Faction A Test of Wit and Valor [RNR]

[Cerys Dyn]

Lorn's comments were entirely unwelcome. Cerys struggled to keep the disdain from her face when she glanced up towards him. It may have been the pain, or it may have been the annoyance of the 'pep' talk, but she was not in the mood to be encouraged. She did however appreciate Zaiya's approach to the situation.

The colourful young woman brought a calming energy to the scenario that reminded Cerys of her need of calm. She closed her eyes, remembering the techniques she had learned from Master El-Vana. Slow your mind, ease your heart and take control of your response. Do not let your response control you. Her back tingled for a moment, and then the area surrounding the wound seemed to numb as she pulled her mind away from the pain.

"Do as he says, Zaiya," Cerys whispered.

Despite being unimpressed from the passive-aggressive framing of his suggestions, Cerys was more than accepting of the reality that it was the fastest way to get them moving again. "Zaiya. We cannot delay. The longer we stay in this pit..." Cerys winced as she tried to move her left arm. "...ah...the longer we stay the more we risk failure."

Cerys tried but failed to make eye contact with Zaiya. "Save your energy so you can help lift me out of this pit," she said, her tone more than too command than request.

"No one will see the scar," she said, grimacing at the thought, "it will be fine...really." It was not even remotely fine.

She glanced at Lysander, the glow of his blade casting a glow across her face. "Zaiya pulls it out...then you sear the wound," she said, "on the count of three..."

She did not start counting, instead standing there with her eyes closed. "You count Zaiya. I can't do it," she blurted.

---

Team Notties: Lysander von Ascania Zaiya Ceti
Team Hotties Bea Laseen Joro Kal'nath Lily Decoria
Bosses: Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard Briana Sal-Soren​

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Cerys Dyn Lysander von Ascania Briana Sal-Soren

Zaiya's brow furrowed in quiet concentration as she guided the Force around Cerys's injury, tracing the jagged path of the metal shard lodged in her back. It wasn't bad, but it was deep enough to be concerning, especially given its proximity below her shoulder blade. Her mind raced, piecing together a plan. If Cerys knew curato salva, they could detoxify any potential infection, and with the field med kit Zaiya carried with the bacta stims, maybe accelerate the healing enough to --

“Listen," he began, his tone sharp while also a carrying note of concern, "if she's not able to heal herself, then it will need to be cauterized to prevent infection.”

Lysander's sharp tone cut through her focus and Zaiya's head snapped up, her opal blue eyes widening in disbelief as she watched him gesture to his curved lightsaber hilt as a solution.

He can't be serious, Zaiya thought, but the reality of the situation hit harder when he spat about cauterizing the wound himself since she could only make matters worse. Her incredulity grew as he added that insult, dismissing her careful approach like she was some amateur fumbling in the dark.

And then, Cerys agreed.

The sheer absurdity of the moment sent Zaiya into a vibrant kaleidoscope of shifting colors. Her skin lit up like a malfunctioning glow lamp, hues of fiery orange, startled yellow, and an almost comical silvery glow flushing her mottled spots.

"You can't... you can't be serious?!" she sputtered, her voice pitching higher as she shot Lysander a look of pure incredulity.

"No! Absolutely not!" she continued, practically vibrating with outrage as she gave Lysander a pointed look. "We are not going to cauterize this wound! Yes, it's deep, and yes, we need to prevent infection, but there's no reason to go full Sith torture chamber about it!"

She planted herself firmly beside Cerys, her lips pressed into a thin, determined line. Her skin shifted to lavender tinged coral, her annoyance sparking in the Force as she refocused on the wound.

"I have bacta stims in one of my belt pockets with a basic med kit. Those, plus a bit of curato salva, if you know it, Cerys, will handle this without inflicting unnecessary pain or further injury." With her free hand, she unbuckled one of the pockets on her belt and pulled out the small medkit, giving it a slight shake so that Lysander and Cerys could see.

However, her tone sharpened as she shot Lysander a glare. "This is a test, not an excuse to win regardless! We're supposed to work together and find reasonable solutions, not maim each other in the process!"

Zaiya exhaled sharply, her skin still shimmering with irritated lavender, but her hands remained steady. Now, all she had to do was remove the shard and proceed with the bacta stims.

But odds were, Lysander likely had something smart to lash back with -- he seemed to always want to have the last blasted word!

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Cerys Dyn Zaiya Ceti Briana Sal-Soren

​

Lysander's eyes narrowed like a Loth-cat ready to pounce. Her voice, both chirping and grating, surely possessed the power to drive anyone to madness, but at the same time, he also found himself amused by her frustration; a smirk slowly spread across his lips.

But just as he allowed the smallest hint of amusement to take root, the Padawan suddenly cast a quick look at the hole they had fallen through, catching a flicker of movement. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

His attention refocused on the Lovalla; for a moment, all restraint was lost. “You really should just shut up already,” he spat. His own irritation bubbled over as he shook his head. He wanted to dismissively brush off every single one of her protests. “You should also stop pretending like you know the ways of the Sith,” he added.

