Ask Yavin IV It Goes Without Saying...

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was prepared to defend his line of thinking, and he was thrown for a lurch when Elidan almost immediately agreed to go help him on his mission. The Togruta's mouth hung open for a few seconds before he snapped it shut. This was usually the part where someone told him what a terrible idea he had, but he in his excitement he overlooked the shortcomings of his audacious idea and forged ahead.

Besides, Elidan had asked a good question. "The Council needs to know the whole story" he explained. Sign language was getting easier the more practice he had. "If we solve the mystery about why the klikniks are acting so weird, we might not get in trouble!"

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled when he saw Ruzaan's reaction. It seemed that the Togruta didn’t expect him to accept going with him. Seeing the other with this expression made him once again think that Ruz was cute, but the half-Sephi ignored it. The other boy was his friend and there was no problem with it. And he was certain that he had a crush on Zana. Thus, he liked girls.

Elidan thought that the surprise of the Togruta could be because of him not seeming the type of person to break rules. The half-Sephi could be shy and afraid of talking with others, but when he finally has a friend, he would never let them get hurt.

Elidan remembers the feeling of impotence after what happened at Ajan Kloss. He stayed paralyzed while the Acolytes killed his friends. This would never happen again. He would do everything that he could to help his friends and protect their lives.

The reason that Ruzaan gave for wanting to go back there was reasonable and the half-Sephi was also curious to know why the klikniks were acting this way. If their aggressiveness increased, these creatures could become bold enough to even start to attack the Temple. Although, he doubted if the Council would not punish them.

"We will need a plan to get out of here without the adults noticing." he signed to the Togruta. Elidan never broke rules or tried to escape the Temple without being noticed. However, while trying to find places where he could read alone, the half-Sephi had found something that could be useful "I know a way that we could get out of the Temple. There is a part of the wall in the garden that has a narrow passage to the outside. It's hidden by some bushes and is in the part of the gardens that people rarely go to." he signed to the Togruta. "I think that we could use it, but now we need a plan to reach there without being seen. Do you have any idea?"


@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Despite not seeming like the type to break the rules, it appeared that Elidan was, in fact, a good person to have on your side when trying to exit the temple in a clandestine manner. Ruzaan was not aware of the hole in the wall that Elidan was referring to, and welcomed the boy's knowledge with a smile.

Getting out of their ward would be more difficult, however, and Ruzaan had to quickly lie back in his bed as Asadra returned to clear their dishes. The Twi'lek cast a disapproving eye over the two Padawans, as if disappointed that they weren't already asleep. "Rest!" she ordered again, although the authority in her tone did not match the warmth in her eyes as she looked at Elidan.

Despite his enthusiasm for solving the mystery of the klikniks, Ruzaan could not keep his eyes open as the weight of the healer's suggestion hit him, aided by the Force. "Sleep on it" he mumbled to Elidan before closing his eyes and promptly falling asleep.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan was happy for Ruzaan apparently being satisfied with his idea. Well, at least the smile that the Togruta had on his lips seemed to show that. Seeing it, the half-Sephi once again thought that the other boy was cute, but he would quickly let it go. Of course, these thoughts were normal between friends, right? Even if the auburn haired boy blushed a bit with Ruz's smile, it was probably due to him considering the smile as a compliment. People rarely recognize his ideas even less with a nice smile like that.

Before Ruzaan could answer him, Asadra returned. While she collected the dishes, she looked at them with disappointment, but there was kindness there. Elidan knew it very well. He remembers how she used this look during one of their early sessions, when the half-Sephi said that sometimes he wanted to give up.

After Asadra ordered them to sleep, the half-Sephi smiled at her. Although he wanted to help Ruzaan, this way assisting the other in avoiding being killed by the klikniks, Elidan was really very tired. Healing Krift exhausted him more than he expected. He really needed to find someone to teach him how to use Force healing.

He turned to the Togruta and saw that he was already going to sleep. Elidan smiled, it seemed that the other was also tired like him. Maybe they could go investigate what happened with the klikniks later.

----------------​

Would be late at night when Elidan started to turn on his bed. He was having a nightmare where he was back on Ajan Kloss, watching paralyzed while the Sith killed his friends. He could hear the screams of the Younglings and the laugh of the Sith. After the others were dead, one of the Acolytes started to approach him, his face covered by shadows and the red lightsaber prepared to cut him in two.

