Ask Yavin IV It Goes Without Saying...

[Elidan]

Elidan frowned with Ruzaan’s reaction. TheTogruta always seemed to be excited when they needed to work together in the investigation. The half-Annfyn could feel through their bond how his friend was feeling depressed. He didn’t want the other to stay this way. It didn’t suit the other boy.

“It wasn’t your fault! It was an accident!” this time Elidan had used his own voice to speak this time, completely ignoring the fact that they were in a corridor. “You have been helpful all this time! If it wasn't for you, I would not be able to fight the klikniks or would have discovered so many clues. You are important for us to discover all that.”

“I can understand if you want to have a time alone to think, but I’ll not continue this investigation without you. Master Voran said that we should do it together and it’s what we are going to do. Unless you want to receive another punishment.” he said, trying to be playful. Probably he failed.

Then, Elidan moved his left hand until it was resting at the Togruta’s shoulder. “Ruz, you are important to me. I don’t want to continue this investigation without you.” he let go of him and started to walk away. “When you are feeling better you can find me, ok? We can continue working then. Remember, I’ll not continue without you.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan stopped as Elidan's voice echoed around him; not inside his head, but aloud. On some level, Ruzaan recognized that Elidan was trying to make him feel better, but the Togruta wasn't ready to listen. It was just like Elidan to forgive, to reassure, to clean up his mess... and in the moment, all Ruzaan could think about was that Elidan deserved better than a walking, (or, in this case, limping), accident waiting to happen. Ruzaan didn't dare to turn around lest his friend see the hot tears of shame welling up in his eyes; the crushing feelings of disappointment and regret brimming over to run down his face. Ruzaan swallowed a hard lump in his throat as Elidan placed a hand on his shoulder, gently shrugging off the hand before continuing his way

In an ironic twist, their communication was reversed; Elidan calling out to Ruzaan, and the Togruta responding through their Force bond. [I just need... space] he managed, glad that his mental voice didn't shake where his physical one would've. {I'll see you later.] With that, Ruzaan slowly made his way back to the Medbay and collapsed on his bed. Perhaps they could try again tomorrow...

The investigation, unfortunately, ground to a halt. Unfortunately, all possible leads had been lost- Sskok was dead, several computer systems were flooded, and the captured youth's memories had been repressed enough that they were an inconsistent witness at best. It was eventually agreed that the case was cold, and other obligations and missions took its place.

That is, until almost two years later...

~~~~~~~~~~

Ruzaan was getting really tired of waking up in the Medbay. This time, however, he wasn't about to push against the strict mandates from the healers; in a rare moment of realization, Ruzaan accepted the fact that he'd nearly died on Jakku. In the days following the failed mission, Ruzaan had had plenty of time to curse his ill-fated suggestion for distracting the Stormtroopers. The episode followed a concerning trend in his friendship with Elidan; Ruzaan's mistakes tended to get them both in trouble.

Ruzaan snuck a glance over to where his good friend Elidan was sleeping in the bed adjacent to him, noting how peaceful the half-Annfyn looked; for the briefest moment, Ruzaan forgot that his friend now had a prosthetic. My fault. At least, today, he could feel guilt inside of him instead of just pain; his collapsed lung was healing well, but his ribs were still quite sore and he'd been advised to take it easy. So instead of jumping out of bed, Ruzaan checked the chrono; 20 minutes to breakfast, and his body was telling him that it was no use trying to go back to sleep. Suppressing a sigh, the Togruta decided to wait quietly for breakfast to arrive or his friend to wake up, whichever came first.


@LouJoVi

(From the depths of the abandoned threads, we return!)

 

[Elidan]

When he felt Ruzaan reach him through their mental bond, Elidan immediately opened his mind to him. He wondered why the Togruta wanted to talk with him this way. They were alone in the Medbay and the half-Annfyn felt comfortable enough to use his voice. It wasn’t necessary.

After the Togruta finished talking, Elidan gave him a weak smile and nodded in agreement. “I understand. See you later.” the auburn-haired boy said, before turning and walking out of the Medbay. The half-Annfyn understood that his friend wanted to stay alone and he respected it. Hopefully he would soon be feeling better and they would be able to continue their investigation.

In the end, Ruzaan only recovered nearly two years after that day.

