Faction No Need for Roads - NJO

[Jalen Kai'el]

Atzerri
Tags: Ti Izat , Ariana Du Couteau , open

​

"<Should we ask for help? Others might not wish for harm. They could want the same.>"

"That isn't a bad idea," Jalen frowned, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "But we may want to get moving soon. I'm sure others are already out there looking. I think we have a good shot at finding him first, w-with your senses and my force sight I mean."

It seemed a pretty effective combo if anyone was going to locate the Woohoo. Jalen himself was no professional tracker, but if he could find anything left behind by this 'creature,' perhaps he could find a trail in the force. The boy shifted his weight, placing a hand on the ground before quickly lifting it up, a look of disgust growing across his face.

"Uhg," the padawan frowned. "I think there's a clump of hair in this bush. Wait!"

Jalen quickly seized the hair, a tuft of brownish-red fur not to dissimilar that which may be found on a shaggy mammal. They had found their ticket.

"There's a clump of hair in this bush!"

 

[Inanna Harth]

Already going after the marshmallows, Inanna was delighted to find they had some mini ones. "She's old enough that she shouldn't choke on these," she said, showing Cato the bag before giving Serena one.

She chuckled at Sayuri's story, not really sure what to make of it. Those wacky Atrisians...

"Cato used to be a Silver Jedi," Inanna announced, putting a marshmallow in her mouth with a smile.

Sayuri Hatoko Cato Harth Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Jasper Kai'el BB-610​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"When did you become a master of storytelling?"

Smiling at his kiss, Thelma handed Silas a marshmallow. "Someone else told me the story a long time ago. I just have a good memory."

She nodded at Sayuri Hatoko 's story. "Sex before marriage is immoral," she said. "But the story feels a little too tame. Perhaps if the man were to die or become ill as a result of sleeping with a woman who is possessed by the Gwishin, it would be more frightening and have a greater impact." She tapped her chin. "We have similar creatures in Dahrtagian folklore. They are called Vila, the ghosts of women who died as virgins, or who were betrayed by their lovers.

"There is a story of a village girl. She fell in love with a nobleman who would come to the village disguised as a commoner. He didn't tell her he was a noble, because he wanted her to love him for himself, not because of his status. One day his family came to the village looking for him. With them was a beautiful lady. They announced that the nobleman was to marry the lady as part of an arranged marriage. Believing that he had tricked her, the girl went mad, grabbed his sword, and took her own life.

"When she died, her spirit became one of the Vila. Together with the other Vila, she lured the nobleman into the forest, where they made him dance until he was nearly dead from exhaustion. Recognizing the spirit of the girl he had loved, he pleaded with her to save him. She still loved him, so she convinced the other Vila to have mercy on him."

Pausing at the end of the tale, Thelma realized only afterward that she had been drawn into telling yet another story. She quickly stuffed another marshmallow into her mouth, as if it would keep her from talking.

Silas Westgard Cato Harth Valery Noble Kahlil Noble Jasper Kai'el BB-610​

 

[Ti Izat]

"<My senses aren't great. I still have so much to learn. We should look past them.>" He wasn't a tracker. Not in the slightest. He followed after Jalen, his little eyes scanning around curiously. He wasn't sure what they were looking for. Even as Jalen seemed to find something he just stared. Then looked around. A footprint. A big foot print. He raised a hand, tugging on Jalen's sleeve.

"<There is something here. A large foot print in the dirt. The clue we needed?>"

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Ariana Du Couteau]

Ariana Du Couteau, Jedi Padawan
Location: Near Camp Site, Atzerri
Objective: Find the "Woohoo"
Action: Begin the Hunt for the "Woohoo"
Outfit (Minus the Right Arm)

Ariana smiled, silently wondering if she should have escorted the pair with their child to the campfire, perhaps even offer introductions. But the opportunity had already gone and the young Du Couteau heir had already walked past the campsite, so presently the most she could do was write it in as another regret. I hope they didn’t think I was rude for not offering them to walk with them back to camp. Ariana shook off the thought and refocused on her goal of finding this elusive ‘Woohoo’ mystical beast.

Now if I was a larger than life mythic creature of legend wanting to be left alone where would I be? Ariana all but spent thirty seconds thinking for an answer before shrugging and wondered if shouting could be a suitable alternative. She continued to walk and kicked a pebble out of her, frowning as she couldn’t really figure out a realistic idea to track this seemingly untrackable beast. I’m not an outdoors person, but I have spent a lot of time among other nobles and their schemes. If she couldn’t lean on her non-existent hunting skills, perhaps she could instead take a hint from her ability of fishing out secrets and skeletons from Noble’s closets.

