Private Lost & Alone

[Ilia Valentina]

Alderaan​

It had almost been a week since everything had gone to hell, since she had awoken from a nightmare and set her world alight. And it seemed just as long since the damned rain had begun. Sure, it hadn't been constant the past several days. But it certainly felt like Mother Nature herself was responding to the fire that had engulfed half the Residential District. Ilia clutched at the large cloak she had borrowed, trying to wrap it closer against her body. A hood also concealed the majority of her features, a requirement since she had become a fugitive.

Or at least, that's how Ilia saw herself.

She had watched one of the newscasts, stating the local authorities were looking for an arsonist, someone who had reportedly fled the scene by rooftop.

Had they even got into the burnt husk of a building? Found that not everyone was accounted for? That it might just be possible the 'fled suspect' was in fact the only survivor? Have they just assumed she was dea-

Ilia shook her head. She couldn't let herself dwell on that thought, otherwise she didn't know what would happen. She could feel the Force boiling beneath the surface, like an itch under her skin. The outburst that night had seemingly 'drained' her of energy. Erratic emotion didn't lead to devastation since, but Ilia knew it wouldn't be long before it reached that point again.

Need to reach the starport, it's my only chance...

She had managed to get through the gateway between Residential and Commerce, but the closer she got to a ship, the tighter security had gotten. It wasn't usually like this, but given there was an arsonist on the run...it wasn't surprising.

The Zabrak continued to move through the crowds, lost in her thoughts as she tried to think of a plan. Not at all paying attention to the fact she was about to run right into someone...

Leon Gallo ​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon had only heard small reports from authorities. Half a neighborhood burned down, and a figure seen fleeing the scene. Already, it seemed like arson, but Leon wanted to find out more. The local police force agreed to having a Jedi help in the search, though he had not said what he planned to do. Really, the young Jedi wanted to explore his own abilities, particularly what he learned from the spirit in the Field of Blades. He thought he could channel the spirits around the burned area to find something out, or at least practice directing spirits for facing whatever attacked Brentaal...

The young Jedi had his Saber hidden under his trench coat, barely standing out in the rain. He was deep in thoughts, trying to recall as much of his conversation with the spirit as he could. He wasn't paying much attention, just milling through the large crowd in the general direction of the burned area. He sensed for a split second that something was going to hit him, before looking up right as he walked into a cloaked Zabrak. For a moment, he saw her face under her hood.

Leon stumbled back, steadying himself and almost slipping, before he looked to the stranger. An apology was already coming out of his mouth as he reached out for them should they need a hand stabilizing them self or to get up. "I'm so sorry."


Ilia Valentina

 

[Ilia Valentina]

There was a flicker of something in the back of her head, like a momentary warning that went over the Zabrak's untrained head. She ran into the slightly taller man directly, but not with enough force to knock herself to the ground. Instead she stumbled, almost slipping on the wet floor but managing to find her balance before she backed into another civilian. A rude comment later, and the person was walking around her, as was the crowd in general.

Ilia's eyes were glued to the man in front her, hand raising to assist and an apology on his lips. But the Zabrak saw neither, all that she felt was panic. And thus the build up of the Force swelled within.

One step, two steps. She turned on her heel and made a run for it.

She didn't care as she pushed and weaved around others, all she wanted was to get away. One from the stranger, but also from all the people around her. Ilia didn't want to even think about what could happen if a repeat of the fire happened here. After a few minutes of dashing through the crowds, Ilia broke off and disappeared down into an alleyway.

Not realizing until it was already too late, that she was heading towards a dead end.

Leon Gallo​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon felt something odd coming from the stranger. He got a bit better look at her, quickly memorizing her outfit. And then, she turned and ran.

"Well that's suspicious...HEY WAIT!"

Leon took off running just moments after the stranger. His boots splashed in the puddles left by the rain as he pursued. He was fast, especially with his Jedi training. Catching this stranger would have been easy for him, were it not for the crowd. He bumped into many on lookers as he chased, yelling a quick "Sorry!" behind him. Twice he lost sight of her, but both times he managed to catch a glimpse of her in the crowd and he cut through a quicker path towards her. When she broke out the crowd, Leon was only a few meters behind her. She turned down an alley, and the Jedi followed. He nearly fell in the sharp turn and wet conditions, but he regained his footing to follow the stranger.

"Hey! Why'd you run?"

Ilia Valentina

 

[Ilia Valentina]

Chit. Chit!

Ilia had stopped before a very physical and tall obstacle in her way. That of a wall that stood a good several feet higher than her. She looked at the walls either side of her, debating if she could do a little wall-jump, but they were too far apart. Next Ilia looked for anything she could stack up to shorten the height gap, but there was nothing around that would be useful.

Come on Ilia, think of something!

She could feel the Force crawling ever closer to the top-

"Hey! Why'd you run?"

Ilia spun around, eyes widening when she realized the stranger had managed to follow her. She immediately began to shake her head, stepping back even though a few more and she'd have her back against the dead end.

