Ask Window to the Past

[Samara Draven]

Beechwood Manor sat high on a hill overlooking the nearby village of Drumschapel. It was attractive, the type of house that every passerby couldn't help but stop, look up at from the dry-weather road that wound through the valley, and admire. Stone spires stretched from the apex of its roof toward the heavens, and hand-carved finials ran the length of every eave and dotted every corner. A black, wrought iron fence that stood at least nine feet tall enclosed the manor grounds, a sprawling lawn burgeoning with flora native to the planet. Papery, petal-like bracts that bloomed a pale pink and tufts of evergreen plants dotted with small, pearl-white blossoms. A row of blushing rose bushes grew along the fence, so large that several branches protruded toward the road, jutting out between the iron panels, sharp thorns pricking anyone that walked too close.

"Sheesh," Samara whistled through her teeth, pale hands wrapped around two of the bars as she stared up at the manor. "That's some house."
Not a description that would ever make it onto an episode of extreme makeover, but it got the point across. It was a wonder a Jedi had ever lived there, that he still might to this day in secret. If he wasn't dead or completely off-grid, that is. The Chalactan looked over at her companion, wondering if he was thinking the same thing. How had the Jedi ever afforded it? Maybe his wife was loaded. They'd find out soon enough, she supposed.

The pair of Padawans had arrived early. A nice change for once, Samara thought, but now they had almost an hour to kill until they were supposed to meet Knight Bolera outside the manor gates. He wasn't here yet, so...

"Want to grab a bite to eat?" she asked, brushing her hands off on her pants. They had passed a food cart back in Drumschapel, and Samara's stomach had been growling ever since. This way they could kill two birds with one stone. Fill their stomachs and ask around the village. Maybe pick up a lead or some useful information from the locals before the Knight ever arrived. @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s verdant eyes took in the house’s visage. The architecture was a little odd to him, but he’d been born and raised in a city, so anything that was more complex than a rectangle was weird. There was a distinct difference in the force around the manor and he didn’t like what he was feeling. It wasn’t evil persay, it was just alien, and that put him on edge even more. In his short time with the Jedi, Leon had become increasingly adept at picking up small fluctuations in the force. Interpreting them of course was a different story altogether.

“Yeah, how many bathrooms do you think they have?” he asked jokingly. His companion for the mission was Samara Draven. She seemed pretty cool, and there was an edge to her that felt familiar. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he saw a little bit of himself in her. Not in some gross way ya sicko, but in a “we've come from similar backgrounds” kinda way. Whatever he was probably just overthinking as usual.

“Food sounds great, wanna check out that food cart we passed?” he asked, already heading back toward town.

The main strip of Drumschapel, wasn’t anything to write home about. It looked like the picture-esque little town you’d see in a Hallmark Holo. Actually, if you swoogled the word “Quaint” this town would be in the top results. Of course, the quaintness of the town had its charm, the locals all seemed to know one another, store fronts were manned by smiling owners, and the air smelled of pastries and cooked meats. It was a little slice of paradise in a galaxy on fire, and Leon would be lying if he didn’t feel a little out of place.

Leon let Samara order first at the kabob stand, then swooped in and paid for both, he’d made a little extra on his last mission, and Adumarian honor dicacted kindness whenever possible, plus she was cute and kinda funny so whatever, he bought her a kabob, it wasn’t WEIRD.

As the food stall owner handed over their food Leon asked, “What’s up with the manor at the end of the road there?”
“Beechwood? Don’t go there.”
“What?”
“It’s haunted,” said the kabob guy.
“Really?” asked Leon totally not buying into it.
“Really… Just kidding.”
Leon’s shoulders sagged, “Man, not cool.”

The food vendor laughed and apologized before explaining that the house was owned by a wacky old guy and his wife. He said they didn’t get out much, but that they seemed pretty normal, or as normal as someone could be in a galaxy like this one. Leon thanked him for then turned to Samara, “Wanna chill by the fountain?” he said with a nod in the direction of the water feature.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Drumschapel was one of the last remaining hamlets on the urbanized world of Paqualis III. By and large, it was secluded from the rest of the planet and the populace of the larger cities, nestled in the valley floor of a dale that had once been carved by a wide, fast-flowing river. That river had dried up decades ago, so not many travelers found cause to wander this far out of the cities. Drumschapel was an old logging town, not a tourist attraction, and the locals liked it that way. Everyone knew everyone else, and it was so small that anyone with half a brain couldn't get lost. Even a stranger in town. That included the pair of Padawans, who had no difficulty locating the food cart they had passed earlier. All they had to do was follow the wonderful aroma that hung in the air.