I mean, Nobles try to hide their secrets and plots as well as this ‘Woohoo’, how much harder can this secret be to uncover? Ariana mused and began to gracefully move through the forest, imagining herself partaking in a dance among one of the great halls of Teta. The Force flowing through and around her, the vibrancy of life attempting to make itself known to any who would listen. It was a song that was difficult to listen to, even quieter than the gardens from her home back on Teta. But I doubt the Forest would betray one of their own to me. No, Ariana figured that trying to connect to the Force and mediate to find this ‘Woohoo’ would be tantamount to finding quiet on Coruscant’s Market streets.

Sure, with enough effort it can be done, but the effort is nowhere near comparable to the reward. Ariana sighed inwardly and carefully climbed up a nearby tree, her gloved hand finding the perfect grip and her legs working double time to make up for the other missing hand. She carefully stood up on one of the larger branches and gently leaned against the tree proper as Ariana scanned around herself.

Her eyes lit up when she saw two figures moving through a few bushes and talking to one another. The young Du Couteau heir couldn’t exactly make out their voices and she couldn’t remember their faces, let alone their names, from this distance. Ariana looked around them, curious if they saw something but after a few moments there wasn’t anything strange moving around them.

Gently as she could, Ariana braced herself as she jumped down to the ground. She had fallen from much higher, but keeping her Force usage as minimal as possible made quite a few physical stunts that much harder. Moving to meet the pair that were also apparently searching for the mysterious ‘Woohoo’ creature, perhaps they had an idea or a clue or even a possible sighting.

“Are you two searching for a people-shy Woohoo creature?” She asked as she approached them, “-Name’s Ariana Du Couteau, Padawan on break with the rest of the Order.” Ariana added as she bowed before the two of them. Won’t let anybody say I lacked manners and have that reach my brother’s ears. Ariana knew that even if she was hard to find like this ‘Woohoo’ that his sass would still find her.
​

|| Jalen Kai'el | Ti Izat ||​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora peeked at Aeris from between her slivered fingers. Her eye bounced from the blonde Knight to the partially-silver fox who'd crouched near Zoar.

Fortunately, Aeris didn't verbally call attention to her flushed face and obvious embarrassment. Instead, she simply grinned knowingly. The tension was cut as a gaggle of younglings clambered upon them, and Cora was all to eager to help distribute tent kits.

Legs folded beneath her, the Padawan listened intently as Aeris spoke. The Knight had a commanding presence, assertive without being intrusive. When she asked if there were any questions, Cora tentatively leaned closer and lowered her voice. A hand came up between them as if to shield her words from younger ears.

"I...have never constructed a tent before."

Aeris Lashiec Alora Davani Zoar Lloyd Kelmp

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Corazona von Ascania

"Perfect." Aeris whispered back. "That would make you an excellent example. Not all Jedi have the same skills and you could show them that. If you are okay and comfortable with that, of course."

Aeris took a few steps into the open in the middle of the group to begin the lesson. Aeris carefully withdrew the pieces from the bag that the tents came with and arranged them by size from smallest to the biggest.

"Alright, those of you who want to follow along while I assemble one of these are more than welcome to gather around as we go through the process." She spoke up and gathered the attention of the shy few who had not yet begun assembling their own tents. "Usually the key to camping in the wilds like this is equal parts brains and brawns. In essence, be clever and stay out of sight but be ready to fend off things that would look to hurt you." A few of the younger children seemed worried by this speech, but Aeris quickly held her hand up. "But, today you do not need to worry. We have all of the bravest, smartest, and strongest Jedi along with us on this trip. You are perfectly safe, this is but the first step you need to take in order to survive almost anywhere."

"Today it's Atzerri, but in a few years you will be able to make even places such as Dagobah a place to call home, should you so desire."

"Like Master Yoda?" One of the younglings gleed.

"Yes! Exactly like Master Yoda, Timothy! Good catch." Aeris smiled back.

Her eyes met with Corazona's for a moment. It was about time to get started properly with assembling the tent. This was the moment of truth to tell if she wanted to step into the fire or not, or if she would prefer to let Aeris handle the teaching. On her own. No backup at all…

Yeah, the Knight was clearly trying to encourage the Padawan to take that step, but it was not one that she was going to push or force her into. It was a piece of growth to be nurtured over time more than anything. Some people liked to challenge and change while others hated it greatly, and Jedi were absolutely no different. After all, it had taken the galaxy nearly getting destroyed at least thrice by a host of different catastrophies before they were able to even really reconcile their differences between Orders. If that wasn't proof of how stubborn Jedi could be then there really was no better example.

