Sweet salvation

[Camilla Ray Jean]

Corellia's sun casted warm rays down on the buildings of Coronet, the early morning costal air refreshing the early risers. One of them being a young girl, her dark brown clothes tattered and dirtied. As quietly as possible she scampered through the backstreets of the city, searching for a path to a main street. This particular area was new to her- an area that citizens may not recognize her silver eyes and white hair. Citizens that would not know the embarrassing truth that she had been dressed in rags for years now. They might assume all the same, but she still would like to go to other citizens so as not to chance asking the same person twice for a handout. The young girl stumbled as her foot caught into a small ditch, nearly causing her to fall. But she quickly caught herself, twirling on her other foot to retain her balance. A small whimper escaped her lips, seeing the tear forming on the toe of her boot. The boots were already growing unbearably tight, the last thing she needed was for them to start ripping. She rubbed the toe, hoping to ease the pain a bit before continuing on her way, a small grimace on her face.

The soft murmur of people made her stop at a crossing, her eyes darting down the pathway she had almost walked right past. She saw a few Coronet citizens pass by and bit her lip in anticipation. Dusting off her 'robes' as best as she could. The girl sighed almost in frustration. New shoes, new clothes. Eventually she would have to buy new ones. What she had on was cheap because it was small. At the rate she had grown in the last year however... They simply wouldn't last. Hesitantly she checked her braided bun, slightly pleased that only a few strands stuck out today.

Trying to force back her inner worries, she slapped at her cheeks a bit. 'Focus. Don't.... Don't stammer.' After doing a mental prep and taking several calming deep breaths, Kilari followed the noise of daily bustle into the sunlight. She must have woken up later than she had thought, because there was much more people out than she was expecting. Her heart was going to stop, she was sure of it. Frozen barely a few feet from the dark pathway she came from, she looked back and fourth, her heart race accelerating with every minute.

'Breathe... just breathe...' Forcing herself to take a long deep breath, she called out to the first man who walked within earshot of her. "Sir? may I-" Her voice squeaked as it came out, loud enough for him to hear, but he was unfazed and ignored the short girl as he walked. Her shoulders scrunched up to her ears, her eyes falling to the ground.

"Young lady." The small girl's head snapped up, looking to her left in surprise. There stood a middle aged woman, a soft smile on her face. The girl's face turned scarlet, and she lowered her eyes once more, shuffling her way over to greet the woman. "H-hello Ma'am... May I ask if you have a credit to spare?" Her upper body tilted forward in a low bow, a few silver strands falling from her braid and around her face. The woman chuckled softly, shifting through her bag. "What is your name girl?" Though she didn't look, she could hear the smile in the womans voice. "K-k-k-Kilari.... Ma'am...." Slowly she stood upright once more, her fingers entwining with each other, her eyes locked on her hands.

"Kilari eh? Well Kilari, you got manners. And a hole in your boot." Kilari jerked, examining her boot. Indeed- there was a hole. 'Oh no....' She thought with despair, a sad little frown sitting on her lips. "So, here you go. Behave yourself alright?" The woman shoved a credit chip into Kilari's hands, closing up her bag and started walking away.

Kilari's mouth dropped "Thank you!!!" she yelled at the kind lady, bowing once more. She examined the chip curiously, her mouth only opening further when she saw the amount. 'Fifteen credits!' She looked for the woman again, disappointed that she had disappeared into the crowd. 'Thank you!' Kilari pressed the chip close to her chest, a smile slowly developing. 'Boots!'

Excited to finally get new boots, and deciding that would be her first priority, she turned on her heel and began running through the crowd in the opposite direction of the kind woman, hoping to find a store as soon as possible.

 

[Scott Calaghan]

Scott had finally been sent back to his homeworld of Corellia, maybe his father was still there in the bar or at his home. But Scott wasn't here to meet up with his University buddies or even to talk to his dad, he was here on business. He pulled up the file on the girl that he was sent to Corellia to find, a girl who the council had sensed had a strong connection to the force. She was a young girl only about 16 though her records are a bit dated, silver hair, pretty, she shouldn't be too hard to find.

He finally landed down in one of the spaceports near one of the bigger cities that he used to live in for a short time. He left the exit ramp and took in the smell he missed of his home planet. The smell of desperate and easy living, how it reminded him of his college days. He took the document with him and held it under his shoulder and went out into the streets to find the future Jedi.

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

Kilari had been running around for a solid ten minutes, hoping to find some sort of directory or even a sign towards a proper market or store. Her view was limited by her height, especially as she clung to the sides of buildings to stay out of the way of passerby's. The area seemed wrong, filled with what seemed more like tourists than Corellian residents. Some seemed almost as lost as she felt. Attempting to scan beyond the crowd once more, she slowed to a jog. Her feet were beginning to hurt once more from the cramped boots.

