Of Dirt and Scars

[Lok Jorunn]

Of Dirt and Scars​

Undercity District, Coruscant​

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A world full of billions housed in every inch of space it could muster. A world that had so been the center of the politics of the galaxy at large since the beginning of time. A world that had seen wars, rebellions, and pandemics and stood strong in the face of overwhelming odds. A world that compared a single being to a speck of dust. A world that Lok Jorunn had made his new home. If the upper city reflected his personality as much as the underworld did, then he'd made a good choice in coming here to stay.

Adorned in simple attire and a maroon jacket, the man slowly eased his way through the dark and dank streets and alleys. Police sirens could be heard over periodic bursts of industrial smog being pressurized and spewed from various pipelines. On the less fortunate occasion, screams of terror and gunshots could be faintly heard in the distance as well, perfectly complementing the echoes of the barking of stray animals. The sights were even worse than the sounds. Steel grey eyes grew dull as they rested upon the visages of lonely and sullen beings. Some slumped against walls, others quarreled with each other over minor things, and all of them had no spark of hope.

Lok himself couldn't even shed light or pray for a single ember of driving will to sprout in his soul. Wherever he went he was alone. Nobody to call his own and nobody to love. He so longed for a greatness to materialize into his life, but it was no use. He knew what he was: an outcast. A bystander. The kind of person who merely carries on with living and nothing else. The man heaved a heavy sigh at the thought and attempted to focus on putting one foot before the other. Trying to become a Jedi was a pointless endeavor. Granted, he hadn't even been accepted into the Order just yet, but the man could not foresee himself even becoming a fraction of the great heroes that came before him. Be they Jedi or the warriors of Midvinter.

"Hey! You there!" A husky voice broke through his thoughts. "You lookin t' buy some good stuff?" The voice asked, its holder stepping out of the shadows in a rather unpleasant fashion. The burly man gave a wicked smile and pulled his jacket open, producing a bag of some sorts that contained a mysterious substance. Grey eyes set upon yellow teeth with a frown.

"I'm afraid not, my friend."

Lok gave a polite nod, wanting to conceal the images arising in his mind at that very instant. At least he tried asking him and not just ta- kachunk! His knees doubled under him as he lost feeling to the side of his head, dropping instantly with a sharp curse. "What the feth?" A startled and tentative voice escaped his lips as he spun around to see the man over him, a piece of pipe in hands. "I know you gots some money, tough stuff. Now fork it over or I splatter your inside across the wall." Blood trickled down the side of his face, his jaw dropped by a fraction.

At least the end wouldn't be so bad.

[member="Rhiari Saffia"]

 

[Lief]

[Sorry for the late reply - I was busy over the weekend then sick when I got home!]

Okay, so maybe this counted as going too far but Rhiari could not help herself, it was as if her feet were choosing her path for her and before she knew it she was lost. Or at least, it looked like she was lost. The cleaner streets around the Temple had given way to grime and dirt, not that Rhiari was judgemental of such - she had lived in such areas on Serenno, the places few outsiders ever saw - and not in a house either. The streets had been her own, and thus this felt almost welcoming... Yet it was a stark reminder of how things were, it stung a little to realise everything had changed. For better or worse, this was how things were from now on.

The dull stare of numerous children gazed out at her from side streets, door ways and sidewalks. Feeling guilty at the distress she sensed from them her gaze drifted to the ground. 'It will be okay' she wanted to say, 'one day it will all change', but she couldn't reassure them. It had been an odd turn of events which had led her to Phylis.

It was then that she heard raised voices. Her gaze turned across to find two men, one of whom was in the dirt. It did not take a genius to work out what was happening, and an instinctive desire to act and help rose within the child. Rushing forwards, although she had no way of defending herself, the little girl began to yell, hoping to startle the man away and make him realise that if he did anything he'd been seen and she had been heard - hopefully others would come soon... Hopefully.

"Get away from him! Leave him alone!" There was little else she could really do, but she hoped it was enough. The man on the ground seemed bewildered by what was happening to him, it was clearly a random attack. Rhiari could not stand for such.

