Private == Far From Home ==

[Jala]

☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵​

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Location: ... Illyria?
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Time: ####
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Objective: Make A Smooth Landing... At Least As Smooth As You Can.
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Tags: Xobos Yakieer
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THUMP

The girl’s eyes opened drowsily, almost as if they had been forced to stay shut by a massive weight. It took a moment for her head to cast aside the dreamy images still trying to force her back down... Or rather unnaturally slumped between massive boxes of some sort. The girl swore under her breath as her sore back announced its presence with a series of cracks when she stretched it. If anything, her ability to evaluate comfortable sleeping spots amidst the illegal cargo of a starship had surely been proven weak.

Sleep had been a rather obscure and rare resource to the street rat for the longest time, and both her body and mind were aware of it. However, despite her sleep-deprived head bargaining for mere seconds more of rest, Jala was rather quick in her efforts to wake up her senses. Regaining eyesight was of no real use, however. It took a while for the girl to realize she had even opened her eyes since everything around her had seemingly been consumed by pure darkness. It left her hearing as the most fruitful of the dozy bunch of senses in her.

T H U D

Jala groaned as everything around her shook and jerked before whatever crude excuse of a ship she was sitting inside seemingly came to a complete standstill. The loud, muffled rumble, reminding her of a far away motor of a certain crude speeder bike settled and slowly disappeared following the second loud combination of metallic creaks and cracks. For a moment only light clattering and clinking of countless small metallic parts filled the space all over her, but before long she was circled by silence and blackness yet again. Was she… there...? Had she really made it in one piece?

The brunette hurriedly sat up and groped the single filled pocket in her dark brown coat. Having practically no time in her hands she, unfortunately, couldn't stop to examine the odd jewel still sharing the space with an electronic device. The faint glow of the screen on the portable datapad she pulled out was already enough to blind her, but the girl pushed through and looked for a dot symbolizing her whereabouts in the map stored on the device. Out of connection…? The haunting thought of a celebration too early hit Jala’s mind once more as she realized she still sat in the cramped space under a starship’s floor panels, only slightly lit by the blue-green light of the screen and most definitely designed with smuggling goods in mind (Not sleeping).




Then entered the noise of something approaching the innocent hoodlum from above, softened by the ceiling of the space she had locked herself in, but echoing in a terrifyingly deep manner in the walls and crates as it came closer. Footsteps. Heavy, slow, but calm in their pace. Clearly, they weren’t looking for her, but Jala wasn’t foolish enough to give hope for the thought they wouldn’t stop right over her head. The countless memories of similar... hastily formed plans, to put it nicely, flooded the street rat's head in the split second she could still spend in peace. In a way, they might've even stirred an odd sensation of homesickness in the girl. Such feelings were quickly overshadowed as the heavy floor panel above her head was finally nonchalantly lifted.

There wasn't much the tired girl could've done to help her situation as the craggy face of an older human-like man stared down at her. It would've been effortless for even the most untrained of eyes to see the distinct signs of an outlaw in the man. His choice of attire consisted of a long, thick mocha brown jacket. He was covered all over in what seemed to be pouches overloaded with magazines for weapons ofunknown sort. And as a cherry on top a thick, black mustache sat under his long nose. The old man looked violent. His face practically underwent every feeling Jala could've ever managed to read on it as he noticed the intruder. First a casual grin with a slight hint of a smug smirk in the corner of his lips, then a horrified realization amplified by countless lines appearing all over his face, and finally anger which sparked in his dry eyes. The smuggler slammed the floor panel back down, the harsh noise of which managed to make the girl flinch. Jala had finally realized the actual level of danger she had practically begged to come her way, but was once again interrupted by the blinding lights as the ceiling of her hideout violently rose up once more.



Sooner than she had hoped for, the street rat was violently grabbed by her chest and ripped out of her hiding spot. A groan escaped her lips, but the girl couldn't force herself to stand up after she was fiercely thrown to the hard floor of the spaceship. The smuggler stood beside her. This time armed with a massive rifle, a rather impressive set of vocal cords and a remarkably clear Huttese accent in his words.

“WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE HIDING IN MY STUFF, EH?

There was a familiarly intimidating tone to the old man's yelling. It was clear he was of the no-good sort, but Jala could've easily sworn she had caught the same voice somewhere before. Yet, a memory of her home didn't exactly help the girl as she unsuccessfully made attempts at staying composed. Her fear was more than visible in every frantic breath.

