Ask A Song So Long On Sonos

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music

Of course it was a good question. Why else would Leh’Min have asked it? What is this kid, stupid? She smiled all the while, keeping from snickering, betting the button wouldn’t lead to an explosion so much as a hidden compartment of donuts. Stale as hell, I’d reckon.

As Lemon’s imagination got the better of her, she suddenly wondered that if Lin did explode then maybe the explosion would take them both. Maybe the game was rigged from the start, maybe the squirrel activated a silent self-destruct sequence, maybe I’m the real idiot.

Her heart beat pretty quickly that moment. “Hey. Lin. WAAAAIIIIT" Too late. He pressed the button and…nothing happened. Fancy that.

“Of course we’re alive.” Lem swallowed. “I didn’t panic for a second!” She was fooling the squirrel and the birds if not Lin.

“Sabada!” Her back wasn’t turned like his as she spotted the holograms poppin’ into existence in the cockpit. Yep. That was definitely Lem and that was definitely Lin. In the hologram if not the flesh.

“Wow, do I really sound like that?” She scratched her lekku. Holorecorder, huh? Her partner had a pretty cool idea and then some and no denying it, no sir.

“Hummm.” Lemon rubbed her chin, feigning contemplation, before breaking into a grin and slapping Lin on the shoulder. “Ah, what the hett. Let’s do it, kid! But, uhhh...what should we record, my guy?"

So she ignited her lightsaber. “How about we fite?”
Fast forward to her sitting in the cockpit. “Pilots?”
“AT-AT safari?” Skip to waving birds or squirrels in.
“Or music?” Lemon snatches Lin’s hand and dances.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

It was Quin’s turn to hold in a snicker when Lemon became the jumpy one.

“Were you panicking?” A smirk spread across the boy’s face. “We should replay it to see.” He made as if he were going to rewind, but drew his hand back at the last second as the recording continued on. “Just kidding. You weren’t the only one who thought we were going to explode— and yes, you do sound like that.” He smiled at Lemon cheekily, ignoring the fact that he too hated the sound of his own voice.

Now came the question of what next? Lemon was presenting some good options. He pondered her suggestions for a moment, her energy making him excited too. He wanted something memorable. Something that would be worth looking back on the next time they came.

Then, Lemon grabbed his hand and drew him into a dance. Even if there wasn’t any music playing in the background, Quin let her take him, following in her steps and her rhythm. When was the last time he had danced? It was arguable that a duel was a dance, but it couldn’t compare to the carefree nature that this one was.

“This is it.” Quin smiled, slowing to a stop and facing Lemon as the demonstration ended. “Let’s dance.” He pressed the button to record again, made sure the red light was blinking, then offered his hand to the girl.

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music IC

There wasn’t much to Leh’Min’s steps and rhythm. Especially without any music to move in.
To move with. To move to. To do the dooty-wooty, pep in the step, instead of dancing quiet.
Silent. Except for the birds that chirped and served as an audience to that pair of Jedi kids.
They might look like idiots at that moment, chemistry of synergy, but innocent, Lem ‘n’ Lin.

“This is it,” Lin said. Lemon nodded after the demonstration, unable to deny her excitement.
Between playing pilots, sparring, a safari, dancing seemed like it might be totally awesome.
“It is this!” The Togruta offered the Human an exaggerated bow before she turned around.
Lin pressed a button. Began the recording. Lem pressed a button. Opened up their music.

A boy offers his hand to a girl and a girl accepts the gesture, hand in hand, eyes into eyes.
“Let’s dance,” he says, to which she winks back. “Hope you can keep up…my little donut.”
Her words dripped with challenge, playful, if truthfully trying to make the silly boy blush.
Had he ever danced with a girl before? A girl had never danced with a boy. “IT IS TIME”

The violin’s bow slides over the strings, the fingers pluck the guitar’s, amid a jaw harp.
Sounded to a little Lemon like the music, built into the AT-AT, was of some rustic heart.
She loved it. Enough to take Lin’s other hand as they danced, arms swaying side to side.
Didn’t really know what she was doing. Didn’t much matter. Just shifted feet left to right.

