Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Well, I must be doing great at your walls then.” He said it almost as soon as she spoke, winking at her as the wound finally began to close.

The blood stopped permanently, and all that was left was a thin scab that ran along his abdomen. The wound was too deep to heal completely, and this was perfectly fine. Before Kira could tire herself out by trying to heal him entirely Soliael reached up and grabbed her hands. With a soft but cold grip he moved her palms away from his abdomen and up towards him, holding them for a few seconds seconds before speaking.

“Must be my unending wit.” He grinned slightly, then let go of her hands.

They would need to get moving soon, but she was fun to play around with. Something that Soliael was learning more and more about.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

He was doing it again. That… thing. Little boy smile with a grown man’s devilry in his eyes.

So confusing.

“I’m not done yet, you goof!” she’d protest, and would have gone back to being more thorough had he’d not caught her hands. That she’d called him a ‘goof’ would not have been out of place for the Lorrdian; she’d more often than not use nicknames or terms of affection with those she’d interact with.

Considering that billions of Moross Crusade believers would know him as Neth the God Keeper, more likely than not, had they heard the manner in which she’d so informally talk and interact with him, some rather shocked grumblings would ensue.

“The only walls you seem to be breaking are the ones of your thermal.” A snort came to her then, “and I doubt your wit will keep you very…” Her voice would trail as awareness of their surroundings dawned on her. Just as quickly, he’d hear the soft catch of her breath.

The bioluminescence of the cavern walls and the nearby underground lake would cast a soft blue green glow around them. Shimmering light that would glimmer upon faint distant crystal formations overhead.

“...warm.”

Her eyes would grow wide, pupils dilating as she took everything in.

“Now there’s something you don’t see everyday..” she’d murmur in awe for a moment. A few seconds later she’d pan her attention back to him. In this dim light, she could just see enough of his outline and the shadows of his face, the cerulean green glow reflecting against his orange eyes as he’d watch her.

He’d soon feel the brief slide of her fingertips against his abdomen, as if double checking her work.

“How well can you move now?” she’d ask. If he wore his cloak, he should be fine, at least in regards to exposure along the torn rent of his thermal. If he wasn’t feeling up to it, at the very least she could explore their surrounding area for a path towards the direction of the keep. Or maybe find something to eat.

That lake might have something. As for warmth…well it might be too cold for bats… but from prior experience with bat guano on Troiken.

It makes for an excellent burning fuel source.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

When she mentioned his torn Thermal Soliael simply looked down. She was right in a way, and made him aware of a very large issue that now presented itself. He wasn't fully protected against the elements. If they got onto the surface, and the temperature hovered below zero, It would be incredibly dangerous, if not deadly, for Soliael to wander around with bare skin. The last time he had done so he'd passed out, and that had only been for a few seconds.

Unconsciously he touched the cut on his abdomen, colliding his own palm with Kiras for a moment.

He frowned, then looked up at her.

“Well thats why I have you.” A smile. “You did so well last time i just had to find an opportunity to get you to do it again.”

A joke to hide the new concern, one that she perhaps hadn't yet fully realized, especially now that she was somewhat distracted by the blue glowing lights. He smiled at her, watching her be faded in the soft glow. Then, slowly he managed to push himself up from the wall. Slowly Soliael crawled up the side of the cave, steadying himself for a moment.

The cut on his abdomen throbbed, but it wasn't life threatening, and it was nothing compared to the ache still in his back. “Well enough to get out of here.”

Concern washed over his face.

“Will you be alright?” He knew that the healing took a lot out of her. It wasn't her specialty, and the cut had been quite deep. It seemed that one of them was always fated to be tired.

 

[Kira Talith]

Well enough to get out of here?

Yeah, right. The expression on Kira's face would relay that she didn't believe that one bit. Granted, she was also not at her peak either. Healing such a serious wound had taken a bulk of her energy. Her skin was a shade paler, with darkening crescents under her eyes. There was a faint sensation of vertigo, but she'd stay in place until it passed.

Just a little woozy, that's all. Besides, it wasn't her own well being she was worried about; but his.

"Well enough." she'd say, taking a deep breath to steady herself before she too would slowly and sluggishly get to her feet. "I'm gonna take a look around... maybe find something we can use." That woozy sensation would come again, as a head rush made her feel lightheaded. One hand made for the nearby wall to steady herself, hiding the action as if using the brace to grab hold of his cloak to throw it at him.

"Here... need you to sit still and look pretty." there came a quirk of a weary grin, taking a breather as she'd start going through her head what she'd need to get done.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael watched her for a time.

