These Boots Are Made For Crashing!

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

It worked! Lori felt the release of the mud as it dropped from her legs and booted feet. Not only that, but she dropped slightly into the ground too! And fortunately the ground was more solid than where she was stuck. So that meant that she could move! Thank the Force!

And move she did.

After removing her arms from around [member="Zrak Ren"] , Lori broke out in a run, although it wasn't very quick. The sudden movement of her dislocated shoulder was painful, not to mention the bouncing caused by her running. She winced with every second step, now wishing that she had learned some of the healing arts with the Force. That surely would have helped!

"Sorry!! Can't stay!!" She didn't quite know where to go. She'd have to climb a tree, no doubt. But that wasn't going to be easy with tied hands. And right now she wasn't trusting her Escape Boots.

 

[Zrak Ren]

Zrak cussed to himself as she whisked away, Freaking distractions! Pay attention! he ordered himself sprinting after her, he pulled back his arm and as he did so gripped a chunk of the ground behind him through Shaping, around half a head, and then he launched that chunk forwards as fast as he could at the lower of her back trying to knock her down hopefully. He really didn't like this cat and mouse game whatsoever.

"That's just-" He didn't even bother to finish the sentence. There really wasn't a word for it that he actually believed in. Cruel? He was literally trying to capture her. Unfair? He was using a weapon and Shaping which he had started learning as a child. There wasn't exactly any way for him to come out on top of that line.

Surely she had to be in pain, that was something he admittedly could respect there. Well...he could respect the method of distraction, but it had happened to him and that made it mostly irritating.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Well that came out of nowhere! The ball of dirt hit her just above her butt. Lori fell face forward, her instincts brought her arms out to try to catch her fall. But with the dislocated shoulder...

Whiteness flashed in her eyes as the pain shot up from her shoulder. She couldn't help but tear up as she slowly rolled onto her back, trying to cradle her arm as best as she could while it was tied.

Lori waited until [member="Zrak Ren"] caught up to her before speaking through laboured breath. "Okay!...That was real...stupid of me...Just let me lay here for a while...please." Her shoulder hurt like hell and right now she wasn't comfortable with the idea of moving.

 

[Zrak Ren]

Zrak caught up to her and got on one knee letting out a groan behind the mask, man this girl was troublesome. Make one entertaining ally, but as a prisoner this was a pain. He was quite ready to throw the responsibility onto someone else, ​"Yeah, got nobody to blame for that part from yourself. What did you think was going to happen?" he asked shaking his head, not really an egotistical response, but certainly a criticism.

He sat down on his legs, holding the axe end of his weapon nearer to his hands, "Can't you just stop doing that? Also...really, kissing? Feel like that was just...I'm sure there's a word for it."

Zrak might wait around another 40 seconds, but he wanted to get this over with, and after as much trouble as she'd been already he was quite ready to get it over with. He'd go to try and grab her by her uninjured arm and pull her to her feet, "Alright I think that's good. Kind of spent your time running."



[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"I don't know...That I'd get away?" She wanted to wipe her tears away, tears caused by the pain shooting through her shoulder, but moving just hurt.

As [member="Zrak Ren"] mentioned the kissing, Lori looked off to the side a bit. She'd of shrugged her shoulders if she could. "Well the kiss worked, didn't it? Even if it was just on your helmet. I...haven't really done that before, but...desperate times..." She let that sentence hang in the air. In truth Lori wasn't the type to flirt with anyone or sleep around. She only had one boyfriend before and that was short lived. She was just merely a flavour of the month and there was NO way that she was going to allow that to happen again.

She didn't resist in any realy way when he lifted her up. Her only resistance was in figuring out the least painful way of getting up. "It's not like I want to be sent to your bosses. I've commited no crime. My only fault is who my parents are. I don't deserve this, you know." If Zrak was a bounty hunter, she'd of paid him off. But he wasn't. Sadly.

 

[Zrak Ren]

Zrak let out a sigh as she said she hoped she'd get away. Perhaps it had some last ditch effort involved in it, sometimes those plans worked, but most of the time they didn't have as many good chances to them. The kiss answer was true...it had worked, unfortunately, it wasn't exactly expected. Desperate times...yeah. He realized things were not exactly the easiest if he did in fact take her in. After all she was valuable.

But Zrak had adopted a philosophy of meaningless, and that meant, he might as well do whatever the heck did him the best in the end. And right now, that meant bringing her in. She mentioned not wanting to be sent to his bosses, how it wasn't her fault that she was on the list but by heritage, "Yeah well, I wasn't exactly born into comfort either. What do you think would happen to me if I didn't bring you in?" he commented trying to guide them towards his ship, he knew it might be a bit aways but what other choice did they have at this point. He just hoped they wouldn't be too cruel if he could actually get her to them.