As the music picked up, so did the Lemon. Tapped her boot on the metal floor. The stage.
Stepped back, crossed one foot over the other, guided the Lin with her, smile on her face.
“You’re doing great, buddy!” Was she? Maybe. “Twirl me!” So Lin would twirl Lem around.
“Weeeee!” Lem giggled, hand in Lin’s, other on shoulder, swaying together, and no crowd.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Once again Lemon had succeeded in making the boy flush. Of course I can keep up! he protested internally, but he bit his tongue to prevent him from saying it out loud as the pair melted into the dance. They were on record, and he didn’t want himself to sound like a small child.

He followed along with Lemon’s moves, grinning like an idiot as he stepped forward and back, left and right. At her request to twirl, Quin eagerly acquiesced, gently bringing her arm above her head and watched her spin. She looked radiant with the smile on her face, and her laugh as she twirled was enough to make even the toughest hearts of men soften. To a mere boy like Quin, his heart rate skyrocketed and he blushed again.

He was content to sway along with Lemon until the song came to an end. Although reluctant to let her go, he removed his hand from her waist, took a step back and offered her a bow before lightly kissing her on the hand as befit a gentleman.

“Thank you for the dance, mi’lady,” Quin said teasingly. At that, he turned off the recording, leaving it there for whoever came next. It was certainly an upgrade to what had been there before.

“You’re a good dancer. We should do it again sometime.” He grinned.

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music OOC

As Lin’s face went a great shade of red, Lem giggled but didn’t break away from maintaining visual. She dared Lin to be the one to divert his gaze, but he didn’t even in his…embarrassment?

Was that a look of nervousness in the boy’s eyes? His first time dancing with a girl? It was just them in the world though, and he had no need to be shy. He kept his rhythm with her, their song and their dance just a whisper in the universe, though an ode to the birds.

Leh’Min swayed side to side like waves in an ocean, lost in the moment like a forgotten starship in a forest. Just waiting for somebody to come find her, maybe, to take her away, help her escape from this twisted plane of existence. One girl in all the world. Father would say. Then he’d make her train, and when she was in pain he would tell Leh’Min’Ayd to put on a brave face and pick up her blade.

Dancing was like that kind of fighting, in a way. Only there was no rage in this room not so round. Not too dark, not too bright. Just right. Just two kids in it, Padawans, soon to be Knights of one mind in time fighting side by side with the light as their guide.

They could grow up and grow stronger together, give each other the sky with no limits. But as a butterfly passes between them, like a sign, Lem just gives Lin her eyes. The Padawan smiled, nothing to hide, while somewhere deep down inside her, where no one hides, she wanted to frown, needed to cry.

A boy wouldn’t notice it. A girl wouldn’t show him. She wore an unbroken composed countenance, sported a grin to cover up her condition, but it was genuine. More actor than musician or poet, Leh’Min immediately lifted her head like a queen, also teasing.

“You are most welcome, my good sir, and a most exquisite dancer. I thank you in turn.” Leh’Min stood in front of the recorder, turned off, but watched, drumming a finger on her lip. “I wonder if the next visitor will do the tango? Oh I know! That can be our next endeavor, buddy!”

Slapping a hand on Lin's shoulder, as was her custom, Leh’Min looked over at an opened locker in a row of closed ones. “Hum…” May as well see what mystery number three is! Please be shiny! “What the hett?” Retrieving the object from the locker, some kind of lockbox, she handed it over to Lin. “Ya see a hole for a key or sommat? I don’t see anything. Maybe there's treasure in it, also a potato for all I know.” They just needed to find a way to open it.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin had never felt so proud as when Lemon returned the compliment about his dancing, even if they had just been messing around. The few lessons he’d taken had paid off after all— in the least likely way he could have expected. He followed Lemon’s gaze to the lockers, his brows creasing into a slight frown when she eyed the open one. Considering the poster and the hologram, who knew what they would find in there?