“... I was just-”

The smuggler jumped forward and practically held the girl in the air after wildly grabbing her up from the floor. He held the weapon uncomfortably close to her terrified face and hissed his words at her as the pressure in the already questionable atmosphere of the ship rose.

“Stealing… STEALING from me, ah? Hopped right in on Tatooine, did you? Not a very bright plan, don’t you think? You’re a long way from home now, kid! Yes… a long way off…”

Finishing his point with a pull of a large lever next to him on the wall, the mustached man slowly pushed Jala backward. Behind her, a pair of massive doors opened to an exit from the ship. The only thing one could've seen looking outside was the steep ramp which gradually lowered itself to touch the ground under the ship. The girl didn't, though. Her amber eyes were locked on the hardener smuggler near enough for her to smell the violence in him.

“I didn’t steal from you! I was just… I couldn’t get a ride any other way so-”

“Aah… hitching a ride, that’s what it is...”

While there weren't any right answers to use in calming down the man, mentioning a rather unharmful case of reckless youth getting their way around the galaxy seemed to have an impact on him. Perhaps a distant memory? The smuggler lowered his weapon. Only somewhat, but enough for the girl to take note and give the man a lightly more hopeful gaze.

However, Jala was released from the tall man's grasp. She was forcefully shoved backward and managed to hold her balance until the abrupt slope greeted her. The street rat found herself on the ground in front of the ship soon enough, but not without the painful reminder of what had taken place seconds back.

“You must’ve thought I’d take you all the way to Nantoon then, eh? HAHA! This here, is your stop, kid.”

The words, paired with the noises of the ship's doors closing and the slope slowly starting to reverse its way back up echoed in her ears. Jala let out a final groan as she lied down on the ground on top of her pained side.

Her mind was racing. She couldn't catch a grip of a single thought she might've seen coming. She was scared. Scared of the reality in which she was bound to have gotten herself in trouble again and again.

Jala managed to pull herself to lie on her back in front of the ship. She wasn't sure about having enough courage to face the results of her grand plan, but as her eyes just so happened to slip she noted a set of worn-out Aurabesh lettering in a wall near her.

Illyria...

Disbelief set in, but it was quickly given up in favor of celebration. The girl's eyes widened and she stared at the text, printed on a ripped poster of some kind. She couldn't help it and instinctively rolled up to a happy, yet tired ball and shook her hands in celebration. She bit her lip with a wide smile brightening her face like it was the two suns of Tatooine itself and felt like laughing her lungs out. She had survived. Perhaps by mere luck, but it didn't matter...

​

☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵







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[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Illyria, Azurine City
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Mental state: Silent.
Tags: | Jala |

There were many, many new facts that had come to light once Xobos had been placed in the position of being the Seiur of a region. Many facts that had not been touched on whatsoever during her training as a sith. Things like how to properly set aside revenue for taxes to the Bank of Illyria, ordering the proper amount of materials to begin work on a new mine, or even how to conduct business in the capital at a large scale. A book or guide would’ve been nice, but then again, when did her master ever make things easy on her…

Today was another of the “figure it out as you go along” sort of days. Meetings to secure some sort of warehouse space in the capital had been straining to say the least. Slicing slavers to pieces was so much easier, and Xobos longed to be back at Beacon manor with her apprentice and Zeltron. The amount of red tape and bureaucracy was going to make her go insane…not that the voices hadn’t already possibly accomplished that little feat.

Frankly, the only thing keeping her tied to this mortal realm and from falling asleep in the waiting seat was stroking her fingers along the scales of the Great Maalraas sitting to her left. Sabatora was seemingly just as bored as her master. No bad guys to chomp on here, just a quiet waiting room, with the only sounds being the electronic whirring from the receptionists desk. Being the only two waiting in the room, the Miraluka turned to look down at the beast, getting a look of boredom in response. “We’ll get back home soon. I’m sure Leven will take up the opportunity to train with you when we get back too.” That seemed to perk up the beast, as did the sounds of the receptionist calling Xobos forward.

Little more than a few minutes later, Xobos was leaving the procurement building, a document in hand for the warehouse they had just purchased. It would fit nicely as a dual storage location for both Garde Noire’s products and Cali’s Locke and Key products. Only kark knows how many different inventions would soon be filling that space, but it was only a matter of time before more than one warehouse would be needed. Maybe Xobos could curb the Zeltron’s enthusiasm and keep them at one warehouse for year…

Doubt it.

