Throw Another Log On the Fire

[Ra'a'mah]

Doing some research in her spare time, Ra had learned of a rare plant that grew on Arkania of all places. A world covered in snow and was quite arctic. The Arkanian scientists there had figured out a way to grow a plant that could live in such conditions. It was not generally known she had a property on the frozen world of Helska.

If this plant could live on Arkania, then the possibility of it living on Helska was there too. Gathering what information she could. The location was not widely known and might even be planted there falsely. However, she travelled to the world with the hopes not many others had heard of it.

The people here kept to themselves in cities mostly underground. A few braved and dared to survive on the surface. Landing in the spaceport there easily, Ra made her ship would be kept while she was here. Hoping for this not to take longer than a few days, she wrapped up in warm clothes and left the confines of the spaceport.

Along with a small bag of supplies, she hired a taxi to take her to the edge of town and from there she would start a trek across the frozen land. As long as she was moving, she wasn't getting cold. When night came, that would be another concern and hopefully what she brought along would be enough to keep her alive.

[member="Silas Lastorm"]

 

[Dovan Grey]

He remained motionless, the snow had long since soaked deep into Silas' skin, but he only felt the brisk breath moving through his body. Silas supposed he had been here for hours, but there was no way of knowing. He was lost in the Force, trying to distance himself from the familiar feeling of the life below. He had traveled to Arkania two weeks before, rumors of an exotic plant drawing him out towards the Colonies. He had been fortunate enough to find work on a cargo freighter traveling in the New Territories. He stayed long enough to earn enough credits, but when the ship began traveling towards the Core, he thought it was just the right time to follow up on those rumors.

The feeling in his feet had long gone away, his fingers tingling with the same numbness as he inhaled the harshly cold weather. His body had been acclimated to the temperate weather of Felucia for most of his life, but even in these cold wastelands he could feel the Force bristling through the air. Hawshiichol had always taught him that the Mother Jungle was not only in the trees and the life that grows green, but could be found in all things. It had it's own signature, it's own way of feeling in the Force. Like the tiny, intricate designs of snowflakes joining in thousands of interconnected frozen rivers, all meeting together in a single place. But like the frozen river, he could not pass beyond the exterior of this place. The Force only gave him a glance, but that was more than it often provided.

"You're going to die." Vincan's voice was his usual tone of chipper sarcasm. Silas had learned if Arkanians could sell their sass, they'd never need to mine for diamonds again.

"Perhaps." Silas said. His eyes remained closed, slowly bringing himself out from his meditation and fighting the overwhelming shock of the cold.

"Though, I suppose you're tougher than you look. Most humans can't last more than half an hour out here." Silas didn't feel the need to correct Vincan, he was often mistaken for human rather than hapan, and it's not as though Silas even remembered the world. Silas winced as his knees ached while he turned to Vincan.

"And most Arkanian wouldn't have housed a human." Silas added. He noticed Vincan holding a metal sphere in his hands.

"Not like you stayed free. You did your share of diggin. Hold this." Vincan walked up and dropped the sphere in Silas hands. The heat radiating from it was enough of surprise to make Silas drop it, but he reached through the Force to stop it from disappearing into the snow. Vincan's white eyes looked between the two sights for a moment, though it wasn't the first time Silas had used the Force in front of the man. "It'll help."

"You knew I was leaving?" Silas asked.

"I knew you weren't staying here any more. Having help was nice, but not when they work and eat like a human" Vincan said. For a moment, Silas wondered if Arkanian humor would be anything other than insulting. "Diamonds pay well, but they don't turn into food when you need it."

"And so it would be foolish to ask if there was any type of spare transport or speeder around?" A younger Silas would have been uncomfortable asking for so much, but that was a feeling he had long since gotten over. Since his exile, he did not have the luxury of polite societal rules, yet he felt it had shown him a goodness hidden in the galaxy most never got the chance to see. Not every one would reach out and help a stranger, but more did than Silas had imagined. And despite the hard Arkanian exterior, Silas knew Vincan had grown to like him.

"Jedi were always foolish." Vincan said, his white eyes staring Silas down for a long moment. "Let's go see."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Ra'a'mah]

The Force could do many things, but in this instance, Ra couldn't use it to help her find what she was looking for. So far she had been walking a couple of hours, trekking this way and that with no clear sense of direction. At least that is what it might look like to anybody observing her. Little did that potential observer know was she that she was searching.

Stopping in her steps to look out across the almost tundra in front of her, her eyes found what looked like a small settlement. Perhaps this little community would have a bed to spare. It would certainly save Ra from having to set up a camp for herself and use some of the supplies she had brought with her. Not afraid to lend a hand, she would offer to do chores or whatever might be needed to help pay these people back for the night.

Approaching the dwellings openly, she noticed this place was in the company of one of many mines here. Diamonds that Arkania was famous for. There were signs of movement and two people came from one of the buildings. One was clearly an Arkanian, but the other was not. There was a ethereal quality to his looks that was something familiar to Ra. While to somebody with no knowledge of near-human races, such as the Arkanian, she could tell he was Hapan. A people and culture that usually stayed close to home, she wondered what one was doing away from his home.

