Nepenthe

[Ayessa Kroan]

nepenthe, noun; something that can make you forget grief or surffering.​

The Space Above Kiffu, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Nervous ~ "You've got me nervous to speak, so I won't say anything at all."
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Do you ever look at something and wonder if it's real?

That simple question rolled around Ayessa's head as she sat, cross-legged, staring down at a place she never thought she would lay eyes on outside of holograms. The observation deck provided a perfect view of the sandy planet below, and the other one beyond it.

Kiffu and Kiffex. Two sides of the same sand-covered, conflicting, intersecting coin. Home?

It didn't feel like a home. Nothing did, though, these days, at least to her. The Temple had been a sort of home, the Venator she'd been assigned during the war had become a home of necessity, until it got blown up. Since then, all the planets and places she'd dared to explore in this new galaxy had not felt like a home at all, nothing even close to one. The Force twitched in her like a restless animal then, reacting to the anxiety just under the surface of her mind. It brought little comfort. Meditation was lost in the slowly-consuming feeling of dread building, the same dread she remembered experiencing before a major engagement. The kind that left the taste of metal in your mouth and made you wonder if you were going to be around to see the next sunrise. I like sunrises. Will I like Kiffu's?--

--Stupid things to dwell on. A ragged and all-around rough exhale left Ayessa's seated form and she moved to stand to work some feeling back into her asleep legs, hand briefly passing over the hilt of her lightsaber. The desire to read came with it, to let the right channels within her connect and experience her own weapon's memories, but all that would be is a rehash of old feelings, old feelings she did not need ruling her head right now. No matter her regrets, she was here and this was going to happen.

She was going to go home. With Nej in tow. Hm.

 

[Nej Tane]

Few times in your life where you can distinctly remember where it all went in a different direction. This was one of those times.


Nej was often a person who didn't take much into first glances, first impressions. Everything had a subtle shift, everything was different in some way or another. And so, the sandy landscape of Kiffu wasn't anything particularly impressive to him. He was the first to step off, flicking his usual coin. He rotated it in his hands, keeping his hand on his pistol belt, where his disruptor hung loosely off of his thigh. Nej rarely went anywhere without it. Especially a planet he didn't know.

Plus, he wasn't sure how the Kiffar treated strangers. He turned his body to face Ayessa.

"Can't say it looks too much different than Tatooine."

He said, watching the sands be blown by the wind. Everyone thought the vast desert landscapes were always hot- which, they sometimes were, but they were also ridiculously windy, making it bearable to be out in the heat. Nej was wearing his trademark maroon jacket, zipped up halfway. Not just to show off his pectoral escapades in the gym, but to allow for easy reach of his blaster under his arm.

"So- how do we get you home?"

He turned and looked to his new Jedi...friend? Friend-ish. Something a bit more. Friend with a side of...something. Something good.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

The Space Above Kiffu, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Nervous ~ "My nerves, they give me a sign, tell me I'm not fine."
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Blank eyes looked to him, flicking up, then down, then centre-mass, then to his face.

"I don't know," Ayessa admitted quietly, watching him for a second before turning her head down to look at the planet below, rapidly approaching, "I was sort of banking on the Force guiding me. It hasn't exactly... Done that yet." Eyes falling back to him, they landed on the coin for a second before finally settling to look at his boots with an expression that definitely read as mild shame and worry.

How can you go home if you don't know where home is?

A part of her mind twinged in pain as she tried to recall, but making your brain remember memories that don't exist, hurts even for a Jedi. The feeling of a warm hand guiding hers away from the familiar into the unknown, watching this planet be swallowed up by space from the back of a ship familiar to this-- The west. Was she from the west? That sounded right. A hand raised to rub at her forehead, low exhale leaving her before she spoke again in a voice softer than before, "I think we need to head west, though. Maybe." Better than starting from nothing, though; her hope was the closer she got to the surface the more willing her abilities would be to guide her. So it was just a matter of blind faith and a bit of luck, at least, on his part.

 

[Nej Tane]

She did it first, for the record.


