Crushed and Created

[Izzy Aureth]

[member="Niamh Raste"]

Izzy padded along the street, mostly keeping to the shadows, staying out of sight. Not that she needed to, adults barely noticed her at all. Elizabeth, was just one more street rat, among billions in the galaxy. She meant nothing to no one, alone, and on her own. No nine year old should have to be responsible for their own survival, but it was what it was. Her family had disappeared into the night, and like it or not, she was going to have to fight for her own survival.

Eyes scanned the streets, needing to make a move soon. After all, it'd been days since she'd last eaten, and well she was going to have to fix that. Finally she spotted a woman in the crowd, looking a likely mark. Moving slowly between people in the crowded market, Izzy got as close as she dared, just to watch for a moment, to make sure it'd be worth her while. After a few minutes more, Izzy decided it was now or never. A couple quick steps brought her just inches behind the woman, and quickly she reached for the woman's pocket. With some luck she might actually get something worth while that could be bartered for food, or whatnot.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Niamh felt the hand reaching for her pocket, just as she'd felt strength drawing closer to them. Sort of her curse in life, feeling things out. She tried to turn it off, but she really couldn't turn that part of her off. Saki had taught her to find something to ground her, but that was easier said than done. Sometimes she just couldn't turn it off. At least this time she was out on her own and Teria was off with Tarak. That meant she didn't have to worry about the woman interfering with what was going on.

As it was, Izzy got a handful. Niamh carried a decent chunk of change on her, as it were. For her it was pocket change for anything from fuel for her fighter to buying new parts. For the little girl it would be enough to keep her going for months if she was smart about it. Then again, it was hard to say if a nine year old could be smart with money.

Anyway, she let the kid go. Or, rather, she let the kid think she'd gotten away with picking the pocket of an Echani Jedi Knight. If it were anyone else, she'd be in a serious world of hurt right now. That said, as soon as the girl scampered off, Niamh would be quick to follow, though she didn't maintain line of sight because she was using the Force to track her and didn't want to scare the girl. She just wanted to catch up with the little one and see just why it was that she had resorted to stealing from people. Depending on the reasons, she might be able to help.

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy's eyes lit up as she withdrew from the Echani's pocket, and instantly scampered off into the crowds. Quickly One glance back over her shoulder, told her it was safe. But she didn't feel that way, and a part of her felt guilty for what she had done. I need this to survive. She told herself as she scurried further down the streets, taking another alleyway into a different part of the market.

After her heart stopped racing, Izzy finally calmed down as she started to browse the stalls. While there were many delightful options of technology, and toys, her eyes only stopped to ponder the different food selections. Coming to a stall filled with fruit, she stood on tippytoes, to reach the very back and quickly plucked a good dozen different fruits before passing over the credit coins to the merchant. Wandering on, she paused at another stall, buying a couple drinks. With her meal now in her hands, she walked on, stepping into a side alley where she flopped down against the stone wall, and carefully laid out her purchase. Picking up a muji fruit, she bit into in it eagerly.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

She waited and watched. The little girl was passing up the junk in favor of the food. That was good as far as Niamh was concerned. If she wasn't buying the crap, then she was taking the money because she needed it in order to survive. That said, she made a decision, because this little girl had a presence in the Force that she'd be able to follow from miles and miles away. That was saying something. So she waited and watched as the girl made her selections from the stalls of food, and then went off.

When the girl moved into an alley, and settled down to eat, she stood across the way watching her. She took the food, and she settled to eat the fruit first off. Niamh pondered this, and decided that she should just approach rather than drop in. So she walked across the way and stepped into the alley, moving to lean against the wall not far away from where the girl was eating.

"You know, it's not polite to steal from people."

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Caught. Red. Handed. Uh oh! Izzy gasped hearing the words, dropping the fruit she'd been eating and scrambled to her feet. "I .. Uh... Gotta go!" Scooping up her bag of goodies, she darted off down the alley, hoping to escape quickly and without much fuss. The idea of life behind bars, was not a thought she wished to entertain. I mean, what could she really do? A little nine year old, with little to no skill at all, who was so terribly shy, and afraid. There simply was no way she could take on an adult of any variety and come out on top. Or so Izzy believed.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

And she was running. Lovely. Why did they always run? Oh right. She was imposing.

Puffing out a breath of air, she drew the Force down into her legs, and sprinted after the girl. To get in front of her, she jumped and kicked off of one of the walls, spinning about mid-air to land in front of the young girl. By her guess this was a young human girl, but she couldn't be for certain. When she landed, she crouched down and held out both of her hands to catch the girl just in case she wasn't able to stop in time. She'd been trying not to get caught, after all, and she probably hadn't had any idea that she was stealing from a Jedi.

"Relax. You're not in trouble."

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy shrieked as she tried to come to a stop, seeing the woman do some really fantastic ariel maneuver to get in front of her. Panicked, and quite out of breath already, the little girl skidded to a halt just in the nick of time. Panting, she took a few steps back, and her brow knitted together, seemingly confused. "I... I'm..." She cocked her head to the side curiously, "Not?" This wasn't making sense to her at all.