Elidan would wake up and jump from his, tearns running through his cheeks. He looked around, remembering what happened the day before. How he had met Ruzaan and saved Krift. The half-Sephi also remembered the most important, that he was safe in the Temple of Yavin IV.

After sitting on his bed, Elidan tried to calm himself. He was months without having these nightmares, but now he had it two times in the space of a few hours. He would need to tell it to Asadra in their next session. The half-Sephi covered his face with his hands, tears were still flowing from his eyes. He only hoped that Ruzaan would not wake up.


@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan had been told that his montrals were evolved to help pick up quiet sounds and odd rhythms, which on Shili were often the result of a nearby Thimar- the Togruta food of choice. It also meant that he was usually a light sleeper, and Ruzaan awoke to sniffles and irregular breathing coming from the bed next to him.

Currently, Ruzaan was laying on his right shoulder and was facing away from Elidan. For a few moments, the Togruta debated whether or not to get involved; he didn't want to risk Elidan's friendship by sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but knowing that one of his friends was crying made it incredibly difficult for him to ignore. Finally, a decision was made.

With a rustle of sheets, Ruzaan rolled over to face Elidan and propped himself up on one elbow. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" he asked quietly- the lack of lighting made seeing sign language impossible.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan attempts of calming himself were becoming a complete failure, he was still crying. The half-Sephi couldn’t believe that these nightmares were coming back. The boy was afraid that it would be like how it was in the first months after he recovered from his shock. He couldn't sleep without dreaming about the death of his friends.

The nightmares were so constant that he started to avoid sleeping, to the point that he looked like a zombie, with dark circles below his eyes. Things were so bad that the Healers needed to put medicine on his food without him knowing, so he could sleep. Only after he started his sessions with Asadra was that the nightmares slowly stopped. He would need to talk to her as soon as possible.

Due to his hands covering his face while he tried to calm himself, Elidan didn’t notice Ruzaan turn in the bed toward him. Only when the Togruta talked was that he noticed that the other boy had woken up. Removing his hands, the half-Sephi looked at Ruz. It was too dark, he couldn’t see the Togruta's face.

He felt bad for having made Ruzaan wake up. Elidan should let the boy sleep, it was a very tiring day. But the offer of talking about his nightmares was tempting. Asadra always said that talking with others about what was disturbing you was always better than trying to bury it inside yourself.

However, he doubted that the Togruta would be able to see his sign language due to the darkness in the room. His Datapad wasn't there and if he turned the lights on, he would end disturbing more people. He didn't want to do that.

Then he remembered what Master Voran had teached him some time ago at the gardens. Closing his eyes, Elidan reached Ruzaan through the Force. Feeling the Togruta's presence, the half-Sephi would brush the Force against the other's mind, asking for permission from the other boy to talk with him telepathically.

If Ruzaan allowed it, he would be the second person to hear telepathically Elidan's voice after Ajan Kloss. The first was Alex, when she taught him how to do that. Until this day, the half-Sephi had even forgotten how it used to be.

"Yes, I want to talk about it." If the Togruta gave his permission, this phrase would be what he would hear Elidan say through the telepathy. It was complete, very different from his first attempts. After the Jedi Grandmaster showed him how to do it, he practiced to make it perfectly.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan had been expecting Elidan to communicate using the screen his datapad, or perhaps even out loud, so he nearly jumped out of his bed in surprise as the half-Sephi's presence brushed against his mind. "Yaaagh-mmph!" he shouted, managing to clamp a hand over his own mouth and muffle the sound before he could yell further. Fixing Elidan with a wide-eyed expression clearly in response to the noise he'd just made, the Togruta froze; all of his senses were on alert for a returning Asadra, but after about two minutes passed, he was confident that his outcry hadn't attracted any unwanted attention.

