Private Cut to the Quick

[Onith]

Onith collapsed onto a boulder, the taste of blood in her mouth as she desperately tried to focus herself. Behind her, the passage into the archaeological site collapsed as the world trembled. Wracked by some unnatural geological event, the entire region shook with tremendous force. Course sand and dust billowed from the cave-in and filled the air until the scarlet sentient coughed and wheezed, covering her mouth with a loose piece of fabric in a vain attempt to keep out the particles.

She could feel her mind once more returning, the strange madness that had taken over her down below having loosed its grip as she escaped the confines of the doomed dig site. Onith felt a wave of exhaustion pass over her as she fought for breath in the soil-laden atmosphere. Having survived whatever it was down there in that crypt, the once Force Hound turned her mind to the focus of leaving this place.

Calling upon the Force, her tenuous connection strained by the proximity to this place, Onith pushed away the distractions about her and suppressed the pain coursing through her body. Her eyes were gummy with the soot mixing with tears, filling her sight with little more than a bleary outline of the world around her. An urgency filled her, though she couldn't place the reason for it, Onith felt a need to escape this place. With a great deal of effort, the Sith pureblood lifted herself from the rock, leaving behind an outline in blood and dirt upon the resting place. She took a few shaky steps. But feeling some sharp pain within, she grunted as her hands instinctively grasped at her side.

A small wound lay there, barely a pinprick in size. Blood dribbled slowly from it, though it was all but cauterized by the plasma of the blaster that had dealt it. It nonetheless seemed to be somewhat different than a regular blaster wound, as the pain in her side could attest. Though the injury was small, Onith's dust-covered fingers managed to follow the oozing blood to the source. Knowing little of treatment for this sort of damage, she simply clamped a hand over the weeping wound and snarled in pain as she took another step.

A trail followed the Sith, a compound of blood and dust falling from her as staggered and limped from the place. Not knowing where she was going, but driven on by the desire to escape this place.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

They say that people learn from history, they try and not follow the errors of the past. This, to Todd, is the biggest load of bullshit on anything above a person to person basis. Governments constantly make mistakes that cause them to fall, this can be seen in ruins and their history. It seems that people in power never learn to try new things, giving power to those who shouldn't or just declaring wars that shouldn't be declared. While this isn't a consistent line, as some are just conquered by superior forces and others just last for a long while, collapsing at random for no good reason.

Though this was just what Todd was thinking on his walk across the land, moving closer to a rocky place. He was there to acquire Salix, he wanted to make blood thinners for chest pains or heart treatment. This was the only place that he could figure out the plant grew, and while he wasn't out of blood thinners, he definitely would need to restock first. This was just a detour on his way to a medical lecture he would be attending.

A large rumble could be felt by him, a cloud of dust seemed to fly up near him to his right. This caused him to turn and look at it, breaking his current course to the flower. Logic dictates to not walk towards the large cloud of dust as the land may be unstable. Though Todd didn't really care about safety, as where's the fun in not having a chance to be killed.

Upon walking closer the dust started to overtake him he tapped the side of his helmet, the goggles turning red. Though this barely helped his vision, he was able to see better for a few more feet. His eyes caught a substance on the ground, looking at it, he deducted that is was a blood. For what animal or person he didn't know.

Upon looking at it for long enough his HUD flashed the direction in which it was leading. Deciding to follow it, he continues until he happens upon someone, moving, didn't seem at a fast pace, more of a limp. He didn't know if they knew he was there, but if they looked behind them they would probably notice the red glow of his goggles.

It seems stupid to walk up behind someone, but they seemed wounded and to Todd, less of a threat. His armor could take hits from a large variety of weapons and he had no malicious intent, unless they considered stupid jokes and medical attention evil. Though he kept his distance not knowing whether or not they noticed him, eventually he would make a move to close the distance. For now, while not far away, he would keep his range.

 

[Onith]

Muddy tears rolled down her cheeks as Onith's eyes desperately tried to clean themselves of the thick particulates. The usually scarlet skin was turned a dull grey-brown by the sticking layer of dirt. Although the pain had not altered much, the traveller found herself tiring more quickly than usual, the stress of the occasion catching her unexpectedly. She had managed several more paces, but how far that actually translated to was beyond her addled mind.