Nej noticed and moved them ever so slightly. Ever-so-slightly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but instead walked back up the ramp to his ship. Several moments, and a few minutes later- and after a healthy amount of random, indiscernible objects were thrown down the ramp, he brought out a speeder bike. It hadn't been used in a while, but when he kicked it, it roared. There were two seats, though- he was going to have to ride on the back. Since she knew where she was going. Sort of.

"West it is."

Nej said, wondering if the speeder bike would hold up. He threw in a few ration packs, water, and a Blaster rifle for the nasty critters onto the saddlebags on the side of the bike, just in case. Plus, chances were they were going to get thirsty. One of them, however, seemed a bit more parched than the other.

"Scoundrels luck, right? I got a good feeling about this one."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Nervous ~ "I got an itch in my throat, and I don't know which way to go..."
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Ayessa watched various items be thrown off with a mix of fascination and concern. She forgot all about the momentary anxieties consuming her and just observed as straw objects were flung with little regard, idly wondering what was next to be chucked away. Though understanding crossed her face as he produced the bike, "That's safe, right?" She felt the need to ask. Sure, some trust had been forged since Zeltros, but this...

This seemed like it needed a lot more than trust to work.

He's got a good feeling? She mused, eyebrow raised, I sure don't. Nonetheless, she sauntered over with the expression of someone who bit into fruit that wasn't quite ripe, eyes on the hunk of metal apparently deemed driveable, "I've used my fair share of speeders, but that was a while ago," 800 years, "Glad to, uh, see they haven't changed."

Nej seemed to be putting an awful lot of faith in her. Something curled inside the Kiffar's gut -- Here's hoping it wasn't horribly misguided.

 

[Nej Tane]

There's certain moments you'll never forget. Riding along with her- that's something I'll always remember.

Nej shrugged. It was probably safe. He at least bought it and the guy said it was safe.

As she lulled over the intricacies of his speeder- which may have very well been from her time, Nej let her take the controls. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started to chuckle. "This isn't like the holofilms, is it? But I like it anyways." He leaned back, placing his feet on the pegs on the back of the speeder. They shot along, soaring across the desert landscape. It was loud, noisey, and Nej was happy that he brought goggles to protect his face parts.

"Where do you think we need to go now?" Nej said over the roaring winds that were whipping at them both as they were cruising over the sandy landscape. For some reason, he thought Kiffu was a lot of jungles- he seemed to be wrong.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "I don't like walking around this old and empty house." "So hold my hand, I'll walk with you, my dear."
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"Of course you would." There was no stopping the dry comment leaving Ayessa, straddling the speeder with a definite air of confidence. Relatively, anyways. They could always crash. Since when was I such a damn pessimist?

Keenly aware of his grasp and also slyly ensuring he wasn't using it as an excuse to steal anything, she kicked the speeder into motion and off they went. Up ahead dark clouds swept over the skies, occasionally passing over the sun and providing shade but also darkening the landscape, dunes and areas of flat, dry grass turning a few shades greyer and bleaker. It wasn't quite lightning season yet -- But it was going to be, soon, she felt it in her bones. Kiffu's storms were spectacles of epic, economy-stopping proportions.

And if there was a storm coming, they'd be grounded, you couldn't just fly through a Kiffuan lightning storm, impossible for even the fastest pilot. So time was of the essence.

Her own goggles seemed a size too small but, oh well, it kept the sand out. It wasn't like she was using her eyes much anyhow. No, the Force was more valuable here.

Where was home?

Conjuring memories of her early life was still difficult. A child's perception is drastically different than that of an adult, which colored what little recollections she had of where her clan could be all wrong. But they were high-up. She remembered that well enough. Perched on cliffs, like mynocks, waiting. So with a tip of the speeder controls they shot out over the sand, racing towards a particular mountain range that was rapidly approaching. Perhaps 'mountain range' wasn't the right word -- It was more a mesa, tall twisting red rock spires and canyons that promised untold mysteries within, "I think it's this way." She got a mouthful of sand for her troubles, and even though her voice was drowned out he could hear her just fine -- No doubt using an aspect of the Force to ensure he could hear, "My clan favored the mountains. I remember almost falling more than a few times."

 

[Nej Tane]

Nothing quite like that time on Kiffu.


