lay, it would be enough to provide a head rest. "Is this what you do here on the beach to sleep?", he asked her uncertain if he was doing the right thing, and did not wish to look silly any further. But just in case he was, he grinned at her, amused at his own lack of knowledge.

"I think we should sleep, you look tired and I am too", Vik snuggled down into his makeshift bed and placed his hands behind his head looking up passed the rocky roof to the stars. Maybe somewhere out among them was Midvinter, he looked at what he could see supposing he would know, or find it. He liked to think it was the brightest and most beautiful star in the night sky.

He looked over to Yula settling herself, "If .. if you get cold, you are welcome to move over", he grinned further liking the idea of that, yet his intentions were honourable.

[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula smiled, fatigue showing at the corners of her eyes. “More or less. It would be more comfortable with a sleeping bag but we’ll make do.” She had no doubt that in the morning her neck would be stiff, but that could be fixed by hydration and movement.

Hunkering down into her own space, she peered over at him as he made his offer. A brow raised and she almost shook her head, her mind instantly rushing to places where in her opinion, it should not have gone. But large flat spaces like the beach got cold at night, and the wind blew a gentle chill at her spine as if to accentuate that point.

“For survival, then.” She jokingly agreed, lazily rolling over so that she’d be closer to him—touching, but just barely and it took her a moment to position herself so that it didn’t feel as scandalous. Already she felt warmer, but perhaps that was from her flush of her skin.

She awoke shortly after dawn to the sound of waves crashing against the shore and sea birds squawking in the distance. At some point during the night Yula had planted her face directly into the sand, realization hitting her while she was still in her post-wake brain fog. Jolting upwards quickly, the Zeltron furiously brushed the sand from her mouth, spitting onto the ground to try and clear her mouth.

After groaning, she blinked once, twice and then remembered that she had not come here alone.

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

He remained in his position as Yula moved over to lay against him, a grin curling his lips as his eyes closed and blocked out the light of the stars as he tried to sleep. It was more difficult than he had expected, the thoughts of the girl next to him the primary reason for this, but also the sound of the night and crashing waves, everything seemed to magnify on the night air. There was a different scent present, it was not the saltiness of the ocean, nor the smell of the weeds that grow under it, but a soft one, which could only be her, and this was on his mind as he finally succumbed to dreams.

The night passed in the constant shifting of images, and bodies within the sand and through the night Vik had moved a little closer to her, his own need to find warmth as the cool night wore on toward the coming of the dawn, it is always coldest then, they say. Yet he was aroused from sleep as Yula shifted next to him and he opened his eyes to see her face covered in sand and she was spitting it out.

“If you are that hungry, you could have your ration bar now”, he said waking more and rubbing his own eyes to rid the sleep away. Vik smiled at her before a chuckle, as he sat up and realised his back and neck felt like it was locked. He rubbed his hand down the back of his neck and groaned with the pain of it, and the feeling of pins and needles run down his arm which was weird and painful.

He looked over to her, watched her for a moment and noticed how pretty she truly was especially in the morning light and suddenly he wished he had not teased her. “Sorry”, he said a little sheepishly, “Did you sleep well?”.

He bent his legs under himself and pushed up bending around the outcrop which had been their roof for the night, everything felt stiff in his body but with a walk back to the hostel that would go soon enough. “I guess we best get back”, he had to get ready to depart and needed to vacate. But he had not forgot his promise to surprise her when they return.


[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

“Bleh.” Yula rubbed the residual sand from the corner of her mouth and smoothed back her hair. The ocean water and salty breeze had dried her hair to be even wavier than normal, though it was still messy from having slept on the sandy ground.

Stretching her arms out one at a time, Yula stopped to cover a yawn. “Well, I slept.” She shrugged. “Sort of missing those hostel beds though.” While they were uncomfortable, she felt as if she’d sleep better on one tonight after a night of no back support. “How’d you manage last night?” She grabbed her pack and handed him a ration bar, fiddling with the packaging on another for herself. “Mm, probably. You’ve got to get home, yeah?”

She bit into her ration bar as they began to venture back, a meal which always left her dissatisfied. Sure they were filling and kept you alive, but there was no pleasure to be had in eating a tasteless brick of gruel.

“Now I want to see how long I can last in the waters of Midvinter.” She grinned, guessing it to not be very long.

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"Thanks", he took a ration bar offered to him and smiled, but that was quickly wiped away with the taste of it, she had done justice to her description of the taste of them, and he vowed never to eat one again. He hoped, but still he ate it, as he was hungry and the night meal had passed into the past. "I slept as well as could be expected", he still felt the stiffness of the night in the sand.

"Well, I am not going home just yet", he still had a lot of things on his mind he wanted to mull over before returning there, "I have booked passage to a place call Coruscant .. you heard of it?". Vik hadn't, it was just another place on the map that looked interesting to him, but he knew little about, let alone just how famous the planet actually was.

"After my visit there, I will return home", he shot her a sideways glance now with further incentive to travel back to Midvinter. "My shuttle leaves tonight, but if .. if you aren't doing anything ...?", no she would have her own plans for sure and maybe he could get her contact number or something or someway in which to keep communication with her.

Vik threw his pack over his shoulder and began to climb back the way they came to the beach, it would not take them long to return to the hostel although the climb down can be just as hard as the climb up. "I really mean it you know, I would love to take you to Midvinter .. how do I contact you?".

[member="Yula Perl"]