Private Cowabunga, Dude.

[Jonyna Si]

Ran Dom Kuun, Cathar​

TAG: Braze

It wasn't often she was hit up to learn the skill she had honed for decades as part of her cultural tradition. To a Denik, Tree-surfing was a rite of passage, a skill necessary to navigate the dense branches of their home-tree.

To have someone outside of the tribe learn it was to honor their traditions and pass on the knowledge to those who wish to use it for good.

At least, that's how the tribe saw it. She doubted Braze was all that interested in the traditions of tribals. Jonyna knew him well enough that he simply wanted to learn a new skill. As she sat atop the canopy lookout, she looked to the stars, waiting for him to arrive. She wanted to teach him as much as she wanted to teach her own padawans. She had already passed on the basics to Rayia Si , trained Ko Vuto in climbing, she had heard of his exploits climbing the entirety of Ran Dom Kuun, and someday she wished to pass it on to Aris Noble and Azurine Varek as well.

For now though, she'd teach this self proclaimed brat.

To her, he was just a smaller, younger her.

And that was a scary thought.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

​

Braze stepped outside, drawing in a deep breath as he stretched his arms overhead. Muscles rippled beneath skin that still felt foreign to him, tender from the long confinement. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sunlight pour over him, savoring a freedom he hadn't tasted in what felt like ages. The pins had just been taken out of his bones—remnants from that harrowing clash with B/U-800 "Evelina" . A sense of vulnerability still hovered over him; he knew he wasn't completely out of the woods yet. Nights in the bacta tank were still part of his regiment, cocooning him in healing gel, but today he had finally been cleared for light activity. "Just don't push it," they'd told him.

He exhaled, shoulders dropping as he scanned the area. There—fiery red hair, unmistakable even at a distance. His face softened, and without thinking, Braze padded over, bare feet silent against the 'ground'. He reached her, his arms looping around her waist in a gentle embrace. He hugged her tightly, but with a caution borne of recent pain—he was not eager to revisit broken bones. He nuzzled into her side, his forehead pressing into her ribs.

"You know, I'm starting to think you're good luck,"

​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna chuckled as Braze found her at the very top of the tree. "Didn't think you'd make it up here. You doin' okay, squirt? I know you and Jasper got into some trouble on Garn. Not often I see you this touchy."

She wasn't going to admit it, but she had worried about Braze and Jasper ever since the Tingle Arm Coalition had started. The rebellion she had fought in wasn't as organized, and half the time it was to their own benefit. Unorganized chaos kept the Empire guessing, and distracted. Rarely did the Imperials have the chance to regroup and organize before another attack came down by the Rebellion.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze nodded slowly. "I don't really want to talk about what happened," he said softly. "I'd rather just focus on doing some... fun stuff, you know?" He looked at her, a hopeful glimmer in his eyes, before wrapping his arms around her in a big hug and nuzzling up against her. "Besides, you're the funnest aunty ever!" he added with a playful grin.




​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Aunty? In another timeline, she would've been his master. She remembered the day they had met, and the awkward attempt at getting her first padawan. Part of her was glad Braze hadn't taken her up, given Jasper had done so much with him.

Still, there was that thought of what could have been. Aunty was a strange title, especially to throw around here. Still...

She was happy to be the fun one. That was a title she could wear with pride.

"I can do fun stuff. You ever tree-surf?" Jonyna asked with a smile. "Fastest way to get down the Home-tree."

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze leaned back and shook his head, his expression puzzled. "Tree... surfing?" he repeated, squinting up at her as if trying to picture what that could possibly mean. "How do you do this... tree surfing?" he asked curiously, finally letting her go, though his eyes remained fixed on her. "Is it very hard? Sounds... kind of dangerous," he added, a hint of intrigue creeping into his tone.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna let out a laugh.

