Open Kashyyyk A New Leaf

[Jade Hart]

It was a crisp, autumn day. The sun beat down on Jade as she walked across the forest floor. A red hoodie gave her some protection from the sun and scrutiny. Normally, the trees would be providing cover from the sun, but most branches here were all burnt black and twisted. Sweat ran down the Jedi Exile’s face onto her throat, absorbed by her scarf.

Wrinkled leaves and old sticks snapped beneath her feet. She bent down to catch her breath. Right in front of her was the ashen husk of some creature, long dead and cremated. Jade reached out to touch it, but thought better of it. She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

Deeper into the forest the soil was richer. Light brown dirt mixed with black ash, supporting the smallest of plants, moist and weedy. Jade lowered her backpack to the ground, using the force to clear out the twigs and branches below. Then, carefully, gently, she unzipped her pack, lifted out a bulging wet cloth, and set the mass on the ground. Out poked a few curling green branches. It was a baby wroshyr tree. Jade patted her neck and chuckled.

She had been digging a hole with a shovel for five minutes when a chilly wind blew past. It made her shiver, rocking the baby tree, carrying voices. “Who’s there?” she shouted.

 

[Dash Pavan]

Kashyyyk was beautiful. In his short time travelling the galaxy, Dash didn't think he'd seen anything like it, particularly the forest.

But this bit here was, not the same. The tall trunks were blackened and twisted. What on earth had happened? He trudged across the earth floor between the hulks, plain jeans and autumn jacket hopefully making him inconspicuous.

He was still worried though. The assignment was strange - check in on the girl on Kashyyyk, confirm her whereabouts and condition - it didn't sound like a Jedi mission. Dash wasn't even sure it was still supposed to be on the roster. It had the look of something that had been left on by mistake. He'd tried to ask around, but whenever he enquired about a girl on Kashyyyk people either didn't know or didn't want to talk.

So he'd come anyway, hoping a Jedi was supposed to be bold. But he felt untried, untested and unsure. The Wookies said she was this way, but who was she, why did she need checking on and was he up to the task?

He paused, leaning on a tree for balance and scanning around. He thought he could hear something up ahead.

A twinge made him pull his hand off the tree. Small fractals of frost had formed where it had been, leaving a glittering imprint on the bark. It happened sometimes when he was anxious, but it had to stop. The Padawan shook his hand in frustration and hurried on.

A little way ahead, he rounded a clump of trees and saw a young woman kneeling on the ground. "Hi" Dash said, holding his hands out to reassure her "I'm Dash, Dash Pavan. Are you...are you Jade?"

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade jumped back from her tree-planting, clutching her chest in surprise. She took out and ignited her lightsaber with a blur. Fumbling with the weapon for a few seconds before finally pointing it at the interloper. Sweat dripped down her forehead. She had not been expecting anyone to find her all the way out here. Who could it be? Why did people keep stalking her?

"That depends. Are you a Sith?"

She had just finished planting the first wroshyr tree, and though the soil was tougher here, she thought it would take root. She looked at the little baby tree with parental love and affection. Lying in its hole there, its lil branch-arms waving about in the breeze. Jade would fight to protect it.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

"Woah woah!" Dash exclaimed, leaping backwards up onto a fallen tree trunk. This girl was majorly overreacting.

"No no, I'm not a Sith!" he reassured her. He had never met one of the twisted fallen Jedi, but he couldn't imagine they looked anything like him. Did they? "I'm like you" he said, watching her lightsaber blade warily "a Jedi". He slowly pulled his coat open so she could see his own saber hilt at his hip. "Everything's fine, really. I'm sorry if I made you jump".

Dash guessed this was the girl he was meant to be checking in on. He'd thought she was probably a Jedi herself, but he didn't actually know. The lightsaber seemed to answer the question.

It was then that he noticed the little tree at her feet. It looked out of place, like she had just planted it. "What's that there?" he asked, nodding to the little plant. Maybe if he could just calm her down, she might put her blade away.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

"You think I'm a Jedi?"