His gaze shifted to the medkit as she waved it like some kind of trophy. “Wow, look at you. You’re a nurse now? I’m pretty sure Cerys already gave a green light on my idea, so what are you so worried about?”

As he glanced sideways at the Togruta, a knot formed in his stomach. Her expression brought forth a pang of guilt for the banter being flung around so carelessly. "I'm sorry, Cerys." A long sigh was released. “Can you at least just hurry up then, Zaiya?" His tongue felt like it was coated with bitter poison from saying the name aloud.

And just as he finished speaking, something near the entrance grabbed him once more. The boy's brows furrowed. “I remember hearing something about Spider Droids, but nothing about drones. It’s kind of creepy.”

Instincts kicked in while stepping away from both of them. Lysander's head tilted back, locking his eyes onto the drone hovering above.

With a more nonchalant gesture, he waved a single hand, acknowledging whoever was watching the footage. But a heartbeat later, being fueled by determination, he summoned the power of telekinesis. Inhaling deeply, he allowed the Force to flow through him; the currents heightened his senses. He reached out, feeling the exact weight of the drone in the air. A second later, it began responding to his call. Slowly, he started to reel it in; it now felt like there was a physical connection between him and the machine.

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Cerys Dyn Lysander von Ascania
Always Watching: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard

“Wow, look at you. You’re a nurse now? I’m pretty sure Cerys already gave a green light on my idea, so what are you so worried about?”

Breathe. Just breathe. Focus on Cerys.

That was the mantra as Lysander spat off as Zaiya expected him to. Her lips drew thin, and the Lovalla Padawan decided to just focus on Cerys, once again noticing the flow of pain, mild panic, and determination to try and face the injury head-on. Sensing those emotions softened Zaiya's expression, a visible sense of compassion and empathy washing over her, along with the shame of letting Lysander get to her again.

"Hey, it's okay. I got you," Zaiya murmured to the Togruta in a much calmer tone, taking advantage of Lysander being distracted by the remotes to work on Cerys. Right now, the Togruta Padawan wore a sleeveless tee, so getting to see the wound properly once she pulled out the shard of metal would be an issue.

"I'm going first to pull off the metal shard, then going to roll up your shirt from the back so I can get a good view of the injury and be able to patch you up." modesty was always a concern and the Lovalla was trying her best to provide that for Cerys, positioning herself so that the taller Padawan would be able to use her own body to try and provide a shield from Lysander's gaze -- not that he was paying attention, too busy trying to Force pull a remote over to him.

Was it so terrible to wonder if he would get zapped in turn? Okay... mayyybee...

Cerys gave a nod; the Togruta focused on controlling the pain. After quickly pulling out the gauze, bacta wipes, and a bacta stim to prepare, Zaiya was ready. With gentle precision, Zaiya did her best to remove the metal shard from Cerys's back, but even with all of Zaiya's attempts at being careful, there was no preventing the way it felt as it was pulled out, much less the amount of blood that immediately began to seep. Cerys had been lucky that it hadn't punctured a lung, or worse any other vital organ.

"You're doing great," Zaiya murmured, a flutter of concentration painting her mottled spots in citrine and glowing cobalt hues, her brow drawing tight in her focus, a thin sheen of sweat already forming. She dropped the shard to the ground, moving to roll the hem of Cerys's tunic up to reveal the bloody, oozing wound. The sheet of gauze was brought up to press against it, placing some pressure to try and staunch the bleeding; she'd follow up with a bacta wipe to cleanse and clear the clotting blood and any bits of dirt away. All the while, Zaiya was doing her best to use the Force to determine if there were any other metal bits still in the wound.

It was a ragged injury, and with the bacta stims, might still scar. "Just keep breathing, almost done," Zaiya added in a soothing voice, bringing all the field medicine knowledge Shan and Iris had taught her along with the experience she had in previous missions doing exactly this before. A quick press of the actuator of the bacta stim, injecting the healing liquid into the skin. Another fresh press of gauze and some synths patches to hold it in place and should start working in helping regenerate the tissue. But how well it dealt with pain was subject to Cerys. She certainly shouldn't strain or use those muscles right now.

Which meant they had to find a way of getting Cerys out of the pit without her having to injure herself further.

Zaiya began to roll down Cerys's tunic again, adding, "Okay, done... how does that feel?"

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

Outfit: XoXo | Equipment: Lightsaber, Echo Stone | Tag: Lysander von Ascania , Zaiya Ceti , Cerys Dyn
​

Briana's brows furrowed as she observed the live feed flicker on her datapad. One of the drones she'd taken the time to painstakingly modify earlier in the week trembled in the air, visibly resisting an unseen force. Her sharp eyes immediately caught the culprit: Lysander.

