Chasing dreams (Open)

[Brooke Waters]

Token grinned as she could hear the water. What she wanted was for the Witches to not attack her or Char-Li. That wouldn’t go over well. She didn’t want to fight people she was hoping to learn from. Really, she didn’t want to fight anyone. Token was much more a lover than anything else. The blonde looked at Char-Li and nodded when he said she was going to take the lead. That was fine by her.

But it meant that she was going to open her hands, and lay her gun to the ground. Which is what she did just now, leaning over to place the weapon gently against a rock so it wasn’t all laying in the sand. Looking back at Char-Li she nodded.

Coughing a little. “Uh… hello? Blue Coral Divers? I… I’m Token Waters, and I was… something called me here. And this is my friend. Char-Li.” Please don’t shoot. But it would depend what Char-Li did with his weaponry.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li didn't know how to really respond to the whole situation, merely staying still in his spot with little to no movement. He stood still, motionless. He was definitely not going to draw and shoot first. He had his cloak hiding his weapons anyhow, so he kept them hidden, not that he really needed them. There was a sort of eeriness with the silence around him along with the ambiance of the jungle.

Char-Li whispered, his communicator seeming a bit hushed, "What's happening?" He asked, looking around before leaning against a tree. He didn't really know what to do other than wait, use the tree as a sort of cover and wait.

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

Token Waters. She was a funny one. Sometimes she rolled a critical fail with the Force, yet others, she rolled a 20, and right now? She at least thought she was rolling 20. They were in the Blue Coral Divers area, it looked different the closer they got to the beach. Token wasn’t a tracker but she spent enough time around populated areas to understand when things were a bit different. She looked at Char-Li and bit at her lip.

“I think we’re being watched. But I’m not feeling… threatened?” She tried to explain that nuance in her voice. She should feel it in the Force if she was under siege, but she was feeling… fine? Safe? Maybe a little unwelcome but nothing too major. “Just…” She looked at her rifle and nodded.

Hopefully he’d get the picture. Not that with what she learned about this crowd she needed to ‘control the man’ but still, keeping her group in control? That was different.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li saw the rifle, then the woman's gesture. He hated not having a weapon, but he never the less and reluctantly unsheathed his cortosis katana, DC-15 side arm, then DC-15s Blaster Carbine. He still had his wits and forearm blades and flamethrower. He sighed, taking off his helmet and tucking it in between his arm and body.

"They better not take my babies," He muttered, sighing and looking at his weapons before at Token. He shook his head, crossing his armored arms and looking up toward the sky as he leaned back against a tree. Char-Li was overly sentimental for the most part anyhow.

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

Babies? Token gave him and look and shook her head. She didn’t think this group did htat. These were the Blue Coral Divers, not the Scissorfists. That group sounded like zero fun, if you asked her. She picked up someone who was a walking armory. That would be useful elsewhere, she was sure. Biting her lip she watched him. “We’ll be fine.” She nodded.

And that was when the first witches stepped from the tree line. Three, two with bows at the ready, but not drawn. “Who are you?” The leader asked, and Token looked, taking a breath before speaking. She looked at everyone. “I’m Token Waters, of Corellia.” She wasn’t going to specify that the world wasn’t here, that was obvious. And the Witches weren’t that cut off. “This is my friend.” She nodded to Char-Li, letting him speak.

 

[Teh_Asian]

"Char-Li Luzerei, of Tipoca." That was the truth of the entire thing, he was born in Tipoca, at least he thinks its called Tipoca. He gave a softly smile, his lips curling upward in response. This was strange, he normally never smiled unless he was trying to purposely convey friendliness. His armor gave off a different effect when he had his helmet on, not that he was complaining.

He looked over at Token with a rather concerned look when he saw the boy, despite the fact that he could've been in rolling range of the weapons. Force wielders would've had it in mind wouldn't they? Who knows, but the one thing lingering on his mind was Corellia. Has he been there? Maybe, maybe not, that's different.

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

The Witches patrolled the boundary of the two, watching the blonde and the warrior. They had their hair flowing down their back and two with bows lowered the weapons. Walking in a circle, they were looking at the pair and Token could hear them muttering. Was that spellcraft?She thought so, she could feel the Force moving and took a deep breath in. No, she wasn't going to reach out back, but she was going to let them know she was a potential witch. That was when their was a child she noticed. Biting her lip, she looked at Char-Li.

