The Dragon's Flame

[Jak Sandrow]

- - -

There were not many extreme climates plants could be found in.

On some mountainous worlds, there was what was referred to as a 'tree line', where plants would no longer grow above that invisible line, due to lack of oxygen. In the deepest parts of the ocean, few plants still remained, and even those looked like some kind of Sith nightmare.

And plants were rarely found in the cold - general uncomfortable-ness was not at all high on the list of reasons why they did not thrive there.

And yet, here Jak Sandrow could be found, shivering in his jacket, armed to the teeth, and waiting for [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] to show his sorry ass.

"I f-f-fething hate the cold," he swore, toeing into the snow. His jacket, while wonderful against forms of heat, was absolutely useless in the cold, and the only warmth he was able to scrounge up for himself was the hot meal he had had about half an hour ago. Where was Josh, anyway? After meeting up with him for Josh's wedding a few years back, it was admittedly a little out of the blue to suddenly claim he had found something a bit more valuable than the diamonds on Arkania. And yet...

He grinned, despite himself, at the thought. If the rumors had any shred of truth in them, then there would be a very nice wedding gift for Josh waiting in those caverns. A bit belated, but Jak figured the gift would make up for it.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh had been surprised that [member="Jak Sandrow"] had shown up at his wedding, although him actually showing him he couldn't remember all that well. But once again, Jak had gone and disappeared. He always did this, he would disappear, maybe even for years, and suddenly appear again. And usually, he ended up wanting something. And now here he was again, two years after the wedding. Almost three, actually. He had not visited, he had not contacted him before they had run into one another on Nar Shadda, and since then there had been no contact until he did so claiming he'd found some kind of treasure, and of course, wanted help.

Not knowing he intended to use one of these treasures as a gift, though, he would begrudgingly agree to come along and help. He always seemed to be bailing Jak out of trouble, and he knew he needed to be less lenient but... Jak was his friend, he couldn't help it. They'd been friends since Josh had been a Padawan.

Unlike Jak, Josh had dressed for the occasion, his robes replaced with a jacket that while it wouldn't keep him from being cold, it'd keep him from being killed. Walking toward the meeting spot, he quietly waved toward Sandrow to indicate his presence.

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak leaned off the wall as Josh approached. "Hey... long time no see. I, uh..." He sighed, continuing, "Look, I wouldn't have asked for your help in any other scenario... but I swear that it will more than make up for itself. I promise." Letting a grin seep onto his face, he shouldered a large backpack, and headed away from the city, indicating for Josh to follow. "You're going to love it."

It was a long walk to the abandoned diamond mines of Arkania. Jak filled most of the time by rubbing his hands together, trying to stay warm. "I absolutely need to do some more research into cold-faring plants... this is ridiculous..."


[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Yes, because the one thing I love more than being ditched by my best friend for years over and over... Is being ditched by my best friend in the cold" He would respond, quirking a brow at the plant as he followed behind. He didn't know why he was here. He didn't know why he was doing this. He had been ditched too many times, left to rot when he needed that hand on his shoulder so many times. The fact he was partaking in another harebrained scheme for Jak was making him question why he did anything at this point.

"So you still haven't told me what you've been doing all these years" He would remark as they walked, deciding to make conversation at least. "I got married, as I suppose you can tell since you showed up at the wedding after years away, and then left again.

I-Oh for the love of-here" He would sound off when he realized Jak was absolutely freezing. "Stay near my hand" He remarked as he would hold out a hand and a fireball would erupt from it, just floating above it as they walked. The small vicinity around the fireball heated up immediately. Something they needed badly with how cold this planet was.

"So as I was saying..." He began, taking a breath.

"I have a son."

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak sighed, chiding himself just as much as Josh did. "Ease off, my leg's still sore from kicking myself already. I don't plan on ditching you for this - too much riding on this." He stifled a grin, despite himself.

"Mostly I've been keeping to myself, meditating, trying to figure out why I am what I am. And, uh... my third wife died," he laughed sharply, with no humor in it whatsoever. "Guess the Sandrow curse is more than a myth."

He was grateful for the heat, and despite his aversion to fire, he trusted his friend not to burn him worse than he deserved.

Jak nodded at the last remark. "Wow... yeah, I've been gone longer than I thought. What's his name?"


[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"You have, he turned two a few months ago."

He didn't want to guilt trip him or anything, but you couldn't really blame him for telling Jak like it was. He was not happy with him, that was clear, and he hadn't been given much of a reason to be happy with him. Especially now that he was being dragged on another heist like this, and Jak had only shown up when he wanted something. He doubted Shmi was happy about this, either. But yet, here he was.

"Sorry about your wife" He would remark. "What was her name?"

"Jason" He then remembered to add when he realized Jak had asked for the kid's name. "His name's Jason."

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"Jason. Good name." He nodded slowly.

"Her name was Leyan, Leyan Viceritas." He was quiet a moment. "You met her... when we were going to the... place... we crashed. She got hurt, bad."

He swallowed; it was still a bit raw for him, despite it all. "But, I am glad to hear you and Shmi are getting along. Sorry for pulling you away, but this... this is really important." The honesty in his words and in the Force was hopefully enough to convince Josh. "And I'm not saying that just because."



