A Year Is A Long Time Passing

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Shimmering emerald eyes closed for a moment, perhaps longer. Momentary weightlessness. As she lifted her head to look at him he seemed further away than he had just been. Everything was in slow motion. She was moving, though not by any act of her own. Her stomach ached as if she'd just been punched. Had she been? What was happening? The distance between the two continued to widen. Was she trapped in some sort of mental state? A dream? A Force Dream? No, she began to recall the moments just prior. Everything sped up so quickly. She'd been hit. She remembered him moving his hands but she did nothing to counteract it. She simply....Stood still.

The Worshyr tree behind her cracked, its' trunk crying out in defiance as her body crashed violently into it. Sure, she had on armor, but it wasn't meant for protecting against anything besides blasters and lightsabers. She may as well have been wearing nothing at all in that moment. A hard gasp of air left her lungs as she cried out in pain, her back sliding down the length of the tree until she dropped to her knees, both hands bracing the ground beneath her as she struggled to find oxygen. Small coughs yielded spats of blood that slid down her chin. Her head ached. She closed her eyes for a moment...Just a moment. She had to think back to the last time she'd been hit so hard. Another cough. She looked up again, her hand wiping the blood away from her face while she muttered to him. "Hypocrite."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

She was defenseless now, doubled over and in pain having felt the full brunt of his attack, but he had to do it. She'd attacked him not only with words, but she'd almost put a saber in his chest before her heart had again betrayed her and forced her to avert the attack before it was too late. An attack that Varus wasn't entirely certain that he wouldn't have let go. He wasn't sure if he'd have let it run its course and just end him so that he wouldn't have to do what he was doing right then and there, and that was hurt her.

Hurting Seraphina Shel'tah had been the very last thing that he had ever wanted to do...

And maybe he was a hypocritical bastard of a man, but she wasn't any better. Neither of them were exactly the bright and shining examples of what a Jedi should be, but they both knew that. That was why their slights and insults were incredibly pointless, the both of them knowing that their slandering of one another could go on for a lifetime and then some. Varus had been under the impression that what he was doing was right and Sera had been resisting the change of a Republic that was slowly growing apart from it's Jedi allies. They had both been fools in their own rights, but now they were here in this wet and muggy place hating one another, and for what?

In the blink of an eye Varus vanished, reappearing right in front of Sera, who's wrist he grabbed and pulled up so that she was standing again. It probably wasn't a motion she wanted to take part in, of course, seeing as her gut might still have been aching, but Varus hadn't exactly given her a choice. In fact, he thrust her back into the tree so that her back would pop against its cracked and broken bark once again. When she fell back forwards after colliding with the tree trunk he raised his knee up into her gut, thrusting it deep to render her completely helpless, and then he caught her, letting her down gently before pulling her hands behind her back and strapping her hands tightly together with plastic restraints designed to tighten yet not loosen.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Her eyes snapped open as she felt his hand on her wrist, pulling her upwards. "Ahhhhh!" She screamed in pain, not from her wrist, but the sudden movement of her back, to which again felt the rough embrace of the Worshyr tree as he slammed her spine against it again. Tears of pain welled in her eyes as she forced herself to keep them open. She almost failed to even notice his knee force its' way into her stomach as she fell forward, her body entirely indifferent about where it landed. Her mouth hung open as she leaned forward on her knees, her forehead pressed against the grass in front of her, coughing mouthfuls of blood into the moss as she traded off between gulps of air and expels of red liquid from within.

Her hands were bound perhaps, and that would hold most ordinary folks, rendering them more or less entirely helpless. Varus however, forgot something, that Seraphina was a master of telekinesis. A master that had not more than two minutes ago thrust an activated saber towards his chest, and redirected it away just before it could have caused serious damage. She was far from being in the greatest health, given that for some reason unknown to her, she let him do this to her. The Twi'lek looked up at him, a mixture of tears running down the sides of her eyes and blood smeared across her lips and cheeks. Her lips and nose quivered for a moment as her breathing became heavier and heavier. The woman's body began to tremor momentarily, her hands, while cuffed behind her back, clenched her fists in a fury unlike any she had ever felt before.

