Ask Nothing Gold Can Stay

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal just nodded in reply, brows furrowed and lips pursed a little during one of the last adjustments of the roof. He did look in the directions the boatman indicated even if only for a moment or two before he finished what he was already doing.

Emeralds briefly turned to the other man, lit up by a flash a moment before, considering something or other about his person. Hannibal stepped through the doorway, although just enough to pull his sleeveless undertunic and belt to himself to put them on. Parts of the floor were already a bit wet but there was no need to track even more water in here than there already was, right?

"Sure is," the young Jedi said as he clipped the wet but waterproofed belt back around his waist. "But not to worry, I'll be back," he added dryly and with good humour. "Not gonna miss on the view here." A pause as he watched the boatman pull out some kind of fish. "That being you, my buff, bronzed, boat-making new friend." Another pause and the sound of fingers tip-tapping against the doorframe in thought. "You could come with me though. Could use a guide, might get something out of it. Just sayin."

And then Hannibal wandered back off out into the rain with a cheerful and barking laugh, heading first in the direction the other man had indicated toward the dead and/or dying fields. As before he was as unconcerned about himself getting rained on as the boatman was, even whistling a simple folkish tune on his way.

Upon arrival tutted, looking around through the falling droplets at the plants. Maybe someone was watching through a window or something, maybe not, but that wasn't likely to stop him. Hannibal stretched a bit and then raised his right hand, a grin lighting up his face.

Even from a distance there was would be the vague sensation of springtime in the middle of the thunderstorm.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The half Sephi was going to clarify that the man, in fact, didn’t need to return until he kept talking. Emryc tilted his head slightly at the man’s words, noting the sudden change in tune. He stood there in silence, saying nothing for a moment as the man walked away. He simply shrugged and returned to what he was doing.

When he went to investigate the fish, the smell told him that it hadn’t preserved as well as hoped. With a grumble, he tossed it away and opened his door again. He could still make out the other man walking and his keen ears picked up the whistling. Emryc could also sense that the Force was being used, and he could vaguely guess at what was happening.

Emryc came to stand next to the man, running his fingers through his wet hair. His thoughts were elsewhere, wondering where to find some food as he felt pangs of hunger. There was a village woman that always promised him stews in exchange for his company and he was seriously considering it.

“What would I get out of it?” He grumbled, “The power of friendship?” He scoffed slightly, thinking back to Jedi and their silliness. Truthfully, he was fascinated by this application of the Force. It wasn’t something he could conjure up even if he wanted. He could only hope the other man wouldn’t ask him to help.

He lingered only for a moment before he began to walk towards the village woman’s hut.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal turned a little, noting that the boatman had apparently decided to follow along eventually. He was already grinning a little by the time he reached the fields and began to focus the Force into and through him in a similar fashion to when he'd repaired the flowers under the tree.

"Well, obviously," he said, then continued as the other man began to wander off. "Was actually gonna suggest, as new friends, food and drink. Did come here in a ship, y'know."

At which point, regardless of what the other man decided, he would focus on his work. The Force filtered through him and outward toward the sad-looking but now rain-soaked field of crops, sinking into the earth and flowing up through the roots of the plants. If even the roots were still clinging to life he could help them, and help them he did.

It was not a quick process in this case, as doing so was needlessly tiring, but still the work would go on with an unnatural swiftness. Plants began to steadily revive from the bottom-up, reinforced by the energies of the Force under Hannibal's skilled care. Folded and yellowed leaves began to turn green, stalks righted themselves, and buds that had floundered began once more to grow into place. He even got a few nearest him to grow a little extra, beginning to form proper Shorn a little sooner than they normally would.

Minutes later Hannibal huffed and dropped his arm, taking a moment to catch his breath before turning around to see if the boatman was still around. Or, failing that, where he'd gone.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It was a curious application of the Force that Emryc didn’t understand, and he paid attention to it. He had a thirst for knowledge and that’s exactly what led to him delving into the Jedi and Sith holocrons he possessed. This, along with healing, was a power he simply couldn’t wield. He vaguely wondered if he could bring life to plants by drawing it from another living being, but he didn’t feel like putting it to the test using the other man. He could sense he was a powerful Jedi and a blind Emryc was already at a disadvantage.

