Younglings and Plantawans and Padabears (oh my!)

[Micah tol Powl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4db4WfqDoE​

ALZOC III​

THE WORLDS OF THE OUTER RIM COALITION​

Some like it Hoth!

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the First Order frowned upon Jedi shredding the slopes that so well defined the Hoth System.

Not to be dismayed, the young Beorni had ventured to the worlds of the Outer Rim Coalition in order to boldly vacation where no padabear had vacationed before! Which was apparently very easy to do, as there were only two other Beorni padawans in the whole history of the Jedi that he was even aware of. So it wasn't like there was a lot of established lore as to just what a padabear was supposed to even do while on vacation. But that was okay, Kiriko liked playing things by ear.

Thus far, Alzoc III was everything he'd hoped for and more.

To start with, the native Talz were actually quite nice. None of them had even seen a Beorni before. More than a few had asked if he was a white Ewok or mistook him for an overweight Wookiee pup.

Which, it wasn't that people weren't nice on Midvinter. Midvinter peoples were just... complicated. And it wasn't exactly the place you went for snowboarding vacations, unless you liked hordes of evil occasionally sharing the slopes with you.

He could totally see a Valkyri trying to snowboard whilst attempting to behead a Vinterbound with an unreasonably large and heavy sword though.

A pair of snow googles resting atop his head was the Beorni's only article of clothing. The freezing wind a welcome sensation as the biting gale whipped through the thick fur that covered the pudgy bear. This was what planets were supposed to be like! The sun reflecting off the snow-covered landscape. A sparse collection of trees, their needles frozen in dripping icicles, and frozen lakes off which arctic winds whipped through the air.

Pushing off the top of the hill he'd been perched on, the youngling took off in a rapidly accelerating slide. Standing atop a broad, colorfully decorated board, the Beorni surfed across the snow. Powder flew from underneath the board, as the bear flexed his knees and rocked the board to guide the nuances in pitch that caused him to zig-zag across the slope.

It was a beautiful day for enjoying the cold.

And who didn't enjoy the cold!?

​

[member="Rhia Kesyk"] | [member="Chiassa"] | [member="Akela Ru"] | [member="Jerek Zenduu"] | [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]​

 

[Akela Ru]

PADAWAN WAR JOURNAL.... OUT AND ABOUT WITH TOTALLY RIGHTIOUS AND TUBULAR BEAR SHREDDING THE HALF PIPES OF ALZOC III. THE TRIP IS A REPREVE IN THE WAR ON THE VEGGIES... FROM HERE WE SHALL REFRESH AND GATHER ALLIES FOR THE FINAL ASSAULT. A DEATH STAR RUN FOR THE AGES AS WE GO AFTER THE EVIL BABYSITTER EMPIRE... THEIR ADVENTURES ARE FALSEHOODS AND MAKE NO SENSE.. THEIR ASPIRATIONS OF CLAIMING WE NEED NAPTIME OR PANTS TIME.. BATHTIME... THAT WE MUST EAT OUR VEGGIES IS REDICULOUS AND EVIL.... REBEL PRIDE.

 

[Lief]

Alzoc III: the strangest world the Plantawan had ever seen.

A soft blanket of pure white coated the earth, all signs of life snuffed out in favour of frozen wastelands and extended tundra. It was cold, oh so very cold, yet after they arrived [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] had given her a crash course in Tapas to keep her internal body temperature even. Not too hot, not too cold, she began to feel a little better, though even with that in mind she could still feel the cold in each breath, and her eyelashes stuck with each blink.

Now she was alone. Well, she wasn't truly alone - she could contact her Master at a moment's notice, thanks to the nifty comm device he'd insisted she start carrying - but all she could see in each direction was snow. Snow drifts, large hills of white, mountains with grey peaks. There was even snow drifting from the skies. He, her Master that was, had been understandably nervous about letting the girl venture off alone, but she had pleaded, wanting to stretch her legs, to run off some energy, and explore, and so with her training saber attached to her belt, and a navigational application loaded into her datapad (with specific coordinates already set up to lead her back to their ship) she was eventually permitted.

Barely ten minutes had passed, and already she was feeling slightly nervous. The flask of water on her hip had begun to freeze over, and when she took a quick sneak-bite of the snack she'd packed she found it too was much tougher to chew than it ought to have been.