After all this. After all she had been through. Two trials. Exiled and outcast. Mocked and stigmatized. The fact that this person would still call her a Jedi seemed ignorant at best. Yet Jade liked it. Maybe this was somebody who would not pass judgement on her so easily. Then a cold thought slinked through her mind.

"Did the Jedi send you here to kill me?"

She lowered the lightsaber so she could see his face, but still held it out with two hands. A blue buzzing sound mawing at the distrust between them. Momentarily, she glanced at the tree in the hole.

"That is a wroshyr tree. It's just a baby tree. You stepped into a baby tree nursery."

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Jade - if indeed she was Jade - was very suspicious. Dash had to wonder what had made her this way.

"I was mainly going off the lightsaber there" he shrugged, nodding as her flickering blue blade. "But if you're not a Jedi that's cool. Whoever you are, I'm definitely not here to kill you".

He hopped down from his treet trunk retreat. "I'm a Padawan" he said, sweeping his blonde fringe to one side "so I'm pretty new to all this. But the assignment I picked up said to to check in on you. That's all".

Dash glanced back at the little tree, sitting motionless between them like a child watching mum and dad argue. "A baby tree huh. Cool. Who comes out here planting baby trees then, if you're not a Jedi?"

He really hoped the girl was going to fill in some gaps for him. Puzzling this all out was hurting his head.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

“Does it look like I’ve fallen to the dark side? Would a Sith be planting baby wroshyr trees in baby wroshyr tree nurseries?” Was she a Jedi? Jade herself didn’t know. But if she wasn’t a Jedi then what was she? She shrugged her shoulders at his question. Trees surrounded them on all sides, limbs waving in the wind.

She turned off her lightsaber and ran a hand through her braided brown hair. She wasn’t getting any homicidal vibes from this man. She was also pretty sure he was not a Sith– not nefarious enough. Yet it wasn’t the Sith who really worried her. “Ok, you’re here to check in on me. I’ll buy that. How much do you know? I’m here to serve a sentence–" she walked over and pat the baby wroshyr tree on its trunk like a dog –"to atone for my crime.”

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

"No" Dash replied "I think the Sith are more into cutting things down than growing something new". He looked quizzically at the young girl. She was certainly something new; not quite a Jedi but not a Sith either.

"To be honest, I don't really know anything" he admitted. He slid down to sit on the hard floor, his back against the tree trunk. The mention of a crime and a sentence was worrying, and Dash was a little scared what they might be for. But Jade didn't seem dangerous. Just a young woman who maybe needed someone to listen.

"Truth is, I don't know what I'm checking in on here, or why, but I'd like to" he tried to catch her eye. "What did you do? Surely it can't be so bad people would be sent here to kill you?".

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade coughed. “When the Sith bombarded this planet me and my master came here to help evacuate people–” kneeling down, she cupped some dirt around the base of the tree –”But it all went to hell. In my stupidity, I tried to evac as many Wookiees as possible. Since the inside of our ship was already full, I tied some to the outside. The straps didn't hold–” she avoided his gaze and talked to the baby tree like it was his avatar –”Afterwards, I ran from planet to planet, convinced the vindictive were after me. Like a dog chasing its own tail–” a worm squiggled in the red and gray clay-soil which she plucked up and examined –”Since the Jedi wouldn’t help me, I thought I’d return to those who had most reason to hurt me: the Wookiees. They gave me a trial. Brought everyone I hurt to testify as witnesses. Then, well, came the conviction– involuntary manslaughter. Ten thousand hours of work to help rebuild the planet I couldn’t save.” She picked a brown, dried leaf off the tree, twirled it in her cold hands, and rested the worm on top of it. The old Jade would have thrown this worm-leaf airplane at Dash as a fun way to lighten the mood, but this Jade was afraid if she threw it someone would accuse her of assaulting the padawan. Instead, she gave only the slightest of sighs, afraid a sigh any louder might be misinterpreted as malingering or acting histrionic.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun poked polka dots through the canopy. Shadows from the branches and leaves ran along the ground, merging with Jade’s shadow, which, as she rose to face Dash, cast an especially long, gray, oval resembling a tombstone. “But who gives a shit about what an exile thinks. I’m not even trained. I can’t save anything.” She dropped the leaf and the worm plummeted to the ground.