'Why can't I find just one store?' Kilari shrugged her shoulders up, her fingers tight on her precious gift. 'I could ask...' She scanned the crowd around her, feeling as though she was in a hole rather than in the middle of the street. The feeling of judgmental stares crawled up her spine, making her shrink back towards the nearest wall. 'I can find it.... I can find a store...' Still with her shoulders curled up, she rushed on in the direction she had been walking for a while now. 'If I don't find it soon I'll go back the other way...'

She could see the tear had gotten a bit worse, her toe starting to peek out more. Her brows furrowed, suddenly worried that she might not find shoes for under fifteen credits... 'What if they don't have my size? What if they don't las-' Her shoulder slammed into a tall bulky form, a loud grunt causing her to jump away in fear "I-I'm so sorry sir!!" She squeaked, back pedaling from the man. He leered at her for a moment "Watch it brat! You aren't taking my credits!" He growled. Kilari shrank back, her arms folding over her stomach, hiding her few credits. "I'm s-s-so s-sorry!" She peeped out once more, her face turning bright red, her ears burning with embarrassment. "Yeah? And how you gonna prove you're sorry squirt?"

Kilari's eyes grew wide, her head shaking back and fourth quickly "I-I....I..I-I...."


[member="Scott Calaghan"]

 

[Scott Calaghan]

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

Scott was walking down the street asking many of the people in the city about the location of the girl he was looking for. No one knew who she was and had never seen her before, Scott got a bit despirited and his search effort lowered somewhat. He began to lazily saunter towards the edge of the city, assuming she was in one of the neighbouring ones, maybe he could even visit his father who was 2 cities away.

As he turned the corner near the exit he saw a rather tall figure of a man harassing a young female. As Scott walked over to the pair it became more obvious that the man was picking on her, claiming that she stole some credits. The girl was crying and Scott could never avoid helping a sad girl, his jedi duties were to help people right?

He walked over to the man and placed his hand on the shoulder. "Hey man, think you should back off and go home." The man was easily aggravated as he immediately tried to punch Scott. Scott casually dodged the punch, but the man knocked the cigar out of Scott's mouth. With a quick force push, the man was running away with his tail between his legs. Scott went over to the girl to make sure that she was okay. "Hey there sweetheart, are you okay?" He brushed some dirt off of her shoulder as he lowered himself to her face. She was obviously a beggar with her toes sticking out of her shoe, but she was also a pretty girl under all that dirt.

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

[member="Scott Calaghan"]

The man leaned further over her, looking as if he was about to raise his hand to her. She flinched and squeezed her eyes tight, fearing what was about to come when a new voice broke the tension. Curiously she looked up to see who had spoken, another man, obviously older than her but not incredibly so. Kilari dared to look into his face, confused as to why he would help her so willingly, without question.

The first man swung around to punch the second, making Kilari yelp in surprise "No!". With a lurch forward, she went to stop him, only to freeze once more as she saw how this new man handled the situation. Mouth hanging open, she watched the first man flee in sudden terror after being shoved by an invisible force. 'What just happened? Did he conjure magic?'

"Hey there sweetheart, are you okay?" Pulled out of her thoughts, Kilari jumped when something touched her shoulder. Her face was still red from her encounter, but only seemed to flush more when the man knelt in front of her. "I-I'm so sorry!" Her voice cracked as she spoke, bowing before the man she tried to hold back a sniffle. "I'm sorry! I didn't steal anything- I-I'm sorry for the trouble!" She kept ehr head low, her eyes locked on her shoes. "I don't have any way to thank you..."

 

[Scott Calaghan]

The girl obviously needed some help with esteem, probably due to her having to live on the streets. "Don't worry about it darling, helping people is what I do." She obviously had no home to go to and nowhere to live, the few credits she had she needed. "How about you show me around the town as a thank you, I'll follow your lead." He had some time to blow off, it's not like the girl he was after was going anywhere and this one was more in need than her. He stuffed the document with the force sensitive into his back pocket and shove his hands into his pockets. Scott looked around the city vaguely then back at the girl. "So then, where to first." He said with a smile as he put the cigar pack into his mouth.

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

Kilari felt as if her face was going to melt. She hardly came across this many nice people in one day. Nevermind people kind enough to give her a few credits, this man had saved her from a possible serious beating. On top of that, he offered to stay with her for a bit. Today was sure to continue to be interesting. "I-I... Actually... I-I'm lost. W-well not lost... But I-I can't find the m-markets or sh-shoe store." Kilari finally stood up straight, swallowing hard. She wished to swallow her stammering at least in front of a man who had shown her kindness, but she felt even more uncomfortable. It was still morning and she had already spoken more than what she usually does in an entire day. At least she wasn't hyperventilating... yet.

"S-see I-I got some credits... A-and my boots...." She shifted and rolled her toes up, frowning at the hole. "B-but I-I'm new to this area. I... wouldn't be a-able to show you m-m-much." Feeling that even though she was nervous, she could at least show him her credit chip. Her silver eyes slowly drifted up to his face, flickering back down several times before settling on his own. She took a staggered breath before trying to speak louder. "My name is Kilari Amiir... W-what's yours s-sir?"