Tentatively, Ruzaan began peeling back the layers that comprised his mental defenses, shivering despite himself as he felt Elidan's presence enter his mind. "Go ahead" he said out loud, grateful that the darkness was masking his visible discomfort at the other padawan's chosen method of communication. He briefly remembered experiencing something similar while on a mission to Bal'Demnic when Grandmaster Voran had used telepathy, but it was still foreign to him; Ruzaan found it unsettling to hear a voice in his head that wasn't his own internal monologue.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Ruzaan's reaction to his use of telepathy was the worst thing that he could have expected. The Togruta's shout made Elidan flatten his ears to the maximum that it was possible for a half-Sephi. He shouldn’t have done it, not everyone likes to hear the voice of someone else in their heads. Sometimes he was so stupid! Ruz was probably going to hate him.

He was already going to stop his attempts to establish a connection and turn back to sleep. However, he started to feel Ruzaan removing his mental barriers for him. This would make Elidan feel less afraid that the other would be mad with. However, now the half-Sephi would be more careful when doing it.

When he felt that the mental barriers were totally lowered, Elidan started to project his thoughts to the Togruta. "I'm sorry. I should have asked if you are fine with it first." even without being able to see Ruzaan's face, the half-Sephi could feel the discomfort of the other boy. Trying to diminish it, he would make feelings of friendship and familiarity flow through the Force toward Ruz.

After sometime trying to make Ruzaan comfortable with his presence, Elidan decided to start to explain to him what happened "I had a nightmare about what happened on Ajan Kloss. I was always shy, so I never had many friends. These that I had were like brothers and sisters to me. When the Sith attacked, the Younglings were split in groups for the evacuation." he paused, beyond Asadra and Zana, he never talked to anyone else the details of what he saw "My friend Zana was in a group that was evacuated first. Me and my other friends were walking toward a shuttle when Sith Acolyte attacked. They killed everyone while I watched. I couldn’t help them, because I was i shock. Then a Knight arrived and saved me, while another stayed behind fighting the Acolytes. He died too." remembering how many people died, while he remained alive, still tormented him.

He was struggling to not allow some of these memories to be projected inside of Ruzaan's mind. The last thing that Elidan wanted was to traumatize him too. "When I arrived at Yavin IV, Asadra became my therapist. She said that this trauma made me develop this mutism. She says that someday I'll be comfortable enough to talk again, but I'm not so sure." if even when near Zana, who was his oldest friend, he couldn’t speak, Elidan doubted that this would happen.

"Now using telepathy is the only way that someone can hear my voice. You are the second person to hear it after Ajan Kloss, the first was Master Voran when she was teaching me how to do it." he explained to Ruzaan. It was strange how telepathy worked, it was like he was having a normal talk again. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaaan tried to relax as he got used to the sensation of Elidan speaking inside his head. At least Elidan wasn't pushy, which helped a great deal. It wouldn't have taken much to put Ruzaan on his guard, but the half-Sephi seemed to be nearly as reluctant as Ruzaan was.

The Togruta managed to slow his breathing to a more normal pace as he continued forming the mental connection with Elidan. The other padawan was his friend, and someone he could trust. It was safe to allow this kind of communication with Elidan; although they'd just met earlier that day, Ruzaan felt as if he'd known Elidan for longer than a couple hours.

Ruzaan listened quietly as Elidan bravely shared the reason for his nightmares; the dreadful attack on Ajan Kloss. He could sense the pain in the half-Sephi's words, and even "saw" a few scattered images through their mental bond; not the whole picture, but enough to get a sense for the horrors that his friend had experienced. Inwardly, Ruzaan marveled at Elidan's strength. The few glimpses he'd gotten were enough to make him want to curl up into a little ball. He made a mental note to check in on Zana as well.

Once Elidan was finished, Ruzaan took a moment to gather his thoughts, unaware that the mental bond now went both ways. Elidan would feel empathy pour out from the Togruta, mixed with gratitude and a strong sense of trust. It was Ruzaan's opinion that Elidan had been quite courageous indeed in sharing such a personal story.

"You've nothing to apologize for" Ruzaan whispered in response as he realized that Elidan was trying to apologize. "Thank you for trusting me with your story. I promise to keep it in confidence."

A quick look at the chrono told him that they were approaching 2am. Ruzaan was aware of the fact that he'd suggested sneaking out earlier that evening, but the mystery of the klikniks suddenly paled in comparison to the weight of Elidan's trauma. Even Ruzaan wasn't oblivious enough to just brush that aside and haul the half-Sephi along on an unsanctioned mission.

