Ask Burning Palms

[Shaw Amaris]

"Sorry!" Shaw whispered apologetically, jerking his hand back. Poking and prodding an injury probably wasn't the best idea he realized. The flicker of a candelabra and the long, advancing shadow of one of the satrap's servants would be the last glimpse of the garden either padawan would see as they fled the great house, cutting through a side gate that Theia found and rushing down the steps toward the city below. Skipping steps, Shaw's heart skipped beats until they reached one of Qatamer's busiest streets. Here they could blend in, thanks to the clothing Devek had provided.

The teenager crouched over, catching his breath. It had been one scare after another. First Theia falling and then almost getting caught. "You sure?" he asked doubtfully, noticing the swelling around the other padawan's wrist. "That doesn't look so hot. Shouldn't we find you a doctor or something?" He looked up and down the street in search of a sign that might suggest some kind of medical center, but Theia seemed insistent, talking about her experience in the ballet all while grinning. "I'm not sure if you're really tough or really stubborn or just really hungry."

For the time being Shaw would go along with it. He couldn't read any of the signs anyway, so maybe one of the locals would be able to point them in the direction of a medical center. There were so many interesting sights and smells that it was impossible to know where to look, but there was one scent that stood out from the rest. "Want some?" Shaw asked, gesturing toward the food cart where the smell was coming from.

If she said yes, the teenager would return with two pastries with crispy crusts, layered with clotted cream and nuts. He was also carrying a bag of ice for Theia's wrist. There had been a language barrier Shaw hadn't been able to overcome with the street vendor about finding a doctor, but the vendor had surmised enough to give him the ice pack if not an address. "So what is pointe?" Shaw asked, biting into his pastry. He knew nothing about ballet. "Is that a position sorta like on a sports team?" @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia shrugged, "I'll find one later if I need them." she told Shaw, feeling confident she could just 'walk it off' as they continued through the city. Her smile widened when he spoke of his uncertainty of her motivation, "Probably all three." she told him nodding as she could agree that she was certainly hungry now, and also have been told she is stubborn, and had to be tough (just in case, according to her mom). It was hard to not stop at each store front to look in awe or try on some of the silk gowns they were selling; it didn't help everything was written in a dialect that was difficult to interpret.

The padawan begun shuffling through her pockets when Shaw asked if she wanted some and quickly the teen nodded, not paying attention he was already gone and back again with the pastry and an ice pack. "Wow! You didn't have to do that, I could have-" she took the pastry and ice bag, "Thank you!" Theia subtly juggled her belongings with the Force while fishing out her EZpods, handing one of the ear pieces to Shaw, "We can share these," she said putting in her own and turning on her EZphone. There would be a moment of static as they heard chatter from patrons passing them by and then the translation sounded in their ears.

The pastry was exactly what she needed, and not to mention the ice pack on her wrist felt great. "Pointe is when we learn how to dance on our toes, we have special shoes for them too, its just very hard to do." She said, trying to show him in her current footwear, but it was not effective. "I used to get blisters so deep that I had to go through shoes every practice because of the blood stains. Once I saw this one girl who lost her entire toenail after it turned black, it was sooo gross." she grimaced thinking about it, but it didn't deter her from taking another bite of her treat, "There are a lot of classic performances that we use pointe in our movements, I miss it, it was a lot of fun." she told him.

She tilted her head, gesturing for them to keep walking and looking around, "What do you like to do for fun?" she asked.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw just grinned. "You can buy the next one." There would probably be a lot more treats that caught the teenager's eyes before the night was out. Plus Shaw wasn't exactly flush with credits now that he was with the Jedi and couldn't really pick up side hustles anymore, so she probably would have to buy the next round.

When Theia handed him an EZpod he just assumed that she wanted him to listen to a particular song or something. It was weird timing, sure, but he was down. Instead of music in his ear it was the conversations of everyone around them, Lorrdian tongue translated into basic that he could understand. "Whoa," Shaw grinned over at Theia, picking up bits and pieces of conversations. "This is epic. I thought you had to own a translator droid or something like that for this." He had to get himself a pair of these. Down the road when he came up with some disposable income. They were probably really expensive.

