Ask Hide and Seek

[Theia Durand]

"Do you think we should go look for him?" Theia asked, turning to glance at Prani; she didn't do well to hide how she felt on her face, the concern reflected in her eyes as she reached up to grab a lock of her red hair to wind between her fingers. They were accompanying a Knight, an Iktotchi named Linnon Bor, who wanted to give the padawans hands on work in diplomacy. It was pretty straight forward as a mission, the three of them would meet with the different clans in the region and help compromise and negotiate a plan for all of the people to share the river's coast that ran through several of the villages. That very river was what Theia had been watching for the past two days as Knight Bor had told them to stay put, and he would return before dawn. Her mind had wandered to as to what could have happened, anything from being ambushed by thieves to being caught in a mudslide from the non-stop rains.

However, Theia felt it was something a bit more complicated; asking the locals if they had seen him seemed to deter them from further speaking with herself and Prani. They were weary of the padawans as many seemed to retreat back into their homes, sliding the doors shut before they even risked making eye contact with the two young jedi. The restlessness within Theia was growing and it made her uneasy to wait as long as they were, they at least had the hospitality of one of the respected families in the village. The matriarch was concerned too, but gave words of encouragement to the girls that their Knight would come back soon, recommending for them to stay put also for their own safety.

"We could leave when the lanterns burn out and just go up and down the river." Theia suggested as she watched the river, finding it more relaxing than she predicted.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani felt far more comfortable with diplomatic and humanitarian missions than combat. She was pacifistic by nature, and the idea of engaging in violence always left a bad taste in her mouth. Her way was to always find a peaceful resolution and de-escalate situations if they spiraled out of hand. The past few days had been difficult with tensions rising between the clans and the suspicion towards Jedi to begin with.

“You don’t s’ppose one of the clans organized it, do you?” She asked, surprised at her own line of thought. Her original sentiments of only assuming the best intentions in people began to shift after she saw atrocities across the galaxy, “Maybe a way to distract us from doin’ the negotiations?”

“In any case, enough time’s passed,” She nodded, “We gotta go lookin’ for him,” As much as Prani wanted to suggest one of them stay behind to focus on the clans, the river paths were too dangerous to traverse alone.

“Oh, I didn’t get a chance to give ya this earlier,” Prani said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a charm bracelet, “I always gotta give a gift when I go on a first mission with someone,” She said with a smile, handing it to Theia. It was a hand-made charm bracelet, a reed-woven one designed through plant surge. From it dangled little charms - a ballet shoe, a little star, and a book. It was based solely on what she had heard about Theia, leaving plenty of room for her to add more, “I hope ya like it,” She said.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

She was glad she wasn't overthinking this situation when Prani shared the same sentiment about their missing Knight. She too wondered if this was a distraction, to interfere with their purpose for being here. Theia begun to gather her belongings into her pack, which luckily it wasn't too much, as she was learning over the years in her training what she really needed to bring and didn't need to bring for missions or field work like this one. Her thoughts took her deep into her mind as she adjusted her sketch book in her bag, almost missing when Prani addressed her, handing her a charm bracelet. The moment of pause from her worry was worth the gesture from her new friend.

Prani was not unknown in the temples, she had certainly heard rumors that commonly floated about many of the temples regarding different padawans (as she knew many of herself and even Ezra). She never once in her time with her so far found Prani odd, or missed place, and in fact, she was certainly the opposite: down to earth, kind, loving, jedi. Theia looked closely at the small charms, grinning, "I think its great!" she said and immediately pulled it gently onto her wrist, taking the moment to look at the little charms. "Thank you Prani!"

As evening came and gone, Theia played to the idea they were going to stay put, not giving hint they were going to head up river when the lanterns long burned out. No one really said anything more to the girls about their missing knight and still in thinking about it, Theia wasn't left with much appetite, leaving most of her food behind. The rains came again, thunder rumbling softly, signaling for heavier down pours throughout the evening; many not taking to the outdoors as they remained inside and dry and giving Theia and Prani time to slip out, unnoticed making their way up river.

Theia focused on her senses, feeling for what felt right under the surface of her reasoning and emotions. The Force would be her guide for herself and Prani, navigating their way along the banks and dense conifer forests, looking for any sign of their missing Knight, hopefully before reaching the next village.

"Maybe he didn't make it to the next village, didn't someone talk about bandits being out here too?" Theia thought to herself out loud.

@Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani sighed, “Well we better get goin’,” She said. While she wasn’t thrilled about it, she couldn’t imagine sleeping well with the Knight missing. And it was clear the locals wouldn’t help. Prani took a moment to toss on a rain poncho, that covered both her and her backpack of rations and supplies. She didn’t mind the rain, but a full-on thunderstorm would be detrimental.

“I hope we don’t run into any bandits..” Prani muttered as they started walking, “Everyone got their reasons for doin’ what they do,” She mused, “Maybe we can talk with these bandits and find out why they wanna stir up trouble?” Prani was always an ask questions first person, avoiding combat as much as she could.

The terrain along the riverbank was unstable, and the rain made it worse. More than a few times Prani almost slipped in the mud, but she remained standing. She felt uneasy, thinking about how they were sitting ducks if the bandits decided to attack out of the blue. They were two padawans bumbling around in the rain and out in the open until they could get to the cover of the forest.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

"Me too..." she sighed, physically pulling her leg and boot up from the mud, only to face the same problem with her other foot. This was not going to get them far if they kept to the riverbank...and it occurred to Theia that perhaps figuratively they follow along the river, but up a ways to keep from sinking or worse, falling into the river itself. She heard Prani go on about the Bandits, giving them the benefit of doubt and going the negotiable way first. It was probably the better idea, and most likely one that her Master would want her to pick; but she had received enough stories growing up to know not to fully give one's trust, bandits especially.

"Suuurre." Theia frowned, "We can talk to them and then they will most likely kill us, or sell us, or worse." the red head tilted her head up the hill and away from the river, "Lets get to higher ground, I'm feeling exposed down here." she said almost reading Prani's mind, and again physically pulled her leg and boot from the mud. Even as they climbed the hill, the mud that clung to her boots made them feel much heavier than they should be. "I remember Knight Bor saying the nearest village was about 4 clicks up the river." That would mean they probably still had some way to go, but hopefully would gain some answers along their path there.

"How did you like the party?" Theia asked Prani, remembering she didn't see Prani after being thrown into the lake.

@Sreeya