“Do you think that’s a good…” The question faded away before it finished forming. Fortunately, Lemon pulled out a small metal lockbox instead of whatever Quin was imagining, rusted shut from its many years sitting in the locker. He examined it, holding it up to the light and turning it around to look for some kind of opening. “I don’t see anything either.” He tried prying it open, but the box was stubborn.

“We could cut it open,” he suggested, glancing at his bag on the floor. He reached in to pull out his lightsaber hilt before grinning at Lemon. It seemed that curiosity had gotten the better of them both. “Ready?”

After a quick ignition, the rust seal was cut open, allowing Quin to gingerly lift up the top to reveal the contents inside. Whoever its owner had been hadn’t kept it organized. Gambling chips were scattered around, a few wrappers of some sort, some hastily tied-together credits, and… a miniature wind-up music box.

Quin picked out the last object, taking a look at it before giving it to Lemon to examine too. “Do you think it still works? It looks so fragile.”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music

Yep that box was as stubborn as a bit lip. “Bet.” Lem was glad if Lin shared her sentiment that neither kid was a locksmith but was even gladder that they could open the thingamajig one way or the other despite their predicament to begin with.

“Right! Use the Force!” The girl replied with a high-five just as the boy reached into his bag on the floor. “Ready steady Freddy and don’t call me Betty!” Leh’Min parted two fingers for a peace sign as the other Jedi’s lightsaber ignites.

Inside the unlocked lockbox Leh’Min could not stop gazing, eyes glazed and glued to the discontinued candy bar wrappers in view.

Lord Skor was a yummy and scrumptious bar of toffee coated in chocolate, a work of art to be honest, and its taste had outlived the Galactic Empire to date. Though today it was a bit challenging trying to find any for a buyer like her.

“Hum. Wonder if the owner was a gambler or a collector.” Leh’Min didn’t care whatever the answer as she picked up a chip and began to roll it across her fingers but failed miserably at the trick. “Hey what’s the big idea!?”

She hissed and quit and flipped the chip to Lin of the reddened complexion who gave a box within the box to the purple-skinned kid who caught it and complimented on its exquisite condition with “I daresay I reckon this is as finely engraved as the brave face of Bush Jade and fair trade, mate!”

Accented for Leh’Min’s amusement as an actress with a stage and a play in any given instance. The imagination was just a game, it’s cold but roles were given and no one got paid at the end of the day so nothing really mattered anyway, so what the hey?

The Togruta opened the box in the cockpit with the Human kid in it. Amid some rich brown wood was a red Vulacre, Inc. velvet interior, a golden plate on the lid which read “Lilium.” Beneath, cushioned on a sheet, was a round grey seashell as if it is asleep.

“Sabada!” The seashell lifted, there on a scarlet bed in the lap of the Lemon, and a face came with it. It was expected of this given instrument but in this instant she was stunned nonetheless! A song came on with bells—and an elegant dress! “She’s pretty!”

The figurine that danced on the miniature stage had a pale face beneath her veil, hair to her shoulders, ripe as red pink raspberry, taunting eyes like frozen oceans, only roses. She was as graceful as the music, if able to be just as haunting and tuneless.

It was a moment, as fleeting as a starship’s heartbeat in a fleet, but Leh’Min’Ayd remembered names, recalled images, imagined herself in a ballet, free from enslavement; or hell, if hell is a dream of a basement with lemons for a buffet. A dancer on a stage…

“What the hett is a Lilium anyway?” Leh’Min'Ayd ran a lone finger over the engraved plate. “Maybe his girlfriend?” She twisted her lips at Lin. “A memento?” She asked him but didn’t look away from it.

She grimaced, she grinned, she thought of her master in defiance; his lessons, his fists. “What do you hear?” A girl asks a boy in a quiet cockpit apart from the woodland noise of birds in a chorus and a music box's chimes.

