Over the River and through the woods

[Dune Rhur]

Led off through the Temple by his old Master, Dune looked to his erstwhile student and nodded as she spoke. Much had changed for both of them, including the flare of anger quickly smothered. That had been a change in the young woman he'd taught. Not just sulky frustration when she'd been in her adolescent years but real anger threatening to boil over.

Then there was her cybernetic prosthesis which he'd noted almost right away. Very little escaped his notice but simply gawking and asking awkward questions to begin with would aid with nothing. It would come out as she was ready to speak of it. So he looked at the crimson Twi'lek, seemingly oblivious in her talk about the little woodland creatures.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Dune Rhur"] [member="Joza Perl"]

Leina looked at Joza. "We are totally going to look for creatures that we can have run around with us for pets... the cutest, fluffiest most adorable and doe eyed one. It is very hard to have a frowny face when a ball of fur is snuggling you." She said it with some knowledge and was leading the way outside as she looked in the jungle. "There is also a chance given how some of them were brought here of Corellian ropos." She was looking over a few of the different things in the jungle walking and leading the way letting their emotions in the force slam against her shield of goodness. "Now come on we all have off days and by the end of this one of us here is going to be singing showtunes."

 

[Joza Perl]

Now that the initial shock of seeing [member="Dune Rhur"] again had subsided, Joza found herself delving inward to try and sort her emotions. Her silence was partially owed to the Bith’s presence—she didn’t want him to think of her as a child, as a failure. Even if she didn’t call herself a Jedi anymore, his opinion still meant a lot to her. And despite the fact that he wasn’t the most emotionally expressive being, he was perceptive and had handled her teenage emotions with a patient hand.

“That sounds…interesting.” Joza couldn’t come up with a word to express what she thought of their next venture. Actually, she was kind of excited at the idea of having some cute little animal as a pet. She’d often heard that they were good for stress relief with their unconditional love. It was good to focus on taking care of something else, as well. It distracted you from your own problems. “…I’ve never had a pet before.”

[member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

For another being, such as Joza herself, the situation was probably awkward. Awkwardness was something Dune was fully aware of but it seldom happened for him. She'd done something wrong and his presence exacerbated the guilt she felt. As her mentor, she felt accountable to him.

"You're not especially accountable to me, Joza," he said to her quietly as they walked "Only yourself and to the Light. We all make bad choices but we can atone for them."

Leina spoke about animals, fluffy animals to cuddle.

"What about Fluffy, Leina?"

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina looked at Dune as she looked at her feet in front of them with a look on her face. "He is right there." She looked down at him while picking him up and he was bigger as well as she hadn't been carrying him from the table with the snack cakes while there was some frosting on the smooth stone. Leina was watching them as she picked him up and wiped at the stone putting it in a pack on her back. "yeah yeah i know they are very strange but remember they are our friends and we can all get more ice cream now after that incident... Remember?" She said it while nothing seemed to be speaking but she gave a nod walking off. "Good we are not having another candigeddon incident." She said it while looking from Dune to Joza. "Did Dune ever tell you about the time he blew up a candy factory and rained sugary confections down from the sky on a town before it was covered in taffy.?"

 

[Joza Perl]

It was almost as if Dune’s words were unexpected, what with the wide-eyed look Joza had given him. She was unaccustomed to this level of reassurance, and had forgotten how patient the Bith had always been when dealing with her. And Joza was certainly not an easy being to deal with, as powerful as her emotions were. But she still listened with open ears before the look of shock faded away, replaced with something more contemplative as she turned her face to the side as they walked.

She looked as if she was about to say something, but silenced herself. Was she ready to forgive herself for her past misdeeds and move on?

“I’m not sure if I can.”

Her answer was soft, almost feeble sounding as the conflict waged in her head. Thankfully, Leina’s voice came as a distraction. “A what now?” Both brows arched as her gaze tracked over towards the placid Bith, then back to the Twi’lek. “I don’t believe that…’candigeddon’?” Was her Master really capable of unleashing candy hell?

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Ah, candigeddon.

​"I'll never forget," Dune replied diffidently.

It'd taken literal days to wash off the sugar. Off of himself and the town. At least the insurance had covered the damage. He'd made sure it had with a direct appeal from the Order.

But really it had been Leina's idea. He'd warned her against opening the valve on the tank. She'd said she was thirsty but why anyone would want to drink syrup....The Twi'lek had survived needing anything more than a shower.

"It happened when I was fourteen. Most unfortunate."

Embarrassing too. He changed the subject before Leina could elaborate.

"You're never so far gone that you can't come back," he told her softly.

His voice was tinged with compassion. He could tell that it surprised her to hear it. Dune knew he'd never been as openly warm as a Zeltron. The Bith still cared even now.

"Come back to us, we can help you."