"What brings you here?"

That was the million credit question, wasn't it? She had her hands up a little and was thinking about. "I've come seeking answers. And I was drawn to your Clan's land. I'm trying to understand the power within me." She knew that it was building it up, a little bit, but it was still mostly true. She would only hope that they wouldn't ask Char-Li. He was here because of her, but she didn't want them to go after him. Things were going to be fine, and her voice tried to convey that.

((( [member="Char-Li Luzerei"] I'm gone until Monday night)))

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li nodded, then looked over at the witches, wondering if they're planning some sort of attack. He sighed, scratching his chin and looked around before carefully taking out a small food bar, unwrapping it and taking a soft bite. A small satisfactory grin came along with a humming sound, crunching came from the sweetness of the grain bar. He felt the sweet sensation of sugars, carbs, and lots of berries.

He looked toward the ground, finding that a part of his arm was a bit cracked, so he scratched a bit at it before returning to his bar and grinned.

(Okay [member="Token Waters"] )

 

[Brooke Waters]

She didn’t feel threatened. Actually, quite the opposite. There was a bit of a feral feel from the Witches, but not the same as she feels around any kind of beast. There was… intelligence, obviously. They weren’t as savage as most people would think, but still, yeah, they were. They weren’t from a ‘civilized’ world and needed to survive. And to survive here? They needed to be tough. They watched the soldier remove the food bar and were a bit wary as he moved, but not hostile.

They turned back to Token. “The power within you? You think you can become a witch? You think you ARE a witch?” Was all the leader said. Token looked to Char-Li and back to the witch.

“Well… yeah.” Was this going to count for a first contact? Not that she was at the LAA at this point, but still…

“Very well.” Said the lead witch as she muttered a spell and Token’s rifle lifted from the ground. Her eyes went wide as she knew that the weapon was out of her hands and still moving. Reaching out to the Force, she didn’t know what to do, until she heard the weapon power up.

Feth.

The little blonde ran in front of Char-Li and called the Force to her, and pushed it out, willing a barrier to open between her and her own rifle, and to protect her friend.

Because as much as she barely knew his name, Token was the type to make friends fast.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li didn't really know what was happening and merely strange into action, to some extent. He slid and sealed his helmet, threw back his cloak and armed his flame thrower. He didn't want a fight, nor did he want anyone hurt. He quick turned his back against Token and sent a think of flame toward the forest before diving before his weapons, throwing Token his DC-15s Carbine, his pride and joy. He powered up his side arm, the DC-15 Sidearm model of the blaster before coming back to her.

"We do not want to fight!" He exclaimed, using one hand to aim his blaster while using the other for his arm missile.

This was off, but hell, not too unexpected, considering the galaxy in it's state.

"I may not have the force within me, but I know that if I did, I would help those who want to learn, not use their own weapon against them for your own gain! Think, you have a young and willing disciple!"

He was about tired of this, almost wanting to just blast his way out. Only, he didn't have the time nor the want for that.

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

She grabbed the rifle out of instinct. She was in a fight or flight mode right now and while she dove in to protect him from the witch, the rifle… her rifle, she was still a fringer of sorts and learned enough of tactics and how to act when the blasts started flying. For all she was a lover, she had learned to be a fighter in this galaxy, a broken place, really. She held the weapon but her focus was on her barrier, the one blocking the shots from her rifle.

As Char-Li spoke, she nodded. She didn’t want to fight. And she didn’t want Char to escalate it. Were they testing her? Maybe. She thought that could be it. She was calling the Force to her after the rifle stopped firing and looked to her friend, giving him a nod. He could put the rifle down as soon as she did, was what she was hoping to do.

The witches were listening to Char-Li but Token wasn’t giving them any time to think, two of them dropped their defenses as the lead one was recognizing Token used the Force and not some other shield. She took a breath in, centering herself as she pushed air from her nose fast and felt the Force let off. It wasn’t as dark or electric as she was used to, this was more… warm, more earthy and definitely a resonating sound. It shot forward from her in a shockwave of sound. Token was the sonic weaponry.

