Trunk or Treat

[Alysanne Drast]

Kashyyyk​

As the approached the rather strange looking house at the base of a large wroshyr tree, Alys was beginning to imagine what this master builder they were supposed to meet looked like. She had asked around and most of the wookiees she had spoken to seemed to have a different description of him. Some said he was a giant albino male with a scar across one eye, others described a shrunken old wookiee whose fur was now more grey than brown, while others spoke of an almost nondescript looking Wookiee with jet black fur and a striking grey eyes. She wasn't really sure what to believe, though there was also the strong possibility that her Shyriiwook was still not up to the mark and they had all said the same thing and she had understood something different each time.

"What if he's dead?" She finally spoke up as they knocked on the door and waited, "No one's seen him in some time, and I think he's supposed to be old."

She would have said more, and Arurora would probably have had some words for her, some sort of lesson in her grim thoughts maybe. But before either Master or Padawan could say more the door swing inwards and a tall figure emerged from the shadows. The wookiee standing before them didn't meet any description she had heard, or rather misinterpreted. He was tall, but not abnormally tall for a wookiee. Light brown fur, a cheerful face, and the largest arms she has ever seen.

"Lowbacca?" She asked, as much to the wookiee as to Aurora. Looked like they had found their builder, now all they needed to do was to convince him to work for them, and in secret.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Myths always held a grain of truth. A reality that had given the legend life. The stories of this master builder were almost unbelievable. He was ancient, imposing, and impossibly brilliant. No, he was ancient, small, and terribly lost. Oh, no, he was average, unassuming, nothing truly special. What was the truth was harder to find. Aurora Blackwood knew a little about being a myth. She was a walking bedtime story told to frighten little loyal Sith children, and bring hope to the young rebellion. She’d heard all kinds of tales of the Jedi and what the Order was supposed to be . Aurora was not the legends. The Morellian Jedi Master was something else entirely, and growing the Order from the ground up.

Aurora and Alys had come to Kashyyyk seeking Lowbacca. A builder of renown who was exactly what they needed for the Alliance’s little project on the jungle world. She honestly had no idea what to expect. The stories about Lowbacca regaled them with tale of a genius, but one who was old and hadn’t been seen in years. There was a good chance this was a wild bantha chase. Of course, her snarky young student had a quip as they arrived at their destination. Aurora rolled her eyes and prepared a retort. Wookies lived a long time. Even if this guy was old he was probably still living. He might have been lost though. Before she ever got a chance the door swung open to reveal Lowbacca. Hmmm, not what she expected.

Alys quickly tried to confirm the Wookie’s identity. Lowbacca appeared to understand basic, that was good. He roared several things in response. Aurora grimaced slightly. She hadn’t needed to speak Shyriiwook in ages. This was going to be rough. “I think he said that yes he is Lowbacca.” Aurora looked at the Wookie and shrugged. He seemed to nod his agreement. “We have come a long way, can we come in?” The wookie roared again motioning them to enter. Aurora hoped she didn’t need to translate that. The Jedi Master stepped into the wookie’s home. They had an incredibly difficult task ahead of them. Convince the master builder to help the Alliance, for nearly free, and keep his work a secret. Brilliant. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Following Aurora into the house, Alys swept an inquisitive eye around the house to get a read on the Wookiee. As he grunted towards a table with two benches on either side, Aly moved towards it and sat down on one side, as Lowbacca began setting down giant tumblers on the table as Alys waited for Aurora to settle down besides her.

While Arurora walked over, Alys decided to give one of the Shyriiwook greetings she had learnt a try. All Aurora would hear would be a series of coughs and grunts from Alys as she tried to do her best at speaking in Shyriiwook. Having greeted him in his common language as Naala had taught her, she waited for Lowbacca to react, getting a little nervous when he didn't immediately respond. Then he barked a pleased laugh, and slammed a hand onto her shoulder, a pleased pat on the back. But what was a pat on the back for him was a serious bodily strike for the little human girl. She let out a yelp and almost jumped as she felt her shoulder pop out its joint.

Tears rolled down her eyes as she slammed them shut and slammed her head down on the table in pain. "Ow.." She whimpered as she momentarily forgot everything to do about the assignment while the Wookiee stared questioningly at the two of them.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora suppressed the laugh. Alys was trying and that was what mattered. Her greeting was mangled but successful, and seemed to endear Lowbacca to young Alys. Aurora wondered where exactly her student had learned the greeting. Probably kriffing Greybok. That damn wookie was far too involved in Alys life. Well, Aurora trusted the hulking wookie but that didn’t stop her from worrying. She refocused on the meeting at hand. Lowbacca’s furnishing were modest, nothing really spoke of a master builder. Then again, if a master builder did not want to be found this was exactly where they might hide. She say beside Alys, cringing when Lowbacca patted her Padawan. It was clear the wookie hadn’t had human visitors in some time.