As quickly as they'd bounced to the events of the afternoon, Ruzaan's thoughts flitted back to the present, and Elidan. "How are you feeling after telling me all that?" he asked quietly, so his voice wouldn't carry out of their small ward.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

While he waited for Ruzaan's answer for what he had said, Elidan felt nervous. The half-Sephi didn't want to bother the others with his problems, he always thought that this trauma was something that he needed to face by himself during his sessions of therapy. This was the reason why he avoided talking about it to others.

Then, he felt empathy and gratitude coming from Ruzaan through their mental bond. Due to the darkness in the room, the Togruta would not be able to see that Elidan had a weak smile. It was comforting to know that the other boy was in solidarity with his suffering. Maybe Asadra was right, perhaps he should open up more with other people. After all, friends comfort each other.

Until this telepathic conversation, Elidan was uncertain if Ruzaan saw him as a friend or only as an acquaintance. However, any doubt that he had disappeared when he felt trust flowing from the other boy through their bond. The half-Sephi was certain that only a friendship could allow the existence of such a feeling.

“Thank you! With the exception of Zana, I never told any other Padawan about what happened to me there. I don’t like to bother others with my traumas.” he explained his reasons to Ruzaan. The half-Sephi hated causing problems to others.

“I think that I’m feeling better.” he said through their bond. Ruzaan was right, talking about it was very good. Maybe it was due to this reason that Asadra always said that he should make other friends and be open with them. It made him feel more calm. However, there were still some things that Elidan still didn’t feel prepared to talk about, such as how he used to think that he should have died in Ajan Kloss. Took many therapy sessions for him to abandon these ideas, but sometimes they still return.

“I’m grateful for you listening to it.” Ruzaan would feel gratitude flowing through the bond. If there was some light in the room, the Togruta would be able to see the smile on Elidan's lips. “Well, I think that we should get up now. After all, we still need to discover why the klikniks became aggressive.” he suggested to the other boy with a playful tone. Through their bond, the half-Sephi had seen a glimpse of Ruz’s thoughts. “If we go now, we can avoid being seen by the Healers.”

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan momentarily weighed whether or not it was still a good idea to go on the nighttime escapade with Elidan; the half-Sephi had, after all, had recently awoken from a nightmare... but perhaps what Elidan needed was a distraction, and Ruzaan was always down for an adventure. Besides, solving the mystery might keep them from getting into trouble!

Despite his reputation as somewhat of a loose cannon, Ruzaan didn't make a habit of sneaking out of the temple- he enjoyed his sleep too much to consistently compromise it, but he was quite good at moving stealthily when he wanted to be. His sensitive montrals gave him an additional advantage as he kept his senses sharp for noises not made by the two escaping padawans, and in short order he was gesturing for Elidan to take the lead as they approached the peaceful gardens.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan waited for Ruzaan’s answer. He could feel through their bond that the other boy was thinking about it. Perhaps the Togruta had decided to abandon this crazy idea of going after the klikniks. The half-Sephi would not mind if Ruz said no and decided to remain there. Being sincere, he would feel relieved.

When Ruzaan got up from his bed, Elidan understood that he was still wanting to go. Since he was the one that said that they should go and would never let his friend face danger alone, the half-Sephi followed him.

They walked carefully through the corridors of the Jedi Temple, any sound could attract the attention of a Knight and they would end up being caught. Thankfully, the Padawans reached the gardens without any problem.

Since it was still a few hours until sunrise, the gardens remained covered by the darkness. Even so, Elidan knew where they should go to find the exit to the forest. The half-Sephi gestured to Ruzaan, signing for the other boy to follow him.

He would guide the Togruta to a part of the garden that was rarely visited. Elidan would approach a part of the wall where some bushes were hiding something. After he moved the branches of the plant, the half-Sephi would reveal a small passage on the wall. The Padawans would need to crawl through it, but they would reach the forest without problems.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

As the two Padawans made their way out of the temple and to the garden, Ruzaan was impressed with how quietly Elidan was moving. If he'd thought about it more, it made sense- Elidan didn't seem to like drawing attention to himself- but Ruzaan was too focused on moving stealthily himself to make that connection. The Togruta's bare feet slipped silently across the ground, and he felt the grass underfoot change to cool stone as they entered the gardens.