Perhaps it was his own wounds that prevented him from seeing it, but he didn't manage to notice Kira's little stumble. Still, as he caught the cloak worry crossed his face. Would she be safe to wander around here in the darkness? Would she be alright? Kira wasn't exactly that steadiest person on her fett as of late, and she had just healed him of a serious wound.

Mulling it over, Soliael let the cloak shift in his hands. His eyes shot around the cavern, towards the pools of water then towards the ceiling. Briefly he wondered how long they could survive down here with only each other and the cloak.

She was right.

They needed something more, and he needed time to rest.

“Alright.” He said reluctantly laying himself against the wall again. Kira was a big girl, she could do this on her own, and he might only end up hurting himself again. “Be careful.”

The last word was strained.

 

[Kira Talith]

“Be careful.”

"Tried that once. Dreadfully dull." came Kira's quip, flashing pearly white teeth with a joke to try and distract him. Or maybe that was just herself. It was hard to tell right now, her mind was rather loopy. As if she'd drunk a glass of Juma juice way too fast, giving her brain a fuzzy kick.

Her cold hands would come up to slap her self a bit. Snap out of it, girl!

Either way... she'd wonder how good he was in being in the big bad dark, and considered for a moment that he'd asked her earlier if she could create light. Which by that natural conclusion.... He didn't.

So before she'd leave, she'd come on over. A big wobbly, but with the way the rocks and pebbles were everywhere, they could blame them.

"Give me your hands," she'd instruct, holding hers out towards him. "I'm going to teach you to be my lighthouse."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael leaned against the rock wall.

“Buy me a drink first.” He quipped back at her before taking her hands. Soliael knew what she was doing of course, teaching him the little trick with the light. He assumed it would be easy enough, given that he had mastered Sith Magic and incomparable techniques. If he couldn't make a little orb of light it would be slightly embarrassing.

He smiled at her.

The Force came to him in a flood, but this time. It wasn't tainted. It was sweeter, calming, more relaxing. Instead of a torrential tsunami, it was but a mere flood of power. He smiled, but not at Kira.

 

[Kira Talith]

"I can make a mean Aledis Temple," she'd say, joking about the virgin fizzy non alcoholic namane nectar and sodapop mixed drink. "I'll even put in a nifty little umbrella."

She'd take his cold hands into hers, setting one hand on top of the other palm up. When he'd summon the Force, she could feel the strength of his power even in the weakened state he was in.

"There you go," she'd say with a hint of a smile in her voice, but went along to say the basic idea, "Use the Force to focus the flow of energy right here," one lone finger would would slowly trace a small circle along the inside of his palm. The pressure would be just light enough to send a curious tickling sensation down his hand and arm.

"Compact it. Think of it as if you are creating a marble out of that energy, " her finger would continue to trace a slow and steady circle over his palm, ice blue eyes looking into his.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

"Umbrella. My my Kira Liadain, getting quite fancy." Soliael grinned.

It didn't take long for him to figure it out. She guided him with the basics, and from there Soliael could extrapolate the rest. That was what he was good at, the force had always come easy to him, all of it was natural to him, simple, easy. Not like learning a blade or something like that. The Force was simple, it was easy, and as focus hit him, and Kira touched his palm, Soliael simply did as he was told.

A bright, orange light bloomed between his palm, flaring into existence not as a pale glow but a powerful burning light.

“That was easy.” Soliael said as he allowed the sphere of hovering energy to hover into the air. It gave off no heat or sound, simple its bright glow that cast throughout the chamber. “Is this the most complex technique the Jedi teach orrr....”

He trailed off and flashed a grin at her.

 

[Kira Talith]

"Show off," the Lorrdian Jedi Master would say, her eyes squinting as they would adjust to the the sudden brightness in the area. He caught on quick. Very quick.

"... well, an advanced form of that is to speed it up and bamf up the intensity. " force blinding, a Force power considered to be more along the lines of the Lightside of things.

"Makes for a great flash to blind uppity Sith," with how bright it was now, despite the grin that would curve over her face, he'd be able to see the dark circles under her eyes, the slight haggardness to her pale features.

"... or if you want to pretend you're at a disco."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He saw how tired she was, and he knew that time was running out.

She needed to do what she planned, and fast. If they found something, anything, to help them then they would be able to survive the rest of the night. Rest would be easy enough, Kira was tired beyond all thought and Soliael was here to protect her in case anything unpleasant was roaming these caverns. She needed sleep, she needed rest.

They needed to get back.

“You better go, otherwise you'll fall asleep standing here.” He smiled at her, grinning slightly, but as she turned to go Soliael spoke again. “Kiss for goodluck?”

Soliael grinned at her, they still needed to keep their spirits up.

Jokes.