"Stop! I don't want to hurt you." The Zabrak raised her hand as she spoke, and the build up finally hit its crescendo. It channeled up her body, along her arm until it projected outwards into a Force Push. But it barely reached Leon, the power behind it sputtered out a good foot or two away. Instead, it had backfired, slamming into Ilia and sending her crashing backwards into the wall. She let out a yell of pain, clutching at her now broken wrist.

Leon Gallo​

 

[Leon Gallo]

"Stop! I don't want to hurt you"

Leon felt a small blast of force energy hit him just after the stranger raised her hand and cried out. It hit him with the power of a small wave, chest deep in a calm ocean. It was unexpected, but Leon's stance alone was enough to steady him. Ilia had not been so lucky. She was against the wall, clutching at her wrist.

"You're a force user," Leon looked at her injured wrist "An untrained one too, I'll bet."

The Jedi slowly approached the injured woman before him, and crouched next to her, to try and get a better look at her wrist. AS he did so, he made sure to let his coat move enough so his lightsaber could be seen. If she was a force sensitive, maybe knowing he was a Jedi could calm her down.

"My name's Leon. I'm a Jedi, and I want to help you."

Ilia Valentina

 

[Ilia Valentina]

At this point Ilia's hood had been knocked back, fully revealing her face. Purple eyes staring at Leon wearily, but with a small measure of acknowledgement of what he was. That, and she didn't exactly have any other options.

"Yes, but my par-" Ilia paused, mouth suddenly growing dry at the mention of her parents. "I was informally tutored as a kid. But it seems like that went all out the window now."

She could feel her heart beating in her chest, trying to calm down. The Force had expended itself, but she was an ever ticking clock. It would surface back soon enough.

As Leon got closer, crouching down before her, Ilia held out her broken wrist. She winced as he took a closer look.

"I assume...given you're here, you've been searching for the arsonist?"

Leon Gallo​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon frowned as he listened to the girl. He took some bandages out of his coat, and began to wrap her wrist. He went slowly, to avoid causing her pain. HE wasn't a healer, but at least he knew how to do this.

"I am. Do you know anything?"

While he waited for a response, Leon finished wrapping her wrist, tucking the end of the bandage into itself. He looked over his work, satisfied. He looked back up to Ilia.

"Can't do much healing, but this should help for a while. I don't think I caught your name."

Ilia Valentina

 

[Ilia Valentina]

Ilia winced as she pulled back her layers, the cloak, jacket and then shirt sleeve to allow Leon access to her broken wrist. She watched him work, noting a fairly decent job of bandaging it up. The Zabrak knew she could probably have mended herself, but she was hesitant to do anything right now. Without fearing she'd just damage herself further in the act.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, carefully covering her now bandaged wrist.

She looked up at Leon again, before slowly standing up. "I know some things, yeah. Can we uh, get out of the rain first?" The Zabrak pulled up the hood of her cloak again, concealing her face.

"My name's Ilia."

Leon Gallo​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon wasn't sure were exactly to go. Ilia probably had somewhere in mind, so he figured he'd let her take the lead. Leon stood with his new acquaintance, putting the rest of the bandages back in his jacket as he did so. He quickly closed the coat again, noting the rain taking a chill it hadn't previously.

"No problem. I'll follow you to wherever."

He noted her name, and turned to follow her out of the alley.

Ilia Valentina

 

[Ilia Valentina]

The Zabrak nodded, right, it made more sense for her to lead the way. She knew the streets around them, unlike him. Ensuring her hood was properly concealing her features, Ilia walked out of the alley and glanced around, looking for an ideal place to find cover.

She was tempted to find a building to enter, but she realized it might not be the greatest idea. If it was occupied, she was liable to run into someone who knew her. The town wasn't crazy large, nothing like say a city planet like Coruscant, but it was sizable enough that it was easy to recognize people who had been around for a lengthy period of time.

And Ilia had been here for the majority of her years.

Walking along the streets, Ilia debated to herself over what to say. She couldn't just outright come out with the truth...right? Logic would dictate the Jedi would take her to the authorities, she was a criminal after all. But then maybe she could appeal to his sense of duty, the Jedi were more likely to help someone in need, than throw them to the wolves.

She just needed to find the right words...

Eventually she found a nice alcove entrance, that stretched across the width of the building. It provided no warmth, but it kept them out of the rain. Ilia sighed as she turned around to face Leon.

"I'm the arsonist. I'm the...culprit."

Well...so much for not just blurting out the blunt truth. Ilia had to refrain from physically facepalming.

Leon Gallo​

 

[Leon Gallo]

Leon followed his new acquaintance as she brought him through the streets. She kept her hood high, as though she was hiding herself. She did seem panicked when Leon saw her face. Why? It wasn't long before She took him to an alcove, then she turned to face him. Leon had expected her to go to her home or a building, but it just now occurred to him that she might not have anywhere to go because of the fire.

"I'm the arsonist. I'm the...culprit."

​

That was... a surprise, to be sure. Not a welcome one, either. Leon had intended to bring her Ilia to the Jedi for training once he had found the arsonist, but it seemed he'd already found his fire-happy friend. Something felt off though, why would she out right tell him she was the arsonist? She knew he was looking for her, and if she wanted to turn herself in she could have gone to the local police. She needed help. She must be desperate.

"Why are you telling me this?"



Ilia Valentina