Private Staring Into The Abyss

[Aris Noble]

"Ah- right."

Stop it. Aris watched Zaiya start to hop down, just watching for a moment before he reached up to slap his own cheeks once she was out of sight. He was letting his emotions really mess with him now. They had a mission, a task! If he spent every moment a flustered mess, they'd never get anything done. He didn't need to feel a little disappointed that he couldn't carry her again. One final breath at least calmed his mind before he casually took a step off the ledge.

And landed beside her with a little thud. Unphased as ever, he looked ahead to the facility. ".. Research, I think. It's- odd here, though." His gaze shifted. He could see things in the air, isolated pockets of near invisible metals, glinting in the light. Too small to be seen normally, but they made a much more purple haze as they grouped up before they solidified on different walls and substances.

Odd indeed.

"I think those clouds are deadly. We'll have to avoid them for now."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Research? Zaiya echoed in her mind, her eyes wide as she studied the area.

"I wonder for how long... do you think they were Epicanthix as well or someone else?" It was hard to say. The Gulag plague seemed to knock so many civilizations back or isolate them.

At hearing that the clouds of gas were deadly, Zaiya turned her attention to them in mild alarm.

"Oh, okay. Well, it's a good thing you have your helm. I can move gasses away from my face with the Force if needed," She replied, turning to look at him. He was still slightly flushed, and once again, Zaiya couldn't help but think how cute and adorable he was. Seeing him express this much emotion around her made her feel giddy -- not only because of how she felt around him, but because it was her in this moment who was witnessing it.

It was a delightful guilty pleasure that she knew she shouldn't really feel that great about it, but she couldn't help it.

They made their way inside, and of course, the area was dark. Zaiya activated the three small sensor droids from her cuff with a small hum and then activated their illumination sequence to brighten up the area.

"Well, at least I'm not sensing anything so far that might want to eat us," She joked, walking forward while trying to make sure her boot didn't get stuck on the floor because of the tar. Yup, next time, she will bring extra clothing.

"Any clue what we may be looking for this time?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"No, this isn't Epicanthix. It's.. High Republic?"

Aris reached up, clicking on his helmet at Zaiya's suggestion. He wasn't sure how immune he was to whatever toxin this could be, and he certainly wasn't about to test it. But as he looked around, and in no small part thanks to the HUD within the helmet itself, he recognized the layout. This was the old facility meant to study the Abyss. Or so said the article that pulled up. He reached a hand out, touching some of the metal that clung to it.

"I'm not sure what we're looking for exactly, but this metal is- odd?"

The moment he touched it though, the metal retreated. Aris blinked in surprise before glancing to Zaiya.

"..Think there's info on what this is somewhere?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Oh so older than I thought, Zaiya mused.

Tapping the cuff on her wrist, she activated one of the small scanners on her cuff, its soft hum filling the air as the green beam passed over the coral like growth. The bangles stacked along her forearm chimed faintly with her movements, adding a playful jingle to the otherwise eerie silence of the chamber.

"Also, careful with just touching things," she teased over her shoulder at Aris, a mischievous grin pulling at her lips. "You never know...it might try to eat you or, I don't know, latch onto your head and make you sprout fins."

The scanner chirped softly, signaling its findings. Zaiya raised her wrist to review the holo readout, her face painted in the glow of shifting orange as curiosity deepened.

"Huh... that's weird," she murmured, glancing back at Aris. The ripple of color over her cheeks betrayed her growing curiousity.

She stepped closer until she was beside Aris, holding her wrist up so he could see the display.

"Look at this," she said, " Seems like the metal flecks are a unique material that's symbiotic in nature... there are some notes on how the Force could activate it... " Her voice trailed off as she tilted her head back to meet Aris's eyes, her own expression thoughtful.

Oh. Right...Close.

Her breath hitched slightly, and her skin betrayed her with a blush of soft pink and golden tones that rippled across her forehead and cheeks.

Don't blush, Zaiya! she internally scolded herself. But that was a lot easier said than done when Aris was right there, his warmth and quiet intensity all too distracting.

Zaiya forced herself to focus on the holo screen, tapping it lightly to scroll through more data.

"Uh... s-so... it looks like the metal flecks on the coral feeds off ambient Force energy? Or... something like it?" she managed, her voice just a touch higher than usual.

Smooth, Zaiya. Real smooth.

 

[Aris Noble]

"Sprout fins?"

For a moment, Aris had a sheepish expression. Zaiya was right that he shouldn't just reach out to touch things he wasn't sure on what they'd do. But the jump to sprouting fins? He couldn't help but chuckle at the sudden jump in logic to him. A chuckle he kept quiet as he watched the colors on Zaiya shift to those he knew was curiosity. Seeing her like this, eager to learn more, that's what he liked to see the most.

Unbridled curiosity and the determination to learn more.

