Private Where Time Ends | Refuge

[Loomi]

Where Time Ends
Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi, outfit​

Loomi hadn't been on Refuge for long. She had done what she could to help on the day that they that they had prepared for adding more housing, when that creature attacked. Fortunately all the little ones weren't effected. Strange as that event had been, this place was truly beautiful. She looked out on the ocean from a point where the beach was actually sand, the nearby area rocky and dotted in tide pools that were presently submerged in water. Braze had asked her to be here, so here she was. To think that so much had happened since they were children, still unsure of what they would even become. Loomi still felt like a child sometimes, even though her face didn't really look like it used to.

It was all so strange. As she looked out at the ocean she felt the familiar presence step out to join her. The Godoan spoke without turning her head, her tone softly carried by the midnight breeze.

"Can you feel how ancient this place is?" she asked. "It's like it was trapped in stasis... disconnected while the universe spun around it. What force could even create something so titanic? You just feel like you're in the face of something truly cosmic... beyond understanding. Looking through a window into what the end of time looks like. That makes us so much more weird, that we're so dynamic and changing in the face of something so larger than life."

Loomi turned back and let out an airy laugh, her cheeks becoming as soft golden hue.

"Golly, I didn't mean to ramble," the Godoan expressed. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

 

[Braze]

Tags: Loomi

​

Braze pulled onto the beach astride a small speeder bike, a compact hover cart trailing behind him.

After shutting off the engine, he remained seated for a moment, quietly admiring the view as Loomi waxed poetic about the world around them.

“I suppose so… though it’s hard to say which way is up and which way is down as of late,” he offered on a tired breath.

Dark discoloration shadowed the skin around Braze’s eyes, worsened by how often he had rubbed at them, as though he might somehow wipe away the ever-present exhaustion clinging to his being. He slowly eased himself from the bike’s seat and set his heeled boots into the sand with a mild wobble. His balance shook beneath him, though he managed not to trip.

He moved to the back of the cart and picked up a large black bag resting within it, hauling its thick straps over one shoulder. The bag was made from heavy canvas. He also retrieved a bundled sleeping bag fashioned from windbreaker-like material before moving toward the sandy shore.

“Yeah… I’ve been meaning to have a chat with you for a while now, but first…”

His booted heels sank awkwardly into the sand with each step until he found a suitable place and set both items down. Braze unfurled the sleeping bag, laying it with the wind-resistant side against the sand and the soft, fluffy cotton lining facing upward. He then placed the heavy black canvas bag upon it.

“I want you to have this,” he said, taking a seat on the makeshift blanket and beckoning her closer to look inside the dark bag.

Within rested a pair of custom-built cybernetic legs, each sheathed in high quality yet supple Synthskin colored in a golden yellow that matched Loomi's natural flesh tones, seemingly complete with airbrushed body blush details. Each leg was shaped with enough care to resemble living limbs rather than exposed machinery.

Beneath the artificial flesh, electrostatic tactile receptors lined the soles, toes, knees, and ankles, feeding pressure, contact, and temperature through fine sensory impulse lines into a synth-net neural interface.

Compact servomotors and strengthened alloy ligaments worked together to articulate each joint with smooth, precision, while an extremity-control system coordinated gait, weight transfer, and the countless minute adjustments required for natural movement.

they had built in balance stabilizers and miniature gyroscopic processors sat deeper within the frame, intended to constantly be reading orientation and correcting for uneven ground, sudden shifts, or a faltering step without seizing control from the wearer.

Each limb was built to socket securely and lock in place with esthetic , form, comfort, and practicality all at the fore front of the design.

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

Loomi ran her hand along the new prosthetics that had been presented to her, a soft smile coming to her face.

"You spoil me too much..." she muttered. "Um... you don't mind if I... swap them out now?"

She knew that he was often put off by prosthetics. It was something she had noticed the last time she had taken hers off around him. She was eager to try them out, though, so before long she had sat down to take off her current prosthetics and attach the more organic set that Braze had so thoughtfully gotten for her. After a moment she mustered up the courage to stand up and properly feel the sand below her. It was... strange. Having toes again. She hadn't for many years now.

"It's... more course than I expected," the Godoan admitted, offering a slightly goofy smile. "Thank you. I'll treasure these forever. I'll make sure they never see any damage, so that they're perfect for experiencing this."