"Can't exactly just let you go, if anyone had any idea of that I got no clue what would happen to me." ​Zrak shook his head, "No matter who you join, you have to make difficult decisions. They can't be based solely on whether or not someone is deserving of what occurs."

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori frowned. [member="Zrak Ren"] was making sense, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. In fact she didn't like it at all. Her only imaginings for the future weee of torture. What if they cut her fingers off and sent them to her Mom in a box? That would be so cruel....

Fortunately Zrak wasn't having them move too fast. Every overstep hurt her shoukder. It was better to make the movements as smooth as possible. "What if you don't tell them? You didn't tell them that you caught me already, did you? What they don't know can't hurt them. And then they can't hurt you. So...just let me go. Just this once, please? I'll owe you BIGTIME and I always repay my debts." That part was true. She repaid her debt for her ship plus interest. And it wasn't through money from her parents either. She earned her keep and worked for it.

Of course if Zrak did tell people about her capture, then she'd have to think of something else. There was always options. Always.

 

[Zrak Ren]

(OOC: So sorry for the delayed post)

Zrak gritted his teeth in thought as he heard her speak, but he couldn't let that reach beyond the mask, though, he was definitely tense. She mentioned that what if they didn't know. Maybe he could just, forget about it. He hadn't told them, that was true. But, where would he let his allegiances lie? He was, unfortunately, feeling guilty about this...somehow. Zrak didn't believe in morality, right and wrong, they were just figments of imagination. Things to use to his advantage. The sad thing was, he still felt them. However little he believed in in consciously, he felt right and wrong sometimes.

He kept walking, no answer yet, If I bring her in, I could get ranked up. No longer just a disciple. But...It'll hurt me, somehow. Especially if I find out what happens. But if I let her go, how will I know that she won't just tell them to get rid of me? I caught her once after all maybe she might believe I'd come for her again after she'd repaid me. If I ask her, there's no choice but to go with it or she might tell them I accepted...I could just lie though, not like that's anything new to me.

Zrak stopped and let out a sigh and a groan in one, "What could you possibly offer me that I somehow wouldn't get by just bringing you in?" he asked, on the one hand at this point he wanted to let her go. But his mind told him he needed to have something out of it.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

(OOC: You're fine. No worries. Long weekend for me, so I've been out and about.)

Lori stopped as [member="Zrak Ren"] stopped. Was she getting through to him? He sure seemed quiet for a while after she had last spoken. Surely that meant that he was thinking things over, right?

But then he threw her question back at her. Just what could she offer him that he wouldn't get from them? "Well, there's plenty. I could....help you to escape if you were ever caught? I can offer you friendship? Or...you know...the usual credits thing. I've got plenty of that..." But Zrak didn't seem the type to be bribed. Though he could be lacking in the friend department. Lori was at times. People came and went so quickly in her life...Most of the time she was on her own.

 

[Zrak Ren]

What am I thinking? What could she possibly help me with? Screw you, you know that this is no more wrong or right then anything else! He thought to himself, even before she could answer, still, he somehow felt guilt, prompting him further, but still needing something to justify his reasoning. This was incredibly unusual for him to have that problem.

He heard her answers, and began to consider them. To escape if he was ever caught, an odd offer, but it would indeed be a trade. Not in what he would gain, but rather compared to what she would lose compared to what he would lose if that occasion ever came. Credits? Well easy to justify but...not exactly something he could use. Especially not without drawing suspicion to himself. And...friendship? He cocked his head at that one. What a strange offer.

Do you even have friends? he thought to himself, trying quite hard to find any. Truth be told, there wasn't exactly many. Especially among the First Order. He was an outsider in many ways. And his philosophy didn't exactly get you many alliances with people, even if he kept it to himself most of the time.

He let out a groan, and the blade moved swiftly slicing through the vines and he just...sat down on the ground pulling off his headpiece and tossing it to the side, "The crap is wrong with me. For all I know this could get me killed and nobody would give a crap." he mumbled more to himself then to her, before finally actually looking back at her, "Really hope you appreciate this, I could almost certainly have gotten some kind of promotion if I brought you in."

Zrak looked up and leaned against his arms, "Don't exactly have friends though so...guest that's my justification." he shook his head as if he still thought his decision was totally wrong. He still couldn't believe he'd actually been convinced into this.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori couldn't believe her eyes. As the blade came down and cut through the vines he tied her with, she didn't flinch. Why would she? He had wanted to bring her in alive. But now he was letting her go?

She stood there unmoving as [member="Zrak Ren"] sat down and removed his helmet of sorts, so that she could see his face for the first time. He was younger than she had expected, about her age. But then the First Order probably recruited him at a young age. It was hard for her to tell without asking.

"Maybe you could have gotten a promotion. Or maybe not. They could have just taken me from you without so much as a thank you. And then what? It'd just leave you feeling empty and under appreciated."