—-----------------------------------​

The mission to Jakku was a great fiasco. Nothing went right there, with the Padawans being lucky to return alive. Like what happened two years ago, Elidan and Ruzaan once again ended in the Medbay. However, this time they had suffered more than during their investigation. The Togruta was shot several times, while the half-Annfyn lost his hand.

Once they arrived in the Temple, Elidan had been submitted to a surgery to place a prosthetic hand. After it finished, he was left to rest in a bed next to the Togruta. The half-Annfyn was slowly waking up. He didn’t feel the pain anymore, but the feeling of the artificial limb was still strange. He wondered if he would even get used to it.

He turned to see Ruzaan in the nearby bed. The Togruta wasn’t looking well, he seemed to be so stressed. “Are you fine?” he asked through their mental bond, trying to start a conversation. The last time that they talked, they were going to be shot by a stormtrooper.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Are you fine?] By now, it was second nature to share a mental bond with Elidan when the two were together, but that didn't make answering the half-Annfyn's question any easier. Ruzaan weighed his options for answering the broad question. Physically, he was in pain, but he didn't want to complain because he wasn't the one with a prosthetic right now. Mentally, he was troubled by his failures in key moments and his role in both of them landing in the medbay... again. Emotionally, he was burdened by the possibility that Elidan was angry at him- an entirely valid reaction considering that if it hadn't been for Ruzaan's stupid idea, Elidan would probably be just fine and the mission would've been successful.

The Togruta ultimately decided to give a vague answer to what he considered a vague question. "I'm better than yesterday" he responded, wincing slightly despite himself as he was reminded of his collapsed lung; still about a ten days away from being fully healed. Immediately, he switched to speaking through their bond. [How about you?]

@LouJoVi

"Quotation marks" = verbal speech
Italics = thoughts
[Brackets] = mental speech

 

[Elidan]

Ruzaan’s silence was unnerving. Elidan remembered how the Togruta used to act before Jakku. He would always talk fast and without any nervousness. The half-Annfyn wondered if the silence of his friend was because he was still feeling pain. Perhaps he should have left the other to rest some more.

Even when the Togruta finally talked, Elidan didn’t feel relieved. The half-Annfyn wasn’t convinced that what the other Padawan was saying was correct. He could feel the pain that was coming from the other. If he, who only lost a hand, was still feeling some pain, Ruzaan should be even worse. He received several shots.

“My hand is still a bit hurt.” Elidan said, moving his prosthetic limb so the other Padawan could see it. However, he winced a bit while doing the movement. He remembers that the Healers told him after the procedure that he shouldn’t move it for some weeks. Now the half-Annfyn decided that he should listen to them.

“Will take some time until I get used to it, but you were really hurt in Jakku.” the half-Annfyn looked at his friend with concern. “If you want, I can let you rest some more.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan's shame grew as Elidan moved his prosthetic limb into view; he didn't miss the expression of pain that flashed across the half-Annfyn's face, either. When Elidan mentioned letting Ruzaan rest more, however, the Togruta did his best to sit upright and show Elidan that he was, in fact, better than before. Painful, but not as bad as he'd expected.

[I don't know about you, but I'm tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself] he said, Elidan's concern for his wellbeing energizing him to try and prove that his friend had nothing to worry about. Ruzaan didn't mention that he would still feel sorry for Elidan, though. [I want to go stretch my legs or something. Would you like to come with?] They were under strict orders not to leave the Temple premises, but days of pleading from Ruzaan had finally won them the option to at least leave the Medbay for brief periods.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan noticed through their bond that Ruzaan was overcome by shame when he showed his prosthetic hand. The half-Annfyn was still amazed with how this ability could allow them to feel what the other was feeling. Due to that, the Togruta would be able to feel that he was feeling guilty for making his friend be this way. He didn’t want to cause such a reaction on him.

When Ruzaan proposed that they should leave the Medbay, Elidan quickly agreed with him. Even if he still believed that the Togruta should rest some more, the auburn-haired boy didn’t want his friend to continue about Jakku. Going out would be good for them to have a distraction from the last events.

“Yes! I think that we could go to the cantina to grab something to eat. I’m tired of eating hospital food.” even having stayed so much time in the Medbay, Elidan still didn’t get used to eating it. “After we pick some food, we can have some fresh air in the gardens.” the half-Annfyn also missed having fresh air.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan, like Elidan, could tell when they'd entered a guilt loop; hardly the first time since their return from Jakku and not, the Togruta surmised, the last.

