Private A Chance Encounter

[Levi Vinbul]

Ala Quin | Naboo. Afternoon.​

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Levi sat on the rocking Gondola as it drifted slowly across the river. Warm wind danced through his long, unkempt hair as he attempted to maintain focus. He had heard in the past of many skilled Jedi and Sith alike coming here to hone their own arts and techniques. As he passed under a bridge, the rowdy hustle and bustle of a summer market could be heard overhead. Focus, he thought to himself, hear what is not heard. The sound of a man haggling over what sounded like a new robe, a child dropping their ice cream on the ground, and a fly being swatted down just as it attempts to land on somebody's arm. His body became stiff from hours of unmoving, he was unaware of just how far this Gondola had taken him. Time felt as though it moved strangely for him when he meditated. Seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like days. Serenity, however, kept him sturdy, and his desire for self improvement kept him pushing forward, just as he always had.

However, something had felt different about Naboo. This planet, just like any other, had strangely called to him as he made his way through the galaxy. Believing it was a sign, he stopped here just to meditate for the day, and set off as it got dark. He did not like to squander in territories foreign to him. Cities has always excited Levi, the promise of more people almost certainly led to the promise of stronger duelists. Something he desperately sought, although rarely found. Upbringing in the dirty swampland of Dagobah did not help qualm his anxieties about large crowds, so he tended to stick to himself. My mind is wandering. He took a deep sigh, and finally relaxed his muscles. Letting himself enjoy the warmth of the sun on his skin. Maybe I should just relax for a second. What point is there if I'm not enjoying myself?

In the most ironic way possible, Levi's ear twitched just as he stopped meditating. Looking down the river, which had been full of Gondolas just like his, he saw a peculiar one heading his way. Nothing physically different from the one he rode, but the contents of it had similar aura to himself. The force weaved through their two Gondolas, intertwining them until he could no longer avoid it. Excitement rushed through his body like a sharp jolt of electricity, and he immediately jumped up, now standing on his own two feet. His right hand on the lightsaber hilt attatched to his belt, and the other waving around drastically in the air.

"Hey!" Levi shouted, the other individuals on the river now staring at him in bewilderment. "You on the Gondola! Can you hear me?" His childlike wonder getting the best of him. He was fully aware that this was a force user. Not just any force user, one with training, and honed abilities at their disposal. Levi knew there was a reason that he had came to this planet, and he felt as though he had just found it. As the two gondolas slowly approached each other, he could feel his intention seeping out of himself, the intent of a duel. ​

 

[Ala Quin]

Wearing​

The waterways of Naboo were not unfamiliar to one Ala Quin. She had been here as part of her post-cryo time of exploration. In fact, she had spent months here, exploring, meditation...being. Naboo held richness beyond just its visual beauty. There was a richness of culture and history to explore, as was the humanity of the people. She found this place a treasure. Wholesome seemed the best word to describe Naboo.

"Tareeq. Please take the extra credits...you are my favourite gondaleer."

The wizened old Nabooian had known quickly that protesting would not get anywhere with Ala. He relented just as quickly as he had gotten his dander up. The moment of protest and acquiescance was delightful to watch. Ala smiled, and palmed the credits to her friend, who then proceeded to push her down the river through one of Naboo's smaller outer cities.

Her eyes closed. The breeze blew the the loose strands of dark hair that fell across her face, she avoided the desire to tuck them back in under the braid that sat as a crown atop her head. She knew the futility of it and had accepted that she would have to allow messy to be part of any description of her styling efforts today.

As a strand of hair grazed the bridge of her nose, she felt her physical form wash away as her mind entered a peaceful, listing and wistful meditative state. The Force flowed all about her. She felt the people in the markets, in the houses and in the other gondolas that passed her by. Below her, she felt the native aquatic species slip through the waterways with ease. In the distance she noted a spark in the Force. A presense that sent ripples through the serenity of her mind, not unwelcome ripples, merely those brought by a gentle summer's breeze across the placid lake.

The presence grew larger.

"Hey! You on the Gondola! Can you hear me?"

The words drew her away from the dream like state, even as the Force whispered the intent of the moment into her soul. She heard her. Just briefly. She heard Ashla speaking wisdom for the moment. Friend. Not foe. One who seeks to better their blade.