In an instant, a surge of energy in the form of a Force Repulse radiated from her, causing a massive telekinetic explosion. The ripples that poured forth caused an immediate sandstorm, pulling and clearing the moss and other small flora with it and sending it scattering into the darkness beyond. Adolescent Worshyr trees were torn from their roots and hurled in all directions. A number of elder trees cracked, severing a portion of their trunks and thereby causing a dangerous lean. The area immediately surrounding her and outwards for about 5 meters gave way to the appearance that a small meteor had crashed in the center, leaving a small 1 meter indentation in the soil beneath her.

Sera's eyes opened, her breathing thoroughly labored, peering through the incredible amount of dirt and debris that had been kicked up into a hazy cloud. She coughed again, attempting to stand slowly as she shouted into the smokescreen, one word at a time.

"I'm! Not! Going! Back! Varus!"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The moment Varus felt the pulse of the force before it's effects followed suit with her employed ability he froze. He was on top of her, still fastening her restraints when he felt the plume of the force wash over him as she used a technique that he himself had grown accustomed to using when in a tight spot. Force repulse or force pulse as he liked to call it was the expulsion of energy in all directions that could break bones, pop ear drums and even rupture internal organs of foes that came to close, but most importantly it could put a great deal of distance between you and an aggressor. In this case, Varus was the aggressor whom Sera was trying to distance herself from, but as for any possible injuries that could have been sustained, the young man was much stronger than that.

Sure, the pulse of the force didn't feel very good and threw him from his place, but he responded well to the unforeseen tactic as he always tried to by thinking fast, and acting even quicker. That was why, as he flew through the air, he tumbled backwards and landed on all fours about twenty feet away, either of his fists slamming into the soft soil beneath him to brace himself and keep from being pushed away any further. As he did, his hands searched and quickly latched on to something in the ground beneath him, and slowly but surely he pulled it up from beneath the ground, which crumbled away all around him as the force continued to push him, threatening him to blow him away like a violent storm.

Finally it all stopped, and the massive expulsion of the force had run it's course leaving him unmoved and in the same spot that he'd landed, his thick, muscled arms covered in mud and clutching a large root from the very same Worshyr tree behind Sera herself. It had helped him to anchor himself in place, a creative yet dirty way to keep himself grounded while the Pink force user rebelled against his efforts to retain her. At this point, though, neither of them would be too worried about a bit of mud and grime, which was why when he stood and started walking back towards Sera again he simply shook his arms, shivering his muscles from wrist to shoulder in order to shake off most of the clots and chunks of earth still clinging to his skin.

"Yes you are...", Varus said as he rushed Sera again, "...but if you want it the hard way, we can do it the hard way. I won't snare you like some animal.", he whispered, darting past her and snatching her by the arms again, and in the blink of an eye he'd cut her hands free before letting them go and leaping over her head to land about ten feet in front of her, a combat knife that he'd always carried with him in his left hand. He'd used it to free her from his restraints, just like he'd used it to kill and provide food for them when they were stranded on a planet that neither of them had known, though he would argue that this knife played a big role in the story of when they'd fallen in love.

"I'll just beat you... and when you can't fight anymore, then we'll leave this dammed place when you sleep peacefully and become docile, but I won't cage or leash you. You deserve more than that."

He threw his hand towards the ground, the knife leaving his grasp and sticking into the crust of Kashyyyk, but before it had even stuck into place, he was upon her again. As fast as he'd ever been, as if his entire body was blinking from one place to the next, he vanished from the spot and appeared in front of her, one of his feet hooking against the back of her leg and pressing down so that she would fall to her knees. As her knees hit the ground, however, he appeared behind her, his boot hovering just above her cheek as if he were going to strike her and send her tumbling across the marshlands, but he didn't.

Instead he moved again, his body a blur as he kneed her in the back and forced her forwards to her stomach, and the very next second he was standing next to her, his boot scooting up under her tummy and kicking upwards to lift and throw her up into the air right in front of him, and again he rared back for but a second before he threw his right arm forwards and released the force aimed at the gut of the woman.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgxcvmkPD-I​

​

"It's not your choice to make Varus!" She screamed at him defiantly, her freed hands bracing herself on the ground before her body was forced down into the now barren soil in front of her. There was a stinging of pain along her chin, the dirt making its' way into open wounds on her face. The continuous beating had to be stopped. She wasn't going back to Ossus, or anywhere else. She wouldn't become docile. She wasn't his property. It was now clear that he wouldn't restrain himself, and so something had to be done before she was unable. As he lifted her back up to strike her again her eyes would stare deep into his, a combined look of sorrow and pain as her left hand pushed his aside to prevent him from hitting her again. As her feet touched down on the ground her left hand quickly gestured into a grip. Varus would suddenly feel a drastic constriction around his throat as his own body was lifted from the ground as if nothing but a mere feather, her hand acting as the guide as she lifted him two, three, five feet off of the ground. While over on her right hand, small arcs causing a series of snaps and hisses of greenish energy formed.