The mention of food and drink on a ship gave him pause, “A ship…” He muttered vaguely, his thoughts drifting back to his own ship named Ship. He hadn’t been aboard a ship for months. Thoughts of his own ship brought pangs of pain, and even his mental fortress couldn’t hold that pain back. Emryc exhaled as he stopped in his tracks, deciding that a ship sounded preferable to actually talking to the village woman he forgot the name of. Dona? Dana? Dina? That alone would lead to some high pitched squealing he didn’t feel like dealing with just for a meal.

Emryc put a barrier with the Force around himself to keep the rain off, deciding he didn’t feel like being drenched more than he already was. He heard the other man huffing and recovering from his exhaustion from whatever he had done.

“What a miracle,” He said blankly, shoving his hands into his pockets, clearly bored, “Can we skip to the part where we eat?” He grumbled.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal straightened up and stretched from where he was, eyes turning to look back toward the village he could barely see through the falling rain. An eyebrow raised at the boatman's comment and a grin formed, automatic reactions even though the other man couldn't actually see his face or anything. He chuckled softly.

"Sure, sure, come on then." The young Jedi began to walk around and past the fields, avoiding sinking his feet into what was essentially a solid top layer of mud at this point from the storm. He headed toward the forest he'd first wandered out of earlier in the day, trusting that the boatman could still catch his figure through the rain and his own ability to navigate and remember where things were.

Hannibal decided he couldn't really get much more soaked at this point and didn't bother shielding himself from the water and instead just kept himself from getting too cold as they walked toward the woods. The line of trees was dark and foreboding in face of the storm but, of course, it was only a forest. Hannibal seemed unbothered by its appearance and his new friend couldn't really get a feel for the aesthetics.

"Any dietary preferences? Gluten, fish allergies, so on? Not trying to poison you here."

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was relieved to finally have a direction for food. Unlike most Sith, he wasn’t overly suspicious or wary of Jedi. He had a feeling he could blindly eat anything the stupid Jedi offered and it’d never be poison. He hadn’t done anything outright criminal and that alone would be enough for the man to identify him as a decent villager. No one needed to know he massacred two villages before he found this one.

The half Sephi paused as he arrived at the ship ramp, pointedly taking off his muddy boots and leaving them outside. The subtle gesture tracked with how perfectly neat and clean his hut was. Emryc’s bare feet padded along as he walked behind the other man, toes and nails still perfectly trimmed down and neat despite having been in a village for a while. Certain habits never changed.

He felt that familiar chill of being a ship, goosebumps lining his skin as he wasn’t used to it anymore. Emryc paused at the entrance, running his hand against the wall of the ship. For a moment it almost looked as if a sad smile would grace his face, but he simply lingered there. Emryc was shaken from his thoughts when the man spoke.

“I don’t like spicy, anything I have to touch with my hands, anything too sweet or sticky,” He rattled off quickly. He didn’t bother explaining that he was mostly vegetarian since he had started eating more meats due to his….he squashed that depressing thought as soon as it came.

Emryc could make out the vague shapes through Force Sight and that was enough to tip him off to fill in the blanks from his ship obsession, “Didn’t know Jedi could afford yachts like this,” He said with a tone of amusement.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal similarly removed his zippered boots and left them behind. He did try to keep his ship after all and quietly appreciated that his mysterious new boatman friend preferred not to track mud through places. Idly he noted the immaculate appearance, further evidence he was either not from the village itself or was simply unusually meticulous about his appearance, cleanliness, and organization.

Mentally he shrugged and moved on. Didn't matter for the moment, although it was a point in his favour as a person.

He turned as the other man's footsteps stopped behind him in the entrance, his face moving around a little in a way Hannibal didn't recognize compared to the others he'd made before. To the young Jedi it was a curious sort of reaction to being on a ship, something resembling... Nostalgia?

Mr. Boatman was as hard to read as before. Oh well.