Don't go too far, she'd been warned, yet looking back over her shoulder she couldn't so much as make out the ship.

Reaching for the commlink she buzzed through their connection and spoke directly to Cotan. "I'm just testing that this works, Master!" Which, of course, it did. It was a had a long range transceiver that was honestly much more powerful than they required in that moment.

But it never hurt to be overprepared... Better safe than sorry.

Happy that everything was in order, she replaced it to her belt and pressed on, nestling into the hood of her fur-lined snowsuit.

[member="Akela Ru"] [member="Kiriko"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan stood up and looked out from the access hatch he was currently down in. "Kiss, was that the commlink I heard beeping?" he asked his droid. K1 turned to face him, 'head' cocked quizzically to one side. "The commlink. Is Rhia trying to contact us?" K1-S5 rolled around a bit, searching for a computer access point; eventually he found one, plugging into it and catching the girl's communication back to the ship. ::[member="Rhia Kesyk"]=Testing Commlink / Transceiver distance: Approximately one kilometer,:: his droid reported, and Cotan sighed, burying his head in his arms for a moment at the edge of the little working pit.

"I knew I shouldn't have let Asha go to Tython," he grumbled, reaching down and picking up a hydrospanner that he'd dropped. "Hard enough to keep an eye on Rhia when there's two of us—" He was interrupted by a sound that was appeared to be his droid, making a simulation of laughter. Cotan scowled at the astromech, prompting it to stop after a moment. "That's better," he growled at the droid, before jumping out of the pit.

"Alright, see if you can get the cover back over that," he said, gesturing to the piece of sheet metal that had previously covered the space he'd been working in. "I'm going up to the cockpit to send a message to Rhia." With the sound of his droid now being the one grumbling behind him, Cotan quickly jogged back to the cockpit, activating the comm system in there.

"Alright, Rhia," he started. "Since you're so inclined on testing and exploring, how about you see if you can snap some pictures of a shaak or a snow slug while you're out there? Gotta have something to impress Asha with once she's back, after all." He stopped and thought for a moment, before hitting the transmitter again. "Also, if you run into any Talz, make sure to contact me before you do anything. I don't think your datapad can translate Talz."

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Snow, the frozen frontier.

These are the voyages of the Beorni Kiriko. His padawan mission to seek out new...

The young bear paused. Skidding to a halt, the boy brought his board over sideways as he perked his head up. Sliding the googles up so that they were resting atop his head, the bear's black, button nose tested at the air. Soft, round ears rotated much like radar as the legendary hunter instincts of Midvinter's penultimate predator were engaged.

Food.

He smelled food. A quick-snack, to be exact. But food. Definitely food. Sliding the googles down, the bear twisted his body as he slid off in the direction that the wind was taking him.

Skimming over the surface of the snow, the bear seemed as though he was surfing a frozen sea. His ample body weight and low center of gravity worked to quickly generate momentum, with which he sped like a furry bullet shooting across the peaks and valleys. After awhile, the winter hunter was able to distinguish a small form against the backdrop of white.

At first glance, he almost mistook the figure for Akela. But, as he got closer, the shape was clearly not that of a Togruta.

Cutting the board over to one side, the small, pudgy Beorni skidded to a halt in a shower of white rain. Using one foot, the boy kicked the board up in the air and then planted one end down into the snow. Looking over this strange person, the youngling used his free paw to prop the googles up atop his head. Soft, round ears perked upward as the bear smiled and said, "Hi!"

A casual wave of one paw accompanied the salutation, after which the boy paused a moment before asking the most important question.

"Uh, are you going to eat that?"

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"] | [member="Rhia Kesyk"] | [member="Akela Ru"]​

 

[Lief]

With new instructions given, though she was confused as the shaak hadn't shown up in her data files when she'd initially researched the world, Rhia continued on her merry way, utterly grateful that Cotan had replied so that she knew, for certain, they could communicate.

Keeping her eyes peeled for anything that looked even remotely like a cave, in case it was the famed snow slug, the young girl hurried on through the snow with feet sinking at each step. At one point she fell, whole body sinking deep into a fluffy mound, and when she scrambled up and looked down an impression of her body had been left behind.

That made her grin, and after glancing this way and that to make sure nobody was watching - which was highly unlikely all things considered - she lay down in it once more and moved her arms around. The resulting impression made it look as though she had wings, which had the girl giggling.