Lori sat down, being careful to not hurt her shoulder in the process. But in this way it kept them on the same level instead of having her look down upon him. Sure she had won this match, in a way. But it might of come at a cost to him. And she wasn't going to make it any worse for him.

"Thank you. This really means a lot and I'll keep to my word and make it up to you." She offered him a small geniune smile and held out her good hand. "How about a proper introduction? I'm Lori. And you are....?"

 

[Zrak Ren]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]
She seemed pretty quick to let it go, or maybe it was just an act. He wouldn't know. It wasn't like he actively tried to consider when a person was or wasn't lying. Because to him it usually didn't matter. She commented on whether or not he'd have actually gotten a promotion, he groaned. Maybe he wouldn't have, yeah. But he might have gotten something. A little more recognition would help. Still. It was not promised.

She even sat down, rather then just...running off like he figured she might, saying she'd keep her word and introducing herself before asking for who he was, he gave a feint but somewhat stressed smile still, "Zrak Re...Well...Vordon Lee, technically speaking. Don't really care which side of the name gets used, it barely gets used at all."

He had to hesitate over his name. Naturally, he was used to going by his Ren name now, just so he could hide behind it. Somehow that just didn't fit right now he figured. "Don't exactly have many...friends when you're a Shaper in the First Order. It was more important to me I just...made my way with it."

Lee wasn't totally sure why he was willing to divulge that, he just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the rear.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori had to laugh a little after [member="Zrak Ren"] introduced himself. It wasn't so much over his name, but moreso that he didn't really use his real name either, which was the same habit that she had. "Good to meet you Vordon. I'm so used to being called Lori or Captain, that when people call me by my full name, I know that it means that I'm in trouble."

Gingerly she began picking up the pieces of the vines and started to make a loop out of it so that she can fix herself up a sling for her arm. And being the talkative sort, Lori just kept right on chatting during the whole process.

"I haven't come across a Shaper before. Where did you learn that? Or did you already know it at a young age by instinct. I taught myself a Force skill when I was little. To me it was more of a game. Only recently did I learn that it was a great skill to have. I'm not as great at it as my Dad, but I'm better at it than my brother!"

 

[Zrak Ren]

Vordon shrugged looking down in agreement when she said use of her full name probably meant trouble. Well, that was fair, she was pretty much a target. And her full name probably mostly got used by parents, enemies, or authority of some kind. He watched as she started putting together a sling form the vines, still damaged he imagined. Probably wasn't going to make life any easier. But, at least that part wasn't his fault.

She brought up Shaping, asking how/where he learned it, explaining that she was also force sensitive and had learned some of it. Also that her father and brother had it. He let out a hum in thought, "Family, it's really more of a culture for the Shapers of Kro Var and I was just another one of them. Learned the different elements from different people but I was always pretty good at it, or at least worked hard enough. Fire and earth came easiest to me, fire first because it was very combat and survival applicable. Then I became a part of the Order of Ren and, well, just kept working on it. I know it sounds like pride but I'm rather skilled at it, and combat in general."

He set the Dragon down, the staff with the vibro axe end and in the center, an opening for a lightsaber blade, ​"Because I learned melee weapons first, I needed something that had some weight to it. Lightsabers are just...too light, you can't put enough power into it. So I made what I was used to and what I felt was the most efficient."

"You ever intend on actually...becoming a fighter with your abilities? You didn't exactly use them now, or at least I didn't notice it. I know some people don't take that route at all." He asked looking up questioningly. If she had the ability to do so, he did wonder why she hadn't applied it in combat. Given her situation it seemed like the right choice to him.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori listened to [member="Zrak Ren"] as he answered her questions, all the while she worked on fixing the vines into loop. Tying it was the hardest part, moreso in getting the knots tight. So she put one end in her mouth and held the other end with her good hand before pulling it tight. Afterwards she looped it over her head and carefully put her arm in place.

Well that was a bit better.

"I haven't learned much Force abilities. I know how to make a ball of Light. My Dad says that it's useful for combatting Darkside magic. But I haven't quite put it to use in that way." Did she really know anything else? Not really. She could build a Force wall around herself to stop other Force attacks. She learned how to levitate a small rock, and how to build her own lightsaber. But as for fighting with it, she had only practiced once. Her lightsaber was usually hidden in the quarters of her ship.

"I trained in hand-to-hand combat with my Mandalorian mentors and guardians. Then fought in a couple of tournements. I'm really good at setting traps and pranking people." Her twin brother was usually her victim in that. "Also I tinker with things. I made my own jet pack. It works better than these boots. I have more control with it. I'm also a great pilot."

The variety in skills just showed how directionless she was in life. But one day she'll figure it out.

"Maybe we'll have a spar some day? When I'm healed up anyways. Whatcha think?"