 

[Lloyd Kelmp]

Atzerri
Tags: Zoar , Corazona von Ascania , Aeris Lashiec , Alora Davani

​

//I just... mmm... yeah, I need help.//

"Hey, there's no shame in it," Lloyd shrugged. "You don't know what you don't know."

Zoar was the kids name. Lloyd did a quick flip-through of his roster, checking for the name. The Miln. Makes sense. He hadn't seen a smaller, rodenty fellow about. That was likely what the armor was for.

"Lloyd Kelmp," he introduced. "Jedi Knight. Tents aren't too complicated from what I find, just more a pain to assemble. You aren't too far off tryin to get those rods in place... but I find that starting from the base is more efficient."

Lloyd frowned. The kid was probably shy. Hiding in a scary suit of armor and stuttering about.

"You'd probably fare better with organic hands," the knight added with a shrug. "I can cover you if you're worried about pryin eyes."

 

[Zoar]

LAYING STAKES
- Aeris Lashiec - Corazona von Ascania - Alora Davani - Lloyd Kelmp -​

"You don't know what you don't know."

//Sure,// the Miln riposted, crossing his large, mechanical arms. //But I've got a rep to keep. My thing is knowing how to put stuff together.//

//Kelmp?// Zoar struggled with the pronunciation, smiling under his suit. //That's a name you really gotta swallow, huh?// The armor spun it's faceplate back to the half-assembled tent ahead of them, unable to fathom where he had gone wrong. Sure, it'd be easy if he could see the instructions, but the fact that he couldn't put it together without them wounded what pride he had.

Then, the Knight offered to cover him, if he wanted to eject. Zoar's unease was palpable through the suit. //Mmm... Weeeeell... If it's alright with you, I think I'll stay in here.// He tried to save a bit of face. //I... y'know, i-if there's an attack on the camp, or somethin'. Gotta... gotta be ready.//

The Miln started reassembling the tent. It was slow going, but with an extra pair of hands, at least he was making progress.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora's sheepish smile grew a bit strained as she whispered back.

"Of course, Knight Lashiec. I would not mind at all."

Cora did mind. Cora minded very much. The perfectionist Padawan minded having her lack of skill on display, even if it made the children feel better about themselves.

Now she felt bad for minding, which made her mind a little more, but also a little less.

Blinking, Cora was brought out of the bubble of her ego and into the lesson. Aeris' voice faded back in, and she focused on the content of the Knight's words. Then their eyes met, sending a wave of nerves prickling across the Padawan's skin.

Paging open the manual, Cora joined Aeris in the center of the circle.

"Alright everyone, to begin….you simply take pole…A3…and insert it into the slot of…pole G…9-b?" Reading from the instructions, Cora paused, hand hovering over the swath of tent pieces that Aeris had arranged on the ground. Once she retrieved poles A3 and G9-b, she held them aloft for the other to see, head craned down at the little booklet.

"And then you…simply…fit them together…."

Cora grunted, finding that poles A3 and G9-b did not, in fact, fit together easily. Her hands pressed and twisted, trying to work the two pieces together with little progress. Maybe she was doing it wrong, but she persisted, jaw set in determination.

"…Like….so…."

Snap.

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

It would seem that Corazona was willing to take that step into an otherwise, mostly, usually, uncomfortable corner. Aeris' shoulders slackened for a bit as she gave the blonde teenager an approving smile and slowly walked on over to provide moral support as the padawan began to show the children how to assemble their tents.

Or well, when she started showing and then got a bit too stubborn. So stubborn in fact that the pole snapped in two and the children began to laugh. Aeris raised a stern finger at them with a loud hiss that made them all go quiet as the grave.

"We laugh with people, not at them." Aeris reminded them with a look that could haunt them for a lifetime. The face faded after a few moments and was not soon after replaced by the more open and friendlier smile of the new and reformed mother hen Aeris. "What happened to Corazona here can and will happen to you as well. I want each of you to do as she instructed."

The children bowed their head in a quiet yes and proceeded to grab their A3's and G9-b's in each hand to put them into place only to find that they too had problems with it. A few apologetic looks found their way over to Corazona as they did, a good few others were as equally stubborn as to not notice what the problem was.

"You tried to connect the wrong end of the A3 pole into the G9-b pole." Aeris slowly leaned towards Corazona and quietly whispered to the blonde before she reached out to summon a new set of G9-b and A3 tubes into her hands and handed them over for Corazona to try again. "Keep it up, you are doing great."

