Roots

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"That is lucky. Maybe it's because the tatooine blood has been watered down," he mused as the planet came up to meet them. "But if I don't see sun I get pretty pale. Then go fairly dark in the sun. I've been outdoors lately so you can see..."

He pulled up one sleeve to reveal how stark the contrast was between his hand and arm. He turned to face he briefly, feeling a good sense of relief that they were back in realspace. He did like her colouration. Olive skin, thick dark hair and eyes... Well the eyes were hardly a consistent part of the overall image but they were certainly enthralling.

"Erm... Yes, right. Calling Uncle Kellan," he said. It was quite clear that his mind had gone wandering a little. He flapped about a little as he turned his chair towards a comm station.

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

[SIZE=9pt]He wasn't kidding; the tanned honey hued skin was a stark contrast to the paler cream of the flesh above it. A thought came to her and she mentally muffled it by adding, "Well, I wouldn't recommend going out there with only your skin."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]And the thought came back.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"You'll burn to a crisp. That’s why the clans always dress from head to toe. Never take the desert gear off....well, save for a handful of circumstances." Another small revelation to Choli's past. The hull of the ship began to glow red at re-entry, and that shuddering? Yeaaah, it increased to the point it felt like a shanty vibration all through the cockpit.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Okay, that was new.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Yeah... let me just take care of this." Choli murmured, going over the console and her instruments. Their heat shield was holding steady, so the old junker had some kinks in her, but so far, nothing in the red. Just extra vibrations.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Hopefully.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Remind me to check where the primary buffer panel flew off after this..."[/SIZE]

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Is that the kind of thing we need to buy another one of before we leave? Because I don't think we're finding that one again..."

Trextan fell silent and let Choli work. It unnerved him not to be the master of his own destiny right now. Even just having an understanding of what was going on would have helped. The vibrations ran through his whole body, but the ship seemed to be following a fairly straight course.

Trextan took a deep breath and tried to centre himself as Jacen and Adele had tried to teach him. The Force didn't try to warn him of any imminent danger and he tried to focus on the trust he held in Choli's abilities. In fact, once more, he was struck by how much this felt right. To be back here where his family had come from with someone who knew the world. Perhaps it was time to try and put the past five years behind him and move forwards with a new purpose.

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

[SIZE=9pt]"We can find something on Mos Ispa -- or Mos Eisley if needed." There wasn't a place on Tatooine that Choli didn't know that wouldn't be able to provide what they might require in ship parts. "Might be a little rusted or not quite the size we need, but we can make due."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]A thought came to her, then a small shrug, " And if we are really desperate... could go visit the Jawa Clans... they'll hoard anything that they find or acquire and trade it for something just as shiny."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]"Alright... let's see if we can find a place to park." The corner of her mouth gave a twitch. "I doubt anyone might want to steal this ship..." and obvious joke as those green eyes went dancing over at his direction. He appeared so tense again, mind elsewhere.[/SIZE]

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"A little rusted and the wrong size? Frankly I think that's the spec the squib had to build this ship to..." He grinned at a fond memory, her conversation drawing him out of his deeper thoughts.

His Great Uncle's place had once been part of a thriving parts and maintenance business his great great grandmother had built. That money had gone into her children, but Kellan had remained to run the business. Now it was little more than a cafe with a trading room for various things attached. He remember Kellan haggling with Jawa over something they'd seen that they wanted to buy.

Beep

"A message back from Kellan checking we don't want to be picked up from our landing site. Do you think I need to tell him that his city boy great nephew is a Jedi? And more importantly with a native who knows how to keep his pockets unpicked?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

"That depends." The rumbling leveled off as Choli pulled back the yoke a few degrees. There was no wind at present, nothing but the hot baking Twin Suns and the infinite mass of near blinding white sands. They were flying over the Eastern Dune Sea now; the dunes seem to ripple underneath them as they flew close enough for the view.

[SIZE=9pt]"... How much of a Jedi are you?" Came her teasing quip, just in time for R4 to come rolling back with a chit chatter of complaints and commentary. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Yeah, yeah... I know. We lost the primary buffer panel. " a hoot and then a disgruntled beep![/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"But we didn't explode! So.. it all worked out." Oh if she shot a glance at Trextan then, would he have blanched? The thought made her laugh.[/SIZE]

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"]

"Yes now we just have raiders, heat, sand and dragons to deal with," he said with a grin. Without warning he slid from his chair and headed behind them. He did a little side to side dance as R4 remained in his way before passing the droid.

"Enough of a Jedi that I can normally sense when trouble is coming!" he called back. "Though I think it must have been misfiring when they put you in the bed opposite me on Polis Massa!"

There was a rattling as a draw was opened. He walked back to the chair with two items in his hands. A pair of sunglasses and a cap. "See, perfectly well prepared," he said sarcastically.