But it was over. The full day of waiting around and filling out forms was completely over. Now there was only the journey back to the starport. First she had to find Hin, whom was probably halfway though his second bottle of the day, then onto her private speeder and she would finally be on her way back home.

The walk from the procurement building to the starport was a short one, made even shorter by how she wore her Knight armor, not to mention the massive Maalraas walking by her side. Anyone that might’ve stopped her quickly moved to the side, something that might’ve bothered her on a normal day, but the idea of getting home was becoming more and more enticing. Perhaps she would actually take the night off from training, spend it looking at the stars with Cali instead. Something relaxing before getting back to work tomorrow.

Illyria’s starport at this time of day was as busy as usual, few touristy looking individuals and more business and shipping captains maybe. Something was going on, something that her master had not clued her in on just yet. Soon, soon she’d know why production of certain pieces had suddenly spiked. And for a few moments, Xobos just stood in the middle of the port, observing and watching the captains go to and fro, while the port attendants moved from hanger to hanger taking inventory. Throughout all the noise, there was a part of her aware of the familiar feeling that was awakening at the back of her mind. As if there was something, someone, familiar nearby. Curious. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Maybe today would actually have some interest after all.

 

[Jala]

☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵​

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Location: Illyria, right?
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Time: ####
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Objective: Remember?
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Tags: Xobos Yakieer
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Even though Jala's chest ached and the nasty landing had somewhat knocked the wind out of her, she still eventually managed to climb her way upward and sat on the ground. Her face still had a bewildered look to it, but the shine in her wide grin would probably still have blinded unfortunate passerby. Illyria. The text on the poster, surprisingly enough, hadn't morphed into an unreadable mess as the brunette had sat up. And unlike in any of the poor excuses for good night's sleep she had ever seen; she had also felt the dull pain deep in the right side of her ribcage. Jala was wide awake, but couldn't have been more unsure about it at the moment. The urge to pinch herself loomed over the brunette, but she held back... For the time being.

It'd take a moment until Jala would be able to think even remotely rationally. She leaned back and somehow held herself upright with a pair of arms that trembled as the weight of her worries suddenly washed away. She had practically been holding her breath through the whole rough landing and was finally able to let out a long, deep exhale, which escaped through her nose. Even if just for a moment, the girl felt safe. Her deep breaths were all she could hear. Sitting there, she was as far away from Tatooine as one could be.
That was all that mattered in the end, right? She was safe. She won.

Eventually, as her eyes managed to rip themselves off of the writing on the torn piece of paper, Jala let her gaze lie on the sea of people which seemed to rapidly flow some distance away from the platform. She didn't catch too many details, but the folk immediately seemed much friendlier to her. Honest. Innocent. Ordinary people going about their ordinary work. Nothing overly shady going on. Surely they wouldn't rip her face off if she decided to ask for directions to... wherever she was headed to.
However, her vision might've been blurred by the fact she compared the silhouettes to the ones she'd seen on Tatooine. It couldn't have been a fair competition, right?

"Miss... Are you a passenger?", asked an unfamiliar voice. Deep and professional in tone, it clearly belonged to someone of higher rank than of a regular bystander.

"Miss...?"

The repeated question echoed from behind her. It took a second for Jala to realize it and to finally turn around to face whoever was speaking to her.

She was greeted by the sight of a man, a group of them, dressed in evenly colored uniforms. One stood in front of her while the rest of the group made moves toward the large ship she had arrived in.
By the looks of them, they were clearly officials of some kind. And unlike the con men dressed in similarly fancy outfits (Jala had seen such people run off with the valuables a newly arrived ship might've held time and time again.), these men seemed to work for the benefit of others. A welcome change, for sure.

"Yeah.", Jala managed to respond, hurriedly. She turned to look at the man again after studying the rest trying to make contact with the smuggler inside the ship.

"Step off the platform then, please. The captain will join you when we have checked your cargo."

The girl answered with a nod and watched as the man left to join his colleagues again. After he had gone, Jala blindly searched for her datapad that hopefully wasn't in pieces next to her on the ground. She got up without assistance from her arms and pushed the small device back into a pocket in her jacket. One last deep breath and quick glance at the mass of people lying ahead later, the street rat took her first... proper step on the surface of Illyria.