It wasn't a command nor a desperate plea. It was heartfelt, a father to his wayward child.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina had a nod of her head when she was looking over the bigger things with her. "It was awesome." leina kept walking and had all of the things. "See grandpaddy you are not alone, everyone has done things that are strange in their time as a jedi. Except me, I am perfect and can do no wrong and disagreeing with me means I'll send you to a time out just to prove I do no wrong." Leina said it looking at them with a look on her face whens he was skipping and stopped with a turn towards them. Opening one of the cases as there were small talismans with silver and red gleaming metal. "Now we get to do the real fun, Master Ike helped me craft these. They are mini beast control talismans synthweaved with the metal so that it can collect samples and will be able control one creature at a time and is a one time use. Whihc means it won't be as controlling of the creatures of a species. We have been working and made it so most jedi in tests could control six talismans at once."

 

[Joza Perl]

It didn’t take an expert in empathy to feel the earnest tone of Dune’s words. Joza’s teeth clenched and gritted in momentary distress as she turned her head away from the two, in order to process their words. She wouldn’t question the sincerity in the Master’s voice, as he said he’s never lied to her or led her astray. But shame and guilt still wracked the Zeltron, and she wondered if she’d ever be able to forgive easily.

“I don’t know if I’m ready yet. I need…time.” Time to do what exactly? She wasn’t sure. Time to think, maybe. To reflect. She’d shut everyone out who had tried to help her thus far, did she really want to continue down this path of self-destruction?

“Six talismans?” Joza blinked as she stared at the amulets, appraising them carefully. She’d never dealt much with creatures beyond gutting them with her saber. It seemed…strange yet comforting to get assurance from the red skinned Twi’lek, though.

“I haven’t used beast control too often. Will that affect the talisman’s power?”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

He nodded slowly as he met her eyes. What she'd done wasn't easy to reconcile. He could guess what she'd done thought she hadn't said what. Taking a life was never an easy thing.

"You have time, Joza, as much as you need."

The circumstances remained a mystery. She'd tell him because he knew she would. The Bith had a notion it wasn't so cut and dried as Joza believed. There was something fundamentally good inside of the woman.

Beast taming talismans.

That practically screamed of a certain petite Jedi Master.

"It should work," he answered his old learner.

Matsu Ike's inventions tended to work. Not always in the ways you'd expect. He'd discovered that the hard way. It wasn't that he was afraid to die but he was still glad to be alive.

He was more versed in the ability with Leina herself as his teacher. It probably wouldn't matter which was the point of the talisman. It would work so long as one could touch the Force. He picked one up and examined it closely.

"What do we need to do, Master?," he asked the crimson Twi'lek.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

"The talisman is designed for those who don't have training to be able to use the skill and for those who do have the training to be able to augment their existing skills. All you have to do is be able to throw it at the creature and get a solid enough hit. It won't hurt them or shouldn't hurt them and then with a few cells or hair along the surface that will adhere you'll be able to control that creature for yourself. That is why we are here on Voss in the jungle where there are some creatures that were brought by one of the older masters and abandoned to kennels. I let them out with some of the others and now they get to roam free." Leina said it while she was looking and. "We also have from Corellien Digital these datapads." Leina handed them out. "That are designed to use sensors to say where they are when we are walking as a mobile app." She said it and the idea had come to her listening to [member="Zak Dymo"].

 

[Joza Perl]

At his words, Joza’s shoulders slumped with a bit more ease. She didn’t even realize she’d been so stiff and rigid in preparation to defend herself either physically or verbally. Not that she had expected either of them to attack her, but she wasn’t too sure of where her own actions would lead to.

A nod was her only response.

“We have to hit the creatures?” Joza’s brows knit in apprehension, even as Leina said that it wouldn’t hurt them. Strange for someone who was prepared to strike at the pair of Jedi only moments ago to be concerned with such a thing.

As Leina handed out the datapads, Joza couldn’t help but think that this situation reminded her of something.

“So, it’s like…a game. Almost?”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune could feel his apprentice relax in the Force as she nodded. Body language and facial expressions could be trained. You could hide your presence within the Force but you couldn't change it. Especially for someone you'd known for a long period of time.

He decided that he'd say no more. It was up to Joza to broach the subject now. Pushing her now would not help anything and very likely make it worse. It reminded Dune of a delicate diplomatic situation.

Instead the Bith turned his attention to the talismans. His mind grasped the logic of the system as he took the datapad. It was a zoologist's dream for ease of research. He expressed this thought but also added his misgivings.

"This could be used as a weapon, in the wrong hands."