Instead, the survivor found herself counting each time she felt the sudden loss of balance, predicting her scramble for support of which there was none to be found. She had managed to avoid, thus far, truly falling to the ground, but the concern was everpresent. Onith retained some element of her mind for thinking about what had happened below as if that portion of her mind so engrossed by that moment of oddity refused to accept the current circumstance as more important. Perhaps it was simply something so enigmatic that it would always defy comprehension; who could know?

A step and Onith thought she heard something, though her ears were clogged with dust such that hearing much of anything might have been considered impressive. Turning her mind to the Force, the warrior stopped in place, feeling the stinging in her side more keenly as her body shook with each ragged breath. She could barely feel the Force right now, as if the great symphony of life had become muted as she moved away from the site. But it was nonetheless enough to detect another 'thing' behind her.

What could it be? Onith had her fears; foremost among them was that some creature from the site had come to drag her back. Not feeling ready for a prolonged fight, or even a short skirmish for that matter, Onith felt the need to act decisively. Falling to a knee, Onith drew upon what reserves she could, drawing the meagre strength in the Force to her. She called out to that presence following her, speaking in a language that had died many millennia ago, ~You shall not have me, beast!~

The Force was channelled into a physical force creating a wave of air that rippled through and blew the dust forward. Though it was intended as a show of strength, the power merely caused a light puff of air that cleared a small patch of the atmosphere of the particles. It would have been able to do little more than flick a cape or similarly loose clothing articles, otherwise presenting no threat to anyone or thing. Despite this evident weakness, Onith could think of nothing else to do but wait for the response, expecting some terrifying 'thing' to emerge from the slowly dissipating cloud of dust.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

The goggles glowed in front of him as he watched the person, couldn't determine much about them except height. Though he knew the goggles may contrast with current colors and look menacing. Upon realizing this Todd found it to be funny, he mentally compared himself to a kid following their friend in a game of hide-and-go seek. The one in front searching for the friend, who was supposed to be hiding, following behind.

Though in that game he would have to jump out and try and scare the opponent, that may not be the best idea in this kind of situation. They could be scared, unhappy, or even just pissed. They say if you mess with a bull you will get the horns. With that adage in his mind he kept his distance.

They seemed to stop shortly, maybe he had been seen or maybe they were just going into shock. To him it appeared they had lost a lot of volume, another way of saying they may be experiencing hypovolemia. Though they did seem to notice him as they called out in his direction, this game of hide-and-seek, while short lived, had ended.

Though he seemed confused when he was called a beast, they mustn't be able to see him clearly, for he was no beast, unless you consider someone who's tall a monster. Then he experienced even more confusion as they tried to do something that caused a puff of air. They seemed like a harmless animal at that point, not even able to muster up a blast of sorts.

"I am but no beast, for I am a man and you will need to do more than that to kill dust flies." Shaking his head he decided to attempt to close the distance between the two. On his way down he flicked the light on his goggles off to seem a bit less menacing and laughed a little at the comment he had made earlier, still finding it amusing.

"Alright what's the injury, I followed the trail of breadcrumbs, may as well not hide the prize." This may have come off as weird to some but to Todd it was just normal banter to people with injuries. He had done the same a few years ago with a man who had his legs blown off, not really caring how the person felt in that time of misery.

 

[Onith]

What stepped from the clouds, red eyes glowing a confusing pattern in the billowing dust, was a form more similar to a man than a beast. Such Onith recognized through the strange haze in her mind. The eyes dimmed, removing the distracting focal point and thereby allowing the harried brain to focus on the man heretofore unseen.

A wave of relief washed over the injured explorer and she relaxed as she realized that what had come before was nothing more or less than a normal person, or at least as normal a person as one could hope to find in a galaxy so strange as this one. Onith stood for a moment as the man spoke, his words chuckling gibberish to her. The meaning however was clear enough for the woman to guess at. However, she felt uncertain about this being's purpose.

Trust, a concept that was primarily alien to Onith, or at the very least used in the most negative of senses. However, stranges times as the saying went. She seemed uncertain for a moment, mentally weighing the options before her. She knew little about the injury she had sustained, either its source or extent, but she could surmise the damage was at least significant enough to make travel to the closest settlement on her power unlikely if not straight up foolhardy.