Ruzaan would've walked right by the secret exit if it hadn't been for Elidan. It was cleverly hidden behind a dense bush, and Ruzaan's eyes widened in surprise as the plant was pushed aside to reveal a passageway through the garden wall and out into the forest. With a quick smile of thanks to Elidan for holding the bush aside, Ruzaan began crawling through the hole in the wall. It wasn't difficult, but it was dark and unfamiliar. In his haste Ruzaan's left foot clipped the side of the wall as he exited the other side, causing him to fall awkwardly through and down a foot or so to the forest floor.

Grateful for the darkness concealing the reddening of his cheeks at his clumsiness, Ruzaan stood up, brushed himself off, and waited for Elidan to join him on the outside.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

While he held the bush for Ruzaan to pass through, Elidan thought that there was still time for them to abandon this idea and return to the medbay without anyone noticing that they left. He should have disagreed with the Togruta and tried to convince him to stay at the Temple. The half-Sephi still could do it.

However, seeing the smile at the other boy’s lips, Elidan decided that he couldn’t do it. There was no chance that he would be able to convince Ruzaan to not go. Arguing about it would probably end with the other boy being mad with him. The half-Sephi didn’t want that, this would make him lose a friend. Then, the best that he could do was help the Togruta for him to not get hurt.

After Ruzaan passed through the passageway, it was time for the half-Sephi to do it. He had only used it two times. The first was when he discovered it and was curious to know where it would go. The second was on a day that he wanted to read in the forest, so he used the passage as a shortcut. This way, Elidan crawled through it without any problem.

When the auburn-haired boy reached the end, he was careful to not have his foot clip on the side of the wall. It happened with him the first time that he passed through it, making him nearly fall with his face on the floor. Now that he thought about it, Elidan wondered if he should have warned Ruzaan about it. However, when he saw that the Togruta seemed to be fine, the half-Sephi thought that the other boy had no problem with it. After all, not everyone was clumsy like him.

Now that they crossed the wall, Elidan would ask for Ruzaan’s permission to establish a mental bond. It was still dark to see the sign language, so it was the best way for them to communicate with each other. “Master Traylessend told us in one of her Biology classes that there is a kliknik nest in an old Massassi ruins near the temple. I think that it’s from where the ones that we found early came from.” if the Togruta gave his permission, it would be what he heard. This nest probably was the best place for them to discover what was happening with these creatures.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was ready to offer Elidan a hand on the other side of the wall should the half-Sephi need it, but Elidan navigated the hole without issue and soon both Padawans were standing in the forest. Shortly thereafter, Ruzaan felt the now-familiar brush of Elidan's consciousness asking for a connection, which Ruzaan accepted with much more ease than earlier. Not only did he trust Elidan, the mental connection made tactical sense- communication without making noise greatly helped in stealth situations like this. Ruzaan shuddered to think what might happen if the klikniks got the drop on them, and briefly reconsidered the mission... but they were already outside the temple grounds and Elidan seemed quite set on this mission so he didn't voice his thoughts.

[I'm not familiar with that one] Ruzaan thought back through their bond. The nest was a logical place to search, even if it did carry risk. He only had a vague idea of which direction the Massassi ruins were, and as such he was happy to let Elidan take the lead. [I'll watch your back if you lead the way?] he offered. His hand dropped to his lightsaber hilt, although whether or not he was trying to reassure himself or Elidan he didn't know. The double-bladed weapon was set on training mode, and unless Elidan knew how to change that it would stay on training mode. If the Force was with them, though, it wouldn't be needed.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

"Ok. Only be careful with the roots of the trees. They can make you trip." Elidan warned the Togruta. Many trees of Yavin IV had roots that came out of the ground. Since it was still dark, such roots could make them fall with their face on the floor if they weren’t careful.

Then, the half-Sephi started to walk toward kliknik’s nest. Due to his fear of tripping on the roots, Elidan would be walking more slowly, using his feet to feel if there was some in their path. Always that he found some root, he would send a warning to Ruzaan through their bond. Hopefully, this way his friend would not fall and get hurt.