"You don't have to pay for mine," Samara had said at first, when she saw Leon pull some credits out of his pocket to give to the vendor. Then she'd remembered something her grandmother had always said. A gift gladly given should be gladly received. Instead, with a genuine smile that built with every whiff of the kabob, she said, "Thanks. I guess chivalry isn't dead after all." Just a little joke.
The truth was that Samara wasn't exactly rolling in credits anyway. Padawans weren't encouraged to pick up part-time gigs like most teenagers their age did since that would interfere with their education and growing responsibilities. What credits the Chalactan did have she was saving up for a couple of tickets to a Black Selkath concert. She'd pay Leon back one of these days.

Once the vendor's laughter had subsided, Samara asked in between bites, "Do they come to town often?"

Lucky for them he was in a good mood and more than willing to swap gossip with a couple of paying customers. It got boring, standing out on the street all day with only sweaty loggers on their lunch breaks to talk to. "Nah, haven't seen 'em for some time." He scratched his stubbled chin. "Come to think of it, haven't seen him for a long time."

"How long?"

"Eh.." He thought it over and shrugged. "A year or two I suppose. Be sure to give me a plug if you go up there," he grinned. "Yosef's Yum Yums! I cater now!"

That was all they were going to get out of the vendor, simply because that was all he knew, and he was about to close up shop for the evening and head home anyway. Samara took a seat on the limestone blocks that wrapped around the water fountain's reservoir, chewing in silence for a moment or two. Then she looked over at Leon, studying him a bit. This was the first assignment they'd ever been sent on together. She had never met him until a couple days ago, but he was easy to talk to and usually sported a warm if not mischievous smile.

"So what's that mean?" she asked, trying to make conversation as she pointed to the patch on his jacket that said "Scrub Squad." @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”Oh please, I’m already paying,” Leon laughed. He listened as Samara managed to coax a little more info out of the guy. He considered the answers carefully wondering where in the hell the possible Jedi had gone, and even better, why they’d gone missing. She thanked him and he flashed her his mischievous grin, “Give me time, disappointing people is my super power," he joked. [/color]”

Leon leaned back on the cool stone and let a hand dip into the water while he munched on his kabob. He looked down as Samara pointed and said, “You haven’t heard of the Scrub Squad?!” he said looking at her with complete disbelief, then he laughed letting her know he was kidding, “It’s what me and my buddies call our team when we get sent on missions together. It started off as a dumb joke, but…” Memories of blood, death, fear, and eventually triumph flitted through his mind and danced subtly across his expression, before he shook it off with a chuckle finishing with, “It just kinda stuck.”

It always surprised him just how much he and his brother’s had been through. Ezra Throne was normally enough to make people aware of the crew, but following the footage that came out from Berchest, they’d all gained a little recognition. “My turn,” he said, expertly deflecting the conversation from himself and on to his companion, “Why purple?” he held up his hands in a placating surrender, “It looks awesome, definitely suits you, was just curious about the choice.”

Leon took another bite of his food and glanced down at his chrono, they still had time before they needed to meet the Knight back at the manor, “That guy was kinda nonchalant about a missing person right? You’d think in a town where everyone knows each other’s name, someone going missing would be a bigger deal.”

He finished his kabob and tossed the stick into a trash bin, “Anywhere else you wanna check out before we have to meet up with the Knight?”

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

"Honest to a fault I see," the Chalactan said, all smiles as she turned her face upwards toward the other Padawan, who just barely edged her out in height. It sounded like an eye-catching bio on a Ember profile, but it was undoubtedly an exaggeration. If he was a total screw up, he wouldn't have been here in the first place. He'd be under lock and key back on Brighthome, like so many other Padawans that had landed themselves in hot water. It wasn't hard to do these days, with all of the growing regulations and orders put in place by the Grandmaster.
Scrub Squad. Scrub Squad... Nah. It didn't ring a bell, but the majority of Samara's friends outside of classes were other girls—except for Ruzaan, of course—and she watched more holo tv than she did holo news. It was way less depressing. "Sounds exciting," she replied in a genuine tone, taking another bite out of her kebab and chewing.

Certainly more exciting than the image the name had conjured in her mind, of Leon in an oversized uniform with bucket and mop in hand, scrubbing away at one of the boy's dormitory bathrooms on Brighthome. That she would keep to herself, especially since it was so far off the mark. Even if he hadn't explained it to her with words, she would have realized that by the look that passed over his face, as his features lifted with pride and his eyes sparkled with the unmistakable recollection of excitement. Of adventures lived, known, and experienced firsthand. Samara liked to like that her own adventures were just getting started. Only time would tell if this assignment could be added to their list of accomplishments or if it was just another dead end.