With a wary glance at the stranger, Onith gently pulled her hand from the side, feeling the drying blood peel away as she did so. ~I entrust myself to you, but do not think me an easy target.~ Her voice, though tired, still held some measure of inner fire and determination.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

"From what I see if I wanted to, I could kill you and take what loot you have, but that'd be a boring story. I killed them and ran off, no grandiose story or embellishment can really be made." Todd looked at the wound, "Charred skin, primarily third degree though I can see second degree around the edges."

Taking a bag out of a pouch in one of his bandoliers, he opened it revealing a large gauze alcohol on one side. Using this he places it onto the wound, securing it with bandages from another pouch. Though some may say that he should put an antibiotic on it, he didn't have any off hand and would just rely on the sterile dressing with a layer of alcohol on it. Though upon realizing that he kept quiet about it probably hurting more than it would without it.

Zipping up his pouches, that was all he could do for her at this time, base EMS work. He didn't have the equipment or environment to do a proper procedure on it, though he would do his best to combat the pain. Reaching into one of two remaining untouched pouches he pulls out a bottle that read NSAID handing it to her. "Take two every four hours."

Standing back up to full height he looked around, "If I may ask, what did that to you and more importantly, should I be worried about my safety?" To be honest Todd didn't care about his safety, gambling with his life was a fun sport sometimes. Though losing in the gamble means you are bad at weighing odds. Todd however was good with statistics and logical thinking so it faired him long enough to get here at least.

 

[Onith]

Tensing as the faceless stranger came near, Onith half prepared for a knife or similar weapon to find its way into his hands. Yet the person seemed more interested in talking than killing, his voice taking on at first a sarcastic tone followed by a more clinical aspect. She wondered whether this man was more interested in the wound or the situation, uncertain whether his latter speaking was one of boredom or simply professional evaluation. She imagined this was some sort of doctor or medicine man; his manner reminded her of the more scientific minds she had met in the past.

This theory seemed to bear some credibility, as the individual produced basic treatment supplies and proceeded to administer them with a deftness that suggested a close familiarity with their usage. The blast wound was tender, and Onith fell back on her training to repulse the urge to shrink from the pain to come. Even with such preparation and expectation, the Sith grit her teeth at the sting as alcohol came into contact with the infected flesh. ~Builders damn you,~ she spat.

The outburst caught her for a moment, as she felt the sharp, stinging agony of the rough disinfection process. Had she been a lesser being, Onith might have succumbed to the sapping injury and demanded rest; however, she knew this pain to be a source of strength. Fresh power coursed through her, a thing rivulet of strength to defy decline and death. She would have to thank this man later, once she had her translator droid to help with communication.

It seemed the practitioner had not yet concluded his efforts, for, a second later, he provided a bottle that rattled with the dry sound of pills. Perhaps pain relief, certainly something Onith would indulge in once she felt more confident in her situation. The traveller looked about, the dust almost entirely settled back to the earth from which it had been driven. She knew the basic direction to the outpost the archaeological team had been based out of, but she had heard there were other areas closer. Perhaps this man knew more of the immediate geography and more importantly he could provide more medical attention if the need arose. With a slow, shaky nod to herself, Onith pressed herself to a tentative step as she spoke.

~We should leave. The man who shot me should be dead, but I would rather not risk the possibility. Do you know the way to the closest safe haven?~ Her voice started rather quivery but took a bit of a lighter tone by the end.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

"If you didn't see him dead, he's still alive until declared." Todd said. He thinks that there should be a body before any conclusions are jumped to, it bit him in the ass once, and shan't happen again. So he stayed with his belief until he his proven wrong.

Todd stood up looking around realizing that he was a little lost. The dust had sent him off course and he couldn't pick up which direction to head. Spinning around, his trench coat floated behind him with each step. "Well fuck, it's thirteen miles in a direction. At least, that was where I came from." This could prove a problem as he knew nothing of which was out here. "I have a waypoint to my ship but that's forty miles that way." He said pointing in a direction.

