Private Please Do Not Feed the Trees

[Ishani Dinn]

Him telling her to get dressed was a little snappish, but she didn’t make much of it, just kept pulling her clothes on. He was pissed. So was she.

Pulling her shirt over her head, she took some of what he had gathered from him so he wasn’t overloaded, then fell into step alongside him. Her pace was more hurried now, afraid of what might happen if they dallied here for too long.

They made it back to the stream, then the waterfall. She darted over the rocks and looked around it. “There is a little cave… I think it’s deep enough, but it’s wet…”

Taking Thesh’s hand, she headed deeper. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she thought she saw outlines of shapes further inside. Objects, not people or animals. Collected and hastily stashed away...

“You’re kidding,” she whispered, spotting her stolen bag among them. She grabbed it and checked the contents. Everything was inside—her bow and arrows, jars of mummia, rations, medpac, extra clothing, toiletries, medication. “Here? This is the hidden cache?”

From the looks of it, she wasn’t the only person who had been robbed. There were four bags in total, along with a few assorted items lying on the floor of the cave. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved and happy to have her stuff back, or irritated that their would-be new hideout was already in use.

“They’re going to come back,” she said with a groan. “We can’t stay here.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Mentally he ruminated over how he might have handled the situation better. She had turned quiet too in the aftermath, he probably shouldn't have been so short with her. This wasn't her fault, after all. But right now he was too lost in his own thoughts to rectify it. They couldn't waste time, and while they could walk and talk he didn't want to give their position away if the others were still close by.​

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So he kept quiet, as they began to scale the mountain. They didn't have to go too far up it before she paused and found a cave. Damp inside, from the current. Deep. He entered with her and let her lead the way, and when they unearthed the stolen goods he slowly nodded his head.​

​

It figured they'd have found somewhere to stash it all.​

​

"Take only what's yours," he whispered, "It'll take them longer to notice anything's missing that way." As much as he'd have loved to reunite the other sith with their belongings too it just wasn't worth it right now. "If this is their main zone, though, maybe we should just travel today. Get as far afield as we can. Thoughts?"​

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He waited until she had her things, and then led her back toward the opening. He was quiet, tried to listen for the sounds of any others, but the falling water masked noises inside and out.​

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"I didn't mean to be short with you," he said, as they were on the brink of stepping back through the water. He'd had to raise his voice a little so she could hear, but there was no way anyone else would have heard it regardless. He took her hand, gave it a light squeeze, then dropped it and stepped out first.​

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If anyone was waiting, the least he could do was make it seem like he was there alone.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“I don’t have any better ideas,” she replied. She placed the pouch of sand inside her bag and left the others where they lay.

His apology softened her. “You’re fine, babe.” She would’ve given him some gesture to prove her sincerity, another kiss perhaps, but he was already slipping back outside. She waited a few moments before following him.

There was no one waiting to jump them on the other side of the waterfall. Ishani couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up, however. It had been too long since some disaster had befallen them. Where was her infamous bad luck?

They walked through the woods, headed away from their ruined camp and the hidden cache. The bad feeling only worsened, permeating the area. Ishani stuck close to Arcturus. “Can you feel that?” she whispered, looking around. But there was nothing.

Finally, she realized what was bothering her. This part of the forest was dead quiet. No birds or animals, not even the sound of leaves rustling or wood creaking with the wind. It was silent except for their footsteps.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He waited a minute.​

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Then another.​

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When he felt certain no one was there, he reached a hand through for her to grab and together they made their way back down the mountain. Quiet again, now that they knew they were close to the terrible trio's haunt he didn't want to give more away than he needed to, but he held her hand this time, kept her close. Some of the tension had left him, but he remained alert.​

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Even so it wasn't until she mentioned it that he too began to pick up on the eeriness of their surroundings. The further afield they got the quieter it was, until the very air was heavy with silence. ​

​

He halted. Listened. Reached out with the Force and felt. It was a strange sensation, as though they were within a vacuum. Gaze lingered up, none of the branches bowed, none of the leaves rustled with the wind. Nothing.​

​

"I don't understand," came his whispered response, as though afraid to actually break that silence. He pulled her closer, and slowly began to continue on though he more frequently cast his gaze around, peering through the forest.​

​

"What do you want to do?" he asked her. If she'd rather they go back they would, but if she wanted to head into the strange unknown then so be it.​

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Personally he wanted to continue on. This was an anomaly to be sure, and there was much that could be learned from an anomaly. But he wouldn't force her to follow, and he wouldn't send her back into the lions den alone.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The silence was starting to get to her a little. It felt unnatural. When he asked her what she wanted to do, she had no answer—indecisiveness born of not having any clue what to expect.