Emeralds blinked once at his reply. Then his expression became just complete and utter bemusement. Mr. Boatman's list was both specific and widely encompassing but he supposed it wasn't unworkable. Just... Kind of odd, he supposed. This also explained the marshmallow avoidance.

Seriously though, no heat? The most common of the requirements but that ruled out a lot of what he personally ate. But Mr. Boatman was a guest he'd invited, so no spice it is!

Hannibal shook his head a little and turned back around to head further into the ship.

"Didn't buy it, although upkeep isn't what I'd called 'thrifty'," he called back from up ahead, stopping again in the main area. "Used to be a Hutt ship." Hannibal chuckled a little.

Three patting sounds in sequence sounded by the table nearest the kitchen area. "Shouldn't take long." Hannibal next headed into the back to put something together. Luckily he had most of what dinner was going to be already prepared ahead of time. Just had to nix the sweet and spicy crustacean- wait a minute.

Hannibal reappeared in the doorway to find the boatman again, face scrunching up in bemusement. He hadn't exactly been the first person to ask that question and he got the standard answer, but also hey, the boatman is blind. He could kinda-sorta see- he'd mentioned 'outlines' at one point- but identifying a type of ship without eyes? That was actually pretty impressive.

"How can you tell it's a yacht?" he asked in a tone of mixed confusion and curiosity. There had to be something more to that. "Model too, by chance?"

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc kept tracing his fingers gingerly along the walls of the ship, taking in the feel of the cool air and the smells of being on one. It smelled like a standard ship but also had accents of the man and his possessions. The half Sephi vaguely tilted his head at the man’s question.

“3000 model… refurbished..” He muttered. It was a grand vessel that often had many layers and luxuries, “Did you at least keep the pools?” Emryc asked, a grin gracing his face as he continued to follow the man’s outline throughout the ship. The half Sephi didn’t elaborate how he knew, but it was quite apparent this had been a hobby in a past life.

While he had grazed the walls with his fingers, he stopped when he stepped into the interiors and where the man would have kept his personal possessions. Emryc was fiercely protective of his space, and he generally allowed that same respect in turn regardless of who invited him in.

“Can I… assist?” He asked vaguely, already knowing he would be useless when it came to cooking. Also while blind.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Oho. He could tell what model, and even that it had been changed around and modified to fit personal preference. Easy enough when one could see the usual way but blind, even with the Force? It was clear the boatman was drawing on knowledge he possessed prior to his current predicament. Suffice to say Hannibal was both impressed and curious.

What a strange encounter this had turned out to be. Not that he was complaining.

"Hah! 'Course I did, just changed around the set up a bit upstairs. Not gonna pull out a whole mess of water systems from the infrastructure." Hannibal caught that grin for a moment, something about seeing the stoic face making such a full expression distinctly amusing. Maybe the boatman's interests extended to all such craft and not simply water-borne boats. Curiouser and curiouser.

The open space was filled with things along the walls, outlines of knick-knacks atop shapes of shelves and other such arrangements. Much of what had been a dance and dining area had been cleared out and modified for other purposes, training gear off to one side and neatly arranged by the wall, some such as weights more obvious in purpose than others.

"Assist you can, in fact. Three hands are better than one, yeah?" Not that what he was doing was terribly complicated but it would certainly go faster with help. Especially as it mostly consisted of putting things together and opening containers in this case. Hannibal had a feeling Mr. Boatman could probably handle that.

The inside of the kitchen area was designed of course as a professional kitchen, stainless steel surfaces and so on, since the ship was a yacht. An autochef sat on one side of the wall, currently inactive as Hans preferred to do things himself when possible. In this case that mostly consisted of pulling out different containers of pre-arranged side dishes, mostly different seasoned or marinated vegetables and a bit of fried tofu.

Hannibal pulled a very large wok from a cabinet and placed it atop the stove.

"Just open those containers and dump the contents into this pan when I say. Doable?"

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc gave a vague grunt in response. Opening and dumping things sounded simple enough and he wasn’t at risk of ruining the dish. Granted, this worked for a while until the other man had to repeat the size and shape of a container each time before Emryc could identify it and assist. After a bit of time, both men agreed the half Sephi was only delaying things.