[member="Lok Jorunn"]

 

[Lok Jorunn]

A single spark erupted in his soul. Lok couldn't describe the feeling spreading through his heart. Something, someone near him changed the tide of everything. He could feel the very will to live and survive emanating from their form before he even laid eyes upon it. Steel grey eyes widened as a flicker of movement to his left caught his attention, a very high-pitched and girlish voice sounding out over the curses the attacker was spitting out. Lok grit his teeth together as the little girl screamed at the man standing over him. A voice in the back of his head made itself known. Lok. We love you. Mom and Dad...

He was moving upwards in a single instant. The man barely cut a glance in his direction in time to see a fist. Panting and bloodied, Lok threw another punch to his face as the man stumbled backwards with a scowl. "You little bastard, I'll fething kill you!" He yelled, raising the pipe and bringing it down inches away from Lok's face. He was still bewildered that he'd been randomly attacked like this in the first place. Lok's hands were raised, his lips drew into a snarl, and his appearance was nothing short of a man experienced in combat. Another swing of the pipe was caught in his hand, driving the other hand, palm open, into his elbow with a sickening crunch. The man's arm was broken in a rather unpleasant fashion, the bone driving through his flesh at an awkward angle.

"Do not try that. Ever again." Lok growled, dropping the pipe. At least he wouldn't hit him - or anyone else - again. But he could do something else. The man had pulled a hold-out pistol from his jacket and now aimed it at him, tilting a little to the side in effort to nurture his wound. Stang.

[member="Rhiari Saffia"]

 

[Lief]

The young girl stopped screaming the moment the other man was capable of defending himself again. The sight of him breaking another man's arm alarmed her, and she took a small step back... But the fact that he didn't try to kill the man revealed something about his personality. He isn't an aggressor, he doesn't want to harm people - but he knows that he can if he must. The observation was over in a heartbeat and she suddenly saw the weapon as it was drawn by the man.

"Look out!" she said, and something within the child took over. The Force flowed through and out from her body, emitting a push towards [member="Lok Jorunn"] in the hopes of knocking him aside from the bolt. She wasn't good enough to redirect a blaster bolt, nor did she have a clear path to the blaster itself. She only hoped she could do something to keep this man alive.

 

[Lok Jorunn]

Bracing for the impact of the blaster bolt was a single second in the situation. Lok's eyes snapped shut as the blaster was raised, leveling uneasily at head-level before the man squeezed the trigger. Smoke smoldered from the barrel of the tiny pistol, a red bolt flicking from it and zooming towards him with ferocity. That is, until he was shoved aside by invisible hands and nearly thrown onto the ground in a fell motion. His eyes cast a glance in that direction, only spotting the wide-eyed child seemingly praying for Lok to actually do something now.

The Jedi Padawan almost growled at the man who held the blaster, patting his clothes in search of a device his friend Gherron had gave him. His fingers found the cylinder, wrapping around the metallic frame and yanking it from its cover behind his jacket. "Dumb fether!" The attacker chortled, steadying his aim once again. It was to be the last thing he ever did. Snap-hiss. A cobalt blue blade was ignited in the streets of Coruscant's undercity, the wielder of such a weapon being the victim of a brutal and cold assault. "I told you t-to stop, didn't I?" Lok reached up with his free hand to wipe a trail of blood from his mouth and nose.

[member="Rhiari Lorr"]

 

[Lief]

And suddenly things turned bad again.

The little girl stared wide-eyed as a lightsaber was ignited in the streets, and took a few stumbled steps away. Her eyes drifted between the Jedi and the man. "Please, don't..." she whispered, stepping over to the pair of them swiftly. Rhiari hated confrontation, and while she understood that this Jedi had a duty to protect himself and those around him - which she supposed included herself - there had to be another way to sort this.

If she had been the other, though, the sight of the lightsaber would have been enough to send her running. Was he really such a fool as to simply stand there face-to-face with such danger?

[member="Lok Jorunn"]