“Fear? Loss?” Eyes into eyes. Today’s Padawans. Tomorrow’s Knights. Is life a paradox? “What does the universe whisper to its future Sir Lin Queonkri in a song so long on Sonos?”

For her, she heard the conflict on a beach, a lady in a maze, a prom and a promise, running up the peak of power, games and holes. Also towels.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Unlike last time with the apple, Quin was prepared for the flying gambling chip. He caught it with the box, though his attention was quickly drawn back to the simple yet elegant music box. That juxtaposed with the image of Bush Jade in his mind brought a smile to his face.

“PIeces of art, both of them.” Having moved on from old wrappers and worn-down chips, Quin set the lockbox down and sat down across from Lemon instead to get a better look at the object in her hands. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until after Lemon opened the music box, when he exhaled in wonder at the small golden plate and the soft velvet inside. The condition of the music box stood in stark contrast to that of the other contents of the lockbox, and he found himself wondering about its owner again. Even more mysterious was the name so ornately engraved on gold. Lilium.

He was so mesmerized by the appearance of the box that he jumped a little in his seat when the seashell opened to reveal the figurine underneath and the tune that came with it.

“Pretty and delicate,” he responded. He hadn’t seen anything like it before. Tilting his head, he was half inclined to feel it as it spun. However, it looked so fragile that he dared not, and he contented himself by listening to the music instead.

“I hear…” Music. But that probably wasn’t the answer Lemon was looking for, a surface level answer. Master Mirror would want him to delve a little deeper. Listening more carefully, a few things did come to mind. “...sadness. Like something’s missing, or she’s lost.” He didn’t know why he said she. There was nothing to suggest that the composer was female, nor the owner of the music box. The figurine certainly couldn’t feel. Despite his better reasoning, something about it all felt feminine. Haunting.

This time it was him who broke eye contact first, and he looked once more at the music box. The figurine danced, but it wasn’t like theirs. Her dance was slow, repetitive, and circular, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“I think you should keep it.” Quin looked up and met Lemon’s gaze again. “It’ll be a reminder of today. I’d hate for it to be damaged or something if we leave it. And something tells me that whoever had it before would want it to be preserved too.”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music IC (Recurring)

Sadness. Leh’Min echoed the notion in her head. Missing. Lost. Wandering. Gone. There was some tragic semblance to the music, of which the Togruta heard in the Human’s eyes the way one reads colors or tastes words.

Maybe, all this time, that was why she called him Lin and others called him Quin? Lemon wasn’t an idiot but she was an experiment. A weapon. Apart from that, she was as lifeless as that figurine, with no heart. No One.

Though the ballerina was a bit like a queen. Something Leh’Min’Ayd would never be. So would the pink-haired chick be a reminder of today or of tomorrow that will never be? A dream. Father would say. Only death awaits you. It is a weapon’s fate.

“Maybe.” Lemon answered Lin plainly if vaguely and looked away from him to the figurine’s feminine face. She was a young woman, in the skin of a mannequin, a bit like Leh’Min. A weapon.

“Who had it before..?” Either could only wonder. Whether soldier or composer, dancer or lover, one girl in all the world held history in her very hands. It was ever a mystery, as was she . . . Did any of this mean…anything..?

“Lilium.” Leh’Min’Ayd spoke as though her audience was some goddess. She could not break her gaze from the figurine who faced the same sadness of being powerless, as if trapped in an hourglass, maddened by the past.

“That’s like a-uhhhhhhh pretty pink lily flower kinda or sommat whozitwotzit mawhozamama and a can o’tuna hakuna matata and a purple peacock for a pinata, sabada?”

Whether Lin did or didn’t sabada any of this, or Leh’Min’s presence in the present was predetermined, the future was ever uncertain, but she was sure to flash him twin thumbs-up and forefinger-pistol-fists with a cheeky wink.

