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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 21, 2016 22:34:19 GMT -5
Grandmother waved her hand dismissively. As she did so, Raasha beamed in the corner as she sat, sipping her own tea. She was very proud of grandmother, and of her sister. They were the ones who always seemed to know what to do, and how to do it. Even if 90% of their 'magic' was simply being observant and knowing people, they were a component of the family to be immensely proud of. Immensely.
"Eh, you don't owe me anything young man," She said, before returning Raasha's smile. "My granddaughter on the other hand, you owe her quite a deal. I might also add that I know her very well, and I'm a rather astute judge of character. I think you two will be traveling together for a while. I'll ask you to take any debt you consider, and watch over her. Very carefully."
Raasha blinked, her jaw hanging open in an expression of surprise. The numerous protests danced around her mind unspoken, but Grandma could probably anticipate them all. She was crafty. Crafty and adaptive, and Raasha simply sat there looking wounded.
"Oh yes I know you're sitting there eating stalks like a thimiar and she's probably had to babysit you this far, and probably farther still. But if you do become a Jedi and learn to wield that lightsaber you'll be quite a bit more dangerous than my granddaughter, and I for one would like to know you have every intention of taking good care of her. It's a dangerous affair you're planning to undertake my child. I'm awfully fond of that little girl you see. Want her back alive and reasonably happy. If you can promise me that you'll have made an old woman happy enough."
Raasha folded her arms and tried to stare at her feet. If she'd been human, her face would have been turning red. Being Togruta she'd skipped straight to the result.
"Raasha, darling," Grandmother said rather pointedly, "Go and tell your mother to give you both packs for the hike."
The slender young woman stood up reluctantly and walked out of the room. When the door closed behind her, Grandmother chuckled.
"Quite the gem isn't she? Fiery sometimes, but a sweet girl. You know she's a favorite of mine. I also get the feeling you might like her. Well I can't say I'd have picked a Zabrak, or a vegetarian. But if she likes you, then you'd be all right in my book Mr. Bekk."
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Mr. Slender
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 22, 2016 11:53:43 GMT -5
Bekk honestly hadn't figured Raasha into to the equation of his future plans, so it was a bit surprising to have the old woman assume they'd be traveling together for longer than perhaps to Corvala. The journey to fulfilling his destiny, and dodging the empire along the way , was one he'd planned to face alone, or possibly alongside a teacher. The zabrak was already the reason Raasha had been forced to bail on Cover City, so it felt unreasonable to ask her to stick around.
Then again, he had offered her grandmother his service. Plus, it's not like he could easily stop her if the togruta decided to tag along by get own free will.
Being compared to a rodent for probably the third time and having Raasha looking out of him hearalded as 'babysitting' almost killed the buzz Bekk had received from the good news. However, the praise that followed leveled things out to him feeling just north of happy at the moment. Whether she went with him or not, the zabrak would've like he and his friend to eventually part with her being safe and sound after their journey concluded.
All in all, Bekk would do as the old woman asked, for her sake and Raasha's.
The younger togruta leaving to gather some hiking gear sounded sort of strange, given they'd just arrived after a lengthy trip. Especially since one set of the gear had to be for him, and he had no interest in the slightest of doing some long travel by foot. At least until he finished off the rest of a whole Lyerec plant. The zabrak's mind had begun to shift back to the instinct of a hungry thimiar, when the old woman seemed to call him out about something she couldn't have overheard.
Bekk's mouth opened to fire back a denial for several seconds while he searched for the best rebuttal, yet closed it tightly when he drew a blank once again. He should've stayed quiet about her legs.