All the talk about losing entire toenails and blood soaked shoes ruined the teenager's appetite a little bit, but he tried to push the imagery away as he took another bite of the pastry. It was so delicious that he didn't think anything could completely ruin his appetite. "I can't believe you're the one that ate it," Shaw couldn't help but chuckle between bites as they walked, referring to her fall. Realizing afterward that that probably sounded really insensitive, he added, "I mean since you had all that ballet training. Sounds intense." Falling through a juniper tree and eating it sounded a lot more like something he would do. She seemed like she had it way more put together than he did.

They turned onto a colorful street full of vendors and curio shops, a plaza square up ahead with live music and entertainment. Lanterns strung on wire swung over the street, hung from multicolored sandstone buildings. Their guide earlier that day hadn't hadn't exaggerated just how colorful the city was! "I play a lot of video games," Shaw replied honestly, "And I like comic books too." It sounded lamer every time he repeated it to another Jedi. Now that he had been exposed to a life of adventure and dogoodery, his past life just seemed kinda... empty. "I've been running lately." Small steps every day toward trying to be better. "What about you?" @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

"Was it that bad?" she asked him, grimacing to the embarrassment of how ungraceful she was trying to get down. "Man...I hope someone got it on holocam." she giggled to herself, "I still feel as though I'm covered in pine needles." she said, seemingly still oblivious to some pine needs still stuck in her hair. "I bet it would get so many likes and go viral." Theia was still giggling as she replayed the situation in her head a few times over. There was something liberating about taking the risk she did and getting hurt; it was a stark contrast to her upbringing, a show of perfection and mannerisms. No skinned knees in the dinner dresses, play clothes from after school to before dinner, then cleaned up and no trace of anything resembling being a kid could be seen.

She walked beside Shaw as they continued through the city, Theia admiring everything she saw so far, it was hard to believe that there was anything believed to be going wrong with the satrap. Maybe the citizens were not notified of such disturbances, and it could have been happening just in the palace walls.

Her eyebrows rose slightly when he mentioned video games and comic books, it sounded so simple to the red head, but in a fun way. "I like running also! I'm not very good at video games though, Ezzi- uh, Master Ezra always beats me at them." she explained, sounding momentarily irritated about always losing at something so easy according to Ezzie. "I haven't read comic books, are they good?" she asked him, taking a moment to check on her wrist under the dim lights, "I heard of one call Mynock Man, and he dresses like a mynock to fight villains. Is that what you read?" she asked seeming curious.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Naaah," Shaw waved her off but ended up laughing along with her. Did that sound very convincing? Probably not. If it made her feel any better, "I fell out of a tree once. Got caught on a branch on the way down. Ended up just kinda hanging there upside down." The thought of Theia's fall going viral made him wonder if Devek had social media. He didn't strike Shaw as the type. What type was he? Well... that was probably best left unsaid. Neither padawan thought much of the Jedi Knight.

Taking the last bite of his pastry, Shaw brushed his hands off on his pants. "You know, I wasn't sure if you would want to sneak out," he remarked as they walked side by side, winding a path through the crowded streets. "Thought you might say no. You seem like the prim and proper type." Whatever that meant. Just something about the way she carried herself. Like she could walk a straight line, do a curtsy, and pour a glass of tea all without dropping the thick tome atop her head. Now that they were out here, away from the satrap and the Jedi Knight in charge, she seemed more relaxed or something. It went without saying that he was glad she had agreed to come.

"Anyone can get good at video games. Just gotta find a game you really enjoy first. Then sinking hours into practice is easy." That was an open invitation to play together sometime if she wanted. He was always looking for new gaming buddies since Macote traveled a lot and was always off on one mission or another. The teenager's eyes widened when Theia mentioned Mynock Man. "He's one of my favorites! He's really unique because he doesn't actually have any superpowers. And of course he's got the classic tragic backstory. Every superhero's gotta have one." Supervillains, too, for that matter. "Wanna borrow some sometime?" He had plenty of comic books to spare, and he already read them more times than he could count.

Before they could reach the square they would come upon a tent with a sign outside that said in several different languages, including basic, Palm Reading! Have your fortune told! Your future illuminated! Your fate revealed!