He blinked though as she looked to him. Close. Very close. But rather than feel flustered he just smiled more. At first, anyway. His cheeks did tinge slightly red all over again before he followed her gaze back to the Datapad. No distractions. It was important to focus, right? Hearing her voice pitch up a couple decibels only made it that much harder to focus though.

"Then.. It could be the catalyst? .. No, the beam points further in. So.. It's just something that happened to be here?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Oh, stars, was that such a silly thing to say about sprouting fins? Zaiya thought to herself, thinking that she now was the one who was putting her foot in her mouth.

"I mean... better fins than turning into some skeleton Lich, I guess, " Zaiya added, flustered but still doing her best to make it seem she was totally in the right.

"I warned you back when we got the cuff to hold off on just doing things yourself! I swear if you end up making yourself glow in the dark because you touched something you were not supposed to, I'll ... punch you really, really hard!" coming from her, that seemed like a silly threat, but the narrowed gaze the Lovalla gave the Epicanthix said there was a measure of truth to it.

"Anyways.... yeah, let's go further in. I'll send the sensors to scan the area, and hopefully, we won't get any surprises." Zaiya added, activating the other two scanners to send them on their way.

 

[Aris Noble]

".. A lich wouldn't be fun, no."

Though, Aris did deflate a little. She did tell him not to just touch things the last time, and he even promised that he wouldn't. Embarrassment. Guilt, even. He hadn't thought much on it, but he broke his promise. Never again. Not even on something so simple. He turned his gaze forward as the drones went off, giving a nod. No surprises would be good, especially with all of this.

But the sensors wouldn't pick up anything. The facility was empty for the most part, and only the dangerous clouds of the vapored matter proved to be the only challenge here. Thankfully the fact the Force seemed to help them move it, and the helmet Aris had, that proved trivial. It was when they made it further in that the facility seemed to change.

The architecture stopped being all High Republic. Epicanthic started to bleed through, more recent, if still old. A lab reused and rebuilt. And in the center, where the guiding beam from the orb ended. A purple energy surrounded what looked like a liquid, swirling around within as if it was alive. It wasn't, but it was seemingly contained. Similar to the Koboh Matter, but obviously changed in some way.

".. I won't touch it yet." Aris cleared his throat, ears slightly red with embarrassment. "What do you think this is?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Zaiya caught the subtle slump in Aris's shoulders, the way his expression shifted from curiosity to something more serious. Her chest tightened with guilt. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad, she just didn't want him to get hurt. Her bioluminescent colors dimmed, softening into muted ambers and bronzes as she stepped closer.

The weight in the air eased slightly as they walked further into the facility. Zaiya's colors brightened again as her curiosity reignited, her gaze locking onto the centerpiece of the room.

There, right in the center, was a swirling mass of purple energy that ebbed and flowed as if it were water. It reminded her of Koboh Matter, but something about it was unmistakably different, altered.

"WHoa..." she breathed, her skin shifting to jewel toned citrine and golds in sync with her awe. She raised her wrist, activating her sensors to scan the energy field. As the device hummed, she glanced back at Aris with a softer expression.

".. I won't touch it yet." Aris cleared his throat, ears slightly red with embarrassment. "What do you think this is?"

"I'm only saying so because I don't want you to get hurt," she murmured, her voice gentle. "Not because I'm trying to make you feel bad, Aris."

"It's okay to be curious," she said, her voice warm, trying to soothe any lingering self doubt. "To wonder about things, to want to know what they do. Don't ever stop being curious like that -- besides, with the way the Force lives within you, you probably already get an inkling if something seems okay."

Her sensors pinged quietly, data beginning to populate on the small holoscreen on her wrist.

It was meant as encouragement, but her eyes flicked back to the swirling energy in front of them, her curiosity far from sated.

"It seems to still have metallic qualities to it like the Koboah matter, but enhanced maybe? Epicanthix researchers must have been experimenting on this ... especially if it can react to the Force."

The question was how.

 

[Aris Noble]

Her words only made him blush that much more. And pout. She was trying to make him feel better about it, and he knew that much, but- He reached over, sort of just sushing her half way as he finally raised his gaze to look at her. His cheeks were still burning, he was still pouting, but he was at least looking at her. "I promised you I wouldn't. It doesn't matter if I do actually have some weird ability to just know if it's okay for me to touch something. I'm not breaking my promises to you again."

He finally let out a breath as he looked ahead towards where the sensors had come off, rather quickly pulling his hand away from her lips as he tried not to think about that at all.

"Your guess is as good as mine. But if it's a catalyst, that means it's probably really attuned to the Force in some way, right?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Well, the finger set gently across her mouth had the intended effect; Zaiya immediately clammed up and her iridescent blue eyes seemed to widen a hair. It was the lightest of presses, but the warmth made her lips tingle briefly before Aris quickly drew it away.

