Open The Past Can Hurt

[Drexus Brogroo]

Midnight, Jedi Quarters

Looking forward he could see it. The death of his father once again. A memory it was, he knew this by now. It was a recurring dream he had seen over and over and over again. Drexus had been dealing with this problem for years, and he hadn't a clue how to work past it. The dream was vivid, he could smell the air the burned flesh, he could feel the life dissipate in an instant as his father's head fell off his shoulders. He see the look of pleasure in the now deceased Jedi Master who dealt the blow.

He watched in agony, the pain in his gut twisting. His heart beating ever so quickly, his tears falling slowly from his eyes as he stood in shock once again. He knew it was coming, but he still felt it as if it were the first time. Anytime he tried to look away he couldn't, nor could he move to stop it. He felt hopeless again, like nothing he could do would ever be enough.

Then the eyes of the Jedi all turned to him, in an eerie look. Like they were seeing an enemy of the Order. This.. this was new. He felt uneasy for the first time in his life. Kaisa began making her way to him and he couldn't move. His arms were suddenly in a T pose, and he was dropped to his knees. He looked up in shock, how was this happening? Kaisa raised her blade and swung it at his neck...

That was when he woke from his night terror in fast heavy gasps for air as he sat straight up. His right hand held his heart, it was beating faster than he ever felt before. "Fuck.." He swept his legs to the side of his bed and stood up out of bed. Grabbing a shirt and a set of pants he would get dressed and put on some boots right after. Walking over he'd grab a pack of cigs and step out of the room and walk to the courtyard and sit at the pavilion. As he leaned against the pavilion entrance he'd light his cig he pulled out, and just stare blankly into the dark. This was his cool down, for now..

​

 

[Alhazred]

Alhazred had been stalking the dimly lit hallways and courtyard much in the same way an enigmatic primordial would stalk the depths of space: seemingly without purpose but with a clear direction. Overhead, the crescent moon shined dimly on the planet, providing little light for anyone who walked the dark places, and as a result, Alhazred moved slowly. His small legs moved quietly, slowly but surely. While this combined with his small stature meant he practically crawled at a snail's pace, he did not seem to mind it.

In truth, Alhazred was simply pacing the entire jedi grounds trying to ease his mind of the relentless thoughts and visions that were plaguing his fragile sleeping mind. The nightmares had grown . The shrieking things of the mind had not relented. The memories from the void of space were not idle.

Alhazred took a deep breath at the sudden memory of that gaunt thing suddenly manifesting itself in his mind's eye. The ship in space. The claws reaching out. The maddening screech of chaos itself. Mentally waving it aside, Alhazred closed his eyes and recited from his tome, his voice barely a whisper in the night.

"Despair and disorientation are as constant as the tides, and seethe like a wounded predator. Steel your mind always, and prepare yourself for its troubles."

Alhazred heard something. Turning his head, he spotted the Zabrack lighting a cig. In his pacing, Alhazred somehow missed the Zabrack's arrival, and by the looks of it, the Zabrack had not noticed the Nu-Vaal's slow and quiet movements. Alhazred brushed his face tendrils curiously, much how an elder would scratch their beard in thought.

"Restful slumbers are elusive prizes tonight I see..." Alhazred said, straining his vocal cords to be louder than a whisper as he approached. Stepping into the light, Alhazred gave the Zabrack a welcoming nod. He did not know this Zabrack. He had not been with the Jedi too long, and much of his time had been off the temples, going from one adventure or exotic lesson to another.

The miniscule being adjusted his turban as he produced a small pipe from his robes. One of the few prizes bequeathed to him from host to spawn before his parent had left him to find his own path.

"Glad to find someone who knows the abyssal night is a proper time for smoke"

@Scoobert

 

[Drexus Brogroo]

Once a voice shattered the silence Drexus felt a shock run through the inside of him, he half expected everyone to be asleep. Seems that the Zabrak was wrong this time. "You can say that again." Drexus watched as Alhazred pulled out a pipe, so he'd offer a light for the fellow Jedi. Whether he took it or not wasn't a concern he figured the offer was good enough.