“I’m here to learn to better control what is within me. You’ve shown me what you can do, this is what I can do.” She was feeling like it came out kind of dark, how she spoke, and not as… bright as is normal for her. And she looked at Char-Li once more, to make sure he was fine.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li was rather edgy, normally calm in a situation like this, but these were force wielders. The type of people who can and will use whatever and anything to kill him if they deem him a threat. Char-Li's movements were rather slight but were sudden, he couldn't help it, his body kicked into combat mode. There wasn't much anyone could do other than back down. He saw Token give a few nods and motions but kept his actions rather neutral and non-emotional as he always did during combat...most of the time.

Her voice got darker, weird but that's fine, it wasn't directed to him. Char-Li used his motion trackers, lots of entities were around, being that there were tons of wild life, but there were larger ones scattered around. He couldn't help but notice they were outside the radius of his flames that were artificially made.

"Di'kut pirimmur besbe'trayce bat a Mando." He muttered, direct translation: Idiots use weapons on a Mandalorian.

He was almost angry at this point, docile his rear protector plate, where was the kindness of the witches? Well, not here at the moment. He was expecting villages of people, not them toting Token's rifle toward them. But why aren't they all attacking them directly? Was it fear? He had top of the line armor of its day but it didn't mean that they couldn't attack and survive. This is too weird.

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

Char-Li was something else, wasn’t he? She thought she was starting to understand him, but then he was also adjusting to her. Well, this was her little trip. She just kind of found him here. She was going to need to get that information out of him… the whole why he was here, and like… where he came from. Maybe. She supposed it didn’t really matter of the witches were going to try to turn them both to ash. Which she really hoped wouldn’t happen.

He was using fire. And really, that was… well, fine. She supposed, these people were of the water. And her Force Resonate ability could probably help stop the fire, or level the forest, whichever. They both got the same result, right? She listened to him speak again… Was that Mando? Maybe?

The witches seemed to understand, or at least the leader did. “We’re so much more than you can ever expect, Mando.” The lead witch stated as she got up from the shockwave that Token had produced. “This is more than you can understand, before we take you to our clan, we must be satisfied that you are worthy. And the blonde, her with the spells, that was… something, but you Mando, you’re ready, and you’re still not attacking… Why?”

It was a clear question.

Also, this witch was only calling him a Mando because he called himself one. And they owned this world, technically.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

"I don't attack those who don't directly try to kill me or my friends. I am not here to hurt you."

Char-Li was different than most Mandalorians whenever he was threatened. He always waits until he knows the attacker intends on killing, never really initiating the killing himself. He also hated trying to kill force wielders, mainly because he liked their sort of little mantra of sorts. Char-Li holstered his weapon, lowering his wrist weapons before taking his helmet off. He shook his head then looked at the leader, moving toward her with no intent of attacking. There was a small chuckle from his mouth, looking down and shaking his head.

"I run by a simple rule, it's that I never fire first, not directly at least. I only created a line of barrier between us, readied myself for your attacks of needed."

[member="Token Waters"]

 

[Brooke Waters]

The blonde listened, and the more she did, the more she liked what she heard. Char-Li had a very good moral code, and that was… attractive? Was that the word? With Token who knew. She found lots of random things attractive about basically everyone in the galaxy. There were very few people she couldn’t find a nice thing about. And those ones? She avoided. When he took his helmet off, though, even the witches seemed a bit surprised.

“Very well, Mando. You may accompany your witch as she proves herself.” Said the lead witch, and at that Token looked between the two, but without a word, the trio of witches turned and started walking. Three more came out of the tree line and nodded to Token and Char-Li.

Great. This was going to be… interesting. She fell in step closer to [member="Char-Li Luzerei"] as they were lead to the village, not anything spectacular, but they were given a moment to take it in. Thatch roofs on the beach, and floating piers lead to other huts. They lived on and around the water. Almost reminiscent of a tropical resort on some far away world in some other galaxy and time.

 

[Teh_Asian]

That was a relief and it was visible in Char-Li's expression when he relaxed a bit on his shoulders. He gave a slightly bow when the leader turned and left before looking over at Token, grinning. "Good thing or bad thing you brought me along?" He asked with a small grin of relief. This was a little like the simulations he's been in, negotiations, and he's learned that honesty from him comes a long way. There was something about the whole honesty thing that kept him alive.