The reason he was so far from it was due to being dropped off by speeder near the town so he could do what he came to do. The closest space port he could find was in the city and he knew not if there was one in the town. Though that didn't matter as he didn't know which way the town was. Standing there he stroked the bottom of his gasmask trying to retrace his steps. This was fruitless as he didn't really have anywhere to trace them to.

"That dust cloud lost my way, what an ass." Todd said mockingly looking around. Starting to pace, he was using everything he could to get his mind to think harder. Eventually he gave up and sat down, next to her if she was sitting (if not just on the ground). "You know how to get back?" Though he knew the answer already, it never hurt to ask.

To think this would go awry. His task was to enter the forest, go acquire Salix, and leave. His path was marked but he didn't know where it was, causing it to be useless at this time.

 

[Onith]

It seemed, much as she had feared, that her rescuer knew as little about their exact location or the best possible route to safety. His muttering and pacing suggesting either frustration or concentration, Onith remained still as she tried to recall the direction her group had travelled in to reach the dig site. Eventually, she found herself tiring of just standing, having expected a quicker departure, and soon the Sith found herself sitting on the ground, dust sticking to her bloodied hand. As much as she found it demeaning to admit, Onith found a degree of relief from the pain in reclining for a moment. Muscle tension and pressure released as she took but a moment to relax and collect herself.

She tuned out the sound of the other person's voice, focusing inward to steel her nerves and focus the sensations towards productive uses. It seemed he too was at a loss, for the man took a seat beside Onith and spoke to her, his voice suggesting he had asked a question. In response, Onith shrugged, swooping a hand through the air as she explained, ~We were dropped off by ship, somewhere. Walked for a bit.~

Blinking to clear her vision, Onith rubbed her dusty hands over her clothes, feeling the dry dirt crumbling away revealing only the slightest of colour differences between what she wore and the earth she had almost been buried in. She spoke, guessing that her companion could understand her by this point, ~Perhaps we can travel in one direction, sure to hit something?~ She felt like she could travel awhile yet, but knew there was some concern regarding extended distances. Then again, she reasoned, certainly moving in any direction was better than just sitting here.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

Todd felt a little defeated, he had lost his way and screwed himself in the process. Doing acts of kindness have screwed him over yet again. Next time he may just leave the dying to die. Though he knew that regardless of his current thoughts he probably would continue being a dumbass doing the 'right' thing. Even with this notion he would still continue to perform morally ambiguous actions from time to time.

"If logic would dictate, yes, but the issue is that on a planet, a direction can lead you a long way. Do you know of any local water sources, we could be able to follow one of those." With the new idea he stood back up, he reached a hand down to help her up, if she needed it. "Can you walk for a prolonged period of time, or do I need to carry you?" An odd question, but if he dies out here, no one can say he died not being polite.

After any action was taken he looked around trying to listen for anything resembling moving water. Through the sounds of the world he couldn't really make out anything a great distance away. Giving up after a short while he stood there silent, "Dealers choice, which direction?" This was directed at his 'friend.' Eventually he would have to ask for a name, it's the polite thing to do.

 

[Onith]

Onith remained silent during the stranger's reverie, wondering what thoughts might be passing through his masked head. Unwittingly, the two's contemplations mirrored each other, to a degree. She too felt the disappointing pang of failure, her search for artefacts having failed more disastrously than even she could have predicted. She pondered on whether it was wise to continue these sorts of expeditions, especially given that she had a definite communication barrier to overcome. This might have dissuaded her once, but the fires of her convictions burned brightly, driving her to overcome every obstacle obstructing her pathway to freedom.

The Sith's back straightened and, despite the pain it brought to her side, she found herself unable to contemplate surrender to the strange fates of this galaxy. ~I am my master's tool; a sword where a strong arm is needed, a scalpel where precision is necessary.~ She muttered to herself, feeling the words arise dry and unconvincing to her conscious mind. How could she be the tool for her master if she was so separated?

The suddenness of her rescuer's speech startled Onith from the depths of her quandry, focusing her back to the present. He seemed to have asked a question before offering a hand in a gesture all but universal in its meaning. Swallowing her pride, she grabbed hold of his proffered hand and pulled herself up, gritting her teeth as she felt the sharp pain of her injury utterly disagreeing with her choice. It took a moment for her legs to find their balance, during which time she wavered precariously.