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]


Choli spared a glance over to Trextan, catching him in his mock pose with his sunglasses and cap. A snicker fell from her lips. Okay, he was a bit cute standing like that, sarcasm twisting his lips with humor and both arms up as if to say, 'well?'

".... yeaah. You are so not blending in." She added with an amused sigh, shaking her head as she swung her attention back to the viewport. Off in the distance, she could see the tiny mounds and arches of Mos Ipsa. They were almost there. A quick shot to find an empty landing pad and they would be set.

"I brought you a few things. Hopefully won't stand out too much before we go trading for something a bit more useful for the weather. That cap isn't going to do much."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"I was joking about the cap," he admitted. He had mostly been joking anyway. "Can I keep the sunglasses on at least or will even that be too much?" The question came with no trace of humour this time.

His gaze switched from the view of the city to Choli and back again. He hadn't seen this city for a long time, but he could already picture his Great Uncle's cafe and taste the dusty Espa air.

Choli was a different matter. That last moment had been so brief that he had to try and convince himself that it was real. Trextan hoped he had made his intentions clear enough. The plan had been to meet up a few times more, see where things went. Event had conspired against them. How did he even go and bring that topic back up again? Just thinking about it made his left palm clammy.

"At least this will be more of an adventure than the mess hall."

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Arr Four wasn't so sure about that. The perceptive little droid gave a tut, rolling away from Trextan over to Choli, who gave another laugh.

"Sunglasses are okay..." oh there was a but there. There had to be a 'but'.

"--But most native wear goggles instead of sunglasses. With the sandstorms and the wind picking up every grain of sand into your eyes, goggles offer more protection." Something he wouldn't quite know unless he'd lived on Tatooine for a while.

"And well, maybe this time around we won't need to squeeze in between small tight spaces just to get food." Dancing green eyes flickered over towards Trextan's direction.

"So what does your uncle do?' The ship gave a slow turn towards port, the Rogue flying it towards several wide pourstone buildings that signified the local starport.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"]

"He runs a cafe near the market centre," Trextan replied. "His mother, my great, great grandmother had lots of businesses in Espa but this is all that's left now. Kellan is the only one of her children that stayed. Last time I was here he had half a trade stall in a spare room off the cafe full of... All kinds of bits. He let me take a little model landspeeder when I was little."

Trextan frowned. He didn't even know where that was now. His time in the Valley of Lords was like a buffer between his childhood and now. A wall of raw emotion that was sometimes hard to look through. Perhaps coming here would help. He felt like it would. And perhaps it could shape his future too. In several ways.

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

"A cafe?" There was a slight widening of her eyes and the hat floating smirk that seemed to linger over the teenager's face - save the moments of utter nervousness that seemed to come a bit more often than naught lately -- and she said with amused wryness, "Oh, so that is how you are paying into the food fund."

The ship gave a small rumble, Choli adjusting as she spotted a free area to land in. "Using your uncle's place to keep me fed?" It was said in a mild joke, the girl glancing back up to Trextan now and then.

"Just about everyone has spare parts to sell around here. It is as much of a commodity when dealing with the locals and the Jawas."

A flip of a toggle and Choli brought the ship to a hover. "Alright... guess here is the moment of truth -- see if we explode just in landing." That was totally a joke... wasn't it?

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"]

Trextan's eyes widened for a moment and his left hand took a grip on the back of the seat he was stood behind. The Force didn't warn him of any danger and the ship was actually remarkably smooth on the way down. The squib had balanced the ship nicely, even if the engines were a little throaty.

"My cunning plan has been discovered," Trextan remarked. He almost looked embarrassed. "But actually yeah, as much food as you'd like tonight. He's a good cook and... You know what he loves a good story over food too. He'll like you I'm sure. I wasn't too specific on how many nights we'd stay in the city. I assumed at least tonight?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]


Her laugh made her shoulders shake, getting a reaction out of him was amusing -- if a bit less awkward than before. That was the thing about being with the Rogues. There was a constant stream of practical jokes and teasing banter. Truth be told, Choli had been a bit anxious over what to and how to act around Trextan. Advice had been dealt - in the most embarrassing ways as possible - and ultimately told to just be herself. Which... well still felt so weird to do. It was an odd mix working with whatever her mind was thinking in angsting over what he thought of her and in trying to act normal. However, more often than not she felt she likely was acting like a silly fool.

"Yeah, at least tonight. I have to check on a few things... get the local gossip." See if there were any dangers out there. There always were, but anything out of the ordinary or recent rise in the gangs would be good to know.

"We'll get what we need for a few days out in the Waste and take it from there. " a pause, then a flicker of curious gray green eyes over to the Justicar. "Unless you just want to barter for a crystal in the marketplace?" Super expensive most likely.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan had been given a rather fatherly and painfully embarrassing talk by Jacen. It had made him want to curl up and die. He liked her. She made him laugh and made him want to...enjoy himself. It seemed such a small thing, but after the last few years it wasn't for Trextan.

