First Reply Wonders of Yore

[Zelannia Arcrin]

Hopeless, the man was hopeless. In one moment he was ranting about Crowe's perceived ineptitude and in the next attempting to teach him his kind of wonky magic through willpower alone. Not even bothering to try, the Not-a-Jedi received a silent glare that seemed almost tangible, despite the opaque nature of his helmet. "If I could just waggle my hand at something to make it move, don't you think I would have already?"

It was possible, clearly, but a lot of bloody things were possible that he could not just decide to do. Could he learn to do it? Maybe. Could he learn to perform surgery? Also maybe. Were either of those something one could pick up by having a weirdo scream at you in ruins? Unlikely.

Very, very unlikely.

Realizing that counting on the man to be of any assistance whatsoever except when something was actively trying to kill them was futile, Crowe began to tinker away with his sensors, clearly hoping to find something of value in this Ashla-forsaken place and then get out.

The others were probably dead and this guy didn't exactly seem stable.

Alyosha Drutin​

 

[Kai and Gerda]

Alyosha hadn’t actually been screaming at Crowe, at least not since the initial flare-up of his anger. His tone had been getting steadily more level as he regained control, more akin to a slightly annoyed, frosty muttering. But as Crowe was no doubt aware, ignoring someone outright was far more aggravating than firing back with insults. You couldn’t argue with silence.

Swiftly losing what little emotional control he had built up, Alyosha was seized by an impulse to reach out with the Force and yank Crowe’s helmet off his head. He tamped down on it immediately, refusing to believe it had come from him. That was more like something his brother would do. Playful, obnoxious Val. Alyosha took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose. Don’t touch the helmet. Don’t. Just don’t.

“I don’t get it,” he said. “Everyone I’ve ever met has wanted more power, more skills, more resources. They’re all playing to win. If you don’t want any of that, then... what are you playing for?”

Everything in him wanted to keep pushing Crowe, but he knew from experience that success was dependent on the desire of the student to learn. If Crowe didn’t want to learn—and his ignoring the would-be teacher Alyosha seemed indicative of that—then Alyosha wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. It was pointless.

Alyosha’s gaze flicked back to the serpentoid. Finding the wrist link, he yanked it out of the carcass amid a burst of gore, just in time for Theo to arrive.

“Ah! Not on my shoes!” the Wroonian lifted his feet and tried to kick the splatter off his boots. “What the hell is that thing?”

“Weird alien monster tried to eat us,” Alyosha replied dryly. With his arms still crossed, he floated the bloodied wrist link directly into Crowe’s chest and held it there until he caught it. “I can’t remember whether or not I introduced you two. Crowe, Theo. Theo, Crowe.”

“I come bearing gifts,” Theo said. “You need any ammo or grenades, I got you covered.”

“He’s not a fighter,” Alyosha muttered before Crowe could reply, lighting another cig. “He’s the gearhead, the techie. And he’s clearly not interested in progressing anywhere beyond that.”

“Uhh... okay.” Theo shrugged. “What now?”

Zelannia Arcrin