It was then that she heard it, while stood within an indent of her own creation, an odd gliding sound. Looking up one of the snow drifts she saw a very odd sight indeed, some sort of figure half-blending into the landscape yet visible in the shadowy spots and by whatever they were stood upon, was drifting down the hill.

And soon enough they came to a stop just away from her.

"Hello!" she replied, when the creature - something she had never seen before, but which looked especially fluffy and adorable - spoke, and though she should have been shocked to see what looked like an animal speak she was not. She had seen crystals that had life, so why not a talking... Whateverhewas.

When he looked to the treats which were scattered around the place, due to her impromptu snow angel session, and asked if she was going to eat it, the girl shook her head.

"Are you hungry? I have more! Though, they are a little tiny bit frozen..."

As an afterthought, waving back at him, she said, "I'm Rhia! Who are you? And... And, well, if it isn't rude of me to ask... What are you?"

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"] had always warned her against talking to strangers, but in that moment it completely breezed out of her mind. After all, how could she not respond to such a strange yet adorable thing?

[member="Kiriko"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The human girl was slightly taller than he was.

...or, human-ish girl. Her scent was different, but in a way that Kiriko could not immediately place. Save for that it reminded him of aloe.

Dropping down so that he was on all fours, the bear extended his short muzzle out toward the snacks in the snow. His nose wiggled just an inch from one for a moment. Yep, it was still good, the boy decided.

Plopping down, the bear sat in the snow as he scooped up two of the snacks and popped one in his mouth. Crunchy. And a little chewy. And a little frozen. But still good.

Swallowing, the boy said, "My name's Kiriko," the young bear supplied, his round ears perking up on either side of his fuzzy head as he looked up at the girl. "I'm Beorni, which people say is Valkyri for always hungry," he added, before popping the second snack into his mouth.

"What are you?" the youngling inquired in turn, his nose wiggling again as he tested the air.

Definitely not the saline-iron scent he associated with humans.

[member="Rhia Kesyk"]​

 

[Akela Ru]

Padawan War Journal: Longest day of the longest night.... Kiriko has been entralled by someone small... a shrimp of a woman... a woman... doesn't he know girls... well human girls have cooties... Cooties are dangerous, I know a Nautolain once who got cooties.. suddenly he was married and then he was going back to being a padawan menace... weird things... I have seen some strange things. Stepping up though to meet and see the two fo them I was looking at the food and pulled out to save my friend... snack cakes with their light, fluffy spongy golden exterior, the creamy filling and galaze spread across the top of them. Do not worry Kiriko, I shall save you.

 

[Lief]

She watched as the Beorni-boy sniffed and tasted the snacks, before scarfing the ones which had fallen upon the ground all up. It was obvious that the meager amount would not fill him up, especially not when he explained his species' name and what they were known for. Always hungry, indeed. Luckily Rhia was quite the opposite, able to go for prolonged periods of time without food, without even feeling the nag of hunger.

So, with that in mind, she stepped closer to the boy - Kiriko - and offered him the rest of the bag. There were no refined sugars involved, of course, though there was honey as a base to them which was no doubt the reason it had crystallized in the cold.

"It is so wonderful to meet you, Kiriko!" she exclaimed, excitedly, "You are simply the most marvelous Beorni I ever did meet."

When he asked after her own heritage the girl had to think on it. After the incident with the flatcakes Cotan had been very transparent about her true nature, though she couldn't quite recall how to say her species.

"I'm a... Zelowshian?" No, that wasn't right... She thought for another couple of seconds, before giggling to herself. "Zelosian, I mean."

She hadn't learned too much about what they were, what she was, other than the two key traits: sugar-drunkness, and night-blindness. Neither of which were fun to experience, and she would know!

[member="Kiriko"] [member="Akela Ru"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The boy's ears flattened out to the side.

Curiously, the young bear leaned forward as he dipped his nose down in the general direction of the bag and then sniffed carefully.

His ears perked back. Throwing his weight forward, the young Beorni moved to give the girl a quick hug. Because who didn't like hugs? And also, food definitely was a hug worthy occasion.

Accepting the offered bag, the boy casually reached in to grab a handful and toss it into his mouth. Behind him, the puff ball tail twitched happily as he snacked on the frozen morsels. As he ate, he listened as the girl described herself as a Zelosian.