Turning to face him, she paused, biting her lip… and shook her head. “What do you want, Arcturus?” she asked.

Even during their brief time together, she had noticed his constant deference to her, letting her make decisions. At first she had thought he was simply being polite, but now she was beginning to suspect that he was hiding some of his thoughts and opinions, unwilling or perhaps afraid to express his desires freely. She wanted to try and coax it out of him.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

What did he want?​

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"I want to figure out why this region is the way it is," he informed her, as they slowed to a halt and turned to face one another. "I want to thrive out here, not just survive. I don't want to just be running half a step ahead of those bozos." Someone really ought to teach them a lesson, he had decided, but he wasn't about to go and seek out conflict. Wouldn't stoop to their level. Perhaps when they got through this oddity they'd have some time to actually explore, set up a true camp, hunt and craft and... And he was getting ahead of himself.​

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"What I don't want is to lead you into further danger." He pondered that for a moment, then swiftly added, "Not that you can't handle yourself, of course." She had her things back now, she could have gone off and done whatever she wanted, didn't need him anymore. But she was still here. She was choosing to be here. For now at least.​

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He squeezed her hand, then turned to continue on provided she didn't stop him.​

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Ishani Dinn​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She did stop him, but not because she didn’t want to go on.

“You know, I think it’s been over an hour since I last kissed you,” she said, as though it were a shocking fact. When their lips met, there was a different sense of urgency compared to earlier. She was kissing him now in case something went wrong in the minutes ahead. In case this kiss was their last.

They resumed walking. The forest didn’t get any noisier. In fact, the silence had taken on a deafening quality, it was so freakishly quiet.

The trees grew further apart, until they found themselves in a clearing. Still no signs of life, sentient or wild. She turned to Arcturus, opening her mouth, and found that she was almost too scared to speak. “What do you suppose is—”

Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She thought she saw a nearby tree… move? But when she turned to look, all was still. “... the cause of all this…?” she finished.

The tree trunk hadn’t moved so much as it had rippled. The bark reacted to the sound of her voice, the surface of it undulating with sonic vibrations. Cautiously, she reached out to put her hand on it, then said, “Look at this.” She felt the movement beneath her palm.

She also felt something wrap around her legs, jerking her off her feet. Her head nearly hit the ground as the world abruptly went upside down, leaving her dangling in midair. She wanted to scream, but rather than giving into that primal urge, she wriggled in its grasp, trying to see what was holding her. It looked like… vines?

Killer trees that sensed their prey using sound waves? Oh great. There was her bad luck rearing its awful head.

Arcturus’ name was on her tongue, but again she stopped herself. That said, she couldn’t see where he was, whether he had also been grabbed or was still down below. She sincerely hoped that he had put together the pieces of the puzzle and wasn’t about to start making a ton of noise...

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

They made it into the semi-clearing with their possibly-last-kiss still fresh on his mind. It was as though she was anticipating something in their near future, but there had been no sounds, no presences he could pick up on through the Force, just the same eerie nothingness. Was she sensing something he couldn't? Was her gut screaming at her to turn around and go the other way?​

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When she began to speak, inside said clearing, all of that changed. It wasn't a quick change by any means, it seemed to happen more like a shimmer on the air than everything turning on its head all at once. It still felt strange, it was still quiet save for her voice, but the trees themselves seemed to shift in response.​

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He was considering it all, unable to give a proper response to her question, when she reached out to a tree and spoke and observed as something really did happen, the trees really were moving.​