Shaw swept the tent flap open and grinned mischievously at Theia. "Feeling fortunate? Maybe Ashy will favor you!" The god's name was Asher, but whatever. He couldn't remember it even if Mortez had said it like a hundred times. @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Prim and proper? Theia had to think about that given what she grew up with was just normal, even at the schools she attended and the events she gone with her mother and the Thornes. The redhead gave a shrug, trying to brush it off, uncertain what to say about it, but his observation was probably true for most others at the temple. While other padawans noted of her high class mannerisms, the instructors and other masters certainly knew about her oppositional streak. For Theia, it always felt liberating to break from act she would display for other diplomats and members of high society.

She let the air go silent between them until he continued with video games, explaining how it is done and what she would need to get good at them. Her lips pursed in thought about games she had tried in the past and fumbling over the controler. She always found herself more frustrated with the mechanics than the actual game itself. Especially when it lagged or glitched, it was nothing like real life at all when it came to game physics. Though when he asked her if she wanted to borrow some comics to read, she felt as though she were accepting spice from a dealer. They were certainly a far cry from what she typically read, and she was curious as to why so many people enjoyed reading them. "Yeah! If you don't mind of course, then you can definitely show me how easy video games can be." she said, her light eyes brightening as they approached the city square where she could see all sorts of events happening.

Shaw stopped her in front of a tent advertising for palm reading, feeling skeptical, but it was for fun and she was all about just enjoying tonight before they were put to work in the morning. "Maybe we can find out if you're really cursed or not." she teased back, her own fortune this evening was not as strong as she hoped with her fall earlier. She dug into her pocket, pulling out some credits to set on the table, gesturing for Shaw to go first.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw didn't mind at all. He was happy share his comic books and maybe convert a new comic book junkie. "Deal," he grinned, excited to have someone new to play video games with.

It was dark and cramped inside of the tent. A round table sat in the center with two chairs and a lit candle. Pretty bare bones. A figure swept out from behind a curtain, gliding into the farthest chair. The padawans would be unable to make out anything about her until she leaned forward and the flames reflected in her face. Shaw expected to see the stereotypical fortune teller sitting across from him. The kind you saw in old holomovies that all looked the same, hunched over with the exaggerated wrinkles of someone that had lived too long and seen too many lifetimes, not all of them her own.

This fortune teller was a lot younger than he had expected. In her thirties or early forties if he had to wager a guess, with long dark hair and one brown eye and one an intense green. There was no hunch. No wrinkles. Only a contemplative stare. "Asher is not a name to be trifled with, young traveler." Shaw looked over at Theia. How had she heard him? He hadn't been that loud, had he? "Choose your words more carefully in the future, lest you invoke the wrath of those more tangible and pernicious than the gods. Just because you snuck in by the side gate of the city does not mean you are not being watched." Not the best way to drum up business in Shaw's opinion, threatening a customer right out of the gate.

"Give me your hand."

Shaw obeyed without even thinking about it. It wasn't until he felt her thin fingers slide across his skin that he thought maybe this wasn't the best idea. A cold shiver ran up the length of his arm. He didn't really believe in all of this stuff, but this lady was lowkey kinda spooky, and now she had a tight hold on his hand as if she knew he might bounce at any minute. He tried not to let it show that it bothered him. Theia was standing there watching the whole thing after all.

The fortune teller would close her eyes for just a moment before continuing, "Just as the mount in the desert resisted you, so too do you resist your true nature. You linger and you wait without knowing what you wait for. You are not cursed." Shaw grinned over his shoulder at Theia as if to say, Well that's a relief, but the fortune teller wasn't finished yet. "Except by your own hand in limbo. The light fades. That is all."

Then, to Theia, "Thank you for the donation. Give me your hand." Instinctually she reached for Theia's uninjured hand and gestured for her to take the seat across from her. Shaw stood up and watched. @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia felt her head tilting slightly to get a better view of the woman that entered the room, she looked like...not what she expected at all as she took a seat, ushering the hand belonging to Shaw to herself. Though an eyebrow rose when the fortune teller spoke of them hopping the gate to get into the city, and then she spoke of the camel! Her rational mind kept working through the possibilities of how she could have known that, Theia was certain people spoke and things don't stay secret for too long. It was probably why the satrap was trying to be so discrete about the jedi being present.