She waited until they would notice her, Ra was in the middle of the settlement. Not projecting anything negative or hostile, she hoped these would be open to speaking with her and not kicking her out just because she didn't fit or belong here.

[member="Silas Lastorm"]

 

[Dovan Grey]

They had gone back to Vincan's home, Silas had grown used to it while he stayed. They had given him a place to rest in a power station hidden in the mining equipment stored behind the home. He had only walked through the house or eaten in the kitchen, but now Vincan was leading him up the teal splashed staircase. Neither of the men spoke, which was common for the pair of them, moving together as Silas looked at the holos lining the wall. Most were filled with Arkanians bearing a familial resemblance to Vincan, but Silas had not seen living here. He lead Silas to a deep crimson room, filled with bedroom furniture and though it was untidy, it seemed like no one had been in there for quite awhile.

"Don't touch anything." Vincan said. There was a door in the corner that he opened and disappeared into for a moment. Silas considered scanning the room, but even that felt like a betrayal of Vincan's hospitality, so he remained still. After a few long moments, his host returned, but now holding a large staff. A smooth metal cane up to their chests, a blue light hazy across the top of it. He tossed it towards Silas. "You may be able to stand the snow, but a wampa will make a meal of you real quick out there. It gets harder to see the more north you travel." Silas was looking at the staff, his eyes searching the light across the top. "It's an old shockstaff. Should be good enough to blast one of the beasts and run back to the speeder."

"Your people are much more giving than I was lead to believe."

"I never said I was givin' it to you." Vincan said. "But it's nothing a miner needs. Maybe it'll help an explorer."

"The Mother Jungle will grow your garden, blessing you for this kindness." Silas said. There was an emotion in his voice he had not expected, even felt embarrassed by. Vincan's expression didn't change, but Silas swore the white eyes glossed over for a moment.

"Well, you can't have the speeder. Once you've got your little treasure or whatever you're off looking for, I need it back." Vincan began to lead them out of the room. "Two days at the most. With fuel when she's back."

They left the home and ventured further into the city. Silas nodded at the Rodian keeda merchant along the road, which he had done every morning on his way to the tunnels. Silas had grown accustomed to being an outsider, he wanted to make others feel welcome when he could. Just a few roads down from Vincan's home, they walked into the open aired stall Silas quickly recognized as the makeshift speeder port housing and repairing the landspeeders and bikes for the community.

"Wait here." Vincan said as he approached a Sullustan wearing an oil stained jumpsuit. Silas took the moment to examine one of the landspeeders. He had never been knowledgeable about machines, couldn't even figure out who the maker might have been, but took a moment to appreciate the care the Sullustan seemed to take with the vessels. Then Silas felt a breeze run under his chin. It was cold, like the surface of the world, but it didn't seem to cool him that same way. A sensation without feeling. He calmed himself, focusing on it and felt it was the Force. He looked where the mysterious wind was born from, but was only looking deeper into the mechanic bay. His eyes drifted from ship to ship, wondering what might have caused it, but it wasn't until he finally looked beyond the shop that his eyes stopped. He saw a woman, fiery red hair and scars on her face, and Silas reached out in the Force. There was nothing but vague impressions; streaks of red smoke swirled in his mind, behind it was a veiled anger, some type of protected hate. It was all guarded, contained, and strictly kept behind golden brown eyes.

He wasn't sure why he was walking, but he was. He moved past Vincan, who was lost in the conversation and didn't noticed, and moved out the other end of the makeshift hangar. On approach, there was no anger in the air. Silas had to keep from furrowing his brow. She wasn't like an animal in cage, not someone desperate for violence, but only radiated like the heart of a dying star. His new staff stopped in front of him, he could feel his grip tighten, but still he smiled. For a moment, he was silent and only looked at her.

"I had forgotten what eyes could look like outside this world."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Not she had stopped moving the chill of the planet was starting to be felt. Not yet a danger. One of the two people noticed her, the Hapan. In a way it surprised her because the other was an Arkanian and this was his home. Both she and the Hapan were outsiders. However, the freedom now given to outsiders, maybe it wasn't so uncommon to find them here.

She had not gone to any trouble of hiding what she was, so Silas was easily able to read her. When he read her with the Force, Ra nodded slightly and allowed him to gather what information he wanted to. There was no reason or purpose to hide anything. If he were to attempt to pry too much, then resistance would be felt, but he did not.

If he had the same courtesy, then Ra would attempt to read him as well. Within him was a hunger, a need to learn and grow. There was very little dark or negativity in him and it was something that was opposite of Ra in a way.

He stopped not far from her, his staff gripped in his hand. It almost appeared he might be trying to prevent her from advancing, yet he smiled. When he spoke, Ra raised an eyebrow and nodded. Several years ago, she had met an Arcanian and actually had a slight crush on him. Time had passed and he disappeared before they had gotten to know each other very well. Things might be different if that had happened.

"They are unique at that."

Nodding her head slightly, she placed a hand in the direction of her heart to indicate honesty when she spoke.

"I am Ra'a'mah Numare, but please just call me Ra. Much easier to remember."

[member="Silas Lastorm"]