Tightening the grip on his throat while he floated just above the ground Sera raised her right hand towards his hovering body, a look of contempt on her face for him before releasing a continuous surge of terrible electric current into the man. Her eyes held nothing but a look of determination. And as the Twi'lek allowed the flow of the Force to continue coursing freely through her fingertips she reminded him again. "I'm not your property! Not your pet! You will not tell me what I will and won't do, and you sure as hell won't convince me by force!"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"So this is what... you've... become...", Varus managed to say as he was lifted into the air, the pressures of the force around his throat and pressing harder still. His vision blurred a bit, but his neck was thick and his muscles were harder to punish with the force than the average man. His neck didn't give and his bones didn't break, but that wasn't going to keep him from passing out if he didn't do something to stop this. Before he could, though, he felt the surge of electric current through his body as his veins caught fire and his skin was practically torn in countless places. It was excruciating pain, like countless tiny nails were being drive deep into his body.

It was so painful, in fact, that he couldn't even manage to scream out. His voice had been rendered useless and his body had locked up, muscles reacting to shock as his heart rate became dangerously high. Then he was gone...

For a moment, perhaps two, he fell limp. He had no thoughts and no feelings. He had no heartbeat churning the blood through his veins and giving him the ability to move, breathe and continue living that retched life of his. He was just gone, like he'd given up and embraced death, which was entirely unlike the determined man he'd become. All of that hard work and training. All of the fighting he had done on the behalf of the Jedi Order. It would have all been for nothing. How could he give up now?

"RAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

That was just it. He couldn't give up now. Not after everything he'd been through. Not after everything he'd been forced to put up with. Not after every beating and every failure. Not where there was glory to be had and good still in the world. Not while there was still something to fight for.

All at once, Varus screamed out, his voice echoing across the moist marshlands as he clenched his hands and tightened his midsection. He could only just barely move, but he didn't need a wide range of motion to use the very same technique on Seraphina that she had used on him before. All at once, a massive wave of the force ruptured from deep inside of him as if it had been created by his core. His very essence was expelling the force from his body with the intent of throwing his attacker and ending her onslaught upon him.

One pulse rushed out, and then another, and another, the waves only getting stronger and strong until he fell weightless in the air and dropped to the ground. The electric current was no longer tearing him apart, and his neck had been freed from that wretched woman who he'd sent reeling, but no sooner had his feet touched down to the ground, his face and arms bloodied by open wounds caused by the snapping of electricity across his bare skin, he vanished again.

Now he wasn't afraid to really hurt her, seeing as she didn't mind killing him in order to keep from having to face the Republic she'd betrayed. His heart was still racing, his body still ached, and even some of his muscles had been torn from all the stress, but he couldn't feel a thing. She'd made him numb, and when he was finally right in front of her again he rared back his fist and was gone in an instant.

The force was empowering his movements, and his body would become a blur as he moved behind her and raised his knee, thrusting it into her ribs, very much intent on breaking a few if he could manage it. If it was harder for her to breathe, it would be next to impossible for her to continue this fight, especially in the state she'd already been in. He then bolted in front of her again and raised his hand to sand a big, thick fist across her jaw, knowing that knocking her out completely was also a possibility, though he'd known her to be tougher than that. That was why he then snatched her arm, spun and flipped her over his shoulder towards the Worshyr tree that she would meet with her back again, for the third time, but this time Varus followed her, charging at her with with that hate in his eyes as he turned his shoulder towards her, intending to slam her between he and the tree.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN6VR92V70M​

​

This is looking like a contest of who can act like they care less
But I liked it better when you were on my side
The battle's in your hands now
But I would lay my armor down
If you'd say you'd rather love than fight
So many things that you wish I knew
But the story of us might be ending soon​

The Twi'lek shook her head in disagreement with Varus' words as he dangled above the air. "No, Varus, this is someone trying to maintain their freedom. Freedom which you are trying to take away!" And then, like that, it was over. She heard his screams, it made her stomach turn. She'd never used Electric Judgement on any living being, and seeing its' effects made her feel nauseous to the core. Had Varus not interrupted her with his own Repulse she would have halted the surge of current herself after witnessing it. She had little choice though, this had become essentially a fight or die situation for her, with neither outcome being what she wanted.