[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He nodded slowly in turn. "Leyan. Good name" He would respond. "I remember her, somewhat. I also recall the plane crash being your fault" He remarked, smirking lightly. It was an attempt to lighten the mood, and even Jak would likely know this if he remembered anything about Josh at all.

"Really important, huh? And I assume you intend to find something here, take it and run, correct?" He would inquire. "And then not show up again for another few years?"

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He shook his head, grinning nonetheless. "Yeah... yeah, it was partially my fault... I also recall that you weren't entirely sober, or was that just my imagination?"

He adjusted his jacket, shivering a little. "Hhhh... Nope, this time I'm finding something for you. Whether or not I disappear forever afterwards depends, but nah, I'm here to stay. Had to do some soul searching, but I think I figured out what the hell I'm doing with my life," he joked.


[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Just your imagination" He half-joked, his lips twitching into a sort of half-smirk. "Mainly your fault. I don't know why you were piloting intoxicated... Nor why I let you."

He quirked a brow in surprise when he said it was for him. "Why would you go all this way out for me?" He asked. Why would he drag him out for this to boot? He wasn't wanting for anything. He had everything he could want, in his family with [member="Shmi DragonsFlame"] and Jason.

"Alright, so what exactly do you intend to do with your life then?"

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"In my defense, as marginal as it is, I don't get the chance to get drunk very often."

He grinned, shivering a bit but excited. "Consider it a very belated wedding gift. I've done a bit of research, managed to scrape together some information... as minuscule as it is. We should... be perfectly fine."

"I intend to push myself, see how far I can go, learn exactly what this body can do. If I'm 'cursed' to be a plant forever, may as well make the most of it, right?"


[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I'm sure" He responded, not seeming to believe that, considering the type of person that Jak was. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

He was still surprised though at his intent for this to be a belated wedding gift. "I'm not sure if I'm exactly one to approve of you going to these lengths to get us a wedding gift" He remarked. "This seems a bit... Dangerous, aye?"

Also the fact it was apparently dangerous enough he'd dragged him along for it, to boot.

"And who says you're cursed to be a plant forever? Gotta be a cure, right?"

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

 

[Jak Sandrow]

"Dangerous enough that I figured my odds would be slightly better with a former Grand Master in tow," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I'm fairly certain I can do it myself, but I'm 100% certain I can do it with you. Besides, it will pay off. I absolutely know it will."

"I think there was a cure, at some point," Jak said, a bit quietly. "But that option has faded, with time. You-know-who is long gone, and her alchemy/sorcery/science with her. I can't physically become human anymore - I'm permanently, biologically, a plant. To get rid of the plant in me would be to get rid of me entirely."


[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I haven't been Grandmaster in half a decade, Sandrow. You just knew I'd be the only one foolish enough to follow you" Josh would snark right back with a light smirk as he would shake his head in turn. "But if you say so... If you get me killed, you'll have Shmi to contend with. And don't forget, the girl was a former Grandmaster herself, too. If you think me strong... Well, just don't kark with her.

You won't like her when she's angry."

With the subject moving to his plant-man-ship, he shook his head. "You're giving up too easily" The Jedi would chide, with a roll of his eyes. "You never needed Circe for a damn thing, you're just being lazy. There is always a way. You said it yourself that the main reason is she's gone, yes? Then that completely contradicts saying that it's impossible. You don't want her, you want her alchemy. Alchemy can be re-created."

[member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="Shmi DragonsFlame"] (Tagging [member="Romi Jade"] so she sees it)

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He nodded, chuckling dryly. "Yeah, I don't... I don't plan on getting anyone killed, don't worry. Just... giving fair warning not to slouch around."

"It's kind of difficult to recreate alchemy that never really was supposed to exist in the first place. I mean, I almost died, and that was turning me half-plant. I don't want to know what might happen if I turn completely human. I mean, I'd lose my hand for one. That wasn't there before..." He flexed his right hand, vaguely remembering the metal replacement weighing his arm down...

"Besides, it'd be lazy of me to just sit on my ass for a few years and do absolutely nothing. Now that would be lazy...." The grin in his voice belied his obvious self-lampooning. "No, I'm not asking for a re-deal of my cards, I'm just going to play with the hand I've been dealt. Even the Idiot can still win a game. I'm going to see what I can do like this."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Never been one to slouch around" He responded casually with a shrug in turn. It was way too cold for him to relax, as it was. He didn't think he had it in him to slouch around whether he wanted to or not. Jak would go on to explain just how dangerous it was for him to try to recreate the alchemy that would turn him back into a human, if it worked. He noted his hand, and Josh was curious about that... He'd had the hand when he'd first met him, hadn't he? How in the world did he lose it?

"How did you lose your hand?" Josh would inquire. "You had two hands to pilot that ship when we first met, after you got us in trouble if you remember" Josh pointed out. Force, that was so long ago. Roughly four, five, six years ago, maybe? Geez. He didn't want to think about it. "And you definitely weren't green back then. As a pilot maybe, but you didn't permanently look like you'd just gotten out of a rollercoaster with the settings cranked up."

Either way, he shrugged his shoulders. "But hey, whatever works for you, dude."

[member="Jak Sandrow"]