Oh. It was that he had broken the promise he made...

Now Zaiya understood. She gave a small, knowing nod, though the deepening coral hue spreading across her mottled cheeks betrayed the way her emotions flickered beneath the surface.

It wasn't hard to see why this mattered so much to him. Aris had an honorable streak as unyielding as songsteel. Promises, to him, weren't just words -- they were commitments, bonds. Zaiya could see how much it weighed on him, how much he wanted her to know that he meant what he said.

Her heart fluttered, the warmth spreading through her chest leaving a faint glow of pale rose rippling across her skin. It wasn't just the promise itself that made her feel special. She knew Aris would hold himself to his word with anyone; it was part of who he was. But this? The way he looked at her, the way he affirmed with quiet conviction that he wouldn't break a promise to her again -- it wasn't just about his honor. It was personal.

And that... made her feel important.

Not just as a Jedi, not just as his partner in this adventure, but as Zaiya.

Her lips curved into a soft, genuine smile, and she finally said, her voice light but carrying a deeper note of warmth, "I know you won't, Aris."

And she meant it.

Blinking rapidly, Zaiya turned her attention over towards the swirling blue energy. Right. The catalyst.

"Well, if it is really attuned with the Force, why not interact with it like you would with a Kyber crystal when trying to resonate and attune to it?" she pitched as an idea.

"We can try that perhaps? Or should I try and get it to move with the Force telekinetically?"

 

[Aris Noble]

Like resonating with Kyber? Aris frowned slightly, watching the floating orb of surrounded metal. "I can't resonate with Kyber like that, so that doesn't really work for me." Still, he wasn't sure what else to do with it. And the bracer he had was incredibly helpful in the long run. Did that mean this was as helpful? He had to hope it was helpful. He probably should touch it.

No, no touching.

Aris frowned, sort of shifting from foot to foot. The limits he had, he'd have to touch it to get a feel for it. But at the same time, he promise he wouldn't just touch it.

".. Do you think it's dangerous?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Aris couldn't resonate with Kyber like that? Zaiya blinked, her mottled spots lightening into soft grey ripples that shimmered across her cheeks. The confusion on her face was impossible to miss as she tilted her head, studying him curiously.

"Wait — then how did you attune your lightsaber crystal?" she asked, her voice in genuine perplexion. It hit her that she'd never thought to ask him that before. Wait, he had told her the first time they met that he couldn’t feel his lightsaber crystals! Right!

But then how had he done it?

Her golden eyes searched his face, her colors flickering faintly between perplexed greys and thoughtful amber.

Now as for dangerous…

She gave a slight frown. The Force didn’t seem to tell her there was something to be wary of the purple energy. She but her lower lip and gave a hum.

“Well… I don’t sense anything wrong…”

 

[Aris Noble]

"I didn't. Vera helped me find it, but, I didn't."

Or, well, he did, but he wasn't too aware of how that worked for him either. He couldn't feel his crystal, but that day when he and Zaiya met did confirm he was at least bonded with his Kyber. And his Entropite. Both were tied to him, even if he couldn't feel them. His gaze stayed focused on the floating object. She didn't sense danger from it.

So that was a good step.

Aris let out a sigh before he glanced to her. Sort of just.. Waiting for permission. He did reach a hand up, almost as if he was going to touch it. He was, the moment she said it was alright. But he was waiting for her permission first.

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Oh. Vera had helped him. Okay that made sense. She mused on that before she caught sight of him waiting expectantly at her — that’s when she flushed realizing he was waiting for her permission.

Her lips twisted in an amused half pout before she shone her colorful head, set one hand on her hip, but gestured with the other one to go ahead as she gave a brief laugh.

“Alright. Go ahead. The bracer didn’t harm you… if the star map guided us here, odds are that it wouldn’t guide you to your skeleton lich doom. Go ahead,” she told him, but she was still visibly on the look out in case something happened, the vibrant colors over her delicate patterns twinkling in concentration.

 

[Aris Noble]

He reached out the moment she said it was okay. It was practically a lunge as the curiosity in him had him wanting to. Needing to, almost. Aris touched the sphere, and the reaction to his touch was immediate. The sphere around the metal popped like a bubble, and the metal itself immediately latched onto his arm. It crawled over his skin, slithering along it like a web until it settled all along it. Almost like a tattoo.

Aris himself seemed calm about it, curious, but unthreatened. Once it settled he looked to Zaiya, tilting his head.

".. Well. Think it's a good look?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

Zaiya's laughter rang out, bright and unrestrained, as Aris practically flung himself at the strange energy sphere. The sound echoed around the cavern, her mirth unmistakable -- right up until her skin flared with a cascade of grey and yellow hues. Alarm jolted through her as the sphere retaliated, metal tendrils snapping out and latching onto Aris's arm with an almost magnetic pull.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

"What the -- ?" Zaiya muttered, her voice trailing off as the metallic substance settled, forming a sleek, intricate web like pattern along the length of his arm. It gleamed like liquid metal against his dark tan skin. It was very, very pretty.