He walked over and sat at a table as the food was almost finished, the aroma better than anything he had smelled at the village. Emryc thought about how far away his MRE days were. It first began with Morgan giving him a taste of consistent homecooked meals. The village had taught him to make crude meals, but he still relied on stews here and there in exchange for pretending he was interested in some of the village women.

“Are you doing all this just because?” Emryc asked after a while, “You have nothing you wish in return other than me pointing you to where you can go shovel some shit in some barn?” The half Sephi reached for his e-cigarra, leaning back in his seat. He found Jedi exceptionally one dimensional. Did they express kindness to others simply because it was their code of ethics? Did they forego any personal motives entirely? Emryc couldn’t fathom that being a fulfilling life.

He blew out a cloud of smoke, shaking his head as he muttered quietly, “Always sunshine and rainbows…”

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

It was nice that the boatman had offered to help, really it was, and he seemed to take rather well to being told things. It just hadn't occurred to Hannibal that while opening a container and so on identifying them was more of a pain. So the other man was freed from his obligation to assist after a bit of that irritating process.

Luckily the cooking itself was very quick, mostly just stir-frying things together in the wok either mixed or one at a time, and then arranging portions to mix in with rice once it was all off the heat. Hannibal did a lot of meal-prep in the downtime between doing things to minimize how much cooking and preparing he had to do.

Shortly after the other man sat down Hannibal emerged from the kitchen floating the bowls of food and a pitcher of water, having given up begrudgingly on trying to carry things with one arm, and set them down on the table. Each bowl had only a spoon for eating. The young Jedi was wandering off to the bar area when the boatman asked his question, pausing between the sounds of shifting glassware.

"You're askin' if I want something in return for... Offerin' to feed you?" he asked dryly and with some bemusement. "I help because I can, and I can because I got lucky." A trio of thumps as two glasses and a bottle were placed atop the bar. "This isn't help. Can't a dude just want to eat with the pleasure of someone else's company once in a while?"

He paused again. "You a gin guy, oooorr...? I've got options."

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc didn’t look convinced in the least by anything the man said as he quietly sat there smoking. He watched the outline return and heard the bowls and glasses being set. Emryc could smell everything up close now and his stomach actually grumbled in response. The half Sephi was entirely unconcerned, finishing up the cigarra to prepare for food.

“You must really be desperate for company then,” Emryc muttered just as dryly as he pulled the bowl to himself. He didn’t consider himself particularly pleasant company, not when he wasn’t posing as politician Emryc. He knew how to be exceptionally charming, but he was largely a loner by default. In fact, he was perpetually confused why there were several others that had confessed their love to him, including some of the recent village ladies. Emryc largely recalled himself sitting around and contributing as much as a plastic houseplant in most scenarios.

“I’ll drink whatever you feel like offering,” He said as he took a first bite. Emryc paused to marvel at the taste, his next few bites much quicker in succession to betray that he had sorely missed a nice meal that had a bit more variety.

“Actually..” He paused after a while, “Do you have any chili powders?” Emryc looked thoughtful for a moment, “Only just a pinch.”

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

He scoffed a little at the other man's comment. Sure, from a certain point of view he was just some random and very muscular blind boat maker Hannibal had found on a random agrarian world in some random corner of the galaxy essentially during a bout of whimsy. And yes he was stoic and strange and, importantly, unusually difficult to read for the empathic young Jedi.

"Yes, because its ev-" he stopped himself, rearranging what he was getting at to be less sarcastic. Mr. Boatman might actually take it seriously elsewise.

"I don't meet a Force-using boatman in a village I wandered into by accident very often, y'know. Plus you showed me around on the boat. Bit of food's fair compensation, right?"

Hannibal took the other man's answer as a yes and poured chilled gin into the glasses before floating those over to the table as well, one for each of them. He grinned a bit as he watched his fairly simple but home made food be clearly enjoyed. Didn't take an empath to figure that part out. His seat was pulled back to admit him when the other man spoke, his request summoning up fresh bemusement. Didn't he say no spicy? Pretty sure he did.

He sipped the gin and stood back up.