The surge of energy knocked her concentration away, releasing Varus from her grip, and sent her a half dozen meters away where she landed with one knee down. As she stood to find him already on top of her again she raised her arms to protect herself, her forearms embracing the impact of Varus' knee, the leather gauntlets she wore providing minimal protection to the muscles and bones beneath. A noticeable grimace of pain raced across her face as the nerves from her two limbs registered intense pain. There was little time to address that situation though as his rather large fist made a final destination connection across her face. Vision blurred immediately, as if she'd just been awoken from a coma. She screamed, mouth filling with blood near instantaneously. Her ear even popped from the pressure of the hit. Consciousness slipped away for a second or two. The woman awoke mid-toss, as her body was being hurled towards another tree, as if her back hadn't received enough punishment yet.

The man followed her, almost racing her to the tree. His eyes, it would be the last thing she saw, so much hatred and anger. Her mind whispered to his through the Force. It was quiet, dull, soft, but honest. "I'm sorry." Her emerald irises shuttered as her body slammed against the tree, causing a hairline fracture along a section of the trunk, head snapping back and into the bark with a noticeable thud. Everything went dark and quiet. Whatever Varus did following the impact was simply irrelevant. Her body slid down the length of the tree and fell quietly into the dirt, motionless, a small pool of blood slowly seeping out of her mouth.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The look of anger upon Varus face immediately changed when he watched those emerald eyes of hers flutter closed, her whispered apology softening him to the core as his body barreled towards her like an out of control cargo freighter about to slam into another ship. As she struck and dropped from the tree, he would have impacted her right before she hit the ground, possibly killing her with the effort behind his attack. His shoulder would have collided with her midsection and this time would have thrust her into the tree behind her, leaving nowhere for the pressure he expended to dissipate.

It might have broken her back or ruptured her stomach, liver or could have even crushed her heart if he hit her in the right spot, but he didn't. He couldn't. Not even after she'd almost killed him twice that very day, he couldn't bring himself to kill her or put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

His steps stuttered and he lost his footing, stumbling forwards, his gallop slowed, which allowed her body to tumble down to the ground at the foot of the tree as he passed overheard, his shoulder sinking into the cracked tree trunk and shattering it to pieces.

​

Instantly he was thrown backwards a few paces, lowering down and catching himself on one knee to slow himself down, and when he came to a stop he pushed himself back up, icy eyes watching as the massive tree above Sera dropped into itself, caving into the open space and landing in the stump where part of itself used to be. It then groaned a load and almost painful cry as it swayed backwards away from Sera, slowly falling, and falling until it crashed into the grass and immediately tore up the earth beneath it. It kicked up mud and patches of green as it dug it's way into Kashyyyk before it finally fell to rest again, not a sound to be heard as the large Jedi carefully made his way to Sera's side.

He wouldn't have shown her before, but seeing as her eyes had closed and she had fallen asleep perhaps for the last time, he didn't care. A single tear escaped his angry eyes as he reached down and slipped one arm around her back and the other underneath her legs. He then stood up and carried her over to their discarded belongings, picking them all up and resting them in her lap so that he could carry her while she cradled their things in her midsection. He then turned and walked back towards the shadowlands so that he could reach his ship once more and leave Kashyyyk, not knowing exactly what to do now.

---

Three days would have passed, and with enough medical treatment, Seraphina would be fine, but Varus wouldn't be there and waiting next to her bed for her to wake up. He'd just left her there, knowing that he might perhaps be the last person she would want to see. Besides, Zeltros was a much prettier place to enjoy alone and without the confining status a relationship looming over your head or realizing that you had a political calling to answer and justice to serve.

She would wake up alone, no one to worry about putting her in hand restraints and bring her to prison. There would also be no one to confide in and share fears, thoughts, desires and opinions with, however. That person was gone, and in fact, waiting for a stiff drink in a dank bar far removed from his responsibilities.