"Uhh…" she started, eyes wide, her tone caught somewhere between bafflement and reluctant admiration.

"Okay, but… yeah, it does look good on you…" She tilted her head, her gaze trailing over the design, before shaking herself out of it. Her cheeks warmed, a faint coral shimmer flickering across her face, betraying her embarrassment at being momentarily mesmerized by something so, well -- shiny.

Focus, Zaiya, she thought to herself, stepping closer. Aris didn't look like he was in pain, and curiosity overrode her hesitation. Reaching out, she hesitated just a moment before brushing her fingers lightly against the strange metal webbing to see if it also reacted to her.

"Let's see if it likes me as much as it likes you."

 

[Aris Noble]

It didn't react to Zaiya's touch. The weirdest part was it felt like skin, not metal. As if an actual tattoo, buried in the skin. It was, in a way. Aris's connection with the Force, what he was, it showed more now. He was part of it. Belonging to the Force itself, and this metal, this alteration on the Koboh Matter, was made for him. To be part of him. Someone had prepared this.

Aris himself, though, was none the wiser on who. On this fact at all. He turned his arm, looking over the weaved tapestry that was his skin now with mild curiosity. What was it's purpose? The bracer was clear on what it did, giving him some reprieve from assaults from the Force. This?

".. Well, I'm glad it does look good at least. But- I don't really get what it does. Do you think there's- something, here?"

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

There was a bit of a pouty disappointment that it didn’t react to her, but Zaiya was ultimately glad that there didn’t seem to be any bad reactions to another or to Aris when she touched it. Although it was super curious how it was embedded into his tan skin just like a tattoo, but still maintained a burnished metallic color while still being soft and warm as if it was Aris’s skin.

Zaiya couldn’t help but use the pad of her finger to trace up and over the design, almost mesmerized by how it had set on his skin, the caress giving a slight ticklish sensation.

“Hmm.. well with the bracelet you simply let it guide you to what it could do right? Didn’t think of it as much as let it do its thing? Maybe it’s the same way?” She mulled aloud, glancing back up at him with those large iridescent blue eyes of hers.

“Based on what you told me, my theory is that as soon as the catalyst recognize you — or your blood in your legacy, they already probably are attuned to you to do what needs to be done… when you need them…. So… why not try and focus or meditate and see what it does?”

 

[Aris Noble]

Focus and meditate?

Aris glanced back to Zaiya, raising a brow before looking around the room again. "Yeah, alright. I can meditate with it. You wanna explore some of the systems? Maybe the creator has a note somewhere?" He shrugged before he settled down to relax on the floor, letting his eyes close. There wasn't a whole lot he could do to really focus on it, but, it'd become a part of him in a way, right?

So then, like his heat and temperature. Could he feel the metal?

Silence weighed on him for an amount of time he wasn't sure of himself. He was lost in his own thoughts, his own senses. Touch, warmth. Where was the difference? The similarities? A deeper breath, and something seemed to click in his mind. The markings moved, subtle at first. Almost like a glitch before he found the sensation he needed. The marking pooled, coalescing over his skin before a simple rod formed in his palm. Near his height, smooth metal, perfect cylinder. He opened his eyes, looking it over curiously.

".. Okay, interesting."

Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Aris Noble

"Great idea!" Zaiya chirped, grateful that she could do something productive like look into the datasystems for anything regarding the research. While she wasn't a master slicer, she knew her way around data consoles. The question was if these ancient systems worked the same or if they had any complicated encryption.

The Lovalla Padawan left Aris to his meditation, standing up to glance around until her eyes settled on a large data console beside where the flowing purple energy had been encased.

"Alright, let's see what we can find," She told herself, walking over towards it to get a better look. It was covered with a thin layer of dust -- clearly it had been a long, long while since anyone had utilized it. However, if one looked really, really closely, the faint indentations where lingering oils from finger prints could be discerned on how the dust settled.

Oh, maybe I can use those as a clue? With that in mind, Zaiya let her instincts flow into the Force, combining what tech knowledge she had take the next steps. Her reward was the data system humming to life a few seconds later, resulting in a dazzle of excited hues pulsing over Zaiya's rosy golden skin.

"Oh stars it worked!" she exclaimed with giddy excitement, her face cast in a pale blue glow from the holographic display screen blooming to life in front of her.

"Research files... research files..." her eyes darted left and right as she read through the sigils, thankfully in Basic, until she found something that might work.

"Oh I think I got something!" she called out to Aris over her shoulder, moving to open up the files. Sure enough, it had information on the material.