“Okay, cupcake. I dunno who its predecessors were but I, the Lady of Lemons, shall henceforth take this music box under my dutiful guardianship as its warden with my sword and—” The music box promptly dropped from her lap to crash on the deck of the all-terrain vehicle.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin found himself nodding along to whatever Lemon was saying about flowers or tuna or peacocks. Lilium could be any of the above or none, and he didn’t have any better guesses. Talking about the past and of things long gone was starting to make him a bit heavy though, so he was grateful for Lemon’s, well, Lemon-ness. He grinned right back at her.

Then his heart stopped as he saw the music box begin to slip. “Oh no” was all he could manage.

The wood clattered as it made contact with the metal floor, and after it rolled over once and came to a stop Quin immediately snatched it up again. He turned it over in his hands, checking for any damage. Relieved to find none, he opened it to check on the dancer inside. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been so lucky.

The seashell had broken open, leaving the dancer without her stage and laying uselessly on the velvet. But, at her side was a thin, crinkled yellow sheet, something that Quin hadn’t noticed earlier. He picked it up, delicately unfolding it until he saw that there was some kind of message on it.

“Wow. Check this out!” He leaned over to show Lemon the writing on the paper, a giddy smile on his face. It was a short note, but still an exciting find. “It must have been underneath the shell.” It looked like Lemon dropping the box hadn’t been so bad after all. He cleared his throat, putting on his important voice.

“My dear Lilium,” he began, reading aloud. “I hope this letter finds you well. As you know, I am stationed on Sonos. Unfortunately, due to the growing frequency of rebel assaults, my service here has been extended indefinitely. I miss you greatly, and I hope that this small gift will serve as your reminder of me until I come back home. Love, your father.”

Once he was finished, Quin looked back at Lemon, quiet for a moment. “I guess… Lilium’s a real person.” He folded the paper and put it back where he found it. “What now?”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Unlike her companion, Leh’Min’Ayd might be inclined to cry. It’s not that she didn’t. Not like she never did. There were definitely plenty of times. Plenty of reasons why. Plenty of memories bleeding like blades of rain into the sea.

So maybe at the moment she was just less focused on past and more on present, less on lemons to upset her happiness like rotten eggs in the stomach and more on Lin, less on the music box and more on her friend.

Kid was quick to pick it up but totally oblivious to the Lemon watching him, dissecting his character with her eyes, as to why she liked him, Jedi to Jedi, as much as what might make him tick. If he was bitten by a tick.

Despite the unluckiness of the mistress in the lid, Leh’Min was lucky to have Lin as her companion.

Maybe there was something symbolic in the dancer on the velvet, robbed of seashell. Maybe that was a girl in a nutshell. But Leh’Min stopped thinking about it to check that message out.

Underneath…the…shell…

Those three words suddenly slipped on her lips as they split, but were silent, as if she had lost her voice. The Force was a pathway to many abilities Leh’MinAyd considered to be…inevitable. Such as her mistake actually cracking open a hidden shell.

Like…an…egg…eheh…

Eyes glued to the letter like it was a plate of tuna, gaze dancing like fingers across keys, well even a rebel Lemonade couldn’t help but be a bit of a sentimental. Stationed on Sonos… She leaned in. Rebel assaults… Closer. Miss you… CLOSER. Love…your…father…

A girl had a father.

But a weapon only has a master.

Lin’s question suddenly snapped Leh’Min back to attention. Unfortunately that meant she ended up thrusting her head upward to accidentally headbutt Lin in the chin.

“SABADA! SORRY, KID!”

Then again maybe that hurt her more than it hurt him as she promptly rubbed her head.

“Holy roly poly what the hett’s ya head made outta, the metal from a Pyke’s helmet!?”

Lemon broke into a dance at that that was more like a memory jig than a victory gig.

“What now is we go out and we find Lilium and we give her her father’s gift!”

Leh’Min presented the music box above her lemon head. Maybe her grave?