"Hard? No. Dangerous? Only if you're not a Cathar." She smirked, leading him to the edge of a branch, pointing downward into the maze of vines and branches below them. Near two miles worth of them, all leading down to the rest of the tree. The rest of the city. Braze could see it, cathar of all ages climbing and...sliding across branches as a quick way from one to another.

"It's our way of getting around the jungle, or in this case, the city-tree. You live here long enough, you memorize it all. Or in our case...you trust the Force. You know that feeling, in the back of your head, while in combat? That sense of something coming. That sort of...glimpse into the future. That's how I've always done it. It helps us fly starships, and it can help you navigate the jungle just as well."

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

"Oh, then it should be easy for me," Braze said with a confident smile, already imagining how this might feel like a natural extension of his Faalo's Cadence training.


Stepping up to the branch, he shifted his weight and planted a boot down, his gaze wandering to the drop below. His confidence faltered for just a moment. It was a long way down. "So I just...?" he started to ask, glancing back—before the slippery, moss-covered surface betrayed him.


The words barely left his mouth before his foot shot out from under him. With a yelp, Braze went sliding down the branches and thick, twisting vines, arms pinwheeling as he desperately tried to catch his balance. This was definitely not like Cadence training.


"Okay, this is fine! Totally fine!" he shouted, his voice strained as he flailed and floundered. The mossy surface offered zero traction, and the more he tried to right himself, the more ridiculous his movements became.


By the time he skidded to a halt, tangled awkwardly in a patch of thicker vines, he groaned and muttered to himself, "Yeah, just like Cadence training... if Cadence was trying to kill me."

​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Soon after he found himself trapped, Jonyna joined him, hanging idly from a vine nearby. "Sorry, forgot to warn you. The branches are slick, no traction. You gotta commit to movement if you're gonna do it~" She snickered, reaching out with a hand, extending a claw and cutting Braze free from at least being trapped. "Watch me, then you'll get a hang of it, I know."

Jonyna swung over from her branch, leaping over, and sliding down a branch, holding her arms out like she was surfing a board on a wave. She practically flew across, circling around the boy, following the contour of the branch as she went downward, deeper into the maze of canopy. "Come on!~ It's a jive!"

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

​

Braze was deeply grateful, offering her profuse thanks as she used her claw to cut him free from the vines. He stepped back, gripping a few nearby for stability, his somber jade-green eyes following Jonyna's every motion as she moved with practiced ease.

He studied her carefully, his gaze intent, absorbing her movements like a sponge. Each subtle shift of her body, every precise motion—he observed it all with a practiced eye, his focus intense. Monkey see, monkey do.

After her demonstration, Braze tentatively tried to mimic her. His movements were cautious, his body wobbling slightly as he worked to get a feel for the motion. Despite his unsteady start, there was determination in his efforts, his movements gradually smoothing as he internalized her technique. He slid on past where she was uncertain of how to slow down or stop and yelped in surprise when his efforts to stop did not work out. " ACK! HEEEEELP!"

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna couldn't help but snort in amusement as Braze rushed past her, seeing the boy struggle to stop.

The secret was, stopping was for when you got to your destination.

She leaned forward, using her weight to speed herself up, grabbing the boy by the collar and pulling him up, onto her shoulders. Without warning, she jumped from one branch to another, letting the boy feel the sudden shift in G-forces, as she leapt down, landing on a small platform. "You gotta find your footing kiddo. Once you do, you can figure out how to change your center of gravity. That's the key. You never been regular surfing, have you?"

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze let out an unexpected squeak of surprise as he was snatched up, his body stiffening instinctively as he scrambled to latch onto whatever he could for dear life. When she finally set him back down, he wobbled unsteadily, his face a shade paler.

"I think I'm gonna throw up…" he muttered, placing a hand over his stomach as he tried to steady himself. After a moment, he shook his head firmly in response to the question.


"No, I've never been surfing before," he admitted, still looking slightly queasy.

​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna let out a snort, giving the boy a pat on the head as she let him settle. "You should try it. Corellia has some beautiful beaches, and the waves are choice."