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And so too was Ishani.​

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The girl was plucked off the ground and held upside down midair by the branches and vines of the tree she'd touched. His eyes widened, concern and curiosity mixed therein. It was fascinating, simply fascinating, and if it hadn't been her of all people trapped within its hold he might have poked and prodded at the tree to see what else it might have done.​

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But it was her. And despite how short their time had been together so far he felt a need to keep her safe. Not that he'd done a good job of that so far.​

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He lifted a finger to his lips, not that she was making any noise, perhaps more to remind himself to keep quiet, and took a few measured steps forward. The tree wasn't really moving anymore, not that he could see, but it had ensnared her. Who knew why, what purpose it had in doing so. Was there some other beast it worked alongside, who would come along and eat her up? Was the tree itself going to squeeze her and extract nutrients, much like a carnivorous plant that closed its jaws on bugs?​

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Neither of those were particularly pleasant thoughts.​

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He glanced toward that which held her in place, tried to figure out how tight it was or any weak points. Then he closed his eyes and reached out through the Force, if they only responded to sound then he'd have to switch things up a little.​

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You okay? he inquired into her mind, Is it doing anything, other than holding you?​

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He needed a sense of how soon he had to act; he didn't want the tree to react poorly and hurt her if he chose the wrong methods, but he also didn't want to just sit here and ponder it for the next hour. She was upside down either way, after all, that didn't seem particularly pleasant.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Below her, Arcturus put a finger to his lips. So he got it. Phew. Maybe a miserable death didn’t await them after all.

Then, his voice was in her mind. Ooh, kinky. Unfortunately, his telepathic message also drew attention to the fact that all her blood was rushing to her head. She let her arms hang to reduce some of the pressure, which caused her bag to slip from her shoulders, which caused it to fall—

She barely caught it, terrified of the sound it would have made if it had hit the ground. Or rather, of how the killer trees holding her upside down would react.

I don’t know what it’s doing, but it’s got me, she tried to think back to him, although she wasn’t really sure if he got it, given that she’d never attempted to project her thoughts before. The vines had her in a solid grip, tight enough that her legs were starting to go numb. If he was in her head, Arcturus could probably sense her growing discomfort, but she didn’t seem to be in too much danger yet. Provided they didn’t make any more noise.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It's okay, he tried to reassure her, though no immediate solutions came to mind. We'll figure something out. She wasn't being harmed by it, just held tightly, that was a good start. But he could already feel her discomfort melding through their mental link, she was becoming numb, too much more of that and who knew what would happen. Hopefully she wouldn't pass out again.​

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He reached out and gently took the falling bag from her grasp, settling it down into the grass. It occurred to him for just a moment that perhaps she had something in her stash that might help, there was that one perfume which protected against spirits... But then, was this really a possessed tree? That seemed ludicrous. The ring on his finger would keep them off him regardless, thankfully.​

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But not off her. Hm... Was it really worth testing?​

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He had heard tale of the Force being able to directly manipulate plant matter, in more ways than mere telekinesis could handle. It wasn't something he'd ever attempted, despite his love of all things flora-related, but would that work? Would it help her at all?​

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He closed his eyes and drew upon the Force, attempted to do exactly that. But he wasn't sure on the how of it or the why of it and ended up just standing there toying with the Force and achieving very little at all. Some of the grass might have moved a little, a stray leaf, but nothing more than that.​

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What do you want me to do? I can try and cut you down with my lightsaber, but I can't promise it won't just snatch one of us back up again. Or I can try a little fire... But that sounds more dangerous than the former, and I really don't want to get you burned up... He knew she was tired of him always relying on her opinion, but this was her life they were talking about.​

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He wouldn't mess with it lightly.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

He didn’t really know how to deal with this, and neither did she. She supposed trying to burn through the vines would work—it was wood, after all, so it might scare it off and prevent the tree from attacking again. On the other hand, most lightsabers were noisy as hell, weren’t they? Well, sort of…

She was grateful he had taken her bag, at least. Uhhh... Even in thought-speak, she still had her usual verbal tics. The fire might work. Or the lightsaber, if you make it fast. She was having trouble thinking straight. Boy, did she hope this would work...