"Remember kids, the force can be good for many different situations, but contrary to popular wisdom it is sometimes better to trust your eyes than your mind." The fact that she even said that felt to Aeris as if she broke some sort of unspoken rule. "Observe your pieces before you try to put them together, make sure that you understand the piece before you use it."

The booklet on the ground lifted off the ground and into her hand.

"Now, Corazona, would you please repeat the process…" Aeris paused as if she hadn't read this thing ten times already when she put a tent up in her own room before the trip. "Two more times?"

"After that we should be good to tread these poles through the fabric that came with the package."

It was, after all, not that big of a tent. It being child-size and what-not.

Corazona von Ascania

 

[Mrir'ik'amorn]

"Ay look at all these tents! You kids sure know how to build em!" She glanced between the tents one by one as she passed by, giving an approving nod here and there. A couple of pointers, but she wasn't really here to hang out with the kids. No, she was here because she knew just how stressful it was to watch kids. And she couldn't have nobody stressing out for too long.

With a grin the hybrid paused by Zoar and Lloyd, giving a nod to the suit. Of metal, anyway.

"Good job.. Kid? Imma guess you're a kid under there. High five." She held up a single hand. Mostly because the other had a couple six packs of what looked like beer tucked underneath.

Zoar | Lloyd Kelmp | Corazona von Ascania | Aeris Lashiec

 

[Lloyd Kelmp]

Atzerri
Tags: Zoar , Mrir'ik'amorn , Aeris Lashiec , Corazona von Ascania , Alora Davani

​

//I... y'know, i-if there's an attack on the camp, or somethin'. Gotta... gotta be ready.//

"Hey, that's your choice," Lloyd shrugged. "No need to defend it. I'm not here to judge."

They got to work though, and made decent progress. Zoar seemed pretty capable of adapting to working on the tent within his suit at least, which was good. Eventually, though, the boy would need to learn to emerge from his shell. That was something Lloyd couldn't teach.

"Good job.. Kid? Imma guess you're a kid under there. High five."

Lloyd turned his head to the new arrival, a young woman with blue hair and red eyes. She didn't look Jedi, at least the ones slated to go on this expedition. A visitor, perhaps?

"Strange that you brought alcohol to an outing with children," Lloyd observed, "But I guess that's your own business. I'd recommend taking them to the fire at least. They're less likely to be snagged by anyone under the legal age."

Oh, right. He hadn't given his name.

"Lloyd Kelmp," he greeted. "The kid in the suit is Zoar."

 

[Zoar]

LAYING STAKES
- Lloyd Kelmp - Mrir'ik'amorn - Aeris Lashiec - Corazona von Ascania - Alora Davani -
​

The pair of Zoar and Lloyd made slow work of the tent, with the Miln being adamant about staying in the suit. He realized it might have come off as rude, but Mr. Kelmp didn't seem to mind all that much, brushing it off and continuing their work. But he would stay in the suit, especially around so many people. Someone could sneak up on him at any mome-

"Good job.. Kid? Imma guess you're a kid under there. High five."

Zoar, for the second time that day, felt his shoulders bob a little. He had to get better at sensing his surroundings.

The suit turned it's head one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to regard the new conversation entrant, the rest of his body turning soon after to face the red-eyed humanoid. //Uh yeah, I guess... thanks,// he finally said, gently completing the high five, well aware of how large and powerful his robotic hands were.

Zoar let the adults talk for a moment, nodding as Lloyd introduced him. The Miln cocked his head. //Who're you? I've never seen you around the temple before.//

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora's cheeks burned brightly as the children giggled at her accident. A well-bred, courtly demeanor and a vague understanding that kids hadn't developed a refined set of social skills kept her from crumbling.

Still, that didn't mean that she wasn't embarrassed.

Fortunately, Aeris came to her rescue and a hush fell through the circle. The silence was so intense that even the distant chatter around the campfire could be heard. Cora looked to the Knight, in awe of her assertive presence and maternal poise.

"Oh," She whispered back, nodding almost too vigorously in understanding. "I tried to use the wrong hole."

Now provided with two new tubes, Cora inspected each marked end carefully before fitting them together, this time without breaking anything. A victory. She reached for the second and third set at the same time, making sure to fit the pieces together snugly, but not so snugly that they would snap. Cora kept an eye to the children, who seemed to be faring better.

"You have a way with kids, Knight Aeris. Do you have children of your own?"

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Mrir'ik'amorn]

"Oh you always bring alcohol on an outing with kids. Just not for the kids."

There was nothing more stressing than taking care of a bunch of kids. Force sensitive or not. Especially if they walked around in suits like.. Zoar did. At least she got a name. She slapped the metal hand with a grin, though. Good spirit, even with her being a stranger. Or just the suit. Eh, whatever.