@Alhon

 

[Thor Wolfe]

Rath did not come to Kashyyyk in search of any particular individual. Instead, he was sent to this planet in an effort to provide some form of relief so that the planet might heal. Whether that was by aiding in agriculture or transporting supplies from one tribe to the next. Either way, Rath did not think much of it as the Wookiees were pretty straightforward in what they wanted. The entire time that the Padawan has been on this planet has left a cold sensation occasionally sent a chill down his spine. It wasn’t so much of the dark side being present, but rather the void of life in a planet that was once abundant in green and life.

The howl of an engine reverberated throughout the vast forest below a HWK-290 as Rath remained nestled within the cockpit. His job was relatively simple, just to deliver some supplies to a tribe of Wookiees within this sector of Kashyyyk. The whole mission was to simply teach Rath humility and respect those who he talks to. He wasn’t too sure about the humility part, but if there’s anything the Wookiees don’t like is beating around the bush or using the typical formalities. Much like mercenaries, the Wookiees were hunters with similar mindsets, and they happen to be experienced warriors to boot. So long story short, talking to them was like Rath was back to the whole mercenary business. Only difference was that there was no blaster fire or chaos going on.

Fortunately he spotted the landing pad along with some clearance codes to dock. Rath offered to assist in the delivery, but the wookiee who greeted him as the droids rushed to the ship with a fuel line in hand. The wookiee was rather tall compared to Rath, at least three feet taller, but then again Rath was always the short one. There was a pair of other wookiees accompanied by J9 units to get the cargo out of the ship as quickly as possible. His freighter bore the Jedi Order symbol in appropriate colors, but otherwise the ship technically was not Rath’s own.

”It is good of you to arrive so quickly. I didn’t expect the freight to arrive until tomorrow, but it is fortunate that a Jedi is taking care of matters.” The wookiee spoke in their native tongue. Despite the growls and grunts that came from their language, Rath picked up that this wookiee was in fact softer in tone. Rath would only nod as his expression was neutral.

“It’s no trouble, really.” He humbly responded as the laborers got to work on the freight. The wookiee lets out a soft rhythmic grunt that Rath could only assume to be chuckling.

”Be that as it may, I unfortunately have another request from you Jedi.” Always was a catch with people, but it mattered little since his whole mission was to aid these people anyways.

“What is it?” Frankly the Padawan was reluctant to ask since he had a feeling that he was about to be signed up for more grunt work. It wasn’t far from the truth either as a J9 droid gently lowered a small crate next to the talking pair. A crate that the wookiee gestured with its hand as it spoke.

”We have some workers down below that are in the process of planting seeds for our forests to regrow from the ashes. Please take these formulas and the seeds to four areas.” Simple, yet at the same time it was a bit straining in terms of physical labor. The request made Rath raise an eyebrow.

“I’m assuming that either a droid is going to accompany me or use some kind of transport?” He raised a question, and fortunately this was later cleared up with a simple speeder bike with four crates already loaded up.

”No, that would be unreasonable. Normally I would be against such use of transport due to how dense our lands can get, but the recent developments have at least made it easier to traverse the region on speeders. You may use one of our speeders to deliver these caches. Your first delivery is to a girl named Jade Hart, and then…” the wookiee proceeded to give descriptions, names, and where each said individual would be located at. It was just the general area however since they were obviously on the move.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it for you.” And with that Rath hopped on the speeder bike and started on his way to make these deliveries. His ship needed to refuel anyways, and such matters took time that Rath had no control over. So whether he liked it or not, Rath was at least stuck in this region for the time being.

As the young Padawan sped through the ashen forest, occasionally shifted to accelerate or decelerate when he must take sharp corners, but otherwise the travel itself was smooth. However, the closer Rath got to the area, the louder the Force got as whispers turned into incoherent screams flooded his mind. The very area was like a scar of life, but the Force has not forgotten when the scar was so fresh. Intense heat strangely pressed against his skin like he was standing next to the fire despite the cool dry wind clawing at his clothes. Rath slowed down as he reinforced his mental mind to shield himself from such sorrow and suffering. In doing so, Rath sensed some life to be nearby. He wasn’t exactly sure whether it was the mark or not, but it was within the area that Rath was informed of from earlier.