[Yep, let's go!] Ruzaan said, doing his best to hop out of bed, only managing to awkwardly flop his way onto his feet. Ruzaan's mood changed in an instant. [I must look ridiculous!] the Togruta said, unable to keep from chuckling at himself as he untangled himself from the sheets. It didn't take him long to find the culprit- a corner of his sheet had gotten adhered to the sticky side of one of his bandages- and eventually he was free to leave the Medbay. It was just another few moments to put on some robes so he wasn't walking around in just shorts and bandages, and soon Ruzaan was stepping out into the hall and heading towards the cantina along with Elidan.

[A walk afterwards sounds great!]

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

When Elidan saw Ruzaan struggling to leave the bed, he felt tempted to help his friend. For him, it was obvious that the other boy wasn’t strong enough to do it by himself. However, he refrained from doing it and let the Togruta do it alone. The half-Annfyn still remembers how the other Padawan disliked when someone thought that he wasn’t capable and the last thing that he wanted to do right now was to make him mad.

He smiled when the sheet got stuck to the Togruta. Even after everything that happened, Ruzaan had stayed the same clumsy Padawan. At least Elidan’s presence here would help him avoid getting even more hurt. “Nah, I think that you look cute.” the half-Annfyn said to his friend, not even minding that he had told the other boy that he was cute. It wasn’t a problem between friends, right?

Once the two Padawans got properly dressed, they walked toward the cantina. The place seemed to be the same since the last time that Elidan went here. At this time of the day, the place was mostly empty. Everyone probably was busy doing their usual activities. The half-Annfyn missed being capable of doing the same.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked his friend when they stopped in front of the droid that would give them the food. “We spent so much time eating hospital food that it made me miss something more solid.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Thanks, but I'm a mess] the Togruta replied to Elidan calling him cute. He didn't mind his friend's words, but physical features were never something he'd paid much attention to so on the rare occasions that he did get a compliment he defaulted to deflecting. Seizing on the change of subject offered by Elidan, Ruzaan tried to remember the myriad options presented by the food services at the temple.

[I'm not sure, to be honest] he answered Elidan's question. He was hungry, that was for sure, but not for anything specific. [I suppose I'll figure that out when we get there.] It was a short walk to the dining hall from the Medbay, but Ruzaan was ok with moving a little slower given his current physical state. Besides, conversation with Elidan was no reason to rush. [What about you? Anything specific that sounds good?]

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan shrugged when Ruzaan asked if he thought that there was anything good to eat. “The sandwiches seem delicious and the meat pie too.” he said, while looking at the food. “To be honest, everything looks good when compared to that soup from the Medical Bay.” the auburn-haired boy said playfully. That thing was so tasteless.”

In the end, Elidan decided to pick one sandwich and a slice of meat pie. He would wait for his friend to choose what he wanted before walking to some of the tables in the cantina. Since it was close to lunchtime, other Jedi were already starting to gather there. Soon it would be full of people.

“Do you want to eat outside? We could sit in the garden.” Elidan missed going outside. It was better than staying inside the Medical Bay, looking for the same walls and roof. Without any fresh air. “Since lunchtime is starting, I think that it will be mostly empty.”

If the Togruta agreed with it, Elidan would walk with him outside of the cantina and toward the gardens. While they walked toward it, a group of younglings would pass near the two Padawan. The half-Annfyn recognized one of them as the boy that they had rescued from that basement in the forest years ago. “Did you saw him?”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

[Yeah, let's eat outside] Ruzaan agreed from behind a heaping plate of food. He would've suggested eating outside if Elidan hadn't. Being cooped up in the Medbay had reminded him that he was essentially a house plant with emotions, and he took every opportunity to soak up the sun whenever he got away from the stale, filtered air of the Medbay.

As was typical for him, Ruzaan didn't discriminate when it came to food. Having two stomachs meant he could put away plenty, and the Togruta found that he quite liked to expand his horizons so long as things weren't too spicy. He was busy attacking a section of nerf steak when Elidan's question got him to look up from his plate. [It's the boy from the basement!] he exclaimed, grateful for their mental bond so that he could still chew while having a conversation. [Were you ever told what became of him? I wasn't. Good to see him up and about!] Clearly, the boy had made quite the recovery, but the Togruta's sensitive montrals picked up a few words from the passing conversation.