Aurora wanted to reassure Alys, but now was not the time. She locked eyed with the supposed master builder. This was more Shyriiwook than she had heard in ages. She really hoped she understood everything Lowbacca said. “We need your help…they say you are most skilled of all the builders on Kashyyyk.” She paused for a moment. “The greatest in generations…we need those skills.” For all the rumors it was believed Lowbacca could be trusted by the Rebellion. “The Empire’s time is drawing to a close but to fight them we need safe havens.”

Her eyes shifted around the room. “We need your safe havens” Aurora made her point clear. Lowbacca shifted and roared his response. “He says he understands but has not built in years…he is uncertain.” She had expected this. Nothing ever went flawlessly at the start. Lowbacca was in mysterious exile for a reason. It must have been a good reason to set his whole life aside and live alone in the jungle. No, she knew it would not be so easy to convince him to return. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Doing her best to follow the conversation between Aurora and Lowbacca, Alys tried to ignore the pain as much as she could. She was a Jedi, shouldn't that give her some mystical immunity to pain? Or at least access to some cool technique that would enable her to ignore such things. She already knew the answer to that, it was all in her head, she simply needed to gain enough control over herself to ignore the pain. Well, she definitely wasn't learning that control today.

As Aurora explained the situation to Lowbacca, Alys slowly took in long, deep breaths and did her best to ignore the pain in her shoulders and try to think of a way to contribute to the conversation, to help her Master in some way. Hearing Lowbacca's comment about not having built in years, about his uncertainty, she finally found an opportunity to speak up.

Wiping away the tears on her sleeve, she straightened up and caught the wookiee's eyes. "But you're Lowbacca. They told us that if you couldn't help us then no one could. No one else is good enough." She tried to sound dismayed at his words, which wasn't that hard considering the pain she was already in, and the genuine concern she felt for the success of their endeavor on Kashyyyk. "Please, you have to help us. I know you can!"

Lowbacca was quiet for a few moments before finally catching her eye and nodding. Turning to Aurora, rightly assuming that she was the one in charge, he spoke up, all business now. "What exactly do you need from me? What would you have me build?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Pain radiated in the Force. Sharp, shooting pain. Aurora looked towards Alys. Had Lowbacca’s pat truly injured her? The pain had to be intense to cause the Force to ripple. The Jedi Master was close to her student, but this went beyond that simple bond. A small frown formed on her lips. She barely paid attention as Alys spoke. Aurora was more concerned with the tears in her students eyes. She quickly dipped into the Force, touching Alys mind. “Don’t jump.” She placed a hand gently on Alys shoulder and pushed the Force forward. The Lightside flowed from Aurora to Alysanne. She was not a skilled healer, her talents resided elsewhere but she knew how to do this. The Force would ease some of the pain by repair a small bit of the damage done.

She touched minds again. “Focus on the Force within. The Lightside can take away your pain, but you must let it.” Aurora withdrew from Alys mind, tucking away the Force. Hopefully, that would help some small measure. Each adventure out into the galaxy was a chance to learn, they both had to take advantage of those opportunities. It was the best way to learn. Aurora refocused her attention was Lowbacca spoke again. The Morellian Master nodded slowly.

“We know it is not something easy we ask…we need a base on Kashyyyk that is hidden and impenetrable all at once.” She clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “Simply put, we need your very best work. A location the Empire cannot find us but that will withstand an assault if they do.” Lowbacca was silent for a great while. Aurora knew when it was time to spoke speaking. “I can do this thing, but I have lived alone this long for a reason.” Lowbacca’s voice became soft in an inexplicable way for a Wookie. “I may not be the builder you need any longer.” Aurora shot a glance at Alys, they had to pray that wasn’t true. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Alys relaxed as she felt Aurora mend her shoulder, and towards the end of it, once the pain had receded a little, she even managed to pay attention to how the Jedi Master had done it. She had known Jedi could heal, but this was the first time she was seeing it in action. Nodding at Aurora's words within her mind, she made a mental note to try it on her own when she got the opportunity. Healing seemed like a handy skill to know, and now that she had seen it being performed, and experienced it first hand, she had a foundation to begin working on to learn it.

Hearing Lowbacca's words, she shared in Aurora's worries. They needed his skills, but if he was serious about not being able to build like he once could then they were in trouble. "With each passing day we stop being what we once were, that is but a fact of life." She say the sharpness in his eyes as she said the words, she might have hit a nerve with that, but she continued speaking, to try and get through to him. "We simply need to learn to be better with what we have. We live, we grow. You're still here, no matter what might have happened in the past. I know you can help us!"

Lowbacca was quiet for a moment before slowly nodding his head, though she got the feeling he still wasn't entirely convinced. Nudging Aurora with her shoulder, wincing immediately as she had absentmindedly used the injured one, she nodded towards the Wookiee. She was a Jedi Master, she could inspire him better than Alys could.

@Valen Pelora