The air around her felt cold, almost freezing. An uncomfortable cold breath ran down her spine, but Jala couldn't tell if it was of some actual physical origin or if her mind was playing tricks on her. The busy noises of the large starport filled her ears better than they had previously. The voices of the people around her, some in languages she couldn't understand, and others simply muted enough to be incomprehensible. The sounds of ships coming and going roaring in the walls. They all mixed up in a manner the sound of which the girl had trouble explaining to herself.

As she wandered through the sea of people, Jala would've come across as an ordinary tourist or adventurer to most onlookers. Her attire blended in rather well with the environment, and it only took her a moment to realize the cut on her cheek had ripped open as a result of her landing. It wasn't going to leave her bleeding dry, and the girl was quick to wipe the blood off her face.

She passed people, creatures, and everything in between. All until the brunette found herself standing in the middle of a busy crowd, looking at the huge opening to the outside which loomed some distance away. She could see the dream-like city outside, and it was clear whatever world she'd be stepping into would be... different. In a frightening way, even. The girl wasn't sure if she'd be courageous enough to take a single step forward.

Standing still, Jala was slowly starting to lose the leeway the spike of adrenaline had given her. The realization of the actuality of her situation hit her rather strongly, and the concern of having made a choice which had managed to worsen her situation came into play. She was fortunate enough to find her heart still beating, but was starting to be aware of how ridiculously small the chances of it still having been the case were. Where was she even headed? She was afraid of making the next move. Terrified of failing to see where she'd end up if she did take a misstep. Her breaths quivered as every single memory of similarly... hastily formed plans entered her head without much warning.

However, under the anxiety and fear lied a small, almost an unnoticeable feeling of familiarity. As if the brunette wasn't alone. It took her a moment, but when she could see through her fear, Jala's glimmering eyes slowly slid right. Her head turned, only to see a face she would have recognized blindfolded. She couldn't do much but stare. It couldn't have been her, the strange woman. Xobos was her name, right?...

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☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵







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[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Illyria, Azurine City, Dragonne Palace.
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Mental state: Silent.
Tags: | Jala |

Xobos had not gotten this far into her training by learning how to ignore her instincts. Perhaps it was intuition that increased the survivability of some ship captains, but those in tune with the force knew that it truly did number the steps of ones life. If the force was calling out to her in a familiar way, then it was only right that she made sure to follow it to the letter. Familiar callings could be practically anything, but at least they didn’t have a semblance of danger. The last thing she needed was to be sought after in an crowded space like this where protecting those around her would be…difficult.

Pulling out a commlink devise, she pinged her pilot, hoping that he wasn’t too deep in the next bottle of corellian whiskey. “Hin..rev up the speeder. I know I’d say we meet after but..something has come up. I’ll be to the pad shortly, and I’ll make it up to you later.” There was a noticeable sigh from the other end of the call, perhaps half from being pulled from his drink, and half from the fact that his friend was pulling out of their drinking time. It had been quite a minute since she had taken the time to sit down with him, so for that, there was a ping of guilt.

“Two bottles of whiskey. Nobody else except for your pink friend. I heard she has great stories too.” Hin’s answer was enough for her to smile slightly and place the commlink back on her belt. Cali would enjoy that. She was the pilot type, and Hin had seen more combat behind the controls of a starfighter than practically any other pilot she knew. It was part of the reason Xobos kept him so close.

But now was the time to follow the feeling. If she let it go, it would end up bugging her mind for days afterword. Patting her hip twice, an unspoken command between her and the Great Maalraas, Sabatora joined her master closely by her side as they started to make their way through the starport. They picked their way through the crowd, allowing the force to guide them both to their destination. Seemingly the pair moved as a current through the constant stream of people, flowing cleanly and easily through them.

The force’s trail was not a fullproof map, however, at least not in this situation. Ending at the edge of the starport, looking out over the capital, Xobos half wondered if she was being told something other than what she imagined. Perhaps the force wished to remind her of the beauty of her home on a day where everything seemed much more…grey. A curious way of doing so, but not unwelcome. With the sun beginning to set on the horizon, a sky painted the beauteous colors was indeed a reminder that living on this planet was not a prison as the bureaucracy seemed to make it.

Then…there was a tug. Like the force was attempting to get her to turn around just once more. If this was not what the force wanted her to see, then what…

And then, she saw her. The street rat from Tatooine. The one she left a pearl with.

Jala had found her way to Illyria.