"What are you?" Something about the woman seemed so off to Izzy but she couldn't quite place it. Still tightly clutching her bag of food, she glanced between the way she came, and the woman before her, debating silently if she could possibly run again and maybe get away this time. "Y-you... can't ... be .. human." She declared with a tired huff, clear the girl wasn't in good shape, perhaps a wee bit skinnier than she should have been.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"No, you aren't. And no, I'm not human."

She smiled and let her hands fall to her sides. No movement from her either. Though she backed away, Niamh didn't pursue her. In fact, she wouldn't move unless the girl tried to run again. No she wasn't going to let the girl go because she saw someone that needed help. Niamh might not be the most perfect of Jedi, considering she rather enjoyed weaponry and had absolutely no aversion to killing Sith, but there was something that she just couldn't help, and that was her desire to help people.

"I'm an Echani. And a Jedi Knight. My name is Niamh. What's yours?"

Start with the small things.

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

The little brunette, had started to shake and tremble. This was an odd situation, that left her so unsure of her own instincts. Everything said run, run far and fast. But she couldn't. Her feet were firmly planted where she stood, unable to really move beyond the few steps backwards. Nervously she licked at her dry lips, giving one more glance back up the alley to where freedom waited for her.

Wringing her hands, she looked up shyly, her voice much softer now, but less labored, "Izzy ... just ... Izzy." It wasn't just Izzy, but right now she wasn't in the most trusting of moods. "Jedi? I ... like the stories spacers tell?" She'd only heard of them in those tales, never met one.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Hey, relax, Izzy. I'm not going to hurt you or anything."

She was scared, plain and simple. She'd been stealing to survive and probably hadn't ever been caught before. Now that she had been, she was afraid and didn't know what to do. That was understandable. Niamh wasn't going to turn her in, though. The little girl was too afraid for her own good. If she just relaxed she'd be more apt to surviving this situation without breaking down.

Niamh held up a finger to signal for her to hold on a second and watch. She reached out through the Force and one of the fruits in the girls bag rose upward and out of the bag. It hovered in front of the girls cute little face and then moved quickly across to Niamh, who reached out her hand to catch the fruit instead of letting it go past her. She looked it over, and then sent it hovering back to the little girl, where it hung just in front of her and she could reach out to grab it.

"If the spacers tell stories of us, then yes. I am a Jedi Knight. I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help you."

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy swallowed hard, and nodded to Niamh, and try as she might to brush away the fearful feelings that threatened to overwhelm her, she couldn't entirely force them from her mind. Watching the child followed as Niamh pulled the fruits from her bag of goodies, and moved it between the two of them. Her eyes widening as it was brought back to her.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried to keep herself as calm as she could. The Force was something that she didn't understand in the least, nor knew that was what gave her the gifts she had. Finally she reached out, plucked the fruit from the air, and put it back into the bag. "Things ... like that, happen when I'm scared, or ... hurt." She said softly. Speaking of the times where things had flown across the room seemingly of their own will, or outright shattered. Izzy had only really been able to figure out that she was the source for those problems, but had no grasp on how to control it.

"They weren't always good stories, bad stories too." Perhaps a small part of where her fear from was coming from. A child's mind, easily shaped by the tales told along the way, easily believing of such things. "Why help me?" No one else had ever offered before. No one else really had cared enough to notice her at all.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

When Izzy said that things like what she'd just done happened when she was scared, Niamh just nodded. It wasn't out of the ordinary. Younglings with no training, and no one to find them, could often manifest the Force through their emotions. This would often lead to the darkside. This girl, though, didn't have to have that happen. She could be saved. Niamh had to make sure that this poor child didn't fall to the darkside or it would be all her fault. She had a chance to save her.

"The Force is strong with you. That's how I followed you. When you feel emotions strongly it fuels the Force to do things. It's dangerous in that regard. These bad stories you've heard, they probably involve Sith or Dark Jedi. They are those who use the Force to do bad things. Generally to hurt people who don't deserve it."

She held out her hand towards the little girl.

"You don't have a home, do you? Or family? I used to know what that was like. I've had friends who knew it. I can't leave you here alone."

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy opened her mouth to speak but stopped, letting Niamh finish first. Her eyes soon fell to the hand extended towards her, a frown creasing into her features. The next words, stung more than she wanted to admit. "Not anymore." She choked back a sob, feeling tears start to fall. The wound was still very fresh for her. And in her efforts to survive, she'd been able to escape that pain, that reality. To be reminded now, only brought back the harsh reality that her family, her home, was all gone. "They're gone. Left me." Her voice getting softer and softer as more tears fell. "Never found them."

