Private After Dark Adventures

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber, Glowrod
Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tag: Loomi

Bastila stood rooted before a towering, time-worn door, its edges meticulously scrawled with some sort of ancient script. She drew a faint breath, knowing that this place was technically off limits to Padawans. 'Technically' isn't an absolute term, is it? she mused, emboldening herself to grasp the cold metal handle and giving it a firm push, flinching as the door screeched in protest. Her heart galloped a mile a minute within her chest, intelligent hazel eyes flicking left and right in rapid succession to see if anyone would come running—had anyone heard?

One anxious minute ticked by, then another.

Satisfied that on one detected her transgression, she took her first cautious step into the musty old corridor, slender fingers deftly unhooking the narrow glowrod from her belt to activate it, its amber lighting casting an eerie glow across her features as she delved further into the unknown.

'How far down does this place go, anyway?' She wondered absentmindedly, finding herself descending several sets of stairs before walking down a narrow hall, her footsteps echoing in rhythm with the voices carried by unseen air ducts— the intense medley of speculation and heated debate regarding the mysterious nocturnal disturbances, arguments she'd overheard for weeks now.

'Maybe it's ships docking at peculiar hours?', 'Or old malfunctioning holograms?'...and the most ludicrous suggestion of them all— a Blashbeast, a fictitious creature invented by parents to enforce obedience in their young children. Bastila struggled not to snort at the preposterous notion of that one.

Despite the countless wild stories spun by jittery Padawans, Bastila believed it was something much more tangible than what they were imagining. It was a mystery she intended to solve and thus put the rampant rumors to rest, once and for all.

Preoccupied by her racing thoughts, the young woman failed to spot the shadowy figure hunched over in the darkness as she rounded the next corner. Stumbling over them, she crashed to the ground with an undignified yelp. "Who's there?!" Bastila demanded, heart racing as she scrambled to her feet.

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Bastila Sal-Soren

"Who's there?!"

"EEP!"

Out of the shadows came Loomi, who tumbled forward out of shock. She had lost her balance after unexpectedly being shouted at, going face first into the ground. Still startled, the girl scrambled to her feet, only to realize that she was staring down another young girl. It was a padawan. The Godoan let out a sigh of relief, rubbing at her nose. She was so prone to bashing the poor thing.

"S-sorry," Loomi sighed. "I-I didn't think anyone else was down here."

She never used lights to go anywhere in the dark. She could feel her way around pretty well with the force. Usually. It seemed that her senses weren't as reliable as she had thought.

"A-are you following those weird noises too?" she asked. "I heard them in the gardens... I'm pretty sure they're coming from down here."

Loomi was also completely unaware that this was a restricted area. She did, of course, not know how to read. There was very little chance for a sign on the wall to stop her.

"Golly, how rude of me," the girl sighed, attempting to recompose herself after the fright. "I'm Loomi."

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Coruscant
Tag: Loomi

Bastila took a deep breath, placing a hand against her chest to try and calm her heart that'd just thrown itself to the back of her ribcage, feeling a soft-pink blush warm her cheeks as the confusion of the moment cleared. Hazel eyes flitted down to her own clumsy feet before lifting up to settle on the girl that she'd not only rudely tripped over, but also yelled at, yet was still somehow gracious enough to introduce herself.

Bastila swallowed hard, fiddling with the edge of her shirt. It wasn't like her to be so jumpy, nor to lose her temper so easily. Maybe she was a little more spooked about being down here by herself, than she'd been willing to initially admit.

"I should be the one apologizing," she said, her tone much softer and more gentle than before. "Fear got the better of me, I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else down here either. I hope I didn't hurt you any?" A small, sheepish smile graced her lips as she continued. "I'm Bastila,"

Her gaze flicked around their dim surroundings before she bent to retrieve the glowrod that'd bounced free from her hands during the kerfuffle— the restricted area of the Jedi Temple was truly a far cry from the bustling halls they were accustomed to.

"And yes, I am indeed here to investigate those strange noises," she admitted, tapping her palm against the backend of the glowrod, prompting it back to life as its beam flickered off and on before finally steadying. "Considering we share a common objective, perhaps we should join forces?" Since arriving at the Jedi Temple, Bastila hadn't made many friends, having only really connected with her elder sister's Padawan, Lily Decoria , and the enigmatic Erid Zodana; and although she believed the mysterious noise would turn out to be nothing significant, having company in this unfamiliar place was a much more comforting prospect compared to the idea of facing it alone.