"You wouldn't. I'm not a Jedi. I just like hanging around with Jedi more."

She pulled a bottle from the case, casually tossing it to Lloyd before turning to walk towards the fire.

"Consider me the babysitter of the babysitters. But here to make sure you all have fun too." She gave a smile, small salute, then continued on her way. Probably was a good idea to make sure none of the kids got any idea about taking any booze. But these were Jedi. They shouldn't steal, right?

Lloyd Kelmp | Zoar

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

The kids were doing great, just like Cora even if she might have been too "humble" to admit it. A wide smile spread on Aeris' lips from the question. It would have been a cop out to say that these younglings were her children in a sense but it rang true in her mind. Although she supposed that still wouldn't be the answer the teen had asked for.

"No," She shrugged. "I never really had it on the agenda."

The children were starting to figure pieces out between them and helping one another. It was great to see and Aeris felt that warmth radiate from her for just a moment before something caught her eyes. The glimmer of a small box, a stash of alcoholic beverage.

Baby-sitting the baby-sitters, yeah right. Aeris shot Lloyd a stern look that wandered over to the pack of beer as if to say 'de-toxify that immediately' without saying it outright. Her head tilted as if to kick him into action before she eased up and looked back at Cora again with a shake of her head. Had this been a place for grown-ups she would have been more chill with it, but as it were there were people of all ages here. No matter what the situation, fun wasn't something that was found in a state of lacking self-control and using such a state as a poor excuse to act out the person that you truly were in front of a child.

While a single beer was no probable cause for that, to allow it the chance to happen in the first place was a slippery slope into allowing it once more and it was the principle of it that mattered to her. There would be absolutely no drinking around children, and that was that. The end. Finito.

She kept from groaning as she picked up her thread with Corazona yet again.

"I never really had a childhood with all the destruction that has taken place between the Netherworld Disaster and now." She chuckled instead to let herself focus entirely on Cora. "I guess it started when I ran into a boy in the library. He was an odd one, but after I came to care for him I realized that…" Thinking about Kai hurt in a way. He had left the nest and now there was just Aeris and a whole bunch of other children in his place that in reality did not compare. "I realized that giving that kind of love just felt good and even better to receive in turn, and with one thing leading to another I ended up teaching younglings when he left."

"What about you?" Aeris asked almost on impulse. "I mean, not the having kids part, good heavens no. I mean the love part." Hand rose up to stop for a moment. "Not the kind you gossip about in the sparring grounds, I mean the kind where someone genuinely care for you and you genuinely care for them."

"Do you find that you have that here?"

Corazona von Ascania

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The work became easier, but perhaps that was because of the conversation. Cora focus split gently between fitting the poles together and listening to Aeris. She'd always been fascinated by how other Jedi had come to the Order—very few had arrived willingly from established families. Many had been scooped up before they could form memories, and quite a few had come from broken homes or had no home at all.

Cora's family hadn't exactly been the definition of warm and loving, but she'd never wanted for anything material. Always a warm bed, always served a hot meal, always had access to clean water and fancy clothes and luxury goods. Love had never really been apart of it.

"The...love part?" Wide blue eyes blinked. She found a spark of kinship with Aeris in how she cared for the younglings, the same as Cora had for her siblings. Did she have something like that here?

"I don't know." The Padawan answered honestly, unfolding the fabric canvas that was to become the tent. "I care for my Master, does that count?" With both hands, she tried to smooth the creases in the cloth but they were cut too deeply. "And then there's…"

A certain aggravating Padawan came to mind. One who she'd shared moments of anger and surprisingly human comfort with. Cora shook her head rapidly in an attempt to will away the heat that had surfaced at her cheeks.

"I don't think so. Not yet, anyway."

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Corazona von Ascania

Did it count that she cared for her master?

"Why would it not?" Aeris asked in response and helped straighten out the canvas. The duo was doing their part in showing how it was done. A few of the other children were still following along, but by now they were doing what Aeris had raised them to do and actually helped each other. At this point it was really just a nice conversation between Aeris and Corazona.

And then,

"I don't think so. Not yet, anyway."

Aeris frowned.

"Then I think we should fix that." Aeris nodded and handed Corazona one of the pieces to their tent puzzle. "Swing by the archives someday and we can have a talk. A short talk, a long talk, any length of talk you want, really. And not as Jedi but as just two regular people, same as now."

"It is easy to forget that we are more than this stupid…" Aeris grabbed the arm of her robe. "Burlap uniform."