Her smile, as genuine as it was, did fade a little.

"You've not been sleeping, have you," Loomi observed. She could feel it in the air around him. "What's troubling you..."

 

[Braze]

Loomi

Here’s a polished version that keeps Braze’s hesitant, gentle tone:

“Please, do try them,” he encouraged with a smile. He watched her carefully as she explored the minor novelty of the simulated touch they offered.

At her question, he blinked and shook his head. “No… not much,” he admitted softly. “I’ve been having nightmares and visions rather often as of late. But it’s okay… I didn’t want to talk about that.”

He deflected as he leaned back, drawing his knees toward his chest before loosely looping his arms around them. His gaze drifted away, settling upon the ocean for a brief moment.

“There are a few things I wanted to go over with you again… and some other things I wanted to talk about. I want to know what your needs are, whether you want commitment, and what that would look like for you. I know we’ve spoken about it before… but I wanted to check in and see how you’ve been feeling.”

He rose from the blanket and stepped away, kicking off his boots before joining her in the sand. Braze extended one hand toward her, slender pale fingers held open in a gentle invitation, encouraging her to step forward and take it.

“How do they feel?”

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

"I've thought about it a bit recently," she admitted. "While I was... on my own. I know that you feel lots of things for lots of people. Your heart is full of love, and you want to share that. I don't feel like it's right for me to ask that you restrict your nature for me, and I think that's okay to admit. I just... want to ask that you save some for me. I know I've always worn a smile and done everything I can to support everyone, but..."

Her good eye drifted out to the water as it licked at the sand of the shoreline. A bit of the starlight glistening off the water was caught in her eye.

"I'm afraid of outliving my usefulness," Loomi muttered. "I know it isn't realistic, but I just can't help it. I don't want to be left behind. Not again. We all have something irrational that we can't let go of I suppose... I lived that way for far too long. It makes it difficult to change my motivations..."

She let out an exhale as she took Braze's hand and glanced to her prosthetics, which he asked about.

"They feel strange," the young woman noted. "Like... my body remembers what it was like to feel with those parts, but not what to do with them. It's like being half of a ghost. I think I'll get used to it though."

Her smile did return as she had a thought.

"Will you, stand with me out in the water?" she asked. "Only far enough in to get our toes wet."

 

[Braze]

Loomi

Braze watched her as she spoke, quietly admiring the way the water’s reflection gleamed within her eye. He reached up with one hand and gently smoothed aside a few loose, dark tresses, clearing them from her face so he might better see her expressions. His attention remained fixed upon her features rather than the new prosthetics themselves.

“Then...Stay by my side,” he purred softly, the words offered as an invitation to accompany him wherever she saw fit.

At first, he was uncertain what she meant by usefulness. He turned the word over several times within his thoughts before gently shaking his head.

“You mean far more to me than the sum total of your parts,” he offered, though the almost clinical phrasing left him uncertain whether he had conveyed what he truly meant. “I like you because of who you are… not merely what you can do for me.”

There remained some hesitation within those words, born from his own literal understanding of her question. That was not to say he did not appreciate the things she could do, only that her usefulness had never been the measure by which he valued her.

He drew her closer with exceptional care, moving slowly as his fingers laced between hers. Braze guided her into a playful little spin, as one might turn a dancing partner, before drawing her into a one-armed embrace. He pressed a tender kiss against her cheek, just beneath her damaged eye, then spun her outward once more, gently disentangling her from his grasp.

Upon hearing her request, he took her hand and began leading her toward the water’s edge.

“Of course I will,” he purred pleasantly happy to oblidge her request.

He strode onto the damp sand where lazy waves unfurled across the shore, remaining close beside her with a posture both protective and gentle. The pad of his thumb brushed slowly across the back of her hand.

“I’m not afraid of being honest with you anymore…” he murmured, his silken voice carrying a low current of affection.

Braze extended her arm and raised her hand toward him, pressing his plush, strawberry-pink lips against her hand.

“I want to know about your beliefs…” he continued, placing another kiss along her forearm. “Your values…”

A few more gentle kisses followed, traveling to her bicep and then her shoulder.

“And your goals.”

His somber jade-green gaze rose to meet her eye, lingering there as though he sought to look beyond its surface and into the very depths of her soul.