She was glad to hear that Shaw wasn't cursed according to this woman as he looked at Theia with a grin; the redhead smiled back, happy that there was some sensible adult out here; her mind ticked off all the points as to why Shaw could not be cursed, such as he was so nice, he was a jedi like herself, and okay, so he was kind a cute too. Her gaze started to burn into the table, as her thoughts argued amongst themselves before the fortune teller called for attention. She looked up, slightly startled, but quickly sat down realizing it was her turn.

The fortune teller was silent for a long time, often closing her eyes, mumbling to herself before opening again as she traced her finger along Theia's palm. The teen watched with curiosity as one of the witch's eye opened before switching to the other, and then opening them both again. "There is a darkness that follows you," Theia's brow narrowed, finding the statement vague, "They are a protector and yet a destroyer. Chaos, death sit right in your reach, and this," the fortune teller outlined a series of lines on her palm, "This is a block, you will have to break it if you wish to reach your full potential." explained the woman as she released Theia's hand and the teen just sat in silence, a mixture of wtf-just-happened and what-a-bunch-of-tricks-and-nonsense.

Theia stood up and glanced to Shaw, a look she gave him would be no doubt she was ready to leave. "Thanks." she said, quickly leaving the tent; she waited for Shaw to exit before she spoke, "Well, at least we know you're not like cursed." she smirked, trying to keep attention off herself as she worked to process what the woman had meant.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw thought he might be the first to duck out of the tent, but to his surprise it was Theia. The look on her face said it all. She wanted to leave and immediately. He followed but not before the fortune teller would call out to both teenagers. "Be weary. You are strangers in a foreign land. Not all jackals sleep in crevices amidst the sand. Some dwell in great houses."

Outside the tent, Shaw looked over at Theia. He hadn't seen just how many credits Theia had put down on the table, but "Whatever you paid, it wasn't worth it." Just a little joke to try and break the tension. It didn't really work, so he piggybacked off the joke Theia had made about him not being cursed instead. "I coulda told you that. I won the second grade spelling bee back on Coruscant. Got a twenty credit gift certificate to Chunky Cheddar and everything." He gave her a look. "Now you tell me—would a cursed man win a Chunky Cheddar gift certificate? I don't think so." The answer was most certainly yes, that was exactly the sort of place a cursed man would get a free meal. It was overpriced, dirty, and the food was lousy.

That probably hadn't worked either, but Shaw was all out of jokes at the moment. Theia didn't act like she wanted to talk about what had happened back in the tent, so he shoved the questions he wanted to ask down just as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

They were getting closer to the performance square now. There was live music, plenty of food and interesting looking shops, a sign that said sand surfing pointing toward a dune right outside the city walls, and at the center of the square the 17 floor venue itself that looked like it might be fun to explore and maybe catch a show. Or they could always find a doctor. Now that they had these handy little earbuds it wouldn't be difficult. Shaw looked over at Theia. "What do you wanna do?" It was her turn to pick. Fair was fair. @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia did smirk to his small joke about the amount of credits she gave to the fortune teller. However, she did appreciate his up-beat demeanor since it made it hard to focus on being confused and grumpy about her fortune read from her palm. He started talking about winning a spelling bee and the prize he got; she starred at him in slight confusion as to what he was talking about.

"What's a Chunky Cheddar?" she asked and then started amusing herself with the thought of being handed a curse for winning a spelling bee in the second grade. As they continued to walk toward the centre square, there were more and more people, music, and interesting sights. He asked her what she wanted to do and she was taken aback as a man with a food cart stopped right in front of them.

"/Fried scorpions!/" He yelled out, their EZpods picking up on the translating quickly. Theia's eyes widened, and she had to shake her head thinking she misheard what he said, but,

"/Fried scorpions, young sand fleas?/" he asked Shaw and herself, Theia was already shaking her head to decline, the urge to immediately dart out of that place was strong, and so she grabbed Shaw's sleeve and pulled him in a wide path around the vendor, and accidently bumping into people, hitting her injured wrist. She hissed to herself as the pain radiated up her arm, adjusting the ice pack that was pretty much melted.