Smiling lightly to herself, Xobos began to approach the dark skinned girl slowly, as to not scare her off. The movement was over quickly, and she stood before the slightly shorter woman, still wearing that slight smile. “I won’t ask how you got here…I highly doubt you would wish to tell me otherwise.” That smile increased just a notch, before the Miraluka continued. “Instead, I invite you to see where I reign, and where I hope you will begin to stay.” Motioning to the side, Xobos started toward her private speeder pad, knowing that Jala would be soon behind her.

When they entered, Hin was indeed there, already having the speeder ready for takeoff. His back was turned he began to speak, fiddling with the fuel line. “Ahh, there you are. You know, you have the worst-“ The brown haired man, with greying highlights at his sideburns, cut himself off as he turned around to see the other woman that Xobos had brought along. Understanding what had occurred, at least, as much as he could, the man gave a little nod. “Well then, let us depart. My name is Sergeant Hin, by the by.” Finishing with a bow of the head toward Jala’s direction, the man hopped into the pilots seat and slapped on the ignition.

Xobos took one step toward the speeder than hopped into the back, turning to Jala and motioning her to follow. “Hin, make sure my apprentice ( Leven Jeyd ) and…Cali ( Cali Ziiva ) know that we have a guest arriving..one that I hope stays for quite a while.”

 

[Jala]

☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵​

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Location: Must be Illyria.
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Time: ####
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Objective: Follow the leader. How did you end up here again?
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Tags: Xobos Yakieer
┈┈┈┈┈
As she was frozen in place like a shining statue of herself, Jala was left wondering if she had truly been guided so far by mere luck. The sensation which had managed to pull her to search for something - for someone in the ever-flowing crowd was something she couldn't quite explain to herself. It was like a warm breeze that gently guided her eyes to lie on the familiar figure. A friendly, strong grasp of a hand which lead her to turn around the right way.
Before, it had felt as if the brunette had accidentally been tracing the woman's footsteps and ended up directly at her doorstep. Yet, now the girl felt like she had been guided by someone... Or something. She wasn't too sure.

That was if the person, who seemingly gave Jala a deep gaze back (One that sent a swift, cold shiver down her back as it hit her.) from somewhere beneath the cloth covering their eyes, was who she was looking for.

The street rat could clearly remember the odd aura the woman she had set off to find had to her. Something which was also present around the figure, who had clearly noticed her. It was as if the girl could sense both their presence, if only faintly. Like a slight change in the air whenever they happened to be around.
She could quickly recall the question about a similar sensation, which she had offered the woman she'd eventually come to know as Xobos. She hadn't forgotten the entirety of the answer, which had been far lengthier than expected at the time, but she had to question if the memory about stories of ancient powers wasn't simply a glorified daydream.

The figure took a step toward her, but it took a second for Jala to comprehend she was now staring at someone who was similarly intrigued about her. She was snapped back to reality by the sudden realization of the character approaching her and might've even seemed slightly alarmed, taking a tiny step back to hold her ground. She could only catch glimpses of the stranger through the increased flow of passerby and wasn't exactly sure what to hope for. She was safe, right? Being caught running couldn't have been a possibility anymore... Right? She wasn't home, but that was her only card at hand, which also happened to play for- and against her. She could only wait and see.




Relief.

It was quick to show up on both the girl's stance and expression. Her eyes might've glimmered as a hint of warm tears found their way in them, but they didn't take the spotlight off the blinding shine of the warm smile, which was quick to invade her surprised face. Jala's lower lip quivered slightly as she looked at the woman in front of her. Confirming the voice which spoke to her indeed belonged to the peculiar woman she was after, the street rat wasn't sure how to react.
She made attempts to figure out whether to go in for a hug, deeper and longer than humanly possible, or any other wordless way to tell Xobos how thankful she was for her existence at the moment. She also tried leading her racing thoughts out through her lips, but what came out instead were broken up syllables, which barely even formed the first letters to her words.

"I-... A-..."

It wasn't of much use.

And so, she settled on just looking at the armored woman. Her eyes had mostly dried up, but they still had a weak gleam to them. And while they mostly did hold their ground, Jala couldn't help but take occasional, uncertain glances at the creature standing at the side of Xobos. Surely it couldn't have been dangerous, but... It wasn't exactly easy to call pretty.

The way the blindfolded woman spoke to her made Jala feel like a guest arriving late. As if she had really been expected, time wasn't exactly wasted on warm welcomes or suchlike. Maybe Xobos really did know she'd be arriving. As far as Jala could tell, the woman wasn't exactly as oblivious as herself to the forces, which had seemingly brought them together the last time.