The sands whipped at his face, along with the biting winds- as the pair soared across the dunes and across the sandy landscape. The mountains. Mountain people. He looked to the imposing...kind of mountains. Sort of. He reached around and tied a bandanna across her face, protecting her face from the winds. He clicked the device behind his ear, and the helmet appeared over the smug features again.

He wondered if there was civilization still beyond in the mesa, in those mountains. Or anything left. He hoped, for her sake, there was something. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and urged her onward.

"Sure it isn't just because you're clumsy?" He quipped when she mentioned almost falling a few times.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "There's an old voice in my head, that's holding me back." "Well, tell her I miss our little talks."
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Well. She had been a clumsy child.

But always fearless.

At first, she seemed to tip her head away as he tried to tie a bandana across it but she relented and let Nej just do it after a moment or two of baulking, the cloth doing well to hide the amused grin on her face. The grin which held untold anxieties behind it. It did keep the sand out better, which permitted her to speak without fear of eating a couple more grains.

"Don't worry. I grew out of it. I hope you brought something with sensors, though," She let that rather ominous statement hang in the air for a minute before turning her head back slightly, and it was easy to tell she had that grin on her face, "There are Spark-dragons in the mountains around here. You can detect them with the right equipment but they'll eat just about anything. Foreigners are a delicacy." That last part wasn't necessarily true, but the rest was. They really would eat anything. Her, too, once.

The first time she'd ever used the Force was warding one of the gigantic carnivores off. Good times.

Slowing the speeder down ever-so-slightly as the pair approached the edge of the bluffs, a few thin crevices granting them access to the depths of the mountain valleys. Eventually, they came to a halt. Metal chassis creaking as thrusters powered down, Ayessa rather gently pulling the cloth from her face to stare up at the tall, red rocks greeting them. Theoretically, there would be a few well-worn paths through the canyons would lead them to various habitable areas, or they could lead them to the den of a winged predator. 50/50 shot, right?

"How do you like hikes?"

 

[Nej Tane]

My heart sank- for a moment, a split second, I thought she was gonna go it alone.


Their ride together, as pleasant as it was, as much as he wanted to be there on that speeder with her for time eternal- came to an end. He stepped off, getting solid footing. He was a city kid, an alley-rat who loved ships and petty theft more than he loved the towering...large landscape set forth before him.

Sensors? He brought food, water and a gun- he was glad he did as soon as the thought of carrying a sensor escaped his mind. A lot of good a sensor would do against a friggin' dragon. As they stopped, he plucked the rifle out of the saddle bag.

"How can they tell? Is that why you guys get tattoos?" Nej wasn't the brightest bulb in the box at times.

He held the rifle down at his side, looking up at the mountain. The big, tall- really tall, mountain. Sure, he could deal with heights and the vacuum of space- but heights on mountains made him just a tiny bit nervous. The rifle shifted in his hands.

"I mean, as much as the next person, I suppose."

He put their shared rations and water into a bag and slung it over his shoulder, following behind Ayessa.

"Anything coming back to you? Or is it still...foreign? And does anyone still live around here? Not gonna get sniped by some random authority types-" Nej's primary concern in life, was in-fact, authority types. Or Bounty Hunters. And now, dragons that ate foreign people. "But this place seems kind of...desolate."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right." "Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear."
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Ayessa couldn't help it that time, a laugh left her as he mentioned the tattoos again. She shook her head, mood temporarily brightened, "No, no. The qukuuf is more spiritual, hard to explain. Spark-dragons are just good predators but they're constantly charged with electricity, so sensors can pick up on them. Thankfully for us, they're mostly-blind and only see really bright things. If we stick to the shadows they shouldn't be able to see us, and even if they do--" She glanced upwards at the rocks, huffing a sigh, "Their minds are easy to influence. I wouldn't worry." It sounded much more like she was trying to reassure herself than reassure him. After all, her last lesson on a Spark-dragon had been when she was at least three. Hopefully, her information wasn't out of date.

She had already started heading off through the sand, through the narrow canyons that would start to carry them up when Nej had begun to ask some pretty important questions, "Some of it is. I remember my father telling me certain things about the land, how it belonged to our clan so long as one of us was still alive. I guess that means it's mine now, legally speaking." A boring explanation that made her heart sore. It was only hers if nobody was there.