"Zelosian," the youngling echoed back. Man, that was a mouthful. "That's so cool," he added, giving the child a cheesy grin before shoveling another handful into his mouth.

Then his ears began twitching. The boy's nose wiggled, as he tilted his head back and tested the air for a moment. Then, turning around, he spied where the Togruta was approaching them. With snack cakes.

"That's Akela," the Beorni remarked, as he turned back toward the Zelosian girl.

Pausing a moment, the boy looked around a bit, before he said, "It must be pretty cold for you." She didn't look like she had nearly enough fat on her. And a definite lack of fur. Two features Kiriko was not lacking in. "Is there anywhere you want to go to warm up?"

[member="Rhia Kesyk"] | [member="Akela Ru"]​

 

[Lief]

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Alzoc III, The Outer Rim Territories // Among The Snowdrifts​

Making Friends // With [member="Kiriko"] and [member="Akela Ru"]​

♫ // Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?!​

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Out of nowhere the girl was practically pounced by the ball of fluff, enveloped into a sudden bear-hug that warmed her up and made her realize just how cold it was.

Of course she returned the hug good and proper, grinning at the boy, before allowing him to eat his fill of her snacks. She watched him for a moment, head tilting slightly to the left; he seemed happy enough with the flavour of them, and didn't seem to mind their frozen and brittle texture.

"Yeah," she said, when he seemed interested by her species, "But... I don't really know what it means. What one is."

It was probably strange indeed to find out that someone didn't know much about their own species, but that was just how things were for now. Until she could do more research. At the mention of another who was in the vicinity Rhia turned her head and waved at the girl. Then, with a huge grin upon her face, she turned back to Kiriko like she had a secret to tell.

"Want to see something awesome I can do?"

He'd expressed concern about her feeling the cold, but in that moment she didn't mind. She especially couldn't complain given that before the young bear could answer she dropped down into the snow and lay on her back. Then, with 'careful precision' she flailed her arms and legs back and forth as she had done earlier.

When the girl finally stood up, looking damp and cold and shivering, she stepped away from the impression and pointed down.

"I made a bird!" she exclaimed, still with the same goofy grin.

Truth be told Rhia had not been around fellow Younglings since leaving Crystalsong, and it seemed as though they were bringing out the playful side of the girl.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The bear's ears twitched as the girl fell back and started making snow angels.

At least, that's what they called them on Midvinter. "Astral!" the boy chirped brightly, reaching out a paw to help the girl back to her feet. Inspecting the quality of her craftsmanship for a moment, the youngling gave a short laugh as he declared, "That's a great bird."

Then, he flopped down next to where she had made her mark, and flailed about in a like manner. Popping back to his feet a moment later, the Beorni compared his mark to hers. His was very... round. "I think mine looks more like a winged nerf," the boy decided finally, looking back at the girl with a cheesy grin.

"Do you snowboard?" the bear asked curiously, resting a paw against his own board.

She seemed a decent fellow, but also a fairly warm weather person. The shivering was definitely an indicator that she wasn't partial to this sort of climate. So he wondered what had brought her here.

She did like the snow, apparently. Maybe she liked to ski?

[member="Rhia Kesyk"]​

 

[Lief]

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Alzoc III, The Outer Rim Territories // Among The Snowdrifts​

Making Friends // With [member="Kiriko"] and [member="Akela Ru"]​

♫ // Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?!​

______________________________________________________________​

The Beorni truly was lovely.

After he helped her back up to her feet the ball of snow-white fluff dropped down and made one of his own, and Rhia could not help but grin as he did so, happy to have instigated a little fun. "What's a nerf?" she asked, when he remarked on what his looked like, stepping around to his side in order to get a better look at it.

But she still couldn't make out what it was.

It didn't matter though, because now they had two impressions in the snow!

"Wonder what else this stuff can do," she mumbled, reaching down to pick some up in her hand. Most of it fell through her fingers, some of it melted at her touch, and the rest she clumped together within her fist. It seemed pretty good at sticking to itself.

"Snowboard?" she asked, rising one brow and looking up from the ball of snow in her hand, "I don't know what that is! Is it fun?"

After all, everything they'd said and done so far had been!

 

[Micah tol Powl]

What could you do with snow?

"Oh, there's lots of things you can make with snow," the young Beorni noted. It was really quite flexible that way. It could be a toy, a water source, or even a building material! On that note, the youngling added, "On my planet, we even making shelters out of it."