"Uh... Sure, yeah." To the kitchen he went to retrieve a more mild and common variety rather than the stuff he used for himself.
He returned with a small container he placed on the table and applied a rather conservative pinch of it in a spread around Mr. Boatman's food and a larger one for himself.

"Mix it up a bit," he suggested, moving his around some with his spoon so the powder wasn't just sitting on top. Hannibal took a bite of his own and curiously watched the man across the table. The change was odd maybe but at this point it was just another oddity to go with the rest.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was silent at the man’s words, processing them in his mind. He mixed around the proffered spices, bringing up a bit to sniff tentatively before he took a bite. The half Sephi was surprised to find himself liking it, and he took a couple more bites. Within moments, he was finished with his meal, and he topped it off with his glass of water.

Almost methodically, he rose from his seat, took his bowl and glass over and cleaned them off immediately. They were neatly set on a counter before he walked back to his gin. The entire process took significantly longer while using Force Sight to navigate, but he managed it without running into anything. Adjusting to new environments always took a bit.

Emryc took a sip from his gin quietly, his thoughts slightly muddled from the buzz he was still carrying.

“Do all Jedi appear as phony as you?” He couldn’t help but ask. The man simply didn’t strike him as genuine in any sense of the word so far. He showed up to do Jedi things because he was a Jedi. He offered Emryc food because it was the apparent nice thing to do. There was very little that appeared to exist in the man outside of doing things simply because it was right or ‘Jedi’. Either that or the man was simply trying very hard to put on some sort of mask. It was a concept Emryc did not understand.

He took another drink of the gin, “Or maybe you’re a pretty face that doesn’t need much else going on. I can respect that,” Emryc nodded thoughtfully before sipping again.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

The boatman ate his meal much more quickly than Hannibal did as well as with much more gusto than the young Jedi had expected. For someone who supposedly didn't do spicy food he certainly liked the mixed rice, even if only a little heat had been added. Hannibal on the other hand ate at a moderate pace. He watched the other man go off to clean his dishes as if on autopilot, this behaviour drawing curiosity by itself.

By the time Mr. Boatman returned to the table Hannibal was finished as well with his bowl and spoon set aside. He sipped at his gin, eyes having wandered by now to the things along the walls of the ship. They turned to regard the bronzed man across the table when he spoke again. He'd gathered a buzz himself between the moonshine and gin he'd been sipping at while he ate, and this resulted in a short, barking laugh a moment after the question.

"That depends on what you think is phony about me, doesn't it?" Hannibal sipped more of his gin. "Gonna have to be more specific with the question." Of course there were some aspects of himself he still didn't exactly speak about much but these were also things he chose not to dwell on. He'd be quite surprised if the boatman had picked up on those things, although some were more perceptive than others. Didn't help he couldn't exactly hide his expressions behind an exaggerated grin and deflective jokes like he'd used to.

He almost winked when the boatman mentioned a 'pretty face' before he remembered, yeah, blind. Hannibal was also unsure if the latter half of what the boatman said was meant to be insulting or not.

"While my face is pretty, maybe you just don't know what a Jedi really is? I can tell you my interpretation if you like."

Followed by more gin. It was tradition at this point for anything that might turn philosophical.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Normally Emryc would be watching the man like a hawk at this point. He would be undressing him with his eyes. He would be peeling away layer by layer in ways that were part sensual, part rude and all unapologetic. But he could do none of that, his vacant gaze missing its mark and looking right past the man. Nevertheless, the corner of his lips curled towards a half grin. He took a larger sip from the gin before setting the glass down.

“I don’t need to elaborate,” Emryc said simply in response to the request at being specific. The man either understood exactly what Emryc had asked or he didn’t, and therefore, was too dense to engage in the topic to begin with. It was a simple conclusion and one Emryc wouldn’t waste further energy on if the man didn’t wish to bite.

He poured himself a bit more gin, very careful to avoid any spilling. Emryc took another sip, “I know well enough what a Jedi is. You certainly keep some elaborate holocrons,” He tilted his glass towards the man before taking another drink.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal tutted loudly in exaggerated frustration and sipped at his gin. In truth he was actually a little annoyed by the question Mr. Boatman failed to elaborate on and the grin he had on his face. It was mirrored by a grin on the young Jedi's face, somehow enjoying the situation despite the frustration. As annoying as it was to be essentially without a sense he wasn't exactly alone in that regard here.