"The only people crazy enough to live up here are my relatives. And they won't shoot us, I promise."

 

[Nej Tane]

This was important to her, mind you- so it became important to me. I just have a poor way of showing 'importance'.

"So I shouldn't smile then?" Nej said- and admittedly, Nej did in fact, have really nice teeth. "Is my mind easy to influence?" It was. He made a force-wave with his fingers to emphasize his points. Ayessa could tell Nej a white lie, or the brutally honest truth. Nej probably wouldn't have been comfortable with the fact that it had been a long time since she influenced a beast with the force- almost a millennia, in fact.

"I mean, I'm not a lawyer or anything, but I'm pretty sure that you'd at least have to sign something to own part of a planet. That being said- I'm pretty sure there should still be people around. No offense, but this doesn't seem like the 'progress' planet." Then again, Nej's version of 'progress' was how easy it was to pickpocket people there.

"Oh yeah, they won't shoot the Kiffar maybe- but the pale guy with the big red jacket, that just screams 'foreigner, please shoot for funsies and treats inside'." Nej, at one point, was running with a pirate crew and had been nearly eaten by his Ewok crewmate on several occasions.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "And some days I can't even trust myself." "It's killing me to see you this way."
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"Uhhhh."

"No, you can smile."

His questions had definitely thrown Ayessa. On one hand, they were incredibly endearing. On the other hand...

"Er-- I don't like to infiltrate people's minds unless I have to, like if they were a threat. I'm more of a... Emotions person." Progress planet? Hardly, at least where they were, "And there are some cities around, small towns, but I think my clan liked the isolation." All his final statement got in reply was a soft chuckle.

The particular canyon she led them along began to take them upwards ever-so-slightly, but it soon became clear a bit of climbing was going to be required. The so-called road stopped at a short relief, atop which the path seemed to continue. It was at least a foot or two tall, though, and Ayessa frowned looking up at it, "I think we're gonna have to get on-top of that to keep going. The camp's pretty high up, if I remember right."

 

[Nej Tane]

Mountains- but mountains with her? Worth every moment.


High up- that was an understatement. Nej wasn't in bad shape. In fact, he was in pretty good shape. But climbing a mountain was no easy task- especially, ESPECIALLY if you'd never done it before. Nej took a swig of his water, and wiped the sweat forming across his forehead.

"Why so isolated? Why so high up? Why? I have so many questions, so many." Nej said, taking in a deep breath. Holy crap was that tall- the brief rest was welcomed. He looked up at the sky, noticing the darkening clouds. Not the rain season his ass.

"Think we can get to it before that storm hits us?"

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "Soon it will all be over, and buried with our past." "We used to play outside when we were young, and full of life and full of love."
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She didn't waste any time; even as he talked the Jedi's graceful form was already starting to climb.

Well, 'climb'. When you had the Force, it just became a matter of short, Force-fuelled hops and careful footwork, half-stepping from shallow ledge to shallow ledge. One, two, three-- And she was at the top, squatting down, looking at her companion with a smarmy expression visible even due to the distance, "I haven't been here for 800 years, so I don't know either." Ayessa almost teasingly called down, before looking over her shoulder at the continuing path before down to Nej again, "And, maybe? Looks like Kiffex's atmosphere might be starting to collide with Kiffu's, that causes the storms. Won't be much rain, but a lot of lightning."

She could remember the storms clear enough, at least. Not something to fly through, or even be outside for. But they were getting close. At least, she thought so.

As if just then remembering that he wasn't going to have that easy of a time getting up, she leaned a little more over the ledge, "Hey, do you trust me? I have an idea." How hard could it be to levitate a living being for, what, less than a minute?

 

[Nej Tane]

Closest I ever got to heaven. Not because of the height- mind you.


Atmospheres were colliding? They could do that? Nej itched his head. He didn't understand a lot of things. Like, a lot. In fact, it could be said that he understood exactly jack- he was distracted by almost slipping off and falling into the caverns below. Meanwhile, his gi- friend. Ayessa- was climbing it like it was no problem. No problem at all. That just wasn't fair.