With a graceful drift, Rath changed direction towards the source. As if to confirm his assumptions, there were indeed two individuals. One male, one female, both appeared to be around Rath’s age and both possessed that familiar cylindrical hilt. One of which the female gripped in her hand, but Rath didn’t know the story so he shall not pass judgment. For all he knew, they could be having a lover’s quarrel. Naturally he would slow down to a halt before the pair.

“I’m assuming one of you is Jade Hart?” Rath would question nonchalantly as his dark eyes remain focused on the pair. On the assumption that they confirm their identity, Rath would reach back to retrieve a small crate before stepping off from his bike in order to hand them the container.

“A package for you. Something about revitalizing the soil to be fertile.”

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash could do nothing but listen as Jade talked. There was real pain and anguish in her voice.

And no wonder - the evacuation, the wookies, the deaths and her run across the stars. The young Padawan could only imagine what it had been like for her. He thought he'd been through a lot, but Jade...she'd had it much worse.

"The Jedi wouldn't help?" he asked. It didn't sound like the Jedi he thought he knew, to abandon a girl who'd done nothing but try her best. But he was new. Perhaps he knew less than he thought. And ten thousand hours? It made him worried about making mistakes of his own.

"I give a shit" he said, before he could stop himself, wanting Jade to know she wasn't alone. "I...I've made mistakes too. Things I'm not proud of-"

The sound of a speeder bike stopped him short and a figure suddenly swept into view. Dash was on his feet, hands flexing wondering if it was friend or foe. He opened his mouth to answer the newcomer's question, but found himself looking at Jade. He wasn't about to out her to yet another stranger. She had been through enough.

@Taygood @AsenMahawa

 

[Jade Hart]

She continued to look at the worm she had dropped. Watched it squirm and wriggle and fidget. It moved about a bit and then it stopped moving and lay still except to fidget its middle. Then it got real still.

Jade heard Rath's words, heard Dash's words, but in truth she listened to neither, only hearing the recriminations raging in her own heart. The Jedi Exile slumped her shoulders and raised her hand as Rath spoke her name. Then she walked over to him, kicking up dust tornadoes with each step. She wouldn’t look at him, her eyes distant and spaced out. Standing there in the shade, hunched over like some wicked villain out a storybook. After an awkward moment of this she took his package with a “yeah.”

Then she walked back to the fresh patch of dirt and tried to rip the package apart at the seams but made of some stiff plastic it would not yield. So she flung the seed package at Dash. “Open this. Use your Jedi ways.”

She then got a shovel from the several laying around and started digging. She dug as if she had something to prove if only the ground would prove it. Each swing was furious and unyielding. Sweating hard now, Jade swung at the dirt one more time, and this time was met with a clunk. She had hit something hard. Staring at the ground and shaking her head, she pinched the bridge of her nose and squinted at her dig. On the ground before her lay the old, buried piece of someone’s front door.

@Alhon
@AsenMahawa

 

[Asheron The Hutt]

The Hutt had finally arrived on Kashyyk and was ready to begin helping out with relief efforts. When he looked around, he saw almost nothing but the destruction of the Sith, then thought to himself "We need a replacement for our Grandmaster, if this is the only victory it seems we can achieve, and they still brought this destruction, I think we may go extinct soon. And for the good of the Galaxy, I really hope either we replace the Grandmaster, or she gets her crap together."

He slithered over to the Jedi Jade Hart and bowed his head in respect. "Good day to you, fellow sentient, how may I be of support." He spoke in his native Huttese tongue. He coiled his slug-like tail and waited for a response.