"... slept poorly... nightmares..." Indeed, upon second glance the boy looked exhausted; the results of consistent poor sleep, it appeared. Ruzaan glanced over at his friend and swallowed another bite.

[We never did finish that investigation, did we? I wonder how much he'd be willing to tell us about what was going on there.]

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

”Yes, is him.” Elidan nodded, as if wanting to give more confirmation to what he had said. While the face remained the same, the boy seemed different from the last time that they saw him. He seemed to be health and wasn’t covered in wounds and dirty like that time in the basement in the forest.

“Well, Asadra told me that he was Force sensitive and was going to join the younglings. Apparently, he told the Council that he was an orphan. His name is Marth.” the half-Annfyn made an effort to remember more things that he could have heard about the boy, but there wasn’t more information.

“After so much time, the trail went cold. I don’t know if the Jedi investigators still have the material of the case in their archives.” after Ruzaan’s accident and with all the material of the Investigators getting wet, Elidan wasn’t allowed to even approach their room. To be honest, all Younglings and Padawans were now banned from it.

“We can try to talk with him, maybe he could have remembered what happened during his time in captivity.” if Ruzaan decided to do it, Elidan would counsel him to do it with patience. The boy probably was still shaken with what happened, even if it was years ago.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Elidan wouldn't need their Force bond to pick up Ruzaan's guilt when the evidence accident was mentioned. He'd overheard the edict preventing younglings from accessing the evidence room as the "Ruzaan rule", and now Padawans had to be accompanied by a Knight in order to make use of the resources there. It was more than a little embarrassing.

At least it seemed like he and Elidan might've been given a second chance, here. No doubt there had been an investigation into Marth's experiences, but since the destruction of much of the evidence taken from the strange base, the only connections that could be made was between what Marsh had experienced and what Ruzaan/Elidan knew... a step that hadn't been taken yet.

Ruzaan watched as Marsh's friend bade him goodbye, off to another class or area of the temple. It was rewarding seeing the boy on his feet- even exhausted, he looked much better than the last time Ruzaan had seen him- but Ruzaan still took a moment to prepare himself to reopen the case.

"Marsh?" he asked aloud, watching the boy's face flick through confusion to politeness; presumably because they'd never been introduced. "I'm Ruzaan, and this is Elidan" the Togruta said, indicating his friend. "We were the ones who rescued you; do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Ruzaan held his breath; it was entirely possible that Marsh had no desire to revisit his captivity.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan followed Ruzaan toward Marth. The Youngling was alone, his friend had left him some moments ago. The half-Annfyn felt relieved with that. It was already terrible that they wanted to make the boy remember trauma, it would be even worse if they did it in front of his friends.

When Ruzaan asked the Youngling if they could ask him questions, the boy looked annoyed. Elidan could also feel how he was uncomfortable with what was happening. Perhaps asking him wasn’t the best thing to do right now.

“Really? Everyone since I woke up in the Medical Bay had asked me questions, even the other Younglings!” Marth said, annoyance clear in his voice. “I already told everything to the Council! If you want to know, go ask them!” after he finished talking, Marth turned to walk away.

This wasn’t what Elidan had expected, he thought that the boy would have been less aggressive. “What do you think that we should do now? I don’t think that he wants to talk with us.” the half-Annfyn said to his friend through their bond. They needed to find a way to have Marth cooperate with them.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was taken aback by Marth's reaction to his question. Then, he remembered how he'd been treated in the wake of Felucia, and his frustration at every social encounter inevitably turning into concerned questions about his health and wellbeing. From the sound of things, Marth was similarly frustrated. The boy turned to walk away as Ruzaan's mind raced for a way to salvage the social encounter.

"That's not what we wanted to ask you about, actually!" the Togruta blurted out, surprising Marth enough that the boy stopped in his tracks.

"...what?"

Understanding clicked into Ruzaan's brain as he realized that Marth probably did want to talk about his experiences... just on his own terms, when he was ready. That meant that they'd have to earn his trust, first, by making friends... which right now meant lying to his face.

"Elidan and I are conducting an informal survey about the state of the living accommodations on the temple here on Yavin IV" Ruzaan continued, softly elbowing his half-Annyfyn friend in hopes that he'd buy into the charade. "We're trying to start with people we know and, well, that includes you."

Marth warily considered the proposition, glancing first from Ruzaan and then to Elidan before coming to a decision. "...ok. I have a few minutes, I guess."

