Private As Above, So Below

[Scilla]

The planet of Ossus has been host to an understatedly volatile history. Which of course, only meant it was all that more exciting a prospect. Ruins and artifacts littered the planet, and even after resettlement efforts, far from every secret had been completely recovered.

But if Scilla had anything to say about, a few more would be found today.

With her rudimentary, jury-rigged equipment, she didn't exactly look like your archetypal adventurer extraordinaire; Relying on little more than a makeshift harness, and goggles with a store-bought glowrod taped to the side, Scilla rappeled into a remnant of ancient Jedi history, tucked away below the sloping piedmont of a lonely mountain. Unwavering, she hummed a tune all the way down, which echoed across the seemingly massive, cavernous ruins.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

Mom had warned her more times than Xariah could remember to be careful. She had since learned her lesson when it came to Sith temples, following a close call where a single step to the right would have been her head instead of the wall that took a massive hit. When it came to abandoned Jedi temples, though, she didn't take the advice to heart as much as her mom would have liked. Sure, not all staircases were still structurally sound and loose bricks could easily cause some embarrassing injuries, but to be as careful as mom wanted her to be? It just seemed wholly unnecessary.

Besides, she was still ma's daughter as well.

It wasn't necessarily danger that had caused this exploration to get a little more interesting, though. Turned out, Xariah had company.

The first tip-off had been the careless humming the woman heard while she was trying to open a strange, out of place door that seemed to be jammed. She quickly killed her flashlight and looked up, where in the darkness she saw a small source of light and a silhouette rappelling down. An abandoned temple wasn't really the place where Riah expected to run into someone else, but here they were.

When the stranger touched down, she would suddenly feel a hand on her shoulder.

"Nice to meet'cha."

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

Well and truly oblivious to any additional presence, Scilla continued her descent at a leisurely pace. Just as she planted her own two feet on the ground, a sensation on her shoulder caused the young woman to spring into the air like a startled cat, swiping at the presence with her opposite hand. Her shriek reverberated throughout the ruins, even still traveling faintly away from them by the time Scilla regained composure.

She whipped around in record time, the glow rod illuminating her newfound co-occupant in an uncomfortably bright light. Her fear switched to relief, then to sternness in a matter of a second, “Heyyy, didn’t your mumsy ever tell you it’s rude to scare people?”

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, Scilla began shifting her gaze towards whatever surroundings the glowrod could shed light on, as if she hadn’t just maybe possibly peed herself a little. “You’re not like a squatter or something, are you? I was almost certain this place was untouched till I rediscovered it.”

Rediscovered. Strong word choice.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

After having done the exact same thing before to all of her siblings at least once in her life, Xariah knew that many people's reflexes were sharp enough to quickly retaliate. Unfortunately, she failed to properly fend off the swipe, which ended up sending a set of nails across her cheek. Despite the very mild pain, if one could even call it that, she could still find the humor in the situation.

"Yep, I deserved that..." Xariah admitted as she rubbed her cheek, as though massaging it would help. "And uh, mom didn't call it rude, no. She did tell me not to do it to my siblings, but that never stopped me either." She chuckled a little."Ma thought it was funny, though."

Realizing that telling the stranger her entire family's history likely didn't interest her all too much, she left her comments as they were and reached for her flashlight again. "A squatter, in an abandoned Jedi temple in the middle of nowhere? Come on, now." After clicking the flashlight back on, she shined it on the door she had been looking at before. "Gotta say, it's funny how after probably hundreds of years, we end up finding the same temple like two hours apart. But hey, maybe you can help me with something. See that door over there?"

Xariah started walking towards it, not really thinking of the possibility that the other woman wasn't as receptive to friendly cooperation as she herself was. "It looks out of place, right? This part is underground, and from the looks of it this is an outer wall. There shouldn't be anything on the other side of this."

Then, she suddenly realized she hadn't even introduced herself yet.

"Xariah, by the way."

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

"She did tell me not to do it to my siblings, but that never stopped me either."

“Psh. Me neither.” The corner of her lip flinched with an impish smirk.

"A squatter, in an abandoned Jedi temple in the middle of nowhere? Come on, now."