"She really is a gem, ma'am" Bekk admitted with amused grin, averting his eyes from the old woman with embarrassment clear on his face. "I swear I'll keep her safe."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 22, 2016 12:18:02 GMT -5
The old woman kept up her stare before breaking into a grin. Her teeth were still plenty fine despite age. She'd been certain he'd been about to deny it, but he'd worked it out all right and knew when to complement a woman's granddaughter. Definitely not a bad sort at all. She cackled a little bit. He was still a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing, but she couldn't blame him at all. It was a difficult time, he had a lot on his plate. He might have thought he wanted to be alone, maybe he did for a few moments, but for the majority of the time? She knew he'd want somebody there.
Especially given how long the trip was.
"That's a good young man," She said, patting him lightly on the arm. "It's going to be a very long journey ahead of you. Corvala is on the other side of these mountains by a considerable distance. There's only a few passes, and just one you can move a landspeeder through. The Empire will be there. However slow it takes, your own legs will be a better choice."
Somehow she managed to eye him, looking up and down, despite having very nonfunctional eyes. She cackled again.
"And you're obviously in good shape, I think you'll hold up nicely. Tomorrow morning I think you can head out. Would be a shame to miss the feast tonight, it'll be something to see certainly."
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Mr. Slender
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 22, 2016 13:20:59 GMT -5
Bekk instantly longed for some force ability that let him turn invisible as the embarrassment seemed to mount. The old woman cackling actually brought a little rosy tint to his yellow and tan cheeks. The worse part of this while arrangement, besides feeling like an awkward kid all over again, was that he wasn't sure his feelings for Raasha went beyond admiration. It was honestly too early to tell.
Although, he knew right away that this hike to Corvala sounded like it was going to suck. It almost felt like a crime that a man devoted to repairing an maintaining all manner of powered vehicles was reduced to having to walk to his destination. Seeing other alternative, Bekk silently wondered if calling a cab all the way out here would work.
Sadly, the old woman's opinion on his build mandated that he do this trip the togruta way, that or potentially lose any respect he might have garnered. The only silver lining he saw was at least the journey could wait until the morning. Plus, at least he wouldn't be all alone in the mountains.
"I'm honored I get to enjoy the festivities with your family and the rest of the village, but before that I have one last, big question." Bekk mentioned, with somewhat regained composure and a stare right back into her milky gaze.
"Do you know any exercises or game to help practice with the force? It might be awhile before I come face to face with a teacher, so I'd at least like to practice in the meantime."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 22, 2016 16:04:38 GMT -5
Grandmother smiled some more, thinly to avoid showing too much fang, and she nodded. He'd be less honored about the festivities when he realized how much of them contained meat. On the other hand when he found out how many of them contained alcohol, that would probably dull the blow considerably. There was one other thing the old woman could respect about Bekk, he asked good questions. He wanted to cut straight to the chase and get working on his new project. The only difference was the project was himself.
"The Force is different for every person, you'll find your ways eventually. But you might start with meditating, with clearing your mind, and simply focusing. From there you might try to feel for living things near you, or you might try to move small rocks with your focus. But don't feel badly if these things don't work for you, the Force is complicated. The Jedi studied it for millennia, and you've had just a short while to know. Remember patience. The Jedi teach patience, self-control, and to feel calm and at peace. You'll always do your best when you feel like this."
She rose from the floor, using her cane heavily, and set down her empty cup of tea.
"You'll do fine young Mr. Bekk. Don't worry too much. Now come along and explore the village a little."
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 22, 2016 22:37:35 GMT -5
Bekk hung onto the old woman's words harder than he'd even done for his adopted mother, still trying to wrap his somewhat cynical mind around the feats the force could display. He absolutely believed what Raasha and her grandmother had to say about the force, the Jedi and most things in general at this point. Still, skepticism was an unfortunate part of who he was, up until he could toss rocks around with his thoughts.
After the old woman picked up her cup the zabrak suddenly remember that he'd carelessly neglected his. In the midst of all this life changing dialog he'd simply forgotten all about it. Given the time he calculated it would take a person of her age to lurch over to the door, Bekk sipped the now lukewarm brew to compare the taste. Having a lower temp did nothing to ruin the exquisite flavor, and in fact opened up avenues for for different ways of consumption. Served on ice in the summer came to mind.