@Taygood

 

[Thor Wolfe]

Things appeared to be tense as the young man was on edge with his hand hovering a bit too close to his lightsaber for comfort. Were all Jedi so eager to draw their lightsabers? Rath thought to himself, but the woman named Jade who answered only with a raised hand. The Padawan was no skilled empath, but he could sense the discord within Jade. The hate was there, but not all consuming. Such emotions might have been criticized by other Jedi, but to Rath it was only natural. Not all days are full of sunshine and rainbows; sometimes even Jedi have a hard time overcoming their own emotions. Then there was the other Padawan who was, in short, a seeker. A seeker of opportunity, glory, and companionship. An eager at that from the amount of restlessness that Rath could see and feel.

Jade took the seed package from Rath’s hand, he could not help but notice the look of defeat. He was only able to recognize such a look because he himself wore the same thing when all he could see was possibilities of death and suffering. Little did he know until most recently that the visions he was seeing were of Kashyyyk’s destruction. As the Force itself felt like it was crying out in agony so to speak, and it was the only thing Rath was able to hear until he took up the Jedi training. It was only thanks to their tutoring that Rath was able to at least control his senses in the Force so that his mind would not be overwhelmed.

Alas that was neither here nor there, and once Jade was starting to open the package Rath would begin to turn to walk away. However, her difficulty in opening the package resulted in a premature lashing out in anger. It was momentary, but it was there all the same as she practically tossed the package to the other Padawan. While it was certainly none of his business, Rath couldn’t very well overlook the development. As this might plunge Jade deeper over the edge and into the abyss that was the dark side. So with Rath stopping in mid turn as Jade was angrily digging through the ashes and soil. He would say something, but Rath had a feeling that she might not even hear what he had to say and frankly it might agitate her even further.

Rath’s dark eyes shifted from Jade to Dash and then the newcomer as he felt a third presence. So many Jedi were congregating at this spot, and frankly Rath was starting to suspect that the Force itself had a hand in this meeting. Or at least, there were certainly quite a few people who were coming to this location for Jade Hart herself. Mind that the people in question were at least Force sensitive, and like moths to a flame they were drawn to her somehow. Rath would love to chalk this up as mere coincidence, but he knew better that in the Force there was no coincidence.

”Well, things certainly got lively around here,” he commented as a hutt came out of the ship. It was a bit strange to see Hutt, and especially a Force sensitive one at that. Rath was no expert in alien biology, but he has never heard of a Hutt becoming Force sensitive. Either way, the Hutt addressed Jade directly in Huttese. There was so much turmoil between Jade and Dash that Rath was beginning to worry that it might spiral into a dangerous path for the both of them.

”Or you could just use a knife to cut through the packaging tape.” Rath spoke as Jade tossed the package over to Dash. He felt a brush of a cold wind that brought chills down his spine as his attention immediately forced him to look over his shoulder. It was faint, but he could hear whispers coming from the depths of the forest. Brief images of shadow and malice came to mind; but all Rath felt was residue. Residue of hatred and sorrow; but what was strange was that it felt like it was moving in a single direction. Without turning away from said direction, Rath asked a question to the trio.

”What’s down there?” He was looking at a patch of green that had severe damages to the trunks of trees and charred soil amidst the field of ash. Perhaps someone might know what was over there, or perhaps someone might simply answer that it is the remnant of what was once thriving.

@Taygood @Alhon @Stormtrooper

 

[Dash Pavan]

The stranger handed a package to Jade, apparently something to help with her work. Dash got a proper look at him now; he had the look of a Jedi like them - well, like Dash - and seemed a similar age. He looked pretty cool, sweeping in on his speeder bike, all straight black hair and sharp features. He was almost Dash's type.

Suddenly the package was sailing through the air and he had to jump left, catching it awkwardly. "Sure..." he said, half wondering if opening it was a big enough good deed to win Jade's trust. He didn't know why, but he wanted to befriend the girl.

He traced the packaging with nimble fingers, using his teeth to to rip the seal even as the stranger suggested a knife. "It's ok" Dash replied, pulling the torn off strip from between his teeth with a smile. "She's Jade yeah, I'm Dash. What do they call you? Did you come all the way out here to deliver this?"

The Padawan set the package down beside Jade, not wanting to interrupt her digging. He gazed down into the hole, blue eyes flicking from the door to Jade's face. Had she found what she expected?