Or maybe not.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira would pause, turning to look back at him. That took her aback for a moment, clearly not expecting that to come from him. It wasn't too long before a wave of heat would go rising up over her throat and settle on her face.

"It doesn't work that way, buckaroo." she'd say, shaking her head as she'd start to make her way down. "If that were the case..." the sound of pebbles sliding down as she'd ease her way would resonate.

"Everyone would be kissing for good luck." the volume of her voice would start to drop, each careful step drawing her further away. She had to take her time, for she was breathing hard, lungs would feel as if they were burning. She was still lightheaded, and while it wasn't as cold as it had been out in the tundra, her body was having difficulties regulating her temperature after the amount of energy she'd expended.

Time was running out.

Finally, a small glow from her hand would reveal where she now was. She stood alongside the underwater lake, her hand held high as she'd pan her gaze around. The bioluminescence was brighter here, and within the still ink of water, she could catch faint ripples of cave fish swimming blind.

Tiny eyes and legs would crawl and scatter from her, small cave crabs hiding from sight. She'd give a deep exhale, breath leaving her as she would feel the worry and panic rear in the back of her mind.

Where to start?

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Maybe they do!” He called after her, but his heart wasn't in it.

He was worried, it was easy to see that he was. Kira didn't look right, she didn't looked healthy. He knew the reason for that of course. She was tired, having healed him twice and already being on the mend from her previous injuries. Unconsciously his mind jumped to those scars that decorated her boy, the cuts across her thighs and across her abdomen.

Soliael frowned slightly, remembering the feeling of the massive scar across her abdomen. He thought about what Nemene had taken from Kira, and he felt a pit in his stomach. The False God frowned, looking at his own hands, then into the darkness.

He found himself doing something he had only done for three people in the galaxy.

He found himself worrying for her.

 

[Kira Talith]

One could thank the force that the ice creature that normally wandered these underground caverns had taken its feeding grounds elsewhere. However, it left traces of its presence in its wake in the form of old bones from its kills. And loads of dry dung.

Well now they had fuel.

Wary, and well aware that if whatever used this area as its lair were to return, Kira made the most of her time. Her tiny hand of light would seemingly bob to and fro; sometimes slow, sometimes in a sweep as if Kira were studying the ground in front of her. She half considered using the Force to telekinetically move the mysterious dung, but she knew --- she knew - that if she even attempted that it wouldn't be a good idea. She could barely lift anything beyond her own weight when she was good and rested.

Now? Fat chance.

Either way, ten minutes would pass before she'd come back over to Sol. Here she would deposit her findings by dumping the dried poop by a nearby flat area.

"I come... bearing gifts!" thump, thump, thump. Dark brown cakey dried half squished balls of dung would plop onto the floor. "Got a light?" she'd ask, clapping her hands together to get the frozen bits of dried dung off them.

Gross? Likely. But Kira didn't care. She was in survival mode. Her only concern was Soliael's wellbeing.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Part of him starting counted the minutes in his head. Time went by at a slowed pace, each minute that he stared into the blackness Soliael became more and more enthralled, worrying about Kira, hoping she would return soon.

When he heard the soft pitter patter of her little Jedi Feet Soliael smiled. She returned into array of light that Soliael projected carrying...poop. He grinned suddenly as he recognized the substance, not dissimilar from Skreeve poop really. Soliael chuckled at her when she dropped the waste onto the floor. “So Jedi aren't afraid to get their hands dirty then.”

He was no stranger to the idea of burning animal waste as a means of heat.

On Onderon, when they didn't want to cut down trees or gather wood. They would burn the waste of a Skreeve or even a Drexl. The Scent it created was a remarkable one, and not in a good way, but the heat it provided was gratifying. He assumed this would be the same. Slowly, using his legs, Soliael pushed the patties into a pile, arranging them so they would actually burn properly.

Slowly reaching, Soliael looked at the pile of poop, breaking out into an uncontrollable burst of laughter.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira couldn't help it. Her nose would tickle. Up came the back of her hand to rub at it, nose wrinkling in distaste. At least with the cold and the age of the poo, there was no lingering smell.
Granted, she was now a mess. Bits of dried poop would cling to her clothes. Her hair just kept getting wilder. And, well, when he made the comment about getting dirty, her hands would go to perch on her hips.

"Nope! But apparently False Gods are!" she'd quip out, giving a snort as she'd move to sit down. Yeaaaaaah, she needed to sit down. That whole bit took a good chunk of her energy. She'd watch him kick and nudge the piles of ice monster crap into a pile, and she'd give him a little gesture as if to say well done.

"Well... now we just need a li--" that's when she heard it. It first started as a low rumble, and she'd turn over towards him with a look of concern as his shoulders would shake.