"I mean yeah- obviously. After all the kissing and the emotions and the feelings that we haven't really talked about and all- but do I trust your Jedi stuff? Not too sure about all that. Whatever- you're planning. To do. With me."

He rubbed his head...and for safety's sake, blooped on his helmet. It quietly formed over his face.

"Let's just...do this. I trust you."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake." "It's the house telling you to close your eyes."
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He made her laugh softly, eyebrow raised, "Alright."

Settling from her position of squatting to sitting instead, cross-legged, just like a proper Jedi would, Ayessa reached out through the Force. Sure, her physical hand was extended somewhat, but most of her reaching was through an ethereal, intangible power.

The feelings we haven't really talked about. An unspoken thing, even.

Her concentration couldn't afford to slip now else this was going to end pretty fast. Just for now, thoughts of that, thoughts of what had transpired on Zeltros needed to be put to rest, her senses dulled. All but one, the one she was going to use to have him join her atop the short cliff. Feeling Nej through the Force was... Unusual, but not unwelcome, different to how she'd been passively sensing him but rather precious all the same. Life flickering like a warm, small candle. An admittedly unintelligent, yet somehow attractive candle. t's a certain charm.

Soon enough he'd be plucked upwards by, assumedly, her, and levitated right through the air to the top of the ridge. It wouldn't last more than a minute as she'd predicted, though by the end of the short trip Ayessa did look a little winded, her eyes firmly shut as she sat at the edge and quietly asked, "...Did you make it?" In a voice that clearly showed how actually uncertain she had been of it working.

 

[Nej Tane]

And then she had the nerve to pick me up and throw me!


Nej wasn't anticipating much, in the way of her 'trust me' statement. Truth be told, he was thinking maybe- you know, she'd leave for a few minutes, she'd throw him a rope but nope- nope, nope nope. She straight up threw him up. Nej was cursing the whole time- before he rolled his body along the ground, laying there for a moment.

He groaned after a second.

"Totally made it. Definitely feeling good."

He looked up from behind his helmet.

"That kinda hurt."

Nej was less concerned about the prospect of their emotional..thing. The thing that they had together, because he just got thrown. His first time flying outside of a ship and he lands chest-first onto some rocks.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Nej Tane]

And then she had the nerve to pick me up and throw me!


Nej wasn't anticipating much, in the way of her 'trust me' statement. Truth be told, he was thinking maybe- you know, she'd leave for a few minutes, she'd throw him a rope but nope- nope, nope nope. She straight up threw him up. Nej was cursing the whole time- before he rolled his body along the ground, laying there for a moment.

He groaned after a second.

"Totally made it. Definitely feeling good."

He looked up from behind his helmet.

"That kinda hurt."

Nej was less concerned about the prospect of their emotional..thing. The thing that they had together, because he just got thrown. His first time flying outside of a ship and he lands chest-first onto some rocks.

"Please tell me that was the only time we'd have to do that. And that we're close."

He looked up at the sky, darkening ever still. "And I don't want to get rained on."



[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, Western Wastes, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Little Talks ~ "'Cause though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore."
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"Oh, are you alright?"

Almost at once, as soon as Ayessa heard him confirm that he wasn't, you know, possibly dead, did she shift from concerned Jedi wizard to concerned travelling companion. Scrambling to her feet with the grace of an awkward duckling, her hand was soon thrust in front of him; an offer to help him up, with a rather bashful smile on her face as if to silently apologize for the obviously necessary tactic. It definitely saved them some time, though, right?

"Yeah, I think we are," Even whilst offering her hand, her gaze was fixed on the sky, and the dark clouds gathering there, "Don't worry. Could always hide in an unoccupied cave." Despite suggesting it, that idea was something she really didn't want to entertain both in her mind and in practice. No matter the false confidence she exuded, predators lurked in these hills, ones even the Jedi really didn't want to meet again.

If Nej took her offered help she'd pull him up to his own feet with a hefty amount of strength, definitely stronger than her lithe form would suggest-- Maybe a little concerning --With that same apologetic grin spread across her features, "Let's go."