"You'll be a long time rebuilding this place if you're digging all the foundations yourself" he said "the Wookies are one thing, but surely the Jedi didn't kick you out for what happened - it sounds like a total accident?"

@Taygood @AsenMahawa

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade stopped shoveling at Dash’s question. She frowned at him for a long moment as if contemplating how much of herself was safe to dig up. “The Jedi said that me and my master Silex lied, that we had no remorse.” She shook her head and dug the shovel’s tip into the dirt with her heel. “They’d tell you that I’m little more than a heartless psychopath, a pathological liar who somehow convinced my master to murder Wookiees for the hell of it.”

By now she was shaking. Her pinky twitched, her knees ready to buckle. A braid in her hair came undone, spilling loose strands across her cheek in the fingers of sunlight. Jade’s soft brown eyes glued themselves to the wooden door she had unearthed, as if her focus could transform it into a ship to keep her afloat. This door, remnants of the Sith onslaught, represented her failure. Here, not in the Jedi courtroom, but here in the dirt was irrefutable evidence she could not be a Jedi. What Jedi would allow this to happen?

”I gave them every reason to expel me. At the reckoning, I was just a stupid, angry, 15-year-old girl– oh was I angry.” Her sweaty palms dropped the shovel, which clattered to the ground. Hesitant hands trembling, she picked it back up, and stared at the metal round half-circle like it was a human face. “What I needed after Kashyyyk was someone to talk to; a shoulder to cry on. What I got was an inquisition.”

At this point, she felt the cold chills and looked in the direction Rath meant. “If you go down there–” nodding to Rath’s withered patch of green –”you may not return the same. Ghosts hide in those trees. I think that’s close to where it all happened way back– what I’ve been talking about– where Silex and I tried to intervene.” She shivered, and then snapping to attention, said, “We should plant some trees.”

@AsenMahawa
@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash stood silently as Jade spoke. He couldn't make sense of it. Why would the Jedi say she lied - that she'd killed Wookies on purpose - that any Jedi would? It was hard, he didn't know her, so maybe it could be true. But it just sounded ridiculous.

"We all get angry" he said, after a long silence, reaching out to steady her hand. She was shaking. He gripped the shovel himself, taking it gently and fiddling with the shaft as he spoke. "Back home, I got angry once. Well the first time actually - that is, the first time the Force got angry with me". He twiddled the shovel in hands "my folks were doctors, I used to work in the hospital. Found out I could do a few things, help patients just by touching them. Warm them up, cool them down. If I concentrated..."

The young Padawan dug the point of the shovel into the earth absent-mindedly. "Then one day, this lady's husband catches me at it. He goes off on one, telling me how I'm a freak, trying to hurt her, when all I was trying to do was help. He got right up in my face and when he pulled my hands off hers...I just kinda snapped..." Dash hefted the shovel, pausing to concentrate and sending fractals of ice spreading from his fingers along its length "I'd never done it before, actually frozen the air. It was halfway up his arm before I could stop it, before I ran. I still don't even know if he made it..."

He handed the shovel back to Jade, eyes on the pit below them. "The Jedi took me in, even though they must know what I did. I didn't mean it, but it happened. It's the same with you". Dash genuinely saw little difference. He didn't want this girl to give up.

"I want to help" he said, casting a glance at Jade and then Rath "I'm sure we both do".

@Taygood @AsenMahawa

 

[Thor Wolfe]

For some reason things took a turn where everyone started to exchange their traumatic experience with the Force or terrible events that had occurred. One claimed that she was basically held responsible for a careless action, and the other talked of a misconduct over the Force that unintentionally frozen a man partially in ice. Rath was skeptical though as he knew there were always two sides of the story. So far he’s only heard of one half from both, and frankly the situation around Jade was a bit difficult to believe. Rath couldn’t exactly relate as the only thing he considered to be traumatic was when the visions became erratic and darker. Death and suffering was all too common in the Outer Rim, and despite that Rath survived alongside his family for the longest time until the visions became too much.

When Dash looked to Rath to include himself in the little speech. The teenager raised a brow as he didn’t recall saying that much.