Ruzaan could hardly believe their luck, even as he now raced to think of questions that fit their survey theme while maintaining a calm outer demeanor. "On a scale of one to ten, how comfortable is your bed?"

Inwardly, however, he would be pleading with Elidan through their bond for other questions to ask. [helphelphelphelphelp!]


@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

While he watched Marth walking away, Elidan reflected that talking with the boy about such traumatic events wasn't the right thing to do. If the Youngling was like him, he probably remembered vividly what happened that day and only wanted to forget such painful memories.

Then, Ruzaan called Marth again. The boy turned back to them, now he seemed curious with what the Togruta wanted to ask him if it wasn’t something related to what had happened with him years ago. Elidan was also curious with what his friend was going to say to the Youngling. As far as he knew, the other boy wasn’t exactly good at improvising.

Elidan stared at the Togruta after he said that the two were doing a survey. He was impressed, this time his friend really made a good improvise. Perhaps he was getting better with it. However, the half-Annfyn would still be careful when the other made one of these when they were in battles. He didn’t want to lose another hand.

Marth stared at Ruzaan when he asked the first question. In his opinion, this situation was so strange. He never heard that this type of survey existed in the Jedi Order. Although being something informal meant that it wasn’t something official, right? The Youngling wondered why someone would go around doing these questions if it wasn’t even official. They must be crazy!

“I give it a 9, I think.” Elidan felt a bit of relief when he heard the Youngling answer the question. It seemed that the boy had believed in Ruzaan. “Ask him more questions about his room. How it’s, if he likes it. We can use it to led him to talk about his time captured.” he said through their bond, trying to help his friend.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

For a moment, it was touch-and-go. Marth didn't seem very keen on answering any of his questions, but eventually the boy relented and Elidan provided ideas for follow-up questions. Careful to conceal his feelings of relief, Ruzaan continued the act.

"Are you living in a single or a double unit?" the Togruta asked, politely listening while his mind raced for a way to gently steer the conversation towards what he and Elidan were actually interested in.

"Single" came the reply. "It's... for the best."

Ruzaan glanced over at the datapad in Elidan's hands in hopes that the movement would hide his eyebrows knitting together as he pondered the cryptic statement. Jedi living in a single room wasn't rare at all, but Marth's comment was odd. "Do you find your room to be large enough?"

"Yes" Marth answered. "It's bigger than I expected, that's for sure. Thought it'd be like the orphanage."

Curiosity set in as Marth once again dropped hints that made Ruzaan want to drop the pretense and just cut to the chase, but he forced himself to remain patient. "That actually leads into our next question; how does your current space compare to your living accommodations prior to joining the Order?" Ruzaan didn't miss the look of wariness that flashed through Marth's eyes, but thus far their ruse was working.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan was surprised with Ruzaan’s skills. He was capable of making questions that were credible enough to make the Youngling believe in them. The half-Annfyn believed that if it was some years ago, the Togruta would not be able to do it. He felt proud of how his friend was changing and growing. It made him wonder if it was also happening with him. So far he didn’t notice anything.

When Marth mentioned an orphanage, Elidan widened his eyes. It was something that he didn’t expect and made the mystery around the Youngling grow. How did he leave it and end up in a cell? They would need to continue asking to find more.

“It’s good, I think. The orphanage was fine, but I shared my room with two other people. It’s good to have your own place.” Marth answered Ruzaan’s quention. Elidan noticed how he seemed to be a bit nostalgic while talking about it. Perhaps his life in the orphanage wasn’t bad.

“Try to find a way to make him talk about his life in the orphanage.” Elidan said through their telepathic bond. “This can make him say more about what happened for him to leave this place.” By knowing more about this part of his past, they could have more information about how he ended up imprisoned in the warehouse.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan took a moment to think, pretending to study Elidan's datapad for the next question as he mulled over the half-Annfyn's suggestion. Eventually, he looked back up at Marth, only to find that the boy's attention was fixated on Elidan.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" the youngling asked, a bit rudely. In a heroic display of self-control, the Togruta bit back a retort and also somehow managed to stop himself from jumping in to defend his friend.

[How do you want to handle this?] he asked over their bond. Marsh seemed much more interested in Elidan than answering questions about his living conditions, and Ruzaan found himself wondering why that was.

@LouJoVi