[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

A gasp of air and a minor coughing fit forced her eyes to snap open. Attached to her body was a swath of sensors, needles, scanners, and devices to monitor this and that. She was no doctor, but she had no idea how she had gotten here. Where am I? Am I dead? Is this a dream? All she remembered was giving an apology to Varus, and enduring a split second of the most intense pain she'd ever felt. She also remembered the horrible feeling of electrocuting Varus. It made her stomach turn, forcing her to lean over the bed to vomit directly onto the floor, which spurred a cry of agony from whatever was busted inside of her. The sensors attached to her arms began to flash, and a dull alarm began to sound off in the distance, likely alerting a nurse to the movement of the patient.

Kark my head hurts. Where the feth is that schutta Varus?! She wondered why he wasn't here. After all, he was the one who put her here. Then again, where was here anyway? Was she in a prison's medical ward? She had no idea, no frame of reference. She was fighting him on Kashyyyk, then she woke up in a bed, restrained by medical devices everywhere. "Varus?" She called out again. "Varus???" The lack of reply made her stomach feel like there was a pit in it. She really had nobody else to call for, so instead she simply laid back and closed her eyes, accepting of whatever was coming.

Moments later a nurse came in to find the rather repulsive mess that the Twi'lek had left on the floor beside the bed and called for a droid to clean and sanitize the room immediately. Blood was drawn and her diagnostics read over. "Miss....Shel'tah?" She asked. Sera opened her eyes and looked lazily at the other woman. "Where am I?" she asked. "Don't worry, you're safe. You were brought here by a rather stout looking fellow, but he left shortly after being treated for his injuries. I believe his name was Varus. Yes, that was it." Sera's face gave way to a look of sadness. So he left me here. Her eyes closed, and she ceased paying further attention to the woman tending to her.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Dickie's Cantina...", Varus whispered as he glanced from the patron sitting next to him at the bar over to the bartender behind it who was fixing him another glass of whiskey. "What the hell is a bar like this doing on Zeltros?", he asked the bartender who shrugged towards Varus as he handed him the glass. Varus took that glass and took a sip as the man finally broke his silence and said, "I don't know, but I get the point. Zeltros is a little too exciting with clubs and resorts to have a beat down, dusty old bar that smells like piss on it. Kind of a blemish on the planet's ass, if you ask me.", said the bartender before he chuckled and walked away towards the other end of the bar to service another guest.

As he took his second sip of his fourth glass of whiskey a scantily clad young woman with blemishes on her arms where she'd likely been sticking some kind of injection device approached him and draped her arm across his shoulder. "I was gonna see if you wanted to find some place quiet so we could indulge in some extra curricular activity, but you're so cute I'll let you treat me to your company for free, shugga.", she said, to which Varus scoffed before glancing over at the pink Zeltroni whore, who attempted to sway his decision with her pheromones, although they had no effect.

"Get your arm off of me before I remove you from this bar and leave you on an officer's hood for prostitution.", he warned, which seemed to do the trick. Immediately she backed away from him without another word and melded back into the dank, smokey bar from wince she had emerged so that Varus could continue to drink and hate himself.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

After what felt like an eternity within the Zeltros medical facility's Bacta tank, and being prodded, stuck, and otherwise uncomfortably touched, Sera was able to walk without too much strain, or pain, in her back and legs. The bruising though, that was going to take some more time to disappear. And purple welts on pink skin showed, it showed and it was ugly. She did her best to remain concealed at all times.

Sitting at the edge of the bed she was provided in the recovery room the same nurse from before knocked, then stepped in to greet her. "Hello again, I see you're up and moving now, that's good." Sera nodded, but that was all. "You were in pretty tough shape when you came in. You're a Jedi, aren't you? I couldn't help but notice your lightsabers when we stored your belongings in your cabinet, Jedi only carry those."

Sera had no real interest in talking with this woman, she wanted to leave, to find Varus and...She didn't even know the why of her plan, she just wanted to. Still, she had no reason to take her frustration out on the girl, so she instead gave a brief reply. "No. I was. Now I'm just someone who tries to do what's right." The nurse seemed oddly confused by her response, but smiled all the same. "Well, that makes us similar in a few ways then. I'll be down the hall if you need anything." She then turned on her heels and headed out of the room, leaving the Twi'lek alone.

I need to get out of here. That's what I need.