Lips pulling to one side, she let out a quiet sigh, muttering under her breath, "He's going to end up regretting that, real quick."

Earlier in the week, she'd taken extra precautions with the drones, foreseeing potential interference from the curious wildlife in the area—particularly the tenacious creatures that loved to chew through anything remotely mechanical. She'd had to repair more of her droids in the last week than she cared to admit. Modifying the drones to deal with tampering had seemed like a practical solution at the time, and when she turned to Lossa for help with them, she'd been more than happy to assist her with the design.

Of course, Briana hadn't anticipated that one of the Padawans might be the source of the problem.

Briana watched as the drone's servos strained against Lysander's tug. The device hesitated, hovering with what seemed almost like reluctance before giving way to his pull. But, just as it began to come closer, a faint, ominous click echoed from within its casing—a sound inaudible to anyone outside the immediate vicinity.

And then—

The drone's safety mechanism activated, and Briana, arms crossed, waited for the inevitable as a latch from beneath the drone opened up, dropping a thick cloud of glitter—an iridescent storm of blues, greens, and golds—accompanied by an unmistakable, stomach-turning wave of Gokobs extract, over the Padawans. A scent she remembered all too vividly from her own encounter with the animal during her time on Ossus, and one that she knew lingered for a long, long time when it was fresh.

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

As Cerys calmed herself, she found herself querying the intense panic that had set in. It was not really her. Prior to recent events, she had learned to be detached and calm to a fault. Had she really been so affected by her master's death that she had become fragile? It was not her first injury, and certainly not her worst. Yet, she had panicked. Perhaps it was worth looking into the emotional effect of the events on Coruscant.

Cerys grimaced. She could hear echoes of Brandyn's 'words of wisdom'. "Not all wounds require bacta. Some require honesty."

Cerys obeyed Zaiya's instructions without much protestation, that was until she suggested that she would have to lift her shirt. That made perfect sense, but again her reaction was not very controlled. Her heart raced and face flushed, while she turned her back to Lysander and positioned Zaiya between her and the boy. Even then, Cerys found her body grow tense and her jaw clenched. "OK...just...um...I guess you have to..."

"Lysander. Leave the droid alone," Cerys blurted. It seemed Lysander was anxious to get out of the pit, and that was totally understandable. But the likelihood of the droid being of any benefit to them was extremely low. No good could come from messing with it. Though, she did not expect Lysander to heed her words in the slightest.

The distraction of bossing Lysander was of practical value. She barely felt pain when the metal was removed. The embarrassment of the lifted shirt was felt more than any pain. Cerys tried not to think about it, instead focusing on the potential danger of Lysander's folly.

"Thank you, Zaiya," Cerys said softly, as the Lovalla worked on the wound. She felt the bacta working fairly quickly, though it was neither a complete nor final remedy. It was a good patch though.

"You are good at this," she said. Zaiya clearly had experience with this and was now glad that Zaiya had put her foot down and not accepted their intent to cauterise and move on.

"I can still feel it," she said with a chuckle, as she tucked her shirt in. The blood not he back of her shirt had began to dry, and caused her shirt to feel a little odd, but the pain itself? Yes, it was better than before. "But it is a lot better than it was."

Cradling her left arm, she turned and offered a smile to the taller Padawan. But her attention was taken by Lysander's antics and her smile dissipated immediately.

"Seriously? Lysie!?" She said, the nickname she had been workshopping in her head just spilling out accidentally, "leave the droid..."

The stench. The glitter. The abhorrent...nightmare that descended on them.

"...alone."

Instinct pushed her to the far corner of the pit, right shoulder pushing into the corner as she kept her head enough protect her wound from the grime of the pit wall.

"By all that is holy...that smell is the worst," she said as he nose wrinkled up.

The sparkly dust that descended on them was falling all over her. Who would do something so unbelievably childish as to drop glitter on people? It would be stuck to her montrals for months! "If Brandyn knew anything about this...I will...gross...this smells so bad..."

Her stare bore into Lysander with an unspoken accusation. "Together we should be able to levitate us out of this pit one at a time...let's get onto it...bleck...it's in my mouth...bah....glitter too...I hate this so much...does this warrant a formal complaint?"

---

Team Notties: Lysander von Ascania Zaiya Ceti
Team Hotties: Lily Decoria Joro Kal'nath Bea Laseen
Bosses: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Zaiya Ceti Cerys Dyn Briana Sal-Soren

​

His hands felt like they were holding onto a fishing pole as Cery’s voice echoed in the background. Determination was etched onto his face as he fought to focus on reeling the drone in. Just as he believed he was on the verge of victory, the latch beneath the drone opened. His eyes widened as a shower of glitter filled the air.