[member="Scott Calaghan"]

 

[Scott Calaghan]

He felt bad for her, the cities must've changed since he left, most people wouldn't have bullied young girls when he was young. Maybe that man was a drunk, or just a tourist. That name was familiar to Scott, but he couldn't recall where he had heard the name Kilari before, so he decided to ignore the voice in the back of his head. His gaze turned from the city back to her as she asked his name. "Sorry for not telling you, pardon my mannners. My name is Scott Calaghan and I grew up a few cities from here." Maybe the cities architecture was the same as his home's so he might be able to guess where the market was.

The girl's clothes were broken and dirty, obviously destroyed by desperate living and Scott couldn't help but feel bad for the young thing. He took the cigar out of her mouth a spoke very happily to her. "You know it's part of my duty to help others, so what say I treat you to some shopping." He gave a wide smile and raised his eyebrows playfully at the young girl, trying to ease her anxiety.

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

'Scott Calaghan.... I wont ever forget this.'

A very small, very subtle smile curled on her lips, easing some of the long forged tension in her face. She doubted she would ever forget today. "You know it's part of my duty to help others, so what say I treat you to some shopping."

Her mouth dropped and her eyes shot wide open. Involuntarily she threw up her arms in a 'wait' motion "M-Mr. Calaghan th-th-that's not I-I mean.... Y-you don't have to!" She shook her head fervently, her heart rate increasing once more. "I-I've already e-earned enough c-c-c-credits f-for my b-boots!" His playful smile only made her more flustered, unsure of what to think of this man. First helping her, then offering to take her shopping? He said it was his duty but....

Lowering her hands in front of her, Kilari attempted a few breaths before continuing, curiosity getting the best of her "W-what do you do? W-why w-would y-you offer...?" Her voice trailed off, unsure of how to continue, or how to comprehend this man and his actions.

 

[Scott Calaghan]

The girl was very flustered, stammering multiple sentences about why he would do that and that she was fine. Most people have to much pride to accept gifts so you have to force it on them, can't refuse. Scott gave out a chuckle as he found her stammering rather amusing and he patted her on the head. "I'm a Jedi darling and I like to think that means I get the right to help whoever I feel like." He puffed out a cloud of smoke as he examined her.

He stared in the direction that he remembered the market being in from his times on Corellia and hoped that he was right. He grabbed her hand and began to tug her along with him. "Well c'mon then, it's time to buy you some new clothes." He put his cigar out on the wall and threw it in the trash compactor nearby, then he continued on his way to the market.

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

If a Echani could have turned into a zeltron, she was sure she just had done so. 'A jedi?!' her head whirred around the word. She may have been an orphan but that didnt mean she wouldn't hear about popular topics. All she knew really was that the jedi were important to the galaxy, to a peaceful life. His answer didn't fully explain to her why, but while she was being dragged away, she gave up trying to turn him down.

"S-smokings bad y-you know..." She said quietly, watching him throw away the cigar. She lightly jogged to keep up with him, being as short as she was. "I- M-mr. Calaghan wont p-people think it's w-weird y-you're buying m-me clothes?" Kilair mentally scolded herself for stuttering so much. Her free arm wrapped around her chest, still clinging tightly to her credit chip. A barely audible gurgle came from her stomach and she ignored it, unsure if she was hungry or just nervous.

[member="Scott Calaghan"]

 

[Scott Calaghan]

[member="Kilari Amiir"]

Scott looked down at the girl and then directed his stare back up towards the nearing market. "Don't worry about it kid, I have enough time on my hands." He lead her into the market which he finally found. "See knew I could find it." He gave out a chuckle and walked into the middle of the centre. "So then, where do you want to go first, don't make me decide." He gave a comforting smile to her.

(Again sorry about the delay)

 

[Camilla Ray Jean]

"I-I..." Kilari looked around the shopping market, flabbergasted that he had actually found it. "I-I need boots. S-so boots first." Kilari nodded, mostly to herself. She scanned the stores until she found one in particular that seemed like their main selection would be foot wear and made her way to it. Scanning the selection, she was discouraged at the price of boots. The more material, the more credits. She wanted something durable and practical, something that would give her good grip and a good amount of time before she had to buy another pair.

One set stuck out from the rest, a dark brown pair with hard leather, laced up the back and perfectly a bit bigger than her size. She quickly grabbed them from the shelf and let a broad smile turn her cheeks a happy pink. "T-these ones!" she sighed happily, noting that not only were they good fitted for her, but only 13 credits on sale! She turned to her jedi companion boldly and jumped up and down excitedly. "I c-can afford these ones!" She stopped her bouncing and clutched the boots to her. "A-after these.... c-can I buy robes?"

[member="Scott Calaghan"]