To Leave the Stars

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Let me sleep just a little longer, I'm not ready to awaken yet in this world...

Avra Aillun stirred quietly in her sleep aboard a small starship nearly into orbit of the planet below. Her mind composed soothing fantasies, delving deeper into the recesses of her memories, and calling up the ageless whispers of her people, reminding her of what she is.

"Wake up, we're nearly here." A hand shook the girl gently on her shoulder, eyelids pulled back revealing tired turquoise eyes. "Where are we?" A curious inquiry followed a yawning groan, the blonde-haired girl rose vertically from the bed, sitting firmly on the mattress as her head turned towards the source of the other voice.

An older woman smiled, "where you get off," the smile faded before being replaced with a frown. "Come on now, gather your things, you don't have long." Arva stood on her two feet, walking over to a small footlocker containing the few things she owned. First she got dressed in her daily, wear. Certainly not customary to the fashion senses known in the rest of the galaxy, but not without its function either. A light, grey cloth shirt and similarly coloured slacks, with a pair of brown boots.

The young girl wandered from her room, walking through the halls of the place she once called home. She saw Abel, whose grin was wider than ever--he and the other boys were playing an imaginary game involving small cubes with numbers crudely written on its sides. Further up from the commons was where the adults spent most of their time, the engine room was the loudest, a constant clatter could be heard from its doorway, although she had never been allowed to enter she knew that her older brother was hard at work keeping the ship flying.

Lastly she stopped by the school where she learned all that she's ever known up until now. Of all places this one was the hardest to let go, she remembered when some of the students played a practical joke on their teacher by hiding a gizka in the desk drawer. With no more hesitation, Arva walked towards the docking bay and left the steely vessel behind, stepping into a world brimming with mysteries and adventure.

But before she was able to leave for one final time, two arms wrapped around behind her, placing a small, modest necklace around her. "So you don't forget about home," the voice whispered before the woman pulled away and returned to the ship.

A brave new world.

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Avra Aillun"]

The dust gathered in the corners of the rooms. Sand cluttered in the machines, shortcutting electricity every once in awhile… and the storms… oh the storms. They raged through the open planes every night, making it life threatening to go out of town - it would place you at the risk of getting trapped there at night with no shelter.

The only safe places were the few cities littering the surface of the planet. They were sheltered by the naturally formed ridges above the urban streets, it kept them just out of harm's’ way.

Streets of sand, dust and blood, saloons filled with grimey-covered street rats and their deadbeat dads - they were learning the trade firsthand.

In one corner of the capital of the world, - capital was a fairly weak word, it was simply the only city that housed a starport - hidden within the folds of alleyways and corners was a nameless building. And yet… everyone knew the building and its current owner, it was a sanctuary, a beacon of light in an increasingly hostile environment, a place of healing for those that needed it.

One person could do little to stem the tide, but by the Force he could try.

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Cold... Not cold enough, the planet was quite warm and humid, for a young girl born among the stars, of a people who are used to the cold, it was almost too much. Droplets of sweat began to stream down her forehead, landing upon her cheeks. This caused a few glances from the crowd of people within the spaceport, but for the most part everyone ignored the young girl who walked the streets alone.

"I could turn back," she thought to herself. The call of home was already strong. Much of her heart longed for family and friends, yet she knew what she must do.

Avra wandered past merchants quarters, apartments, cantinas, garages, and the bustling trade centers within the capital city. The ambiance of trade tongue, alien tongue, and creatures filled the air with a mixture of noises, most of which happened to be unintelligible for the foreign girl who barely knew a lick of Galactic Basic. Reseran was her tongue, and it was one which few in the galaxy outside her own people knew. Certainly it would be something the teenager must work on.

Crack.

Avra turned her head back to the source of the noise, in her fatigued wandering she hadn't noticed that the road took her away from the crowds. She had a bad habit of looking at her feet as she walked long distances, failing to pay attention to most details that could otherwise guide her to where she needed to go. Rather than turning back, however--which was towards the noise--she slowly walked forward, hoping to find a shop or at least a friendly place to stay.

Snap.

Again, she heard a noise... This time she turned her head immediately. Even with the visionary prowess of her people, she noticed nothing in the shadows. Just as she went to turn back onto her path once more, something hard swung down on the back of her head, forcing Avra into the sandy street. The last thing she saw with her dizzy eyes were two armoured boots standing in front of her...

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Gentle green hands gingerly touched the area around the wound - it wasn’t deep, the blood already dried up in her locks and preventing from more blood to well up, but it was deep enough to have caused a severe concussion if the girl was unlucky.

For a moment the robed figure pondered on the consequences, but he hadn’t come here to play by the regular rules. Another look was spent on the unconscious girl, before sighing and reaching into his robe, a single credit chit worth fifty credits - grasped between his talons - was revealed.

“Get this girl to the clinic we must. Fifty credits for you, if you help carry her to it.”

A veiled man, frowning, detached himself from the shadows. See, Vaet was a lot of things, but he wasn’t equipped with carrying this little girl all around town, so it was lucky the Veil had been studying them for a very long time now.

Lucky for who? Whose to say.

“Fifty now, fifty when we are there.”

Vaet turned around and gave a soft smile.

“Twenty five now, hundred fifty when are there.”

It didn’t seem the veiled man had been expecting that, he nodded once and moved to scoop up the little girl.

[member="Avra Aillun"]

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Am I awake?

She felt light... Weightless. Avra felt as if the wind itself lifted her up and carried her across the sky, no matter how hard she tried her head wouldn't turn. Instead her turquoise eyes gazed upon the clouds above, wondering how far below the ground was. Then it hit her... I remember... Thoughts and memories flashed throughout her mind, she could recall the pain and the boots. Then her heart let out in panic, where was the necklace around her neck? A weak hand reached up and wrapped itself around where the phantom chain remained but grasped onto nothing.

"Let...Me down," the young girl mumbled, becoming more aware that someone was carrying her. Without even realizing what damage had been done, the Reseran attempted to lift her head and look about, but the moment she lifted it the blood rushed back and caused her to black out.

Falling limp, she once again drifted off into the land of dreams, where only the confines of her mind became any notification of life and reality.

Deep within her subconscious, she wondered who had saved her.

[member="Vaet"]