But it wasn’t just a rainbow of colors that assaulted the Padawan; even worse, there was something foreign to him that poured down. His stomach churned as everything splattered against his face. The stench was unbearable. Lysander instantly pulled back, desperately spewing some of it out. Both hands moved desperately to wipe away everything that was clinging to his skin.

It all felt like a cruel joke.

“This is completely ridiculous!" he shouted. The Padawan’s frustration was clear as he stumbled further backwards while repeatedly brushing handfuls of sparkly stuff off his tunic.

Lysander took a deep breath. He tried to calm the building frustration but was failing. “You’re totally right,” he added while shaking his head in Cery's direction. “We should definitely file a complaint about this. It’s not just disrespectful..it’s so embarrassing too.” He paused to collect his racing thoughts. “My sister is on the Jedi Council now, so I know she’s going to hear about it.”

A faint smirk finally appeared, “Honestly, Briana will probably get fired soon. I’m going to make sure of it.”

His full focus was on the Togruta. “And I’m so ready to get out of this damn trap.” Clenching his fists, there was a sparkle in his green eyes, much like the glitter that was caked around them. “I say you and I hold a team vote. Zaiya needs to go. All this could have been easily avoided if she wasn’t always so obsessed with having the final say in everything. Suuure.. she fixed you up.. but let’s be real here.. whatever healing she did is probably just temporary.. It’s not like a real solution or anything.”

Another sigh escaped his lips, intentionally ignoring the Lovalla’s existence. “Unless that hairless Wookie can get us out of this, I'm done cooperating with her!”

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Jumpsuit/Armor/Helmet
Bracelet
Lightsaber, Turmoil, Concealed Blaster
Lysander von Ascania | Zaiya Ceti | Cerys Dyn | Briana Sal-Soren​

Her direct feed into the drone camera's provided her a birds eye view of the storm that had just littered the padawans.

Her lazy seat in the crook of the tree changing quickly as she slapped the branch she was sitting on while laughing loud enough to likely be heard from the next moon over. Unable to do much more than laugh as her stomach tightened and even began to ache before leaning back as the harsh laughter changed into barely controlled giggles. Her expression shifting slightly as the heads up display brought up the voice recording system with a message sent directly to Briana.

<I think that has been the best use of that stockpile I have seen yet.> Fairly certain now that she had another goal to reach with implementing her glitter bombs for various uses.

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Cerys Dyn Lysander von Ascania
Always Watching: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard

"Asking him to leave things alone is like asking a petulant Lothcat to stop batting at a string," Zaiya muttered under her breath, responding to Cerys's gentle plea for Lysander to stop antagonizing the droids. The disapproval in her voice was sharper than she intended, but honestly, she was too tired of his antics to care.

Her frustration ebbed momentarily as Cerys offered a soft word of gratitude for her healing. The Lovalla's skin shimmered with bronze and turquoise hues, a quiet reflection of her relief.

"Thank you," Zaiya said with a shy smile. "I'm just glad I could help."

But of course, Lysander couldn't let things rest. The strained whine of a droid's servos reached Zaiya's ears just before the absurd pop of an explosion sent a spray of glitter and an unspeakably foul stench cascading over the pit.

"Oh, for the love of -- " Zaiya started, but the words caught in her throat as the sparkling, stinky mess rained down. Her skin flared with pulsing hues of aggravated lavender and simmering violet flecks. She stared in wideeyed disbelief at Lysander, who stood brushing glitter off his tunic, grumbling about complaints and Council members as though he were the victim.

"Really?!" she sputtered, shaking glitter off her medkit and trying not to gag as the stench clawed at her nose.

"You set off a stinky glitter bomb off that droid, and now you're talking about filing complaints? Are you... are you actually serious right now?!"

Lysander barely acknowledged her, instead turning to Cerys with some ridiculous suggestion about voting Zaiya off the team. That did it. Zaiya's bioluminescence flared in chaotic swirls of disbelief and indignation.

"You want to vote me off the team?" she snapped, glaring at him. "You're the one who can't stop poking every single blasted thing you see! That droid wasn't attacking us; it was observing! You'd know that if you had a shred of awareness -- or self-control!"

She hauled herself to her feet, ignoring the glitter clinging to her robes, and offered a hand to Cerys to gently help her up.

"You can't keep sabotaging everything every time your ego gets bruised, or because you're blaming someone else for your own foolish behavior, Lysander! Act like a Padawan, for stars' sake. Your Master must've seen something worthwhile in you -- prove them right for once and focus on getting us out of this pit together before Cerys gets hurt worse!"

Her chest heaved as she tried to reign in her temper, the colors on her skin swirling wildly.

"We still have to reach the caves and then riverside and capture the flag to return to the designated endpoint, remember? Or is that too much of a team effort for you?"