”Perhaps I might be able to, but we would need more information. What’s past is the past, and nothing can change what happened. The only thing we can control is how we react to it and do what is right, provided it is within our power.” He wasn’t exactly going to turn down a hand in need, but it sounded like the Jedi Order might be negligent. It was possible that Jade’s action painted a dark mark on the Jedi’s reputation, and to save face they deflected the blame to Jade’s former master and consequently blamed herself for the poor choice of action. Frankly, Rath was not at all familiar with Jedi who were exiled, or those who have turned against the Order.

”Oh, well then that’s nothing new. I’m just going to scout it out real quick.” Rath responded to Jade’s warning without much difference from his usual tone. As he wasn’t easily dissuaded, and frankly he was skeptical of the whole thing. Rath would begin to venture into the damaged forest area. Ash kicked up into the air as the dry wind tugged at his tunic. Perhaps he won’t find anything down there, but something about the presence didn’t sit well with Rath. If it was dangerous, then Rath would need to report it and figure out how to remove it, destroy it, or seal it. In technicality, this was just another part of what Jedi are supposed to do.

@Taygood
@Alhon

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade reached out and grabbed Dash’s hand. A gust of wind unwound more braids of hair, brushing her cheekbones. She looked at him through her bangs, feeling him through the force. The air seemed thicker than ever as the sun wrapped around them and melted off the shadows. She gulped and sniffed, biting her lip. “Thank you,” she said, and squeezed his palm as she forced out a smile. “I’ve always been angry. Ever since I was kid. I was angry my Dad died, and angry when my Mom was taken from me. It’s something I’m working on. But sometimes I’m like you, sometimes I just panic and run–" she took a small step towards him –"I don’t want to run anymore. That’s why I came here. So that I can be judged.”

A baby wroshyr tree might be tiny, being just a baby, but if it had help from its neighbor friends, the tree would survive, thought Jade. She tilted her head at Rath as he spoke and nodded. The past was the past, we must move on. She watched him go with concern. “Be careful. If you’re not back in an hour I’m coming in after you. Remember, this is a graveyard and a nursery. A baby WROSHYR tree nursery,” she said, pronouncing the word ‘wro-sh-yr’ slowly as she wiped her eyes.

She turned back to Dash and gazed at his ice fractals with astonishment as the heat and humidity from the maturing afternoon grew. “Could you use that to cool us off?” she asked with a laugh. But a dark thought struck her, like a black sheet wiping off her face, extinguishing the laugh. Her hold on his hand grew limp. “I know it’s crazy, but have you tried, maybe–” her soft brown eyes locked into his –“to use your power to freeze the human heart?”

@Alhon
@AsenMahawa

 

[Dash Pavan]

When Jade smiled for the first time that day, Dash knew she'd heard him, at least in part. "It sounds like you've been judged" he replied "enough for a lifetime".

He wasn't sure Rath necessarily agreed. They had both stumbled on this poor girl, digging a whole in the middle of the forest and trying to atone for something that could only be an accident. But the dark-haired Jedi seemed sceptical, and far more interested the dark hollow of damaged forest a little way off. Dash couldn't imagine why anyone would want to go looking around such a place, but he was happy for Rath to try as long as he didn't get dragged along. "Don't go too far in" he warned "easy to get lost round here - it all looks the same".

He looked back at the film of frost he'd created on the shaft of the shovel. "I erm..." her questions were unexpected and he couldn't decide how to answer. "I can definitely cool people down" he said eventually "that's what I used to use it for at the hospital. But I don't like using it anymore, this power - or whatever it is - if I draw on it too much then I ended up freezing stuff real bad...". He didn't answer her last question directly, though he thought he knew the answer. "The man who's arm I...who's arm I froze...he's the only person I've ever done that too. I've tried to forget I can even do this ever since".

He flexed his fingers, looking from the frozen shovel handle to his unblemished palm. "But it keeps coming back, it seems to be my thing. I do wonder if there's a way to use it properly, if it could do some good...." he kicked the earth absentmindedly. "I don't know, you must have stuff you can do, right?"

@Taygood @AsenMahawa