“THIS MUSIC BOX!”

The music box slipped from her grip and bonked her on the head.

“SABADAAAAAAAA!”

@Sicadorito (@Quin Leonkri / @Lin Queonkri)

 

[Quin Leonkri]

The sudden upward force as Lemon’s head slammed into his was more startling than painful for Quin, though it did send him careening back toward the wall. Was this how the dancer had felt when she hit the floor? Fortunately, he wasn’t made of glass.

“That’s why I never wear a helmet,” he responded, rubbing the underside of his aching chin. “You okay?” Lemon’s dance was enough of an answer for him. But what she said next he wasn’t expecting at all, so much so that even when she dropped the box again on her head, he could only stare at her to process what he’d just heard.

“Find Lilium? That’s… ambitious. Even for you.” Quin picked up the box again, opening it to take another look at the engraving. “There’s not even a last name on here. She could be anywhere in the galaxy, and I mean anywhere. How are we supposed to…” His voice trailed off as he realized that he was sounding exactly like his nagging mother. It was impossible for him to join the Order, she’d said. That it was too dangerous, and her son would be dead within a few weeks. If he’d listened and hadn’t even tried…

Quin looked at Lemon. He never would have met her. Though they hadn’t known each other long, she was the most genuine being he knew. And even if what she proposed was no small feat, there was no harm in trying. At best, the trooper’s long lost daughter would finally receive her father’s parting gift, and at worst, she’d continue life as it was. I hope she’s not dead. Still, it was worth a try.

“Forget that. Let’s check it out.” The smile returned to Quin’s face as he entrusted the music box to Lemon once again. “Want to hold onto this for now? I don’t think Lilium would appreciate it if she smells wet sock all over this. If— when we find her, you can be the one to let her know about all this.” As for him, he would try to find his way into the old imperial database to track down any soldier with a daughter named Lilium. It would take a while, but it might be possible. “Just… try not to drop it again.” He winked.

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Leh’Min’Ayd rubbed her head and hoped it would serve as an answer to Lin’s stupid question about whether she was okay. Honestly! How much pain could the Lemonade take!? Wait…maybe don’t answer that…okay?

Lin said sommat sommat ambitious as Lemon found purchase on the surface of a seat made for sittin'. Parking her skinny butt on it was better than standing up at the moment. Great. That a headache?

“Wow, kid, how many quackin’ ducks do ya know in this galactic circus named Lilium ANYWAY so don’t— Oh.”

Oh good. Great! Lin decided to shut up like some son of a nagging mother and snap back to attention as an adventurer who…went on adventures or…sommat!

“That’s the spirit!” Tempted to get back up and give him a hug, Lin just then extended the music box back into Lemon's grip. Except…yeah the Leh’Min’Ayd did kinda hesitate for a second. “Um…hum…okay!”

She accepted this precious gift and intended to never drop it again. Not ever ever EVER.

“OH NO IT’S SLIPPIN just kiddin’.”

Lemon winked back with a grin and gently held the box in her lap. She didn’t open it though. Kept it closed. Like a secret. Tight as a button. Turned out this surface sucked and hurt her buttocks worse than a kriffin' Christmas ‘cause it wasn’t made for sittin’ to begin with so Leh’Min got up.

“Whatcha doin’ Lin?”

A Togruta’s non-Pyke head would hover over Lin’s shoulder.

“Whatcha checkin’?”

Then over the other shoulder.

A noise outside the AT-AT just then and not too distant.

“That a bird chirpin’?”

Leh’Min turned her head like a bird.

@Sicadorito (@Quin Leonkri / @Lin Queonkri)

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Not again!” Quin whipped around from the console, nearly shocking himself with the wires that he was trying to connect. To his relief, he was met with a wink and his friend’s mischievous grin that he’d become quite fond of. “Kriff, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

He turned around to try to connect the wires again, his back hunched over as sparks flew between blue and red. Then he felt air blow on his cheek as Lemon spoke.