Ashla willed it. Ala obeyed.

Without hesitating another moment, Ala stood, eyes opening and hands extending towards towards the small bag that contained her meager belongings. Two brushed silver tubes sprang up into her hands as if on a string, and short yellow blades ignited with a snap-hiss.

"Oh...I hear you," Ala said with a playful smile spreading across her face, "Tareeq...don't go far..."

Forward she jumped, tucking her legs up and holding her blades beneath her person, aiming squarely to land on the opposing gondola, and should her opponent not move...landing directly atop his shoulders...with her blades.

| Levi Vinbul |​

 

[Levi Vinbul]

The intent of a duelist can be felt the same way a fires warmth can be felt on your skin. At least, that's what Levi's father told him when he had began to first learn the will of the force, and what it meant to be strong. As if I even understand what it means to be strong, Levi thought as the woman and her gondolier both approached him.

"Oh... I hear you." He heard the woman say, the warmth on his skin turned to a scorch. He was pleasantly surprised that the only introduction necessary would be that of their blades meeting. However, the color of her blade was interesting to him, to say the least.

"Yellow! A color not so commonly seen in the galaxy." Levi exclaimed, before unsheathing his saber from his waist, revealing a bright green hue. How long it had been since he had wielded it, he could not remember. His fingers, tightly grasping the hilt of his lightsaber, eagerly awaited the woman's first move.

Leaping towards the gondola, Levi noticed the woman had a certain force around her. Something familiar to him. Her aura had a strong, unnatural pull to Levi. Inviting him into her blades. Levi, without lifting his feet, changed his stance to meet her blades before she could land on him. Now, both facing each other on the Gondola, sabers locked in place, he had put together what exactly he had felt. "Now what business does the Ashlan Crusade have this far away from Tingel's Arm?" He mused, a small grin creeping across his face, the deafening hiss of the two blades echoing across the river.

Levi had visited Bosph in the past, the Ashlan Crusades capital city, and had admired the zealots whom called it their home. However, their teachings did not sit right with him. Religious fanaticism, to the point of extremism, was not the will of the force. At least, not from what Levi had seen in his travels. Sharing blades and wisdom with members of the Ashlan Crusade was something he had wanted to for some time now, and what better time to do it then now. "Tell me," Levi began, "Does Ashla tell you to strike me down?" Levi had asked the girl, before breaking the saber lock they had been engaged in. He extended his right arm, and pushed a concentrated blast of air towards her. Small, and towards her arm, but if connected could prove to be the end of this fight.

| Ala Quin |

 

[Ala Quin]

“I do the will of Ashla. Ashla’s will is not confined to political boundaries,” Ala said with a smile to dismiss his interrogation.

She had landed on the gondola, one foot on either of its sides, in such a way as to depress the boat downwards but not tip it either to the port nor the starboard. Their blade’s locked, as Ala struck with her blades in parallel to one another. It was an error on her part, not to use the second blade more to her advantage, but she had been concerned about her opponent being naturally stronger than she. Her concerns were deemed to be well founded when their blades locked.

They disengaged, and Ala began shifting slowly backwards, before bumping into the gondolier. “Hey…you two…watch it…I don’t want any trouble here.” Ala was about to reply to both the gondolier and the opponent’s query, when his blast of Force propelled air came quickly towards her. The only thing to do was jump…up and slightly backwards. The gust of air hit the gondolier in the back, shoving him forward towards the other end of the boat.

Ala landed precariously on the tip of the gondola, one foot dangling off the side, she disengaged her blades, leant foward and caught the older man by the shoulders before he plunged head long into the water. “I am sorry for causing you any consternation my friend. We will take our business elsewhere,” she said, eyes ablaze with guileless concern, “are you alright?”

“Yes…yes my dear,” said the older man, “I am well…and thank you for saving me. That would have been a most unpleasant fall.”

”Ashla told me you were up to the challenge. But maybe it is unwise for us to indulge this folly in such a place. Shall we venture out of the populated region and continue this among the beauty of Naboo’s natural wonders?”

| Levi Vinbul |​