Hannibal relied a lot on instinct and intuition, things that filtered his connection to the living Force and the empathy that went with it, and the boatman was physically blind. Curiously he wondered what sort of conversation they would be having if neither of them had their respective complications. He couldn't tell if it would be easier or more complicated.

"Oh, do ya now? Read many have you?" His tone was both amused and curious. That the other man had accessed Jedi holocrons was an important snippet of information that Hannibal filed away, but at the same time, he hadn't learned what it meant to be a Jedi by studying the words of someone else. It was just something he'd stumbled awkwardly through on his own.

"Do tell. What is a Jedi, Mr. Boatman?"

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Keen ears picked up the tutting, and he couldn’t help but find it amusing. Even the quip about reading didn’t wipe the amused look off his face. Taking jabs at Emryc was like throwing a paper airplane at a wall. It simply didn’t do anything.

“Correct,” He affirmed, thinking back to the multitude of books and articles he had studied. Emryc spent days at libraries before, devouring knowledge to his heart’s content. He thought of his extensive collection of books and tomes, all of which had been confiscated with his ship. The grin disappeared from his face as he took another drink.

Emryc paused at the question of what a Jedi was, exhaling softly. He had finished another glass of gin and was pondering whether to pour another or not.

“I know they probably make for a boring kriff,” He stated flatly at last, rising to stand before he had to orient himself again. Emryc walked towards the sink to wash his glass, feeling a solid buzz. The storm continued to rage outside and he thought about the annoying walk back to his hut that hopefully had an intact roof still.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Throwing out jabs and jokes really wasn't as fun with this one. It wasn't even as much the facial expression but the other reactions that he couldn't pick up at all from the boatman unless they were particularly strong. Hannibal took a solid drink of his gin and returned it to the table, fingers idly tapping along the surface of the glass. He wondered at the amused grin's sudden disappearance from the other man's face, a sensation he was not used to, and frowned at it a little.

It could have been anything from some thought connected to what he said or just not being a fan of this gin. Hannibal finished what was left in his glass, giving it an extra long tasting just to be sure. Nope, definitely good gin. The hell?

The young Jedi blinked at the boatman's return quip, abundantly amused by his grand arcane knowledge of Jedi mating habits.

"See, you don't know shit! Probably think all Jedi are ascetic monks like back in the olden days when politicians ran everything into the ground." Once again he watched the other man wander off to clean his glass and looked down at his own. The movement made clear how much he'd been drinking just then, a wry smirk crossing his features.

"Done, huh? Rather clean impromptu guest, you are." Hannibal stood up slowly and leaned against the table.

"You're welcome to stay for another drink or two, big guy, but if you're goin' back I'll join ya. Still want to keep that drawing."

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc finished up with the glass, frustrated that he couldn’t even check if every last speck was removed. He had to trust that his extensive cleaning skills had done the job. Emryc heard the frustration in the voice of the other man as he blabbed out a lot of words. It took a moment for the half Sephi to process it all, and he paused from setting the glass down.

For a moment there was no noise save for the patter of rain against the ship. This was joined by rumbling thunder that once again shook the ground a little. Emryc leaned slightly against the counter with the sink, facing towards the man’s direction. He pondered on the man’s assumptions about what Emryc defined to be Jedi.

“You have an accent as if your parents suckled from the same woman’s tits. Your singing sounds like a Lothcat being strangled slowly to death. You are exceptionally beautiful to where I’m especially regretting not having any working eyes,” He used the Force to float the bottle of gin to himself, “And not once did I ever doubt that you were a kriffing Jedi. Because you're still a kriffing do-gooder Space Scout."

He took a swig from the bottle, thinking back to all the Holocrons he had studied. Emryc’s mind faded away for a moment before he returned to the present. There was a slightly bemused expression on his face from the man's words.

“Why? I already named several other villagers you can irritate instead.”

@Mr. Teatime