“I’m trying to start up the computer. But these things aren’t connecting.” Then the same sensation on his other cheek. “I might just need another minute. They’re sparking, so that’s a good sign.” Then, he felt lekku slap him on the face as Lemon’s head whirled around. “Wait! I said another minute!”

This time though, it didn’t look like his friend was trying to joke with him, even if he hadn’t heard a thing. Gently setting down the wires, Quin reached for his lightsaber instead.

“You stay here. I’ll check it out, just in case,” he cautioned her, extending an arm and stepping back into the body of the walker. Then, he headed outside. He was blinded for a moment by the sunlight, but even after his eyes adjusted he didn’t see anything. Except for a shadowy figure moving in the trees.

“Hello?” he called out, but didn’t get a response. “...Lemon? I think you might want to see this.”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

“You stay here. I’ll check it out. Gotcha, Papa!” Leh’Min promptly began to go check out the sound when Lin’s arm gestured for her to stay back. “Hey what the hett but I thoughtcha meant—” Nuff said.

As Lin went to go play brave boy before the girl, a girl played with the computer and the connectors. “This here, this there!” She began to sing. “Have no fear O don’t be scared! WAAAHH!”

It’s the Lemon’s turn to nearly shock herself as Lin called out. She stepped outside, sunlight in her eyes, holding a hand to cover it but nope it’s really just to rub the bump on her head that hopefully don’t become a lump, ope.

“See what, hum?” Lem looked left, looked right. “I don’t even SEE a bird, big bird, only trees and ohhhhhh…” She trailed off and just…watched.

Shadow…no. Shadows don’t move like this shadowy figure was moving. It had…did it have legs? Arms? It was dark but the forest was bright beneath the sunlight.

“What…the…hett?”

Then…the figure leapt!

TOWARD LIN AND LEM.

@Sicadorito (@Quin Leonkri / @Lin Queonkri)

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin inched closer to Lemon as the figure continued to move and his friend’s voice trailed off.

“Do you think it knows we’re here?” he whispered into her ear. His question, unfortunately for the two Padawans, was answered when the shadowy figure suddenly leapt toward them. He heard a snarl and narrowly missed being tackled directly on the chest. His lightsaber wasn’t so fortunate, though, and the impact of the creature on his arm knocked it right out of his grip.

“Lemon! Ruuuuuun!” All signs of his earlier valiance gone, Quin bolted into the woods away from the walker, occasionally swiveling his head around to check for Lemon(and the creature) to see if she was following. Only, he didn’t hear snarling anymore. Just squeaks back from where he’d run from. Peering through the trees, he saw that the creature had broken off the chase to get back to the AT-AT. From the looks of it, it was nothing more than a mother bear protecting her cubs. Oh.

Unfortunately, the bear escorted its two cubs inside the walker, where the computer and Lilium’s music box were.

“…Are you any good with animals?”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

“SABADA!” Was what Lemon said as the creeper figure lunged toward her and Lin. To be honest, she wasn’t prepared to run anywhere but stand her ground and somehow take on her opponent.

But then Lin very clearly expressed “Ruuuuuun!” so what the hett that’s what the Lemon did! SHE DOES.

The Togruta girl ran right beside the Human boy as the latter swiveled his head to check for the former who said: “I’M ON YOUR LEFT YA IDIOT”

Lemon frantically and frightenedly flailed her arms crazily like an idiot.

In her defense she hadn’t really glimpsed what the shadowy figure was in time to perceive it as a bear so pardon her for being just that scared maybe.

“Oh phew it’s just a moose.”

Leh’Min promptly blew snot out of one nostril like a geyser. This pollen was getting on her nerves!

“Am I any good with animals?” She repeated incredulously. “I can’t even believe it! Lin, buddy, you’re talkin’ to a little lemon who is yet every beast’s best friend yes sir and don’t call me Dr. Dolittle! Your turn to wait! I won’t be late!”