“Hey, I’m just covering all my bases.” Or more precisely, Scilla was just going through every possible scenario other than the one that proves she wasn’t the first explorer to find this place. The intrepid young Kiffar seemed to let it slide easily enough though, and she had spotted the door just as her new co-adventurer pointed it out. Finally tearing the taped-up flashlight off of her head with a loud ripping noise, Scilla held the tool overhead to shed light on the surface as she approached.

"Xariah, by the way."

“Scilla! Nice ta meetcha!” She gave a toothy grin before turning her full attention to the door, “Hmmm. Yeah, you may be on to something,” Scilla mused, finally removing the goggles as well to get a more natural analysis, “Well I don’t know much about Jedi, but I do know that they're a very strange bunch.”

She paused, her eyes darting over to Xariah for a brief lookover. She didn’t immediately strike Scilla as a Jedi, but you never know, “...In some people’s opinions…”

Scilla was never much of one for conjecture though. The real way to learn something was to just do it. With that in mind, Scilla drew a blunt rod from the back of her jacket with intent. Was it a pipe? Some kind of bat? She didn’t really know, but Scilla never went anywhere without making sure she had such a versatile tool on hand.

“I dunno, their ruins are probably as weird as they are. Only one way to find out.” And then, she began to unceremoniously wedge the rod into a point of leverage along the doorframe, and began trying to crowbar the door into opening.

“Help me out with this, really put yer back into it.”

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"The bigger the group of 'em, the crazier they get, I found," Xariah chimed in to Scilla's comment on Jedi. She had nothing against them on the surface, but not all of them were the innocent freedom fighters they were often made out to be. Especially when she heard mom's stories. "They got some good eggs among them, though. I mean, at least most of them mean well..."

Then again, most people did. The issue arose when they wanted to turn those best intentions into action.

"Mom grew up in the care of a Jedi, actually. Learned under him as well, but she quit that the moment she could." That she then took a sharp turn towards the Dark side and eventually the Sith was left unsaid. As accustomed to the Dark side as Xariah was, not everyone was so tolerant of it and the people who learned from it.

Ultimately, though, the strange door and what lied beyond it was much more interesting than discussing the ways people viewed the Force. Xariah wasn't one for pointless philosophical debates, and she doubted Scilla was either. Whether the girl's idea was going to help or not remained to be seen, though.

"Pretty sure it was locked on purpose, but maybe it'll work..." Figuring it couldn't hurt, Xariah stepped up behind Scilla and took hold of the rod as well. Despite their efforts, however, the door didn't seem to budge.

"There's gotta be a better way to do this," she said after some time spent 'putting her back into it'. She let go again and let a deep breath out. As she walked a small circle, something caught her eye she had yet to pay attention to.

"Wait a minute. Look, next to the door, on both sides." Two small cylindrical-shaped holes, one on each side. For some reason, Xariah felt courageous enough to try something. "I've got an idea."

She walked up to one of the holes, then held a pointed finger right in front of it. "Do you dare stick your finger in there?"

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

Scilla nodded in agreement with Xariah’s remarks. She’d known a Jedi, and he was… fine. Still weird, though.

Despite their combined effort, the door seal refused to release. “Damn, I’m not used to brute force failing me.” She let the rod clang to the ground, studying the door itself for a moment before Xariah brought attention to a new possibility. Some sort of slot, bored into either side of the door. A surprise to her, but then again Scilla’s eye for detail seemed to come and go depending on her attention span.

“Don’t have to ask me,” Scilla remarked, already reaching in by the time Xariah finished her sentence. A moment passed silently, before Scilla yelped loudly, yanking her finger out of the indent with fright.

...

“...Just kidding.” She grinned. Didn't really matter if it actually scared Xariah or not, Scilla still found it entertaining. “But no, there’s some kinda… something in there. Can’t tell just from looking. Try the other one, I'll bet they both need to be used at the same time.”

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

For just a moment, Xariah's face filled with concern, only for it to wash away as quickly as it came. Instead, she chuckled. Scilla got her there. She'd get her back for that.

"Gotcha," she responded, putting her finger in the hole. When both had done so, they would feel a small prick. Xariah quickly pulled back out with a small "ow", but she didn't even check whether her finger was bleeding. Instead, her attention was grabbed by something much, much more interesting. Her head swung towards the door as she watched it slowly swing open.

"Oh, chit!" Xariah was clearly excited about the development. She rushed towards the small crack that had opened up thus far to peek inside. After seeing what lied beyond, she took a step back, awestruck.