"A gypsy fortune teller once told me that if the rising sun ever fell on me and discovered no purple thereon that I would die a violent, gruesome death at the hands of a one-eyed man," she answered nonchalantly, brushing her hands off on her pants since the food vendor had not given them any napkins. Lumberjacks probably never used napkins or something. "My body abandoned by all those I once held dear, left to rot in the sun until my remains could be carted away by stray dogs."

Then she laughed, unable to keep a straight face. Her humor was, perhaps, a little odd, but it was the first ridiculous story she could come up with on the spot. "I'm afraid the answer is much simpler than that." Less exciting, too, as reality often was. "I like the color purple. Always have. My kyber crystal..." She thought back to the day that the Force itself had guided her to it, to that indescribable feeling of complete harmony when she'd picked it up and held it in her hands for the first time. "When it attuned to me, it was purple. Guess it's always kinda been my color." She shrugged and slid off the stone blocks, trying not to dwell on the painful memory of Onderon, where she had lost that lightsaber. Her first lightsaber, the one she had crafted herself. It still stung, like there was a part of her that was missing.

"How about that little place?" She inclined her head toward one of the shops that lined the main thoroughfare. A sign hung over the shop door, crooked and faded. It read Drumschapel's Finest Woodworks and Curios. @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon listened with rapt attention as Samara explained the origin of her purple hair. He was so engrossed by the story that the last bite of this kabob nearly slid off the stick. Then she laughed. Confusion stampeded across his face as he realized she’d been screwing with him. He chuckled sardonically, then suddenly flicked water at her from the fountain while saying, “Ha-Ha, very funny.”

Leon crossed his arms over his chest and pretended to pout as she explained the real reason she’d chosen purple. “Well, I stand by it suiting you, and you should totally go with the first story.”

In the back of his mind he found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t wanna stop hanging out with Samara, but he also didn't want to find out the Jedi they were supposed to meet was dead. It had already happened to him twice, which wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to make him nervous at the onset of each mission.

Samara gestured toward a little shop not far from where they were. “Sure, why not?”

The chime of a charming bell rang out as they stepped into the old timey store. The smell of sawdust and lacquer adorned the shop, but it didn’t accost the senses. It welcomed them.The walls were lined with hundreds upon hundreds of intricately wrought wooden models and clocks. Leon’s mouth hung open as he took in the immensity of the little shop.

“Whoa, this is pretty cool,” he admitted. He spotted an Adumarian starfighter and gasped, “No WAY!”

It took everything in him not to snatch the ship up and buy it right then and there, but he somehow managed. The sound of someone clearing their throat startled him and he spun around. An old man with skin so wrinkly it drooped over his eyes greeted them.

“Nice to have a young couple in, first date?” he teased. Leon’s ears burned at the joke, but he laughed it off. “Thanks for trying to help me out, but she’d never waste her time on me,” Leon shot back with a laugh.

Baudelaire strode over to the counter and gestured back to the ship, “Did you make that ship over there? The Adumarian one?”

The folds of skin over the old man’s eyes lifted revealing a pair of crystal blue eyes tinged with just a bit of wonder. “In all my life, I never thought I’d meet someone who recognized that.”

“Well, not many Adumarian's make it off planet.”

The old man chuckled, to Leon it sounded like the pages of an ancient text being flipped through.

“It’s a pleasure to meet kinsmen, I’m Pascal,” said the store owner while offering his hand.
“Leon Baudelaire,” he replied, taking the man’s hand and shaking it, before adding, “Funny how small the galaxy can be, huh? Oh, sorry, this purple haired beauty behind is Samara.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you both, but I have to ask, why here? It's perfect for an old man like me, but young ones like you should be looking for fun and adventure, not the best bed and breakfast in the sector.”
“Actually, we're from Coronet University, and we're doing a report on the manor up on the hill.”
Pascal chuckled, “Is that so? Beechwood has been pretty popular recently.”
Leon frowned, “Really? Is it like a popular tourist attraction?”
“Only in the past two weeks. A strange figure dressed in black asked about it a fortnight ago and then a few days later a charming Corellian Jedi did the same, now you.”

Leon’s brain went into overdrive. Everything in him screamed Sith, but he couldn’t let his emotions or his fear control his reaction. Instead he adopted the impassive expression he’d seen Ezra use so often. His brow furrowed as the implications of the old man’s words began to settle… their gravity far more stifling than Leon had hoped.

@llamallove