At that, Lemon clicked her fingers and ventured toward the AT-AT without worrying about what Lin might speak. She carefully sneaked her way across the distance, arrived at the entrance to the metal beast, moved her hands as if trying to dance, promptly screamed and flailed her arms as she ran back toward Lin.

“WAAAAAAAHHH!”

@Sicadorito (@Quin Leonkri / @Lin Queonkri)

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin had no idea what just came out of Lemon’s mouth but she seemed confident enough, so he was content with waiting in the trees. When she came back screaming, it was all he could do to keep himself from laughing despite having been in the exact same situation just a few seconds ago.

“Smooth, very smooth. Dr. Doolittle indeed.” Quin grinned at his friend before giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get in there again.” At least not without getting mauled to death. There was one thing they could do, though, that didn’t involve dealing with bears. Hopefully not.

“I’m going to grab the music box.” Instead of going toward the back entrance of the AT-AT where the mother bear was still prowling, Quin slipped over to the other side. Making sure that the bear wasn’t following him, he carefully climbed onto the front of the walker right where the squirrel had exited the cockpit earlier. Reaching out with the Force, he slowly picked up the music box, pulling it toward the hole. It was only when the music box didn’t fit that he had to use his lightsaber to cut a larger one.

Unfortunately, that told the mother bear exactly where he was. As soon as he had the music box in his hand, Quin was getting chased a second time.

“AHHHHHH!!!” This time though, instead of losing sight of Lemon, he ran directly into her with an “oomph!”

@Die Shize

 

[Leh'Min'Ayd]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Catching her breath, Leh’Min'Ayd managed to exchange some words in between panting.

“I tried…to express…my condolences…to the bears…and tell the mother…her cubs…were absolute…cutie-wooties…but…she just…wasn’t…listenin’...sabada…”

Lin’s hand on her shoulder already made her feel a bit better at least. Hands on knees, gaze to the earth, eyes onto pine cones, away Lin goes and before she knows it Lemon looks up to realize his disappearance.

“Ah crap.”

She looked left, looked right, and sprang after the guy.

“WAIT FOR MEEEEEEEEE!”

RUN.

She does!

So maybe it was the other kid’s lightsaba that did it. Alerted the bear to his presence. Or maybe it was the lemon kid shouting “SABADA!” that did it. Maybe both their efforts had paid off for the worse in the end.

“OOFIES!”

Leh’Min promptly expressed as she suddenly crashed into someone who was unexpectedly heavy.

Unfortunately her head had headbutted his head yet again. Landing her ass, Lemon rubbed her noggin.

“WATCH WHERE YER GOIN YA JERK”

She began to rapidly slap him back and head with both hands like some rabid maniac.

“HEADACHE HEADACHE IT RHYMES WITH LEMONADE”

-RAWR!-

Came the growl of a bear like a dinosaur as it roared toward both kids to protect its children or sommat.

“Hum.”

Lemon got up, looked right, looked left, sprung toward the trees while forgetting about Lin’s existence entirely.

@Sicadorito (@Quin Leonkri / @Lin Queonkri)

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin stared, open-mouthed, at Lemon, whose head he had hit twice now today. Only this time, it was entirely his fault.

“I’m sorry—” He tried to respond as Lemon frantically slapped him, but the sound of a growl and heavy paws breaking sticks was enough to get him back on his feet and running again. The bear didn’t seem to want to stop this time, and when Lemon went one way Quin went the other. Though not by choice, at least they wouldn’t be able to slam into each other again this time.

Huffing and puffing, Quin made his way under branches, over logs, and through bushes. He ran until he couldn’t, resting a hand on a tree trunk while the other, still holding the music box, went to his leg.

“Le-Lemon?” he gasped out, looking around. While the bear was gone, there was no sign of his friend. His backpack was gone, still in the walker, so he had no way to contact her. But there was one thing he could try. Something he’d learned from Elidan.

Lemon… where are you?

@Die Shize