"Hey are you al--" that's when it turned into this massive burst of uncontrollable laughter. ".. right.." Why.. why was he laughing? That was out of the blue.

He also shouldn't BE laughing because his abdomen was still recovering -- apparently, he didn't care. No he was... laughing. Real laughter too. The kind that would shake his entire body. The kind that just... was infectious.

In reality, the absurdity of the entire situation was laughable. Everything that had occured in the past forty eight hours. Everything. This was supposed to be a small walk and look what happened?

Before long, Kira's shoulders would also start to shake, laughter coming to her too. Ahhh laughter. Such a small thing that could release hormones from the brain to give those feel good feelings and a rush of energy. A stress reliever. A way to just... release.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael's laugh ran through him, his body shaking, and his abdomen flexing and and unflexing slightly as he did so. Pain rushed through him, he winced, but he couldn't stop laughing. He couldn't help it. The situation was ludicrous. One of the False Gods of Moross, usually surrounded by Luxury, power, wealth, and everything he wanted was stuck in an ice cave burning excrement in order to survive the night while sitting next to a girl covered in poop.

He looked over at her, still laughing.

The grin on his face was so wide, that it could have split his face.

After a solid five minutes of laughter, and collapsing backwards onto the floor of the ice cave, Soliael finally stopped. Deep solid breaths entered his lungs, the struggle to breath being very real. Eventually he managed to force himself up, sitting only after he pushed himself up. A slight trail of blood dripped from the now small cut on his abdomen.

He didn't notice, instead he leaned forward, placing his hand near the pile of poop.

His fingers snapped, and a powerful concentration of the force was formed within the poop. It was much like the light, but stronger, darker, and more squished together. Odd how similar it had been. The Flames started like a small explosion, sparking, then immediately expanding into a full blown fire.

Soliael smiled, then lifted up his arm to invite Kira under the cloak. “Come on my smelly little Jedi, i need you alive. May need more healing later.”

They had the fire, but it was still cold.

 

[Kira Talith]

AND LET THERE BE LIGHT!

Along with the fantastic scent of burning fecal matter. The flames would crackle, but burn bright, and more importantly burn with heat and warmth. Under the light of the flames, the tears that had carved a path over her grimey face would get wiped away with the back of her hand.

Oh... ugh. Her sides hurt. Everything was protesting and hurting and all around just done. Twin blue eyes would flicker over to Soliael's extended hand, but not before she'd take a good look at his face. What she saw made her grin linger.

Smile lines would crinkle at the corners of his eyes, his mouth. There was a rush of vitality there, warmth that hadn't been there before. What was it? Ahh, that's right.

Laughter has a way of tearing down walls.

His were down. Maybe he didn't realize it, but it was true. At least from what she could read in the relaxed set of his shoulders, in the carefree manner that despite his injuries, would resonate a kind of joy a bit more familiar to the Jedi.

She'd shake her head at his antics, but none the less, one tiny hand would slip against his. Using his strength, she'd draw to her feet, the heavy weight of her legs protesting but she'd push on through.

With his cloak around him like it was now, she wouldn't be able to tell he'd reopen a small cut over his abdomen. At least, not right away. Much like a child half sleep walking towards bed, so would she move alongside him.

"Is that all I'm good for?" she'd ask, weary voice attempting to relay her humor at the situation, but only sounding utterly exhausted.

"And you're no vat of smell good either, buck-a-roo." The light from the fire would make their shadows dance along the caverns walls, painting them an amber hue. When she got close enough, she'd give him a mock punch.

"Take it easy," the worry in her face would show. "How's the belly?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I happen to smell divine at all times.” Soliael with with a grin. That was a joke in it of itself. He leaned back against the cave wall slowly, being careful not to pull on the cut anymore than he should. As soon as she came close his arm wrapped around her, pulling her tight and holding her close, for the warmth of course. The cloak draped over the both of them, the heavy fur acting more as a blanket than an actual cloak.

The poop flames crackled.

Soliael was aware of the blood now, the tiny dribble that was rushing down his side. His free hand snaked down towards his abdomen, touching the wound. “Bleeding again, but it'll stop.”

Beneath the cloak it was now getting warmer, there was no chance of it freezing, though perhaps infection was not a distinct possibility.

“You're tired.” He said finally, staring into the oddly hued flames for a few seconds before looking down at her tiny face, a concerned look in his eyes. “Get some rest.”

 

[Kira Talith]

"You're bleeding again?" Kira would ask, pulling back against his arms as if she was about to take a look at it herself. She had an expression on her face that would relay she would do all she could to heal him if she had to again.

Even if she had to pass out doing so.

"Let me take a look."