Laying back, she let her head collide with the pillow atop the bed, looking up at the ceiling while she ran her hands over her body, feeling where the bruises remained from her scuffle with Varus. Why did I say those things to him? How the feth did things turn so evil? The more she dwelled on the questions, the more questions arose. She couldn't answer any of them, and it served only to frustrate her further. Looking out of the window she finally realized where it was she had wound up. Zeltros? Why here?

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

There was no telling how long he'd been asleep in a booth seat at the far corner of the bar. In fact, he hadn't remembered leaving his seat at the bar to take the one he was presently in at all. All he knew was that it was still light outside before he'd passed out, and now, startled awake by the firm "clink" of a glass being thrust down on the table, it was dark. That's when his head popped up to glance up at whoever it was looming over him.

"Don't you think it's about time to call it quits son?", asked the bartender who'd been serving him before, to which Varus responded with his typical cold shouldered comment. "I'll be sure to let you know when I'm through."

Taking the glass, Varus pushed himself up in his booth seat and leaned back. He sighed as he raised his glass, raising his free hand to rub his eyes as he took a sip of the dry, yet lightly sweet whiskey. He didn't wince or display a displeased face, though. He was far too drunk for this whiskey to get to him.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera waited until the ward went dark, a light shift change between the nurses station, before climbing out of her bed and gathering her belongings. She was still far from healed, but she was at least mobile, and could make it out of the hospital now. She wasn't yet certain if there were guards or personnel that were instructed to take her back to Ossus when she was healed, but she wouldn't risk that chance if she didn't have to. Instead, she threw her robe on, packing her armor neatly into her pack, and tucking her lightsabers away. The Twi'lek peered out from her doorway into the hallway to ensure that none of the nurses were making their rounds before extending her hand, gently lifting the bed from the floor and placing it as a barrier in front of the door.

Moving to the window, Sera pushed open the glass, and climbed slowly up onto the pane, dangling her legs out first, then sliding her torso out and holding on by her arms. Her head looked to the left and right for something to grasp below, but finding only another ledge roughly 15 feet below she had no choice but to simply let go and hope to grasp onto it. Her hands released the grip on the edge and she fell like a pile of duracrete down the side of the structure. Immediately she realized she was still in no shape to be doing anything like this, and as she reached for the ledge she was passing, her hands slipped and she continued to fall further. A moment of panic gripped her, and she frantically scrambled to grab the next ledge as she passed. The woman's eyes strained, feeling a twinge of pain as her hands grappled the edge of the balcony. She held on for only a moment before losing the strength to hang on, and fell the rest of the way to the ground below, three more stories.

A scream of pain came racing from her very core immediately following the impact with the ground. At best she had dislocated her left shoulder, at worst, she'd broken her arm. Still, she had to get away from the hospital. She had no idea where she was going, and with no credits and no ship, it was going to be a long night. Sera tucked her arm and walked slowly down the darkened Zeltros streets, looking for anywhere to go.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The night was late, and the weather of Zeltros was beginning to grow fowl. It was a rare rainy season that only came around every year and a half to two years, but when it came it was fierce and aggressive towards the inhabitants of Zeltros. Luckily for them, though, they had their metal towers and massive, ivory domes to hide in when the weather got really bad. That night was just the beginning, though, the clouds above the city beginning to rumble as the rain began to fall, flashes of lightning streaking through the dark veil above as the insignificant creatures of the planet scurried to their safe places. Only the fearless and homeless would bother to be out in weather like that, yet even then it was only just beginning to rain, and it stood to get so much worse as they days wore on into the storm season.

As the rain began to clatter at the roof of the cantina, Varus raised his head and glanced out one of the window panels to see the people skittering this way and that. As he watched, though, his attention was stolen by the beeping from his comm, which he glanced down at in order to read what was displayed on the ID screen. It read "Hospital of"... some word he wasn't even going to try and read in his current state of inebriation. He knew exactly who was calling him, he just didn't know why, although he could have figured one of a few things had happened with a certain someone.

"Please don't tell me...", Varus said as he answered the comm, only to be interrupted by a woman frantically saying. "She's gone! She's just gone! She was in her bed asleep one minute, I left for maybe a half hour to continue my rounds through the hospital, and when the next nurse started her shift at the top of the hour she was just gone!", said the woman, who was clearly not very pleased, but more upset than angry.