When Elidan said that the kliknik’s nest was near the Temple, he meant to say that it was some kilometers. The sky was already starting to become more clear, but they were still walking. The half-Sephi hoped that the Knights would not find them before they reached the nest.

Suddenly, Elidan stopped. With his half-Sephi hearing, he had heard a sound coming from some meters in front of them. It reminded him of some type of very low whistle. “I heard something.” it would be the only warning that Ruzaan would receive before his friend grabbed the Togruta’s hand and started to run toward it. While they approached it, Elidan also started to hear the sound of footsteps.

By following the sounds, the Padawans would reach a clearing. In it, they would see several klikniks attacking everything on it. The creatures would be spitting acid on rocks, bushes and trees. In the center of the clearing, there was some type of machine. Elidan would pull Ruzaan to a bush, where the two could hide and watch what they had discovered. “I have no idea what it is.” the half-Sephi would say through their bound, while staring wide eyed at the scene.


@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Spoiler

D100 guidelines
100: Critical success.
81-99: Rousing success. Everything goes better than expected
51-80: Success. Everything goes as planned
26-50: Barely a success. You succeed in your end goal but take some sort of negative in doing so
11-25: Mild fail, fail with some minor consequence
2-10: Major fail, fail with more serious consequence
1: Critical fail

If it wasn't for Elidan's warning and careful example, Ruzaan would've faceplanted a dozen times on the way towards the kliknik nest. The grasslands of Shili, where he'd grown up, were mostly free of tree roots, and the trees they did have elsewhere buried their roots deep in the soil so as to avoid tripping up unsuspecting Togrutas. Not so with Yavin IV. The thick jungle did whatever it wanted to, including placing roots where roots weren't supposed to be. It wasn't bad on the path, which had been tamed by hundreds of years of footfalls, but as soon as one stepped foot into the jungle all bets were off.

The two Padawans traveled slowly and silently for a while, picking their way through the jungle towards where Elidan remembered the kliknik nest to be. Ruzaan soon came to understand the warning pulses that the half-Sephi sent whenever he encountered a root, which would be subconsciously answered with gratitude from the Togruta.

They'd been traveling for about 15 minutes when Elidan froze and informed Ruzaan that he'd heard something. The Togruta wanted to doubt the boy's claim- after all, his sensitive montrals hadn't picked up on anything- but he ultimately decided to trust Elidan and follow the half-Sephi in a slightly different direction through the jungle. Elidan was, after all, Ruzaan's best chance of navigating the jungle without spraining an ankle.

Soon enough, Ruzaan began to pick up on two distinct sounds emanating from up ahead. One was the unmistakable sound of kliknik behavior; skittering, rustling, and snapping of very large pincers. The other was a subsonic whine that jarred against his montrals and set his teeth on edge. Both noises got louder as the Padawans approached a clearing, and Elidan stealthily pulled aside a large leaf to reveal a startling scene. The klikniks were behaving oddly, and there was a strange machine planted in the middle of the clearing; the source of the noise.

[I'll get a closer look] Ruzaan sent back, searching around until he found what he was looking for; a sturdy tree with a limb extending some 20ft into the clearing, well above the kliknik's heads. He carefully scaled the tree, narrowly avoiding tripping over yet another root as he did so, until he was glancing down from the branch towards the machine.

[It appears to run on some sort of electricity] he said to Elidan through their bond. The blinking lights on the base told him that much. Beyond that, he couldn't say for certain what it did; technology had never been his strong suit. The machine was diamond-shaped, with a square base. It stood a little less than a meter high, and appeared to have a small ray shield around it that tinged the night air a soft shade of violet. The diamond part of the obelisk rotated slowly, and it was constantly emitting one of the most irritating sounds Ruzaan had ever heard.

By now, the whine was really starting to get to Ruzaan. It permeated into his skull and set every nerve ablaze with suspicion; preying on his base instincts. Every shadow looked threatening, every moving branch was an attacker. Elidan would feel the ebbs and flows as Ruzaan's emotions became more and more imbalanced with proximity to the device. The Togruta felt a strong urge to lash out at something, and his hand closed around the hilt of his training lightsaber. The klikniks were hunters and he was their prey- but maybe he could turn the tables on them. A snarl etched itself across his features as he planned his attack.