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Team: Cerys Dyn Zaiya Ceti
Enemies: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus
Neutral: Lorn Reingard

​

The blonde Padawan took a deep breath, already bracing himself as Zaiya continued with the constant chirping. Her annoying voice constantly pulled at the strings of his already thin patience, despite his best intentions! It was easy to absorb her words like a sponge. Soon, his body turned, fully engaging her with a piercing gaze that felt like it could cut through durasteel. “Yes, I’m absolutely serious,” he stated. His tone was louder than usual as he addressed the girl.

Frustration, like a raging inferno on Mustafar, ignited within him; it threatened to consume everything. How dare she speak of self-control, when her all past actions were filled with hypocrisy? The audacity of everything was enough to make him shake his head.

“Yeah, like at Caamas Temple?” he fired back. “Where was your self-control then, moron?” The insult climbed out just as sharp as intended. The teen’s expression softened for a split second as he glanced away. The look became even more thoughtful as he then stared at the wall between both teammates. Several loose strands of hair were brushed back from his forehead. “I get that a lot of girls like me,” he said calmly, “but you just made it too obvious, Zaiya. Plus, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m way out of your league.”

His emerald eyes locked back onto her; it was an open challenge. Each word he spoke had been carefully measured. Perhaps, if she used logic, Zaiya would finally accept the rather obvious truth of everything.

His arms folded across his chest as he prepared to continue. “Maybe you should actually pay attention to the details for once.” Lysander raised an eyebrow as he reflected on a moment from earlier. “Not once in the rules did Briana mention anything about drones. And just so we’re clear, I can totally vote you off the team if everyone else agrees. So why don’t you start thinking of a better plan? Me and Cerys? We serve the same Master.. so obviously.. I hold more power on this team than you do.”

He gave a final shake of the head. “So Zaiya, what efforts can you actually contribute to get us out of here and to the cave?!”

​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Team: 2 (aka Hotties)
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Training saber and bo staff
Tag: Joro Kal'nath | Bea Laseen | Cerys Dyn | Zaiya Ceti | Lysander von Ascania | Briana Sal-Soren | Lossa Aureus

The other team were bickering and all fell into the pits from what Lily could hear. It was excellent since her team were skipping across the traps with ease. All they had to do was keeping moving forward and take advantage of the lead that they had been provided. Lily was ecstatic with the results, until she heard the calls from Joro that he had gotten himself stuck in one of the pits.

It was something that would slow them down and Lily rushed over to where Joro was, looking down, "we gotta be quick, the other team all fell in and we need to keep moving forward as much as possible." She laid down and stuck her hand out to reach, "use the Force to jump and grab my hand. I should be able to pull you out of the pit then." Lily offered as she wondered how the other team were going to get themselves out of the pit if they were all trapped inside there.

Right now, all she needed to do was make sure that no one was left behind and get them ahead as much as they could be.

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Cerys Dyn Lysander von Ascania
Always Watching: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard

Zaiya's stripes shimmered with a fiery mix of aggravated lavender and streaks of silver as she stared Lysander down, hands clenched at her sides.

Full of himself didn't even begin to cover it. He was impossible, and the way he twisted everything to suit his narrative made her blood boil.

"You are so full of yourself!" she snapped, her bioluminescence blazing across her skin in sharp flashes.

"I don't even think you're cute! And for the record, crashing into you at Caamas was an accident. I tried to apologize, but no-o, you just had to be rude and call me names!" Her cheeks flushed deeper as her voice rose, her annoyance spilling out unchecked.

She took a breath, trying to rein in her spiraling emotions, though the glow on her skin betrayed the storm raging beneath.

"And also, newsflash, Lysander -- we're all in this together, or we fail. There's no 'voting off.' Doesn't matter who your Master is or what sort of inflated sense of non existant power you believe you have!"

Before he could get another word in, Zaiya raised her wrist and activated her holographic cuff. A solid light disc flickered into existence above her, humming softly with energy.

"Unlike you," she said sharply, her tone dripping with rare sarcasm as she gave off additional glowing sparks of bioluminecence, "I'm actually trying to solve the problem."

Without hesitation, she used the Force to leap onto the glowing disc, which held her weight. Another disc blinked into place ahead of her, and she jumped, demonstrating the makeshift stairway in action. But just as quickly as the first disc appeared, it vanished, followed by the second one a few seconds later. Zaiya landed lightly back on the ground, brushing glitter off her arm.

"Each disc lasts five seconds," she explained briskly, glaring at Lysander.

"We can use them to climb out of the pit, but someone's going to need to carry Cerys since she can't make the jumps herself. So unless you want to keep yelling and wasting time, try helping for once."

 

[Bea Laseen]

Team 2: Hotties
Interacting: Joro Kal'nath + Lily Decoria

Bea leapt over the pits, her feet hitting the ground strong and true, but then came to a screeching halt when she heard her name being yelled. Of course it was the green goblin, falling into the pit and ruining whatever lead they had. She trekked back and stood over the pit where Joro was dangling, hands firmly placed on her hips, looking unimpressed. Standing next to Lily, Bea planted her feet, bent her knees slightly, and held out her hand for Joro to grab. Two were better than one.