His second question elicited a simple, sharp response as she tried to relish the pain rather than resist it, ~I'm fine. I'll let you know if that changes.~ At this point in time, even she didn't know how true that was. However, as they stood for a moment in silence, Onith wondered how far she could go. A third question arose and Onith shrugged, growing weary of these guessing games. It seemed this compatriot understood her enough to have little problem communicating, but she was not so lucky and this seemingly one-way communication was wearisome. Nonetheless, she decided to continue on, she pointed in a direction saying, ~Maybe we should go that way.~ Perhaps she had selected it randomly, or maybe some deeper force was guiding her decision.

Todblaz Graker

 

[Todblaz Graker]

Outfit | Ranger Armor
Location | Wherever this is taking place
Equipment | HX-Revolver ; Cortosis Gloves
Tag | Onith

Children got lost all the time, it could be in crowded areas, stores, woods, and wherever they are lead by their excitement or parents. Though adults were very good about not getting lost, they don't tend to have a guide and go as they please. This doesn't mean that they couldn't, an adult could get lost in a crowd and not find an exit or something like the current situation. Walking aimlessly hoping that a city or town shall come upon them.

Todd didn't know how long the walk would be or even if his companion could survive it, that would be determined by sheer will and luck. While he was prepared to spend a night in the wilderness, he only had the supplies for one person. Though his companion may have more, he wouldn't know. Though he had a means of getting water, with a sort of purifying straw.

"Do you know how to make a fire?" He asked, "I do not. I also don't know how cold the nights get." This before he took off in the indicated direction. Shortly thereafter (if she said anything) he started to stroll in that direction, a weirdly excited pep in his step. While he was trapped in the woods, he at least couldn't be happy, but it may have been rude to his wounded friend so he started walking normally again.

All the while he listened for sounds of a river, though he couldn't fix his ear on any. Every now he could be seen picking up a flower, examining it, and throwing it back. This was due to him still on a mission to find Salix, though it seemed that he wouldn't just happen upon any soon.

"Why are you here? Er.. I mean, why are you, well injured in the middle of what seems to be nowhere?" The question was more out of a want to start a conversation rather than anything, he didn't want to get bored on the walk.

Though he forgot himself as he realized he was being informal, how rude of him. Using his heel, he spins himself in her direction, wherever that may be, and extends a hand implying for it to be shaken, "Todd."

 

[Onith]

Taking the first steps on an uncertain path, Onith heard her compatriot ask a question. Assuming that the question was related to her condition, perhaps he wanted to make sure she was being upfront with her ability to travel; she waved dismissively stating, ~I can handle it. Let's get moving while there is still light to be had.~

She barely contained a smile at the man's quick stride, finding his enthusiasm quite amusing. Though she could not quite keep up with his pace, Onith gave her best shot; step after step the distance grew. Pride held her tongue, even knowing that she could not hope to meet the swift walk of her rescuer. Gritting her teeth she, the red-skinned organic pushed herself to fall into a faster clip. Fortunately, it seemed he had decided to change his mind and reduced to a move average walk, one that Onith felt far more comfortable handling.

They passed through the quiet lands, and Onith felt no small amount of consternation at herself for not keeping better track of the travelling time and distance when she had been going out to the dig site. She forged a silent oath to herself, should she survive this situation, she would pay more attention to travel directions and plan out escape vectors as needed. She abruptly stopped when she noted that her travelling companion was stopping to admire the flowers they passed. Was he a botanist of some variety? That might explain his appearance out in the wilderness, although she had to admit that he did not appear dressed remotely akin to any botanist she had ever seen. Then again, she reminded herself, the galaxy was no longer a safe place for the average scientifically minded individual to travel across.

On the verge of sating her curiosity with a query into his strange obsession with the flora, momentarily forgetting that there existed a language barrier between the two, the question died in her throat as he asked posed his own question. She took a moment to decide how to respond, thinking perhaps that this was his attempt to start a conversation of his own. Her response was slow at first, deciding on how much to share but figuring there was probably little harm in giving away too much. Pointing to the letter branded on her forehead, she began, ~My name is Onith, the letter. I came to search the ruins of this world for relics. Artefacts from the Infinite Empire. Something was down there; things got... out of hand.~

Todblaz Graker