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Bastila Sal-Soren

"Fear got the better of me, I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else down here either. I hope I didn't hurt you any?"

"N-no, I'm okay," Loomi insisted, brushing herself off. "I'm not hurt."

Bastila... She hadn't heard a name like that before. It sounded real fancy. She spoke in kind of a fancy manner too. All of that combined made Loomi a little bit more awkward. Still, the girl seemed friendly, and she even extended an invitation to go exploring with her. The Godoan was far to polite to decline such an offer.

"Sure," she nodded, giving a nervous smile. "Better than going in alone, right?"

Yeah, that was probably a good reason to stick together.

"What do you figure it is?"

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Coruscant
Tag: Loomi

"No clue," she confessed gently, keeping her tone hushed to prevent her words from bouncing off the towering walls surrounding them after sensing Loomi's apprehension and assuming it stemmed from a fear of being discovered in this area. Bastila couldn't blame her for that, being discovered here would certainly tarnish both their reputations, even if they'd had good intentions.

"but I doubt it's anything as heinous as some of the other Padawans believe it to be." she continued, the near-synchronized click-clack of their respective strides reverberating through the shadow-laden aisles and making it seem all the more eerie. "Maybe a leaky pipe, or some poor hapless creature that was misfortunate enough to get itself stuck down here."

Her thoughts drifted towards the myriad possibilities: could it be one of Coruscant's elusive hawk-bats? Or maybe an undiscovered creature seeking refuge within the temple grounds? The prospect of that possibility excited the animal love in her. Ever since childhood, Bastila had possessed a unique affinity for them—a talent that exasperated her family with each new stray that found its way under her care. "If it's the latter, I hoped to be of assistance in helping the creature escape. That's why I was willing to venture into this place to begin with – despite the Masters' cautionary advice against it for Padawans like ourselves." She pushed a veil of cobwebs hanging in their way. "What about you? Any guesses?"

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Bastila Sal-Soren

"I-I don't know," Loomi stammered, frowning a little as she thought. "It... can't be that bad though, right?"

What was that mention of caution from the Masters not to be here? Was she... not supposed to have gone down here? Loomi didn't get much time to thing about it as the skittering of something on the ground made her jump, letting out a little squeak. A sigh escaped from her chest as she watched a rather small and not at all intimidating spider scurried by.

"Golly," Loomi exhaled. "There sure are a lot of little crawly things down here..."

Hopefully they stayed little.

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Coruscant
Tag: Loomi

"No, it can't." Bastila agreed, giving a reassuring smile as they ventured on. "The Masters would have taken care of it themselves by now, if they thought it was anything to really worry about."

A sudden shuffling sound ahead of them caused Bastila to freeze in place, her carefree demeanor giving way to steely focus. By far, this was the most reckless thing she'd ever done. She should take Loomi and leave then and there, but there was a instinctive need to see it through to the end that kept pulling her on. A fleeting pang of gratitude washed over her at the thought of her elder siblings remaining blissfully unaware of their little sisters small rebellion.

Tilting her head, she listened closely to try and pinpoint the direction that the noise was coming from.

"No need to worry about those little creatures," she whispered, glancing at the scurrying spider. "I think we're about to find something much more interesting! C'mon!" Her heart filled with a blend of excitement and elation as Bastila rushed forward, rounding a corner to another room, assuming Loomi would keep pace.

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Bastila Sal-Soren

"No need to worry about those little creatures," she whispered, glancing at the scurrying spider. "I think we're about to find something much more interesting! C'mon!"

"O-oh," Loomi frowned.

Was... that reassuring? She didn't know. The Godoan didn't have long to linger on it though, as Bastila ran off towards the sounds in the distance. Loomi's heart raced for a moment as she scrambled to catch up, whispering a "wait for me" so quiet it would never reach the other girl's ears. Things just seemed to get darker and darker as they progress, and Loomi was really struggling now not to trip over herself.

At one point she bumped into the back of Bastila, to which she quickly gave a flustered apology.

"S-sorry," she stammered with a faint bow. "My eyesight isn't very good. I-its hard to see down here."

She did have one bad eye. Bad eye was a bit generous considering she couldn't lift the eyelid at all, but the point still stood. She was not having a good time without a light.

"How far in have we gone?"