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He reached for his lightsaber.​

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He knew he could ignite it and move it at once, hopefully have it coincide with the vines. No, not hopefully - he'd make sure of it. Playing with fire was dangerous, because fire spread. Could end in the entire forest ablaze, and them with it. No, he'd try this first. Fire could be a last resort.​

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Get ready to roll out of the way, run if you need to Ish. I'll be right behind you if you do.​

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Of course he couldn't actually promise the latter but if she got to safety then at least they'd still have a man on the ground so to speak. Someone who could try another method.​

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So he swung the saber toward the vine, and just as late as he could he ignited it with a ruddy red snap-hiss and cut through the vine which held her in place.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani had avoided mentioning that she had a semi-phobia of lightsabers. They were blades made of nothing but hot plasma, which could cut through virtually any material, including people, with terrifying ease. She flinched when she saw his blade activate, clenching her teeth—and hit the ground moments later with a thud.

She scrambled to her feet, grabbing her bag. The thought crossed her mind that running might not be that good of an idea, but it also seemed like the best possible option. Rather than waiting for Arcturus to follow along behind her, she grabbed him by his shirt as she passed, taking off with him in tow.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He was prepared to stand and fight, to stave off any further tendrils sent forth by the demon-tree, as the girl was dropped to the ground, vines and all, and prepared to flee as instructed.​

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Prepared for that, not for what actually happened.​

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Grabbed by his shirt he too was moved away from the hulking tree, and in his surprise he almost dropped the lightsaber entirely. Best he not do that. He hastily disignited it, so as not to delimb one of them, and turned to run alongside her. She didn't let up his shirt, at least not immediately, so he was forced to keep pace.​

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Not that he'd have gone on ahead and left her behind. That sort of defeated the point in her running away in the first place.​

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With any luck they'd acted fast enough that the tree couldn't immediately grab one of them.​

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But this was weird sentient trees they were talking about. Anything could happen...​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Did we mention Ishani was bad at running?

Not to the point of being crippled or anything like that, but she was accident-prone, overly cautious about where she put her feet, and her legs weren’t very long to begin with. Poor Arcturus was probably wondering how she could make a comparatively slow pace look like she was running a marathon.

That said, she bolted through that murder forest—there one second, gone the other. She went as fast as she could, dragging him, probably ruining his shirt in the process. Her danger sense flared, once, twice, thrice, SCREAMING—

Oh, come on!

It wasn’t the same tree, but another one was coming at them. She noticed now how slowly it actually moved; the only reason it had gotten her was because she wasn’t expecting it. Lightsaber! she thought at Arcturus, hoping he could hit stuff while moving.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Her thoughts were rather intrusive in that she screamed them at him.​

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He too had taken note of the other tree which was chasing them. It was rather sluggish in truth, which was great for them. All they had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, so long as they didn't trip they'd be fine. And he said they because she still hadn't let go of his shirt. If one went down the other did too... And then they'd be screwed.​

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But right, lightsaber. He ignited it again, and turned slightly to bat away at any tendrils which jumped out toward them. He had no clue which direction they were headed in, if they were going back toward the mountain and the hill or a completely different direction. No clue at all. All he was focused on was getting away from the forest, and keeping the forest away from them.​

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He felt a rough lash against his other arm, as one of the vines leaped out to try and ensnare him. Though he yelped in surprise, and truthfully in pain, he cut the damn thing away before it could drag them both to their murky deaths. This one seemed thorny, at least he felt sure there was blood dripping down his arm. Force did he hope the forest would end soon, he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She was relying too much on Thesh, had been for this entire trip. Even now, when she had her gear back, she was still relying on him—and look where it had gotten them.

At the sight of his drawn blood yet again, she lashed out in anger. In her mind’s eye she saw the vine and the whole damned tree it was attached to stricken with disease, wood blackening and rotting from the inside out. She felt it recoil, something akin to pain emanating from the tree itself, though it was not a physical sensation as they understood it.

Of course, she didn’t stop running. She let go of his shirt finally, realizing the impracticality of it, but naturally a few seconds later they spotted what looked to be the edge of the forest. The problem was, it ended in a cliff.