Alhazred was a Jedi he knew of, but had never conversated with. A welcome change of scenery for the Jedi. After the offer, Alhazred spoke up again, and Drex would nod "Well I couldn't sleep, so a smoke sounded good." The Zabrak remained leaned against the entrance of the Pavilion sat on the top of the three step climb, a leg bent with foot flat on the ground. He would look at the other Jedi and cock a brow in curiosity,

"What keeps you up this late?" Drexus knew something was up. Most Jedi take their sleep when they can get it. It's a restless job, constantly saving others, fighting the ones who abuse the darkside as he once did. He didn't know Alhazred from Adam but he knew something had to keep him up this late.

@Narzen

 

[Alhazred]

Alhazred took the light gratefully, and took a few deep puffs. Breathing out, Alhazred enjoyed the sensation of the Havao Tabacc working into his system.

"The stars tonight are imposing visions of past ghouls and are summoning eldritch gaunts from my memories." Alhazred answered both plainly and cryptically between puffs. Such was a speech pattern among most Nu-Vaal. He chuckled slightly as a thought occurred. "They never warn you before becoming a Jedi how the Force can interfere with sleep cycles, do they? Probably not accidental. After all, what sane sentient sacrifices sleep so smoothly?"

Alhazred's black eyes turned towards the Zabrack after a moment, a slight curiosity helping draw his mind away from his nightmares. While not fully in tune with the force at the moment, Alhazred could hear some of the song the Force played around him, and some of the song around the Zabrack was interesting.

"Of course, maybe all Jedi are secretly insomniacs, eh?" Alhazred joked quietly outloud, making a subtle guess that the reason the Zabrack was out here in the middle of the night was similar to his own.

@Scoobert

 

[Drexus Brogroo]

The Zabrak was admittedly a little lost for words with how the other Padawan was talking, but he was catching on to what they were saying. Nodding his head in agreeance, the Zabrak would take another drag, "Maybe we're all just bit insane.. maybe the force wants us to never forget. Either way, I'd rather it all stop." A long inhale of smoke with an exhale following later, Drex would feel the force in use, he may be a Padawan to the Jedi but he was once a Champion.

Looking at Alhazred, Drexus cocked an eyebrow and then slowly looked away to the abyss of night. "Sleep hasn't been easy for many years. Too much in my past I've witnessed. Somehow visions of the past I wasn't present for." Drexus shook his head, he was remembering the dream again. He could feel everything he was just feeling for a brief moment. Unfortunately it caught him on another drag, so the Zabrak began coughing out the smoke.

"Anyway.." Drexus said leading on, "I could use a drink, you?" He point at Alhazred seeing if they also wanted drink.

@Narzen

 

[Alhazred]

Alhazred's eyebrows furrowed at the man's answer. Such words were not signs of the mentally healthy.

"Indeed, I could." Alhazred stated as he snuffed and emptied his pipe. "Come, I have a few beverages that any Zabrack would enjoy imbibing. All I request in exchange is conversation. The more intriguing the conversation is, the more likely I can part with the, quote unquote, 'good stuff'. "

Alhazred led the way to his quarters. His room was odd looking for a Jedi who swore off attachements . Following the missions he had partaken in the order, he had been granted a slightly larger room, enough to house a simple bed, a dresser overflowing with papers and ink and other scholarly paraphernalia, a large shelf filled to the brim with datapads and antique books, as well as a rather large but crudely carved wooden chest underneath a table with several chairs. The entire room was a textbook description of a liberal arts graduate: unsorted, and filled to the brim with knowledge.

"Sit, please...and excuse the mess" Alhazred gestured before quickly cleared off the table of various pieces of paper. All that remained was a large unlit red candle object, a relic from the Nu-Vaal's home planet of Vaal

Spoiler: The Candle

Alhazred pulled the chest out from under the table and opened it. Like the room, it was a cluttered mess inside, but soon the small Nu-Vaal produced a variety of bottles and cups and set them on the table.

"Lets see..." Alhazred pondered for a moment before selecting a drink. "Ah, here... Blue Mappa. Not particularly strong, but pleasant enough as a beginning."

After opening the bottle and pouring out two cup of the thin blue liquid, Alhazred grabbed one and swallowed the entire drink quickly and poured another. "Like i said, not particularly strong. Consider the better stuff as incentive for conversation."

"So speak. About anything. Distract us from whatever plagues the mind."

@Scoobert