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

Loomi managed to let out a laugh when Braze spun her around, not resisting the playful gesture. And that tone of voice that had caused her so much trouble... It was hard to stay caught in her cloud of uncertainty when he spoke to her like that. She didn't need to give any verbal confirmation to his request that she stay. It was hardly up for debate. Her body answered for her.

Finally, her new prosthetics hit water. It was cold at first, but then equilibrium came over her temperature receptors. It was like living in a memory. All those times seeing other people out in the water, wishing she could experience it in the same way. She was in that moment again, only this time on the other side of the wall that she so often had between her and normalcy. All she could really do was beam to herself as she stood there, her hand interlocked with her Echani companion's.

“I’m not afraid of being honest with you anymore…” he murmured, his silken voice carrying a low current of affection.

Braze extended her arm and raised her hand toward him, pressing his plush, strawberry-pink lips against her hand.

“I want to know about your beliefs…” he continued, placing another kiss along her forearm. “Your values…”

A few more gentle kisses followed, traveling to her bicep and then her shoulder.

“And your goals.”

"Those are hard to just rattle off on a whim..." Loomi noted with a chuckle, keeping her gaze fixed on the sea. "I want to grow... change. Experience everything that life has to offer. Then I'll take that experience and share it with as many people as I can. I never knew what I was missing, when I was just... some pickpocket under someone else's thumb. There are so many freedoms that people should be enjoying in their lives. That's what I want to give people."

A more awkward smile spread across her face.

"But... I suppose that isn't a very specific answer," she reasoned. "Oh well... maybe if it feels right in the moment it isn't so bad."

 

[Braze]

Tags: Loomi

​

He remained quiet as he listened, trying to decipher the wispy, dreamlike sentiments she offered him. It was difficult to pin down exactly what she meant, though he thought he understood the heart of what she wanted. It did not sound like the sort of goal that could ever truly be finished; it seemed more like a long, ongoing journey through life, an effort to gather what happiness and meaning one could from it.

He supposed that was reasonable enough, even if it lacked the kind of substance he had expected to hear from a goal or pursuit.

"There's only one more thing I really want to ask… and I think it's only fair that I give you the same chance to ask it of me," Braze offered softly. His gaze lowered toward their joined hands for a moment. "It may not sound pretty when I put it this way, but I promise you this: I will never run away, no matter what you tell me." His fingers shifted gently around hers.

"Everyone has their problems. I need to know what you think is wrong with you… and how you plan to work through it." His voice remained soft without accusation. "I think that matters when two people are trying to understand one another. Being honest and upfront is the only good place to begin when either of us has something we need to face."

He carefully turned her hand within his own, lifting it toward his lips before pressing another soft kiss against the back of it.

"I understand if it's uncomfortable," he murmured. "But I've learned that sometimes we have to endure a little discomfort before we can ever feel truly safe with one another."

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

I need to know what you think is wrong with you… and how you plan to work through it.

Loomi paused, frowning a little.

"Well..." she began, "I... guess that's hard to answer. I don't think that I feel... wrong. Just... not enough sometimes. As I am presently. And I think I've put so much value in being able to help others that maybe I haven't really helped myself much. Maybe that's why I... find it easier to talk to you. Sometimes I feel like we're very similar. In that way, anyways."

They both were often more concerned with others that they sometimes neglected themselves. Then again, maybe that was a very Jedi thing to do. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence.

"But how I work though my problems is what we're doing right now," Loomi stated. "Talking and being open about it. Even if the things I voice sound irrational, or maybe don't make sense. Like, I know I can only do so much, and it is sort of the answer I'd expect to hear... but it helps take the weight off my chest. If that make sense."

Loomi paused before she spoke again.

"I... have a more specific goal in mind," she decided. "I just needed to think about it a little more. I think if I wanna help people like me, I maybe want to... start an organization that does that. Collect and give them things that maybe they've never gotten to enjoy before. Like clothes, or books, or good prosthetics..."

Her smile returned.

"I'd like that, I think."

 

[Braze]

Tags: Loomi

​

“You… could do that,” Braze offered lightly. " I think thats a very kind goal..."

His gaze lowered for a moment, lingering upon their joined hands as he considered his own answer.

“I don’t really know everything that’s wrong with me,” Braze admitted quietly. “I think I have trouble facing problems when I can’t understand them or fix them right away. I suppress them, then turn my attention toward something else… something useful, something I can control.”