Beyond that door was, indeed, not another part of the temple. Xariah and Scilla just managed to open up the door to a crystal cave, one that had likely been abandoned for centuries.

"No way..."

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

The sudden prick at her finger did get a genuine reaction out of Scilla, "Youch!" she pouted a moment, unprepared for the actual surprise immediately after her little joke.

However, the reveal behind the door was more than capable of assuaging any dissatisfaction. Scilla tailed Xariah over to the peek in the door, nearly bumping into her as they both tried to get a look at what laid beyond. A cavern, bedecked with crystals and gems glittering a vivid spectrum of colors.

"Woooowsers…" She let out a low whistle, admiring the rainbow within for a long, silent pause. Then, it hit Scilla that unlike her, Xariah's fascination seemingly had to do with more than just the rad visuals, "Uh, what are they, actually?"

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"That..."

Xariah took a few steps forward, just beyond where the door had kept any visitors out until just now. After taking a few good looks around just to take everything in, she turned towards Scilla.

"Is a crystal cave. I can't believe we just found one. This is like winning the gorram lottery!" The young woman was clearly very excited. She stepped further in, unable to contain her curiosity, and walked up to a crystal cluster.

"So before the plague, Jedi padawans used to go to one of these caves to find their lightsaber crystal. They'd use the Force to find the one that was drawn to them, and they'd use that one to build their own lightsaber. They still do that sometimes, but it's not really a mandatory thing anymore like it used to be." The urge to touch a crystal was great, but Xariah kept herself in check.

"Still, if you want a lightsaber, you're going to need a crystal. This is where you find them. My mom actually had a friend who was crazy about lightsaber crystals. She had some of the wildest and weirdest ones. She passed a while ago, though."

What Xariah hadn't noticed was that the Force ghost of that exact person was watching her with a massive grin. Her name was Mishel, though without hearing that name she wasn't going to recognize her right away either. Mishel wasn't alone, however, and the second presence was going to be a much, much more familiar sight.

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

Scilla listened with pursed lips, slinking around behind Xariah and into the cave proper. "Huh."

They were certainly cool looking, although Scilla's initial interest came more from a perspective of selling them. And, unlike Xariah, Scilla was all too happy to tap a finger against one of the crystals. It seemed to hum with energy, which then resonated with the touch. The resulting sensation was unlike anything the Kiffar had experienced before. "Woah," She watched goosebumps tingle up her arm with excitement.

The idea of a lightsaber only further piqued her interest. "So like, I could get a laser sword with one of these crystals?" Bizarre and nonsensical designs for a saber began to fill her thoughts. Bizarre and nonsensical, but also rad as hell.

The caveat, of course, being Scilla needed to use the Force. "...To be honest, I don't really know how any of that works. They kept telling me I had this Force mumbo jumbo, but I never got any... actual training." She seemed surprisingly unconfident in the matter, rubbing her nape and shifting around on her feet. A far cry from the devil-may-care youth that had just dove into an archaic ruin without so much as a safety harness.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"Yup," Xariah quickly confirmed. "Call it that enough times and you'll have someone point out why 'laser sword' isn't accurate sooner or later, though." Like Azarin. She'd never let that one slide.

Scilla telling her she was Force sensitive was what got Xariah to look away from the cluster she was inspecting and towards her new friend. "I got the Force too, actually. Mom taught me growing up," she explained while walking up to Scilla. "Maybe... I have an idea. Wanna see if we can find you a crystal?"

Scilla ​

 

[Scilla]

Scilla scoffed, "Psh. It's a laser. It's a sword. It's a laser sword."

She wasn't sure it was even an option, but as soon as Xariah presented the possibility of her own crystal, Scilla's eyes sparkled with newfound excitement, "That sounds AWESOME! I've never wanted anything more in my life. What do I do?"

A cave full of 'em. And somewhere in there, the one for her. Probably. Hopefully.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Xariah replied with a chuckle. "No promises though, I barely know what I'm doing myself." It was worth a try, in any case. She wasn't much of a teacher, but they'd figure things out as they went along. Probably.

"The first step is being able to focusing on the Force. Some can feel it, others can visualize it, others will hear it, there's probably countless options. You'll know it when you find it, trust me." Xariah went to stand behind Scilla, a couple of footsteps back. "Close your eyes, and try to find that weird, I don't know how to call it, aura? Aura. That's close to you, that should be me. That way you're on the right, uh, wavelength, I guess you could call it."