"Slow down a little bit, what d you mean she's gone? Did she walk right out the door past you?", Varus asked as he raised his glass and downed the rest of his drink before scooting out of his booth seat and pushing himself up in order to stand upright. When he did, he swayed a bit, but he willed himself to keep his balance as he listened to the woman bark at him over the comm. "I MEAN!", she started to say as Varus leaned away from the comm a bit, grimacing from the high pitched and pissed off sounding woman. "She's gone! The nurse sharing the night shift with me went to her room and couldn't get inside at first. After that she reached up to knock, but before she could she heard a woman screaming, but it didn't sound like it was coming from inside the room. It sounded far off like she'd jumped off the balcony. When the orderlies were able to get her inside, no one was there, and when she rushed to the window to see the horrific sight, no one was on the ground five stories down."

"Sh!t...", Varus said as he dropped a hand full of creds on the table and headed for the door. "What the #%#@ is going... click", were the last words that Varus head before he shut off his comm and stepped out the door. Immediately he was being pelted by rain, and so he shoved his comm into his pocket, pulled his jacket over his shoulders and popped his hood up. He then pulled his jacket tight around his waist before hurrying off towards the hospital where he'd left her.

Hopefully, if she'd come his direction into the city, he'd be able to cut her off. Hopefully, she hadn't made it past him already, but who could really have known? He certainly couldn't, but what he did know was that she wasn't going to be too far away from him just yet, and with any luck, he'd be able to sense her presence in the force if she wasn't keeping her aura concealed.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera clutched at her aching arm as she walked, a grim reminder of her less than graceful departure from the hospital room. How she wished she had taken up opportunities to learn from the Jedi Healers when she was still on Ossus. There was just simply never enough time. The girl continued walking through the street, keeping to the crowds as they moved about with zeal, yet careful not to bump into anyone and antagonize the gripping pain on her left side. Where am I going? She thought to herself. She hadn't formulated much of a plan post-escape, and even if she had, the weather was beginning to turn for the worse the further away she got. Looking up to the sky she felt the rain begin to fall, lightly at first, then steadily turn to a pelting assault. Pulling her hood up and over her head she kept her eyes focused towards the ground to protect her face from the brewing storm.

How long have I been walking? Trying to gauge how long she'd been outside since leaving the hospital was a rather impossible task. 30 minutes? 60? It was likely around an hour or two at a rather slow pace. Stopping to rest underneath a large duracrete bridge, the Twi'lek noticed a pair of likely homeless Zeltrons keeping themselves warm by a burn barrel, their ragged clothes and filthy faces and arms being the key factors to her prejudgement of the pair. Sera smiled and wandered towards them. They were friendly, smiled, and offered her a place to stand and keep warm next to them. "What's your name, doll?" One of the men asked. "Seraphina." She replied, her hand lifted to rub away the weariness in her eyes. "I don't recall seeing you around here before, Seraphina. Are you new to the streets? Or just a relocator?" She looked over at the man asking the question, he looked to be in his later years, not quite elderly, but on the cusp of what would be considered retired. his nose had a few cuts and his face a few bruises, but he held a genuine smile. "I suppose you could say I'm new. Got stranded here - no credits and no ship. I left the hospital I was in, was afraid I might be arrested when they discharged me so I fled. Have nowhere to go now." A simple Mhmm rolled off the man's lips. "I see. That is quite unfortunate miss. Well, you are welcome to stay here for the night, there's plenty of room and you'll keep warm. My name's Trent, and that fellow is Carlise, and this here, well, this is home for us. Make yourself comfortable, the rain will only get worse, and you don't want to be caught out in the storm unprotected."

Sera smiled, sitting down against the duracrete wall of the bridge, her eyes gazing up to watch the rain as it tumbled down from the heavens above, the lightning crackling across the sky as the thunder boomed. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you both." The woman laid her head against the wall, closing her eyes. She needed to rest for a minute...Just a minute.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

After almost an hour of walking, Varus stopped and glanced up at the hospital in which he'd left Seraphina. He realizied that she hadn't gone down the same path through the city that he had taken, which meant she could have gone one of about a hundred different ways as she escaped the hospital. That was bad, and meant that he was either never going to see her again or he would have to hope to the gods that when he reached out for her in the force, she would answer.

He stopped there in the hospital courtyard, huddled over with his hood up and protecting him from the pouring rain. Plumes of hot air rushed out from beneath his hood with each breath he took as he glanced around, allowing himself to become calm as he connected to the force. He then took a deep, soothing breath as his ice blue eyes slanted to a close, his mind spanning out for miles and allowing his voice to reach each and every ear.