He sealed and locked his helmet, chuckling as he looked at Token. "Mind if I have my blaster back?" He asked, his tone actual resonating that of someone that's a bit more cheerful and relaxed. [member="Token Waters"] was a nice woman, hell, he's kinda glad he found her. Well, words in the Galactic Basic language couldn't quite describe it.

 

[Brooke Waters]

She smiled at her partner in crime for this trip. It was a good choice he was here, what else was she supposed to do? Let him stay out there, and around her ship? She didn’t really know him, and taking him here? She could keep an eye on him. A bit manipulative for the blonde, but the galaxy was a harsh place from what she was taught and what she hoped. It was a lot worse. “I’m glad.” Because, well, why not have a Mando on one’s side?

“Take it back,” She nodded and used the Force to pull her rifle to her, shouldering it. Soon, they were in the village, and as was expected, the natives were a bit curious of the new comers, watching and pacing around them. Token lead Char-Li after the Witches that spoke to them. The lead turned and looked them over.

“The Off-Worlder will have to pass a trial with us, to prove she is worth learning spells from the Children of Allya. Mando, you may not assist her, do you understand?” Now Token was concerned. What was going on? She could use the Force, but… well, it was her, so not all that great.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li nodded to the witch's command of not being able to help her. Of course he wouldn't really help her, unless [member="Token Waters"] is in the position of harm. He wasn't one that would help someone who would cheat someone's way into some sort of initiation.

"Of course, I don't intend on interfering with the process, but I would like to watch if that is possible, and if able to have an initiation of my own."

Char-Li loved tribal initiations and such things. It was amazing, taking up little traditions and being able to show the history of one's culture. Mandos use their weapons/armor, taking care of it and such; then there's the Kaminoian welcoming demeanors, etc, etc.

 

[Brooke Waters]

She looked over at the witches and Char-Li. See? This was what she was expecting, but she had no idea what this trial was going to entail. To say that the blonde was nervous was a bit of an understatement, yet she didn’t feel like she needed to worry that much. It might not be combat, the Blue Coral Divers didn’t seem to be a violent Clan from what research she had done. The Scissorfists on the other hand…

For her, this would be something new. She had ventured around the galaxy a fair bit, but she was never working on any initiation to a group of people. She knew the Mandos had their own sort of initiation, and even the Jedi and Sith probably had their own ways, but she lived among the Fringe and Levantines, those two group didn’t seem to have much that she learned about, a fact that didn’t bother her so much.

The Witch looked to Char-Li and nodded. “We shall see.” She then turned her attention back to Token. “Are you ready, Token Waters?” How did the Witch get the blonde’s full name? We’ll figure that out, maybe.

Token nodded as the Witch continued on. “There is an underwater cave not far from here. We will take you out by boat. In the cave, there are several stones. Return one to us.” The blonde looked to the Witch Elder and ran a hand through her hair, well, that was simple enough. They were getting somewhere now. “Your boat is awaiting. Mando, you may accompany her to the dive site.” She pointed to the waters’ edge, where there were two Witches and a boat waiting. Wonderful.

[member="Char-Li Luzerei"]

 

[Teh_Asian]

Char-Li nodded and looked at Token before gently placing his gloved hand onto her shoulder. It'll be fine. Was his intended message and he hoped it would work. He knew that she didn't have a respirator like he would, but even he had to surface every so often. He'd have an extended half hour to breath compared to her minute in a half, maybe more if she's water savvy. A cave was different, but he's not exactly looking forward into diving underwater just to grab a stone. Initiations weren't something pleasant, Char-Li knew that. Stones? Would he be punished for grabbing one for himself? Maybe not. He sighed behind his helmet.

Kamino, water world, most people would only dream of the planet, Char-Li was born in it. He had little memories of the actual planet other than little simulations or being transferred in the heavy rain. The little bits of memory almost made him think of the water he was looking at now, except they weren't dark and he wasn't a fetus in a small container.

"You ready?" He asked, taking his hand back at the beautiful blonde, looking at her carefully behind his flat black visor.

Would he need to take the armor off? Not likely, it wouldn't weigh the boat down by the looks of things, but he'd be ready if he needed to. Back up respirators, cortosis katana, and a few other things would be detachable from the armor as it would be. The only thing he can do is hope they don't make him take his stuff off. He didn't like the little scars of various things being shown off.

[member="Token Waters"]