She clearly was no experienced teacher.

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

Scilla’s understanding of the Force could be considered at best, secondhand. It was never something she could really apply on her own, it just happened. But far be it from her to back down in the face of a challenge. “Alright alright, lesdoit.”

The Kiffar aligned herself straight ahead, and shut her eyes; Taking on the stance that she more or less just assumed to be effective to her goals. Meditation, or really any sort of long term concentration, was an atypical endeavor for Scilla to participate in. “Aura…” She dragged out the word into a hum, reaching for that certain something.

A few moments passed in uncharacteristic silence, when that feeling arose, “Oh! Ooo there it is, it- oh, that’s just you,” Scilla giggled. But that certain something was there. That sixth sense. It had always been there, but until now she could never achieve the right headspace to single it out. Xariah’s aura remained, but a new one called from ahead in the cave.

“There’s... another one, I can feel it,” Scilla peeked open an eye, and eagerly discovered the sense still lingered, “...What do I do now?”

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

An amused chuckle could be heard coming from behind Scilla. "Yup, that's me. Either you're a natural, or I'm the best teacher in the galaxy. It's totally the second option."

Whatever the reason was why Scilla picked up on reading the Force around her so quickly, it was definitely not the second option. Regardless, this was going way quicker than Xariah had expected. A happy surprise.

"You're really fast, my Force... Alright, keep your attention on it, then open your eyes. You don't want to bump into a bunch of crystals on the way. If you lose track of that aura, just close your eyes again and look for it." Xariah had all the time in the galaxy to see if there was a crystal out here for her as well, so it wouldn't hurt to help Scilla out first.

"I'll be right behind ya. You know, in case of any scary monsters that happened to be sealed in here," she added jokingly.

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

“Must be,” Scilla chuckled as well. It had come to her quickly, but she hadn’t quite realized it was as impressive as Xariah was making it out to be. But that notion certainly made her more excited.

“I’ve always kinda been able to sense this stuff, I think. As long as I can remember, anyhow. Just never really knew what to, like, do with it.” She shrugged, then set her focus on the aura again, as Xariah instructed.

Anxious steps turned to confident strides as she set on the trail to her soon-to-be crystal. It hadn’t even occurred to her that there might be creatures living in here, or even what those creatures might be, “If we find any ‘scary monsters’, I’m betting I can run faster than you,” She joked back. Not that the Kiffar was actually one to run from most things. If anything she found the idea of battling a monster more exciting than frightening. How well that would actually go is a different matter entirely.

“What about you? You got one a’ these crystal thingies? Oop-” She glanced back at Xariah, then realized she had lost the trail. A few more seconds spent retraining her focus, and Scilla was back on track. Keeping her attention span locked on long enough was going to be the real challenge here.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"I dunno, I can run pretty fast," Xariah bantered. "I'm used to getting into trouble." Her twin sister and herself were the furthest thing from innocent angels. Scilla's first interaction with Xariah was strong evidence of that.

Things were going surprisingly smoothly, though. The small hiccup was little more than nothing. While afraid it would cost Scilla her focus again, Xariah would still answer the question after her new friend had recomposed herself.

"Nope. I learned with one of mom's old lightsabers, but I don't have a crystal or anything of my own. Who knows, maybe there's one for me here as well." If not, there was always mom's old lightsaber she could borrow. First, however, Xariah followed Scilla.

Scilla​

 

[Scilla]

"Is that a challenge?" Scilla grinned, all too eager to turn any situation into a competition.

A few seconds passed, and the crystal's aura blipped once again, beckoning its would-be owner just a little further.

"Ooh, then we could both get one? That would be doooope," She got overly excited at the idea of becoming crystal buddies before taking another moment to double her efforts, "It's getting closer." An array of crystals glittered enticingly ahead. But there was only one that called her name.

Xariah Pavanos​

 

[Xariah Pavanos]

"Eyes on the prize, we can worry about my crystal later," Xariah responded. She was not too confident in her crystal being here, if she had to be honest. A lot of exposure to the Dark side growing up and a vague alignment in the Force surely wasn't going to help her chances. Then again, crazier things had happened. anything was possible.

"Alright, once you find it, don't just go ripping it out. Be careful with it. It's not alive, but kinda... feels alive? You'll see. It's weird."

Scilla​