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina looked at Dune and frowned. "So can the barracks the night after taco tuesday. Beast control talismans have a long history of being used to control creatures that many others can't. The sith used it to control their sithspawn if they were not the makers and jedi before the sith caught on used it to put them to sleep but these ones are designed to be safer. They can't controla species they can only control one of them and yes it is like a game grandpaddy." Leina held up the datapad while she put the talismans on her belt walking and she looked around. "Times like this I wish there was a cap that i could wear and turn backwards for going after some of the creatures on the world." There was rushling in the brush as Leina stopped and looked at the Ami-Su as it came out of the vines and grass. Leina was looking at the small creature as she had the small talisman in one hand with another holding some candy as she tossed the candy and the thing grabbed it. Picking it up with more coming to share it before she tossed the talisman tap it on the head and it lit up with silvery red light before she pulled it back to her hands.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s unease was momentarily forgotten as the Ami-Su jumped out of the foliage. The creature did not look dangerous, but even small docile beasts could prove to be a challenge if threatened with their potentially sharp teeth and claws. Her eyes slid down to the datapad in her grasp, noting a small ping on the map in front of her, and a little figure appeared approximately to where the Ami-Su was standing in front of them.

She’s luring it in. Joza was a bit surprised that the candy lure had worked, but the creature seemed to be enjoying its snack and Leina was the expert in this sort of thing. Though she hesitated at the mention of sithspawn—she’d heard such things in passing from Sith—the prospect of using beast control talismans was intriguing. That, and the Zeltron was not too far gone to use it for any heinous purpose. She was determined to prove that she was sound of mind enough.

As the talisman bopped the little beast on the head, another ping sounded from the datapad and the figure flashed red for a moment. “Is it now under your control, Leina? I would…like to try this.”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune cringed as Leina mentioned taco night. That rarely had ended well for him. It was delicious but disagreed with his stomach. Too many beans and too much spice. He sighed with the memory of it all.

It really was fascinating to watch. He nodded as observing the process had confirmed what he'd supposed. Looking towards Joza he smiled internally. This was the young woman he knew coming out.

"Yes, you should certainly try it," he said encouragingly.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

The creature that Leina had bopped on the head was looking at her and she threw some more of the candy to keep the other around as her hand motioned for him to come to her. She was crouching down and looking at him with a grin on her face. "Yes try it, just reach out towards one fo them and toss the talisman. Like throwing a lightsaber at a target when you guide it and return it to you." She looked at them and then back down at the other creature she had while it seemed to be making sounds and she was mimicing it, her hands holding a snack cake while giving him one and they were eating them like a mirror. THe talismans were interesting and Leina was thinking of some of the new ideas before she moved back a little to let Dune and joza do what they want.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza nodded at Leina’s description. She had plenty of experience involving lightsabers and throwing them on occasion, so this shouldn’t be too hard, right? She didn’t want to hurt any of the creatures, though. Inhaling slowly, her datapad beeped and another little figure lit up on screen. Raising her head, she was met with the site of another Ami-Su skittering out from the brush to see what was going on with his friend.

The Zeltron stared at the creature for a moment, noting its light grey fur and dark accent markings. It was…really cute. Those puffy cheeks sealed the deal for her. The little beast seemed momentarily distracted, munching on a stray piece of candy that could have possibly been dropped from Leina’s robes. Here we go…

Gingerly tossing the talisman, it bopped the creature on the head before returning back to Joza’s palm. The Ami-Su stopped eating and looked up at the silvery red light above it, then over towards the anxious Knight.

“Uh…hello there.” In an attempt to seem welcoming, Joza extended an arm, but she looked a bit more…demanding than soft. The little animal cocked its head to the side before prancing towards Joza and promptly attacking her boot in a playful manner. Bewildered, the pink woman just stared down at the creature as it batted the straps between its paws. “What is it doing?”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"It looks like it's playing," he replied as he observed the creature frolic.

A boot's laces apparently were hours of potential fun. His lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. He turned back to the trees and listened while he felt through the Force. There were birds in the trees and he reached out to them.

He touched the small minds with a feather of the Force. Dune gave the suggestion of coming out of the trees to them. The Jedi extended the palm of his left hand out and waited. He waited without pushing and slowly they edged closer.

One brave songbird decided to make the leap of faith. He flitted over and landed on the upturned palm. His curious eyes examined the strange creature that he'd felt call to him somehow. Dune smiled in the way of a Bith, almost imperceptible.

Then several more flew over. They landed on his shoulders and arms with one even deciding his head was an adequate perch. He gently reached over with his talisman and brushed it on the brave little bird's head. But he didn't care as he frolicked and played with his friends on the strange new perch,

[member="Joza Perl"]
[member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina was sitting there with a nod of her head at the creature as it was nodding its head with her. She turned to see Joza with a bow of her head to the one playing with joza's boot laces while she held out her arm and her Ami-su hopped up to sit on her shoulders playing with her lekku as the yellow fur looked and felt very soft. Hehehe she was having some fun. "Oh he likes you, he likes you." Leina clapped her hands over some of the bigger things while she was walking over and looked at Joza with some of the snack cakes and more candy as they were eating them. "This is the best day ever, I wonder if there are any others out there we can find. A whole galaxy region to explore."