Then Rhia asked him what snowboarding was. Which was really a very good question, because Kiriko wasn't sure how to explain snowboarding to someone. Snowboarding was just... snowboarding. "Snowboarding's... uh...." the boy began, his ears flattening down and his tail twitching as he pondered for a moment. Then, ears perking back up, decided, "Well, it's kinda like a game, I guess."

Plucking his snowboard from out of the ground, the bear held the board over his head as he looked around for a moment. "You ride a board across the snow," the boy explained, as he looked for an incline. "But you need a slope to get started..."

Scrambling up to the top of a small hill nearby, the boy set the board down and then waved down at the girl. "Like this!" he exclaimed, as he pushed off and glided down the hill so that he swooped down and around where the girl was standing.

Coming to a stop, the bear kicked the board up with his foot and held it out toward her. "You wanna try it?"

[member="Rhia Kesyk"]​

 

[Lief]

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Alzoc III, The Outer Rim Territories // Among The Snowdrifts​

Making Friends // With [member="Kiriko"] and [member="Akela Ru"]​

♫ // Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?!​

______________________________________________________________​

"You build shelters out of snow?" she asked, with wide eyes, "Doesn't it just topple down? Do you know how?"

Rhia decided that she wanted to try all the different snow things while she was on Alzoc III, anything the Beorni had the time to show her, and the ability for her to do. Then she could go back to [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] and show him all the wonderful things she'd learned!

She knew there was something else she was supposed to be doing, something he'd asked of her, but in that moment she was much to excited by all the various stimuli and conversations that it quite escaped her immediate train of thought.

Standing back and watching as he moved up the hill she tipped her head to one side. Sliding down the snow? On that thing? She thought at first that perhaps he'd be sitting on it, but when he stood up? Oh, well she was well and truly in awe.

Gliding down the hillside he circled around her then came to a stop. She reached out when it was offered her way, running her fingertips over the cool design it held. What he asked next made her both immensely excited and terrified all in one.

"Me?" she mumbled, "Do... That?"

After a few seconds, though, her intrigue - and the aforementioned desire to do all that she could - smushed down her worry, and she beamed up at him.

"If you'll show me how!"

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The small Beorni gave a bright, bubbly laugh at the girl's enthusiasm.

"You just dig out a den and pack the snow on the sides," the boy offered, briefly recapping how a simple snow shelter could be made. "It's just a temporary thing, like when you go camping," the bear explained. It was also good for building snow forts, which was essential to snowball fights and capture the flag games.

On to snowboarding!

"Just set the board down and then get on top of it," the bear remarked, as he stepped around to one side.

"Put one leg out out in front like this," the boy said, dropping into a stance with one leg cocked forward and the other in a T-stance under him. "Then you have the other under you like this."

Flexing his knees, Kiriko seemed to squat down and then pop back up a few times. "Flex your knees and kinda stick your butt out," the bear went on to add. Good butt control was really very, very important to snowboarding. Luckily, Kiriko had plenty of weight behind his butt. "You control the board by leaning forward or back," the bear added, swaying forward and back as he pretended to be snowboarding.

Then he stood back up and turned toward the girl.

"Ready to give it a try?"

[member="Rhia Kesyk"]​

 

[Lief]

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Alzoc III, The Outer Rim Territories // Among The Snowdrifts​

Making Friends // With [member="Kiriko"]​

♫ // Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?!​

______________________________________________________________​

Rhia thought about it for a moment.

While it sounded like it would be extremely cold, she was also very intrigued by the very prospect of building a shelter out of snow. Of burrowing down into it to hide away, or rest, or simply have fun. She grinned up at him, and then, with a curious look in her eye, she said, "Do you think that we could try? After we're done with the... snow..boarding..?" That was what the activity had been called, right?

Instructions were then given and carefully Rhia lowered the board down into the snow and did her best to stand as Kiriko had, though it was not the easiest thing given their difference in bodies. In fact once or twice there she almost toppled over entirely, arms flailing, yet she caught herself last minute and let out one long sigh.

Focus...

She inhaled through her nose and then exhaled. Then she tried again.

"Like this?" she asked, with a small grin, somewhat getting the stance he'd shown correct. Maybe a little tiny bit off balance, but at least she was standing upright at this point.