"I would remind you to say 'little help, please?' but we gotta move quick. Hurry, before we fall behind!"

 

[Joro Kal'nath]

ATTIRE: Jedi Robes
The Hotties: Lily Decoria | Bea Laseen
The Notties: Lysander von Ascania | Zaiya Ceti
The Bosses: Briana Sal-Soren | Lorn Reingard | Lossa Aureus

He clung onto the root, waiting for someone to approach. First was Lily, extending an arm towards him. She seemed trustworthy. The other girl seemed kind of snooty. She was almost as annoying as that Lysander kid. Not quite, but if she kept it up she would be. Either way, he used the Force to throw himself upward, kinda like Obi-wan did when he cut down Maul the first time, and grabbed onto the outstretched hands, mostly relying on Lily because she seemed the stronger of the two.

By their power combined, he was pulled free of the pit.

"Thanks," he said, not even bothering to dust himself off.

He did note what they said about the others having all fallen into the pits. If that was the case, they had an advantage, but part of him recognized that even though this was a competition, and he did want to win, that if they were being good Jedi, they should really help out the other team. He was torn on the subject, but he decided that even if it made them lose as a team, the right thing was still the right thing.

"I'm going to help them."

It didn't matter to him if Lily and Bea got mad at him. What mattered was that they gave them a fair chance. With all of them in the pits, it was going to be harder for them to get out since they had no one to help them. So, he, carefully, maneuvered through the pits to where the other three were working to get out of their pit, and lay down at the edge of it before scooting forward and extending his hands down towards the three of them. Which, of course, let him smell their stink and see all the glitter.

"What the heck happened to you three? Man, that smells... Come on, grab my hands and let's get you out."

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Mission collaborator: Zaiya Ceti
Enemies: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus
Neutral but probably cool: Lorn Reingard

​

Lysander’s laughter echoed through the space around them. “If I’m not cute,” he said while making an L with his index finger and thumb, “then how do you explain my ZikZok inbox being full of backups? It’s called simple math.” The L was not for Lovalla. With arms crossed once more, he was fully prepared to dismiss whatever came next as the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk.

All he could do next was shake his head as she spun lies about the incident at Cammas; it threatened to shift his humor into annoyance. “That’s such a false narrative Zaiya, and you know it. I even tried to apologize at the enclave last week, but you just had to start acting all superior. You ruined the entire morning with your drama. It’s like you go prancing from planet to planet with some invisible crown, judging everyone with your odd sense of moral superiority. And I know I’m not the only one who sees it! I'll make sure those on Coruscant know about it too.”

There was a proud tilt of his chin that wanted her to challenge him further; he reveled in whatever fire was blazing with her, even if she was impossible and greatly manipulating their interactions. “Let’s get one thing clear, ok,” he continued, his tone firm, “I’m not in this with you. Sure, we can, like, join forces or something to get the job done, but you better not ever mention it as a team effort later. Keep my name out of your mouth. I have no interest in being part of anything tied to you!”

Skepticism was etched across his features as he observed the demonstration with disdain. It looked more like some flashy trick than anything else. The same smirk from earlier flashed. “Sorry I missed that, can you show me ag–” he started, but fell silent as while catching sight of Cerys beginning to fall back. The Padawan rushed to her side. Panic even gripped him, catching the girl just before she hit the ground. He’d been tempted to blame Zaiya for this too but bit his tongue.

The teen’s voice suddenly became dangerous. “If those dumb little discs of yours are some kind of joke and don’t last for five seconds,“ he said, shifting his focus back to Zaiya, "You really won't like what happens next.” He prepared to lift the Togruta, quickly feeling how her weight was uneven, much different than the perfectly balanced weights he'd been using in the gym recently. It made her feel heavier than anticipated; muscles were already beginning to strain, and frustration was flaring. “I don’t care if you go first. But just stay out of my way!”

He glanced up at Joro Kal'nath . "Ms. Ceti brought the smell with her," Lysander quickly quipped. There was a hint of amusement, and he feigned a look of concern. “I’m guessing you should worry about yourself and your own team.” A small pause followed. “And if I were you, I’d be more concerned about that suspicious hairstyle than our smell.”

 

[Lily Decoria]

Team: 2 (aka Hotties)
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Training saber and bo staff
Tag: Joro Kal'nath | Bea Laseen | Zaiya Ceti | Lysander von Ascania | Briana Sal-Soren | Lossa Aureus | Lorn Reingard

She helped get Joro out of the pit and almost as soon as he was out of their pit, he was racing to get to the others in their pit. Lily looked to Bea stunned by this turn of events since it seemed counterintuitive to their goals to help the other team. Especially since they were needing to get on with the race and complete the potential other trials ahead of them. There was plenty of unknown dangers left for them to face since Lily was sure there would be more surprises than the pits.