His thumb passed slowly over the back of her hand.

“I’m better at taking care of other people than I am at admitting when I need someone to take care of me. Sometimes I think that if I keep moving, keep working, keep making myself useful… whatever is hurting me will eventually become small enough to ignore.”

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

“I’m better at taking care of other people than I am at admitting when I need someone to take care of me. Sometimes I think that if I keep moving, keep working, keep making myself useful… whatever is hurting me will eventually become small enough to ignore.”

"Well... you're talking about it," Loomi noted. "That's a start."

The Godoan would turn to face Braze properly now, taking hold of his other hand as well.

"I think that sometimes the best thing you can do to take care of yourself is let other people take care of you," she decided, her smile growing warmer. "I know that sometimes that can make you feel like you aren't doing enough, but... is that something I can ask you to let me do? You've taken care of me after all... it only feels right to offer the same."

Balance between both of their desires to care for others. Loomi couldn't help but think that the both of them were perfectly positioned to make sure that the other didn't burn themselves up.

 

[Braze]

Tags: Loomi

​

"I don't really know how to let someone do that," Braze admitted. "Whenever someone gives me something, part of me starts searching for a way to repay it... I start thinking about what I owe them… or what I need to become so they won't regret caring for me."

His gaze lowered toward their joined hands, pale fingers shifting faintly against hers as he stepped farther into the water. He turned to face her fully, gathering both of her hands within his own before lifting his eyes to meet hers, her silhouette framed against the distant sweep of land behind her.

"Honestly… I don't know how to accept something like that. Letting another person take care of me feels incredibly vulnerable." He hesitated, carefully gathering thoughts that had remained knotted together for years. "I don't think my needs have been met for a very long time, so I've had to... become very independent… to learn how to meet even my most basic needs by myself....

I've been trying to forgive my parents for their shortcomings, but… it's not easy to reconcile all the feelings of hurt, and sad thoughts that have been piling up over the years."

Braze drew in a slow breath, carrying the salt-laden night air deep into his lungs. His shoulders eased by some small degree.

"But… yes," he murmured. "You can ask that of me." His fingers closed a little more securely around hers as if not wanting to let her go.

"You could stay with me tonight," he offered after a moment. "I haven't been sleeping because I don't want to return to what I keep seeing… but perhaps it would be easier if I knew someone would still be there when I woke."

He raised their joined hands, pressing a lingering kiss against her knuckles.

"I can't promise I'll be good at being taken care of," Braze confessed softly. "But I can promise I'll try to let you... What can I do to help you? "

 

[Loomi]

Refuge
Tags: Braze

Epo-1, Lushi​

"I haven't been sleeping because I don't want to return to what I keep seeing… but perhaps it would be easier if I knew someone would still be there when I woke."

"I can't promise I'll be good at being taken care of," Braze confessed softly. "But I can promise I'll try to let you... What can I do to help you? "

"All you have to do is let me be near..." Loomi answered. One of her hands would move to cup his cheek, and she would rest her forehead against his. "I'll take care of the rest. Dreams are fickle things... but they aren't all powerful."

Dreams could be woven. Superseded by other stimuli around you. She had learned how to not be a slave to her dreams and nightmares, the things that kept her up late into the night. She had an idea of how she could help Braze. And, of course, be with him in the moment as he requested. A more playful smile spread across her face now.

"No rush, of course," she noted. "Unless you're really that tired. I'd like to stay out here a little longer."

 

[Braze]

Tags: Loomi

​

Braze brightened at that.

"I figured you might want to test out just how waterproof your new limbs were…" he mused, seemingly calmed by her gentle touches.

He moved toward the blanket. "Though I probably shouldn't get all of my clothes soaking wet."

He slipped out of his hakama, then peeled away his damp compression socks and set them beside his boots. The outer layers of his robes followed until he was left in a simple cropped athletic top that covered his chest and a pair of fitted matching shorts.

He was unbelievably pale beneath it all, and his small form had changed since the last time she had seen so much of his skin exposed. Numerous pinkened scars marred the pallid flesh, trailing across him from head to toe in uneven paths.

Finally, he removed the small tie that had held the length of his hair in its customary high ponytail. He swept a hand through it, shaking loose the long white tresses until they spilled freely around him.

"The question is… can you swim~?"