@LouJoVi

OOC: Rolled a 59 to try to get closer to inspect the device

 

[Elidan]

Elidan continued staring at the clearing, trying to understand what was happening there. The form that the klikniks were acting in was obviously abnormal. The creatures were attacking everything around them without no reason. He never read anything about it before.

The only explanation for this bizarre scene was the mysterious machine. The half-Sephi was certain that it was responsible for what was happening with the insects. There was a subsonic sound coming from it, which Elidan thought was very annoying. He wondered if this sound was what was making the klikniks become crazy.

His musings were interrupted by Ruzaan speaking through their mental bond. Looking at it closer would be a good idea. "Yes, but be careful. We don’t know what this thing is." as far as they know, this machine could have some type of defensive system. Even if it didn’t have, there was still a swarm of furious klikniks around it. The Togruta would need to be careful.

He tried to watch his friend climbing on the tree, but he couldn’t focus. The sound coming from the machine was so annoying and he was starting to have a headache because of it. The half-Sephi tried to use the Force to ignore these feelings, but he noticed that some way the sound was disturbing his abilities. He couldn't even focus on it

When Ruzaan talked through their bond, Elidan barely heard it. His head was throbbing, it was as if he had headbutted a wall. The half-Sephi felt so tempted to scream for him to shut up and cut their connection. However, he would not say it. These thoughts weren't something that he was used to having. He was still trying to use the Force to calm himself, but it was being difficult.

The auburn-haired boy turned to look at the tree where Ruzaan was. His headache was so strong that it was making it difficult for him to even stay with eyes open. He would barely notice that the Togruta was preparing to attack the klikniks. "Are you crazy? What do you think that you are doing?" this would sound somewhat aggressive, but it wasn’t Elidan's fault.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was measuring an attack on a kliknik just below him when Elidan's voice cut through the whine of the machine. The anger in the half-Sephi's voice was enough to shock him out of his current focus, and before he could get a bearing on the kliknik again he realized what a terrible idea it was. [Sorry] he replied. He had Elidan to think about, and with some difficulty he buried the idea of going on the offensive and made his way back to his fellow padawan.

Unfortunately, the machine continued to send out its subsonic pulses, making concentrating difficult. Only Elidan's presence kept Ruzaan grounded, and Elidan would feel a hint of shame along with quiet gratitude as the Togruta recognized the importance of his friend's presence. Elidan, for his part, looked just as tense as Ruzaan felt, so Ruzaan decided to lead them back and away from the clearing a bit. The two padawans would feel the mental pressure ease as they put distance between themselves and the machine.

[Thanks for the save- I don't know what came over me there] he would say through their bond, narrowly avoiding losing his balance as a tree root surprised him. [Could the machine be doing that?] he wondered. Maybe Elidan, with his experience with a datapad (a machine Ruzaan was continually baffled by) could sort out what was going on.

OOC: Rolled a 75/100 to calm down

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

After hearing Ruzaan's voice through their bond, Elidan felt relieved. He couldn't even focus enough to be able to use the Force, the half-Sephi doubted that he would be able to help the Togruta in a fight. The feeling of impotence made him become even more angered.

However, after he felt the feelings that Ruz was projecting through their bond, Elidan’s anger diminished a bit. If it wasn't for it, he would have punched the Togruta when he returned. This fury was so strange, he wasn't this way normally. It could only be due to this machine. The half-Sephi wanted to get away from it and this annoying sound as fast as he could.

He was grateful when Ruzaan guided them away from the clearing. The farther they went, the less Elidan felt his head throb. The half-Sephi was already able to focus again. When he saw the Togruta trying to maintain his balance due to a root, the auburn-haired boy would hold him in an attempt to help. His rage was no longer present.

"I think so. I heard some strange sound coming from the machine and it was giving me a headache." he explained to the Togruta. Elidan remembered something that he had read about the klikniks. "Some time ago, I found an article about how some scientists discovered that electromagnetic waves could affect these creatures. Maybe this machine could be doing it."

"I think that it was affecting me, too. I wasn't even able to focus enough to use the Force. It was disturbing my connection with it. Did you feel anger?" this machine was terrible, it was affecting not only the klikniks, but also him. Who could have built such a thing?

@SlagathorTheUnknown