She skidded to a halt before the edge, her feet dislodging small rocks which tumbled down below. The sound of water which she had failed to notice at a distance was now a roar in her ears—this was a major river, the rapids foaming over stones along its bed. Truth be told, it provided an absolutely gorgeous view, but she was in no position to stand and admire it.

“What now?” she blurted out loud. Regretting it instantly afterward, she finally yanked her energy bow out and nocked an arrow, ready to shoot at anything that moved, for all the good it would do.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Thesh really,​

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really,​

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really,​

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really​

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didn't want to get his satchel soaked through. That would have been a terrible thing, a truly terrible thing indeed. Who knew what would be ruined in the aftermath. He did. Thesh knew. And he wasn't okay with that.​

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But he also totally didn't want to die to a tree.​

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His eyes drifted down to the raging river below, hoping for any signs of land between them and it. There were a few ledges but they were small and seemed as rocky and structurally unsound as the edge they were now upon, which scattered stones into the water. There was also the edge of the river though it was really far below. Leg breaking far below.​

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"DO YOU TRUST ME?" he yelled over the noise of the water, to hell with it all he was back to talking. Fething tree was already on their tail.​

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Provided she said yes, he grabbed her hand and simply stepped off the edge. The Force flowed around them, intent on cushioning their landing, but he couldn't say for sure exactly where that landing would bring them.​

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He could only hope and pray it was land, not the blasted river.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani didn’t even bother to blink before replying, “SURE! WHY NOT?”

She didn’t sound all that sure, but as far as she could tell, they were up chit creek without a paddle otherwise. No place to go, killer trees on their tail, et cetera.

He grabbed her hand. She didn’t quite expect him to jump off the cliff, but that’s what he did, forcing her to jump with him.

Ishani was not fond of heights, and she did not have a good time plummeting down towards the river below. The descent seemed to take too long, even as they picked up speed; her hair whipped like a yellow flag behind her head, her face utterly drained of color as she watched the ground rise up to meet them…

Except that wasn’t earth they were headed towards. It was water. She felt Arcturus tense up, trying to change their course, but it was off—they were either going to land across the river or in the middle of it. Ishani’s heels skidded across the water’s surface, and she felt droplets splash her. The Force may have cushioned their fall, but it wasn’t necessarily going to stop them from getting wet. The water rose up to her ankles, but they were so close to the bank—

A loud splash. Ishani faceplanted in wet sand, the bottom half of her body freshly soaked. Grimacing, she peeled herself up, spitting up grains of dirt, and looked around for Arcturus.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

As much as Thesh did not like heights, knowing that he had the Force on his side and that he had gone into this intentionally planning on cushioning away the worst of it certainly helped to keep him somewhat sane during their descent. His stomach did all manner of flips, sending a tickling sensation up through his core, it was dizzying and unpleasant. He focused on her hand in his, on the Force, and the water which was rising up to meet them. At least that's how it looked from his perspective.​

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His aim had not been perfect. Far from it. They came down toward the river not the bank, though thankfully their trajectory made it to where they were close to the opposite side. Close to the other bank. Feet skidded across the surface of the river, the Force not having enough to work with in order to keep them completely clear of it. But by the time he was dropped onto the river's edge the water had only reached up just above his knees. The satchel was only slightly damp on the bottom, and being that it was leather nothing inside was ruined. Right?​

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Force he hoped that was the case.​

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Either way he too ended up lying on the riverbank. He just stayed there for a moment, face turned to the side to avoid a mouthful of sand, feeling the water still raging over his legs which remained inside the river proper. Almost threatened to carry him off further downstream, but he was more out of the water than in thankfully.​

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Movement at his side made him aware of Ish once more. "Oh thank the Force you're alright," he said, only then did he even attempt to get up off the ground. He felt sore and achy and fatigued, but they were in one piece. His eyes darted up the way they'd come from, looking for any sign of the killer ent. Then he turned onto his back and lay down in the sandy grass once more. Those same eyes closed, and for a time Thesh didn't really move.​

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Ishani Dinn ​