"Joro, they can get out of the pit on their own. We need to keep moving ahead as a team. If they can't work as a team to get out of their pit, then that is their problem, not ours." There were already several ideas that Lily had for several people trapped in the same pit together. First and most obvious would be the lightest person to be boosted out of the pit by the others and then lifting them up one by one. That idea came to her without spending a second on planning strategies.

However, bad communication and team dynamics would cause them more problems than a simple pit would. However, there was a voice sounding like Briana Sal-Soren lingering in her head that wanted her to help others. That leaving people to struggle was never the right thing to do. The issue was for Lily, was that Zaiya and Lysander had more issues than a simple pit.

"Right, damnit." Lily sighed and walked over to the pit where the pair were. "Right, what's the biggest issue here?" Deciding to pose the risk assessment question to those in the pit.

 

[Bea Laseen]

Team: 2?

Well, with Joro saved by two superiorly-skilled girls, the rest would hopefully be a cakewalk.

Wait, what?

Bea glanced at Lily, jaw practically on the floor, when Joro rushed off to help the other team. Wasn't he the one who emphasized the teamwork part of this? Doesn't that include making decisions as a team? Bea sighed. What did she expect? Weren't the Falleen a colonial species? Combine that with too much time spent with the nobility, it was easy to see why democracy was such a foreign concept to him.

Following Lily, Bea stood over the pit, a look of boredom on her face. She touched each of her earrings, then moved her hands to her hips. She wasn't gonna lift a finger. Better save her energy for the challenges ahead, and for when she would inevitably have to carry Joro's high-horse ass across the finish line.

Joro Kal'nath Lily Decoria Zaiya Ceti Lysander von Ascania Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

Outfit: XoXo | Equipment: Lightsaber, Echo Stone | Tag: Lysander von Ascania , Zaiya Ceti , Lily Decoria , Bea Laseen , Joro Kal'nath

As if materializing from mist, a petite Jedi wearing a set of clean pressed cream robes, with beautiful, glossy red hair braided into a perfect coiffure, was on the scene.

Within moments, the diminutive woman moved past Joro, Bea, and Lily, using the Force to gracefully guide her descent down into the pit and to the three students.

"Zaiya, Lysander —" She addressed, reaching for the Togruta and giving Lysander a reassuring nod that she could take things from here. "Dears, I'll need some space please." If the smell radiating off the three bothered her in any way, the woman didn't seem to show it, her attention fixed primarily on Cerys.

Taking the unconscious girl, Chiara laid her down with as much care as could be managed before taking out a small nano-medi pad from her satchel to begin the full assessment. A soft, pale blue light flickered on and scanned over Cerys, Chiara reading the diagnostic data as it poured over the holo-display in rapid succession.

Her brows knit faintly together, though her features remained otherwise schooled. Lifting her wrist, the petite redhead activated her comlink. "MD-5," She called softly, "Bring a hover stretcher, a few stim shots, and spinal precautions." Her wrist lowered and one index finger flipped across the screen, sending off a run down of her diagnostic scan to Briana before de-activating the nano-medi pad and quickly placing the device back into her satchel.

"The fall caused a little more damage to your friend than was initially apparent," Chiara told the pair, trying on a soft smile and attempting to keep herself from sounding over clinical and direct with the Padawans, keeping a more reassuring tone and presence about herself. "but don't worry, it's nothing we can't handle, and nothing life threatening. But, it does mean that the two of you will need to continue on without her and should probably get a move on sooner, rather than later." She waved to Joro, Lily, and Bea who were waiting, trying to subtly indicate that they should take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself to them. "If you wouldn't mind. I'll need the room to get the stretcher down here so we can raise Cerys out as comfortably as possible."

​

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Jumpsuit/Armor/Helmet
Bracelet
Lightsaber, Turmoil, Concealed Blaster
Lysander von Ascania | Zaiya Ceti | Lily Decoria | Bea Laseen | Joro Kal'nath | Briana Sal-Soren​

Fishing a drink pack from one of the pouches on her armor, she settled back into her spot watching the flag.

Keeping the live feed from the camera in the corner of her vision as she scanned her surroundings. Trouble came in all forms in the middle of combat. Something this course was supposed to lightly touch on rather than bring any sort of real trouble to the situation. Needing to medevac one of the padawans left a sour taste in her mouth despite the gnawing desire to see what kind of battle skills they had. Fiddling with the end of a strap as she wondered how tired they would be now that they had been trying to clamber out of the pitfall traps for so long.

Slipping the drink pack into the receptacle in her armor and drawing the straw into her mouth, she watched the woman begin to work. Brow rising in surprise at seeing the other team come to help.

"Oh?" Tilting her head slightly as she looked to the exit of the cave with newfound wonder.

Would they actually work together or stumble over who would be leader in this mock trial. An idea forming as she slowed down on fiddling with the strap on her armor. The idea growing as she thought further on it.