With a sniffle, she reached up, brushing away the tears and trying to force the pain away. "Where will we go?" She asked, as she took Niamh's hand. Tears still falling, Izzy glanced up in time to catch a nearby windowpane shatter, drawing a sharp cry from her. "Sorry.." She whimpered, knowing well enough that she'd been the cause.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Niamh nodded. To not know what happened to ones parents was a terrible thing to suffer. The fact that they had just disappeared on her without any trace told Niamh that this little girl was scarred, possibly for life. She sighed a little but, not bothered by the shattered window. Stranger things had happened over the years. Not to mention things that she'd done. Now that was a story that she was not going to get into with Izzy. Some of her stories would probably scare the poor girl to death.

When she took her hand, though, she gently drew the little one in and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. No harm, no hurting, just a hug.

"We will go where I go, and I will assure that you always remain safe and that you always have a home, clothing, food, and friends."

A smile touched her lips.

"First, though, could you show me to your home? I'd like to see it for myself, and you can grab anything you want before we leave."

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy didn't even resist in the slightest as she was drawn into the hug. For a long while, she just clung to Niamh, as if she was her life raft in a most dangerous storm. And in that moment, she could only cry. After a few minutes had passed, the little girl nodded slowly to her new rescuer. "Yes." She sniffled, as she pulled away, once more drying her tears, or at least trying to.

Pulling gently on Niamh's hand, she'd lead her through the back alley ways into a rather poor neighborhood. Coming to a stop in front of a shabby little building, she opened the door and let the Jedi in. "This was home." Quietly spoken as Izzy let go of the woman's hand and stepped across the threshold. For such a crummy neighborhood, the inside of the home was neat, tidy, and showed of love and a genuine effort to make it better than the world outside that door was. Oddly enough, nothing had been disturbed. There was still two glasses of water sitting on a table in the dinning room, a book laid open at the coffee table, in front of the couch. Nothing to speak of, that said anything of what had become of her parents. By all rights it seemed as if they could return at any moment, if not for the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on said objects.

Leaving Niamh behind, she left for her own room. Once there, she grabbed a single toy ... A stuffed Ewok, a singular pendant - an hourglass given to her by her mother, which she quickly put around her neck and tucked beneath her shirt, and lastly she reached for a soft, fuzzy blue handmade blanket. Wrapping it around her shoulders, she wandered back out to Naimh. "I ... think I'm ready." Only a small trace of tears remained now, just barely noticeable as a glistening around her eyes.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

She let the girl cry. It was good for her to let the tears come out in front of someone. Passing off those emotions would help the little girl cope with the fact that her parents disappeared. Granted she hadn't been doing the worst job of it under the circumstances.

When Izzy pulled away, she let her go, and then let her take her hand. Next thing Niamh knew she was being drug along into the poor section of town where the little girl led her up to a home that looked like much the rest of the area. Until she stepped inside, anyway. Inside, everything was completely neat and tidy, minus the dust. It did indeed look like someone had put in some serious effort to keep the place neat on the inside, banishing the dinginess of the outside from ever making its way in. Those that lived here were trying to live in happiness and joy despite the lack of prosperity.

While Izzy went to collect her things, Niamh walked around and examined everything. She started with the glasses: neat and undisturbed. The open book. The door. Nothing was out of order. It was like they'd just gotten up and left. This was very odd. She held her hand out to the girl once again.

"Is everything in here exactly how you found it? You didn't move anything?"

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy shook her head as she returned back to Niamh. "Other than food, I didn't move anything." A sigh followed, "I woke up, they were gone." The hurt of those words showed so clearly in her eyes. "Waited for them, but they never came back." Shrugging, she tried to ignore just how painful the series of events was for her. Reaching out, one again she took Niamh's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I asked everywhere, no one seemed to know anything."

With her free hand, she pushed back a few scraggly strands of hair from her face, "Can we go now?" She asked, really wanting just to leave the space behind and with it the pain it brought her.

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Niamh nodded.

"Of course we can."

With that, she would lead little Izzy out of the home, and into the streets beyond. They would walk at a slow pace, not in any particular hurry to get anywhere. Now that she thought about it, her fighter was going to be a tight squeeze. She hoped the little girl didn't mind sitting on her lap. If she did, they might have some trouble, but somehow she doubted that it would be too much of a problem. Oh, and she made sure Izzy still had the bag of fruit too.

"Have you ever been off of this world, Izzy? Do you have a fear of flying?"

[member="Izzy Aureth"]

 

[Izzy Aureth]

Izzy followed along side Niamh, hand in hand. It was a nice change to have someone with her after all the time she'd been on her own now. "Once, my mom and dad took me to Coruscant. But ... I don't remember it much. It was a long time ago." She said with a shrug. "So, I don't know if flying scares me."

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Well, I hope it doesn't. I have a one seat fighter we'll be flying in."

That reminded her of the fact that she only had one flight suit. What was Izzy going to wear? She pondered this, and then steered her towards the part of town where the specialty shops could be located. It wasn't uncommon for there to be young pilots in this galaxy. Heck, there had been geniuses in command of transport ships at young ages before. It wasn't unlikely that she'd be able to get a life support equipped suit for her to wear. So, she steered her into a shop and started looking through the gear.

"See if you can find a flight suit in your size, alright?"

[member="Izzy Aureth"]