"Maybe we should find a doctor...before they close for the night and we have to explain to Devek what happened." she grimaced, looking around the area for a healer or medical bay. Though even if she did have to explain, she wasn't going to tell him what really happened, or at least try not too, she was terrible at lying. As they walked to find a doctor, Theia continued to glance at her palm, trying to figure out what the fortune teller meant by a block and how did she know by her palm. "Maybe I'm cursed." she said out loud.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Chunky Cheddar—you know! The creepy mouse?" He stuck his teeth out and made little "ears" atop his head with his hands. The look on her face told him that she really didn't know what he was talking about. His spot on impersonation wasn't jogging any long lost childhood memories. She was one of the lucky ones, huh? "Here. Let me show you." He pulled his dataphone out and typed away, pulling up an image of the mouse for her to look at. "It's like a pizza and arcade place for kids. Everyone—" he glanced at her and smiled, "—well a lot of kids have their birthday parties and stuff like that there. Stuff of nightmares really."

Shaw didn't protest when Theia grabbed ahold of his sleeve and pulled him away from the vendor trying to pawn some fried scorpions and sand fleas—whatever those were—off on the teenagers. That didn't exactly sound appetizing to Shaw either, and he was by no means a picky eater. "You okay?" he asked quickly, eyebrows knitting together when she hissed in pain. That was another dumb question. Of course she wasn't okay, otherwise she wouldn't have hissed. Shaw really had a knack for saying all the wrong things.

"A doctor... a doctor..." he muttered to himself as he looked around for one. He caught sight of a medical bay up ahead, just a few businesses down a side street off the performance square. "This way." Then, as they weaved their way through the crowd, he would shoot a genuine smile over his shoulder at her, "Hey, don't let what she said get to you. You're not cursed!" Of course he didn't blame her, between the ominous warnings of the fortune teller and the pain of her broken wrist.

The medical bay was small, with a single row of chairs that served as the waiting room and the waiting desk, with the doctor's office back behind it through the only door it could be through. Shaw talked to the nurse at the front desk and returned with a datapad that Theia was supposed to fill out. "Want me to fill it out?" he offered just in case she wasn't up to it. If she said yes, he would begin. He already knew her age. Already knew her first and last name. "Middle name?" he asked, then "Weight? Oh!" Something he had heard about never asking a woman her weight came to mind, and he handed the datapad over to Theia. "Guess you better fill the rest of it out." Then they could probably go on in—or at least Theia could if she wanted to go alone—since the waiting room was empty. @GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Despite the pain that seemed to get worse after being bumped by a passerby, her mind seemed to go back to the image of Chunky Cheddar as she seemed to have so many questions pop up into her head. She followed beside Shaw as they looked for a doctor; she was certain a city as big as this would have someone available, and lucky they did. Arriving, Theia let out a sigh of relief, glad to have Shaw present with her to find this place and even offered to fill out the paperwork for her. "Thanks, yeah," she said watching him type in the information he already knew about her. He asked about her middle name and she shook her head, "They don't need to know that,"

However, when he got to weight, Theia's face turned bright red, "I'll-" she agreed with him, taking the datapad and turning slightly so he couldn't see her weight or height as she typed it in, "Don't worry, I got the rest of this." Theia entered her responses and then walked back to the nurse, handing over the datapad where she was ushered back exam room, leaving Shaw in the waiting room. He would see others coming in with various ailments, most at this hour seemed to be one of two categories: intoxicated or deathly ill from ignoring their symptoms.

When Theia emerged, she had a grin, speaking softly through her EZphone to the nurse who pointed her back to Shaw. Her wrist and hand were in a brace to limit movement, but when she approached him, heavy came down her free hand onto his shoulder. "Shawwww, I'm readddyyy." she said in a sing sung voice, hardly able to keep her focus on him. "Shaw-la-yawn lawn, they said it was broken, but should heal with the bacta injection." she demonstrated with her forefinger and thump as though she were giving herself another injection into her wrist. "Then, they said, you should not make sure I don't do things, 'cuzah, they gave me some," Theia leaned in really close to him, "Drugsezzz." Theia giggled.

@throwitintothefire