"Easier or harder in numbers?" Thinking back to the temple sneaking that Briana had incidentally joined her on as the strap fell away from her idling hands. The whole place had left her on edge and watching every corner. Feeling like she was being watched constantly and double checking behind her and around every corner.

"Mm. For another time." Letting the idea settle in the back of her mind as she waited.

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Cerys Dyn Lysander von Ascania
Always Watching: Briana Sal-Soren Lossa Aureus Lorn Reingard

“If I’m not cute,” he said while making an L with his index finger and thumb, “then how do you explain my ZikZok inbox being full of backups? It’s called simple math.”

"Oh for the love of..." Zaiya muttered under her breath in frustration, bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. Really, she could feel the throbbing headache starting to form behind her eyes. She had hoped, really hoped, that Lysander wasn't as much of a childish Kwookian Monkey Lizard as he seemed to express himself. That maybe, just maybe, things had gotten on the wrong foot -- admittingly several times -- and that due to the seriousness of the situation and the circumstances they found themselves in, the younger Padawan would realize that there were priorities they had to focus on.

Nope.

That singular motion of an L-shape over his forehead was reminiscent of some bratty youngling giving out a childish arrogant taunt -- not a Padawan in his teens who was supposed to be of the same honorable noble house as that of Knight Corazona von Ascania .

Nope, with everything that Lysander was saying, Zaiya couldn't help the way her skin rippled with a kaleidoscope of irritation and guilt -- fiery oranges and deep blues streaking across her cheeks as she adjusted herself, standing stiffly, her hand falling from her face only to cross her arms over her chest. Lysander's endless smugness was grating, but this wasn't the time to argue. Not with Cerys suddenly swaying to fall unconscious.

"Cerys!" Zaiya cried out, also lurching forward towards the Togruta. Of course, Lysander couldn't help but lash out again, blaming the Lovalla for seemingly everything under the universe. It was only seeing just how worried Lysander was and Cerys' condition that made Zaiya bite her tongue.

Zaiya's jaw clenched, and just as she was about to check on Cerys, the sudden appearance of Knight Chiara drew the Padawan's attention, the redhead intervening with her soft-spoken authority, thankfully instantly calming the chaotic pit. Zaiya's fingers twitched, guilt creeping further up her spine. Maybe she had rushed the solid light disc demonstration, but Lysander's constant taunts made it impossible to think straight.

"I wasn't trying to pull a joke," Zaiya muttered, barely above a whisper, glaring at the ground as Chiara's scans lit up the pit. Her voice grew louder as she snapped, "And for the record, Lysander, your constant need to make everything a competition isn't exactly helping anyone." The orange hues dimmed slightly as she exhaled, trying to force herself calm.

Chiara's words snapped her back to the moment. Cerys was going to be fine. Relief softened the tension in her frame, the golden bronze of empathetic bioluminescence returning to her mottled skin. But now? It was just her and Lysander, left to climb their way out of this mess -- literally and figuratively. Well, at least until she heard the voice of another join the fray. Glancing up, she saw the green visage of Joro Kal'nath . Wait he was from the other team. Was he trying to help them?

Of course, instead of being grateful, Lysander was just keen on using his tongue to lash out at someone else instead. Really, the way he seemed to just insult others as well as her on the same breath was starting to be more and more infuriating. How was he even a Jedi Padawan to begin with?! His actions were not only disrespectful but also jeopardizing their mission.

He was trying to start fights with everyone left and right! There was no way he could be the best Jedi with how hotheaded he was!

Deciding that too much time had been wasted, and now that Cerys was in good hands, it was time to move forward. They had a trial to complete, and the only way to succeed was through teamwork.

"Right," Zaiya said, stealing a glance at Lysander with more resolve than annoyance, but it was still a healthy dose of aggravated annoyance as the Lovalla lit up in an impressive pulse of colors.

Without further ado, Zaiya began to activate the disks. If Lysander was going to follow, it was up to him now. At this point, she had given an idea and she was going to get out. If the blonde Lothcat wanted to join her, that was on him.

The meter wide discs began to appear with quick succession, the Lovalla summoning the Force to jump from each glowing solid light disc as she made a circular stair like pattern that would reach nearly the top of the pit.

Just a few more and... Bursting forward, Zaiya reached out to take Joro's offered hand, using his strength to allow her to be pulled to safety to the top.

It was too bad that doing so also brought along that terrible stench and a cloud of glitter -- again, all of Lysander's fault.

"Thank you," she told him with a brief grateful smile. He didn't have to do that, especially since they were on opposite teams and had been allowed to try to slow each other's progress.

"Okay, time to head to the caves!" Her colors shifted back to a focused green as she tilted her head toward the path ahead, turning back only to confirm if Lysander decided to join her or if he was still in the pit being an idiotic buffoon.