"I know you're there...", he first said, realizing that so many people would be confused, concerned or even frightened in those passing moments. "...tell me...", he then whispered, his pale, cold lips mouthing the words as he spoke.

"Tell me where you are..."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Words echoed through her mind as she slept. It seemed like a voice in a dream. "I know you're there..." Sera recognized the voice as Varus, though she couldn't tell where it was coming from, and still had no control over her slumbering body. Here, she was confined to her subconscious. "...tell me..." She struggled to block out the voice, afraid that she may have been discovered while she slept, and was now helpless to prevent his telepathic interrogation. "Tell me where you are..." The Twi'lek made some kind of incoherent noises as she struggled against the voice inside her mind, unaware whether or not the other two men could also hear Varus, or whether or not she had in fact been captured and was unable to wake herself due to some malevolent doings.

"I'm not going back, Varus." Was all she could think to say to him.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

That one little response was all that he had needed. The moment that he heard her rebellious little protest, he felt her miles away across the city, and instantly he faced where her aura had originated and began to walk towards a lower district of Zeltros. A district away from most of the lights, casinos and loud music was the lower city, an underbelly of society that ever planet seemed to have. That's where she was, and all that he could recollect was that she'd had nowhere else to go.

"There's a reason you woke up in a hospital bed on Zeltros...", Varus whispered, a little more forcefully this time, his voice carrying out with the wind and rain and entering the minds of all those who were able to hear him.

He'd made it a few blocks towards her, but her aura dimmed again, and so he waited for her to respond once more and give herself away.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Because you couldn't just let me die, could you? You needed me breathing to drag me back to Ossus. Well it's not happening."

Her reply would be direct, ensured to reach only Varus. The woman was a master of the technique by now. Her tone was solemn and rather defeated. She'd expended such a great deal of energy simply escaping the hospital that despite being entirely asleep, even her subconscious knew that her arm was in distress, and that she was in no condition to be exerting the type of energy, physical or otherwise, that she was doing now. As time passed, the rain continued to pick up, parts of the streets began to flood as storm drains overflowed, the majority of their tunnel systems ill-equipped to handle the intense downpours that occasionally occurred during these storms. For those caught in the rain unprotected, it would feel almost as if hail were falling, the powerful droplets hammering down on the planet below. The two men that shared the area beneath the bridge had remained awake, keeping close to the fire and ensuring that their new guest was OK while she slept her first night on the streets.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

When she responded to him again, he'd finally found her, his mind zoning in on the young Twi'Lek woman as she slept in the undercity. It was late, and she was around others as she slept, as if she'd taken to the streets as a homeless person now, but as she slept she was still openly responding to him, which meant that she still had been holding on to some form of consciousness the entire time. Now that he had pinpointed her location, though, his rather angry response would be only heard by her and her alone.

"You WOULD BE on Ossus right now if I'd decided to bring you back, not on Zeltros. You were stable enough to make the trip, and if I had wanted to bring you back, I would have BROUGHT YOU BACK!", he barked at the woman, not realizing what he sounded like and stopping for a moment to take a breath and collect his thoughts. He glanced around the place he'd ended up in, noting that it was dark and that there were people on either side of a road that looked a bit more like an alleyway, watching him and wondering why he was just standing there in place. Wondering why he was breathing hard, ice blue eyes glowing lightly as they had been enthused by the invigorating force. A slight twinge of anger quickly worked it's way through him like the lightest of brush strokes across a blank canvas.

It forced him to pause for a moment and think about what he was doing and what he was saying, not sure that he liked the feeling he was getting. He'd already lost control on Kashyyyk, and he certainly didn't want to lose control on Zeltros. There was nothing there, like the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, that should be able to cause his resolve to wane. That was why, as he spoke, his voice softened to a whisper again as he approached her location. "I... I chose not to bring you back.", he admitted, although begrudgingly so. Still, she might loosen up a bit if she'd known of his choice not to return to Ossus.

Soon Varus stopped next to a burning barrel and two men, who looked over at with rather confused expressions on their faces, wondering what he wanted and who he was. He didn't say anything at first, and in face, simply glanced between them bot before looking between the both of them to see a sleeping, pink Twi'Lek about twenty feet away.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]