Before she knew it, Jala was following the armored woman and her... abnormal pet through the masses of people and into the unknown. It got a small, soundless chuckle out of her, as the girl realized she had come full circle. From leading a complete stranger to being the one following. The thought made her a bit more hopeful, and cautiously excited to see where she'd end up next in the woman's footsteps. It made her able to pick up the pace in her steps once more.

Still close behind the other woman, Jala followed her to a more secluded part of the spaceport. While not exactly fancier in any real way she could see, the only difference seemed to be the speeder lying in the middle of the space and the man fiddling around with its wiring. The girl let herself stand next to Xobos (Again, not on the same side as her more brutish companion) and simply had to admire how clean and welcoming the vehicle seemed in comparison to practically anything similar she might've ever seen on Tatooine. Again, a welcome change, but not one she could rest her eyes upon for too long until the man, who had yet stayed unintroduced, spoke.

Sergeant Hin. Somewhat surprised by the sight of two women instead of one, Jala figured. She gave the man a modest grin and a wave of a slightly raised hand as a reply. Time wasn't wasted much on further introductions and the girl would eventually find herself seated behind the strange woman.

She'd wait for a moment for a clearing in the air to slide her question in.

"So..."

The first proper words she'd muttered for a few days came out rather shyly as the girl leaned slightly toward both the pilot and the woman, letting her eyes direct the question to both of them by taking quick glances between them.

"Where are we... headed?"

​

☵☴☵ ┈┈┈┈┈┈☵☴☵┈┈┈┈┈┈ ☵☴☵







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[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Illyria, Azurine City, Dragonne Palace.
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Mental state: Silent.
Tags: | Jala |

The moment he had his two passengers and the large alien..cat fully onboard, Hin finished up the final preflight checks before beginning the liftoff. The quite enjoyable bit of having a private landing pad in the capital would be that there was practically no traffic on the way out. It barely took a moment, and Hin had the speeder blasting out of the capital’s regions and pointed toward the providence.

What scenery could be seen from the landing outside the spaceport was now rushing below them. Forests of green stretched out in every direction, with the setting sun on the horizon beginning to paint them with a sea of firey reds and oranges. Times like these really affirmed the feelings within Xobos that she had made the right choice in staying on this planet and beginning to build up a heritage. This was her home, and even if she hadn’t been born here, her heart would always stay in these gorgeous lands.

A shy voice perking up from her side peaked Xobos’ interest, pulling her gaze from the sea of trees below. It was obvious that Jala was..quite nervous. Very different than how Leven had been during their first time coming back to Garde. The jester had been more curious than nervous, and the girl next to her seemed more nervous than curious. They would make quite the pair, she could already tell.

It was obvious that Hin was debating within his mind whether or not to answer the question for Xobos. They had been friends for long enough to know when to answer for her and when not to, but this was a special situation, he could tell. So the pilot remained quiet, focusing on keeping the speeder level and allowing Xobos to take the question at her own pace.

With a hand stroking along the back of Sabatora, who seemed content stretching out over the entirety of the speeder’s floorboard, the Sieur turned to look to Jala, giving her the slightest of smiles. “Garde Noire. The providence on this world I rule over.” Her gaze turned from looking at Jala to once again focusing on the landscape below them, beginning to go into detail about what the woman could expect.

“We are a..small community. Tight knit. Garde is a mining providence, with a town just large enough to support it’s people and little more. Couple of taverns, a shop or two, the usual things you’d find in a town such as this one.” There was a voice from the cockpit, Hin’s, who used them moment to interject a quick little, “You must try the Le Renard et la plume’s…the fox and the feathers, chowder at some point. Divine, and the best food you’ll find outside of Beacon.” If it had been anyone else, Xobos might’ve done more than given an annoyed glare toward. But Hin had earned the right to be able to speak with such casual tones in her presence.

After their little explanation, the ride fell into comfortable silence once again. At least, comfortable for the Miraluka. But, eventually, her own curiosity began to win out over her better judgement. Even with her mask, Jala would be able to tell where Xobos’ gaze now fell. “I was honestly not sure if I’d ever see you again. After we killed the beast on that…sandball, there was a moment I was positive you’d come with me.” A pause, just long enough for gaze to practically bore into the street rat. “But then..you didn’t.” Why, Xobos could still not tell. The girl did have fear running through her, and perhaps the decision was influenced by that emotion. Though, as far as she could tell, Jala had carved herself a life out of that drab town, and leaving that must’ve seemed like a step off the cliff.

“So why come now?”