It also had some beautiful girls, but she wasn't going to tell Braze that. Just Jenn Kryze . Again, and again.

"You'll get used to it though. Us Cathar have it in our bones. We're born used to it. You can spin me every which way, I won't get sick."

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

"Oh... I thought it was because cats land on their feet. " Braze offered simply. He still looked a little un eased and took a few moment to settle his stomach. " Been doing some pretty off the wall training myself that kinda goes all over the place. " Braze offered simply.

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

"Been doing it since I was 3 years old. I was tree surfing before I could walk upright." Jonyna chuckled. "Just keep at it, and you'll get the hang of it. Yeah?"

She wasn't going to push him, of course. He'd need to take this at his own pace, but she wanted to encourage him at least.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze tilted his head, the statement not entirely making sense to him, but he shrugged and offered a determined nod. "Alright, I'll keep at it!" Without hesitation, he leapt down to try again. Attempt after attempt followed, each marked by a new scrape or bruise, but slowly, steadily, he began to grasp the rhythm of it.

​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna watched from above, keeping her distance to allow the boy to stretch his legs, and find his footing, as it were. She remembered her early days of learning to navigate the tree, of learning the paths and location of branches. Of learning how to lean forward to gain speed, or dig your claws in to slow down. The wood of Ran Dom Kuun was storied with scars from generations, and Jonyna knew Braze wouldn't be the first, nor the last to struggle on the wood.

Still, to see him practice was...amusing at times.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze crouched low on the wide, sturdy branch, his fingers brushing the bark as if he could absorb its secrets by touch. The ancient tree's sinewy pathways stretched infinitely in every direction, a labyrinth of wood and shadow. He shifted his weight forward, his boots scuffing for traction.

"Alright," he muttered, glancing toward Jonyna's distant silhouette. "Lean forward to go faster. Easy."

Braze pushed off, the soles of his boots catching on the branch's rough surface as he glided. The wind tugged at his hair and stung his cheeks, but he grinned.

The branches around him blurred, the rhythmic whoosh of air giving him a strange, reckless sense of freedom. Braze bent his knees, gaining speed as the branch began to narrow. He dipped under a low-hanging limb and barked out a laugh, the kind of laugh that declared, 'I'm a natural at this!'

Then he spotted it—a gap. Not a daunting chasm, but a respectable leap to a neighboring branch. Jonyna's voice echoed in his mind: Stick to the wider paths until you're sure-footed. But she wasn't down here, was she? No, she was up there, watching like some stoic tree spirit.

Braze spung off his branch with an ambitious leap. For a glorious second, he soared.

Then he realized he had misjudged the distance. And the landing. And, well, everything.

Braze's boots hit the edge of the branch, his arms windmilling as he fought for balance. The wood groaned under him, and with a loud CRACK, the slender branch gave way. He plummeted down, crashing through a cascade of foliage before landing with an undignified thump in a cradle of intertwining limbs.

He blinked up at the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves. "Totally meant to do that," he croaked, wincing as he tried to sit up.

Braze groaned, rubbing his ribs. "I think the tree tried to eat me."

​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Braze

Jonyna watched as the boy slowly got it down pat...

Only to fall on his face. She was quick to surf down herself to the broken branch, reaching out with the Force to heal the wound in the tree, before she slowly made her way down to greet Braze. A leap, a swirl of movement, even a swing from a vine. It was all fluid motion for the jedi master, something she had done since she was a kitten.

"Jumps are the hard part, admittedly." Jonyna smiled, as she got to Braze's level. "Remember, you're more than just a boy surfing the trees. Never be ashamed to use your gifts when you struggle."

To a cathar, the ability to use the force was a celebrated gift, not a crutch as some might see it.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Jonyna Si

Braze shifted untangling himself with a stumble. " Isn't that kinda cheating?" Braze asked. He dusted several leaves off and perched for a moment moving t o stretch out and rub the newly soar spots.