"No, I think I want to go out there and find one. I know I keep saying 'it feels right' but it does. I imagine like the Force guides you at the stick.

"Still...we can have a big meal and talk into the evening at the tables out front of his café. That would be nice." The last few words held a tone that went half way between statement and question.
[member="Choli Vyn"]

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

That was such a weird thing to say. Choli's face even gave a scrunch in mild confusion, "You want to eat outside?"

That was a rather comical thought. "A good brisk wind will send sand covering your plate." The ship set down, giving a light hiss and rumble. The whine of the engines slowly died along with it -- save for a low snap pop that sounded as if the ship itself had given a fart.

It had startled Choli, making her jump in her seat. Wide eyed, she stared at Trextan for a few seconds before she began to laugh.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"]

He chuckled beside her, his eyebrows meeting above the bridge of his nose. It was immature, but once it started he couldn't keep the sound in.

"Well that's a brilliant way to announce we're here!" In fact he could see two bailiffs out on the landing pad laughing and pointing at the ship.

"Ok, a drink outside as the suns set. If the weather is nice. But food inside then. A little bit of calm after the last few weeks before we start the next adventure."

His intention was thinly veiled at best. A bit of time together without any serious danger was exactly what he'd proposed right before leaving the hospital.

"So you had something so I could look less of an ass?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Now that Choli wasn't flying the ship, she had no other method of keeping her hands busy. Piloting had served to keep her mind and self from getting a bit too anxious over every thing. Now she had to actually, well, do more.

Thoughts on how Omar and Asmus had been picking her brain with question after question rose. They had been so nosy too. Which didn't help when R4 heard the play by play.

"Oh, yeah," a slight hint of color came over her olive face. With the ship shut down, the girl unbuckled herself and rose from her seat. She wasn't a particularly tall girl, but the squibs weren't much shorter than herself so making sure that her head didn't crack against the bulkhead was a real threat.

"Follow me." A curl of her finger beckoned him to follow her, the Pebbledrone rolling away to let her pass. She had her duffle bag not too far from what passed as the lounge. Everything that she needed was packed in the bag, a heavy but comfortable weight she could carry on her back. It was packed tightly and mobile, allowing her to move independently when needed. Coming to a stop beside it, she took the beige muslin bag and untied a section at the top.

"Pretty basic but, should help keep the worst of the sun off of you. And the sand." Digging inside, Trextan would see her move tightly rolled articles of clothing and small basic survival tools. A few cantinas, packets of quick rising bread and dried pemmican. Olive hands found what they were looking for, and she brought out a light colored swath of cloth. It was a sandy hue, with the unique scent of something herbal that one couldn't put a finger on it. It was faintly lemony, like dried lemon balm. It was a cowled shawl.

Taking it in hand , Choli rose to her feet, turning towards Trextan as she unraveled it. "Here, " those almond shaped eyes went flickering up, meeting his gaze as she offered the shawl up to him.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Choli Vyn"]


As she turned back towards him Trextan averted his gaze before returning to the shawl and offering a grateful smile. He had been watched her unravel the bag with interest. It felt like watching her unroll part of herself before him. She said she told him that she had been on the move a lot. By contrast he had stayed in one home for most of his life.

R4 had been watching Trextan watch Choli. The droid would pass comment on the matter later. The wrap wasn’t exactly what Trextan had been expecting. He wasn’t about to show that to Choli. Seeing how much she’d wrapped and packed served to remind him that he was hopelessly unprepared for the wilds. He wasn’t entirely certain he would make it to the store in once piece.

“Thanks,” he said, taking it. Almost immediately he noticed the scent. He hadn’t expected anything. Trextan went to wrap it around himself and made a bit of a mess of it. He tried to shift it so that the extra material draped over his left shoulder. His artificial arm wasn’t bothered by a bit of sun and sand. He thought anyway. It had been designed to a number of military specifications for extreme environments.

 

[Choli Vyn]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Seeing him fumble elicited a muffled chuckle, Choli going, "Here, haha, no, let me help."

Her hands were moving before she thought on it, and by the time her fingers had plucked the edges of the shawl, it was too late to take her hands away. Barely a few feet separated the pair and now she felt silly, what with having gone on to adjust the shawl without waiting for confirmation first.

No sense in stopping now, she told herself, feeling that awkward rush build in her belly. Warmth arose over her neck and settled on her cheeks, the thick fringe of her lashes falling as her gaze settled on a spot by his throat.

"You wear it like this," her hands adjusted the cloth, smoothing it over and giving him slack where required. Her experienced hands made the most of adjusting the folds to provide coverage as well as breathability.

"There.... and then you can hold it like this if the wind picks up to cover your face..." her fingers hovered along the sides of his face, adjusting the cowl there.

"Just need to get you some goggles. Maybe a breathing mask filter." Her voice fell an octave, eyes fixated along his jaw.

"Yeah that should do it." As she began to draw her hands away.