"I know I've said it enough already, but thanks again, ma'am" Bekk mentioned to his ancient host, as he held the door open for her to leave first.
As welcoming as it was from her, Bekk couldn't imagine that the other villagers would be quite so kind to a stranger lurking about. Honestly, staying in the Ka family abode would've been his choice to do instead, if he had any. Hopefully the feast would come soon and Raasha would come back sooner.
Until then the waterfall seemed the most interesting part of the natural landscape, and the spot he'd least likely get some bad looks. He hoped.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 24, 2016 15:49:34 GMT -5
Grandmother gave him a hearty pat on the back in the doorway, and waved Bekk goodbye before moving off to her own dwelling once again. Raasha was nowhere to be seen, and the assorted villages mostly seemed busy. A few of them found time to stare momentarily at Bekk before returning to their own matters. Cooking fires gave the air a pleasant smokey smell. The ground by the stream was moist, and there were assorted knee-high plants. Occasionally the rustling of some small animal sounded. The waterfall though was impressive. Not in the least because there was a shallow grotto behind it. There were a number of candles and small bowls containing various offerings.
The reason was simple. Most places had some sort of religious observance, and this was a preferred location for the village.
Raasha emerged from the central building, quickly spotting Bekk and walking directly towards him. Her strides were quite long, and it wasn't more than a few seconds later that she stood right next to Bekk.
"Packs are ready, we can go tomorrow," She announced to the Zabrak, folding her arms, and looking up at the sky. The sun was starting the climb down, and if she was any judge, they had about four hours of good sunlight left. Her blue eyes looked Bekk up and down.
"What did Grandmother say?" She asked quietly.
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 24, 2016 19:10:08 GMT -5
Bekk was rather disappointed with the ecosystem he found by the water's edge, but the landscape was still breathtaking. This was the first waterfall he'd ever seen in person. He'd expected the surrounding area to be a bed of erosion smoothed stones, instead of the marshy weeds he stumbled into. The soggy surface definitely meant he wasn't going to reach down to search for a rock to practice with, yet the presence of what he assumed to be thimiar opened other options.
The zabrak had concentrated on tasks dozens if not hundreds of times; however, he had never accomplished anything he'd attribute to the force before. Sensing thimiars would be his first real test, and hopefully his first success. Raasha's sudden presence unfortunately ended the exercise before Bekk could even close his eyes.
"Oh, that's good." Was all he felt up to replying, shrinking a tad under his friend's piercing blue gaze. The zabrak couldn't stop thinking about the conversation after she left the room, and even he exchange before then. What was supposed to be a simple partnership suddenly seemed like a daunting task to him on closer inspection. What if she did like him, what the hell was he supposed to do then!?
"Um...nothing really. Just some force exercises I might want to try. Also...I told her I'd keep an eye on you, so you can safely return home and all after you're tired of helping me." Bekk rambled off, lowering his tone when he began the last sentence. He couldn't understand why exactly he added that part, but it just felt like something he had to.
Either way, the awkwardness was to an almost palpable level in the air; in fact, to the point the togruta might have felt a inadvertent slight ping on her mind from Bekk's raging mind being directed at her.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 24, 2016 21:27:13 GMT -5
Raasha noticed him look away. Lucky for him the last thing on her mind was sexual. She actually felt a bit guilty, and stared down at her own feet. It was about the Force. Something very private. Something very special. And she'd... Well, she'd just been presumptuous and suddenly asked about everything. But no it was private. She did feel awkward about it. Especially... Well about feeling like that. He knew that she'd been feeling burdened about accompanying him, and she also knew that was wrong. She'd been raised better than that. To risk her life for Jedi.
Maybe he wasn't one yet, but he could be. She'd heard what Grandmother said.
She sighed.
"I sorry for..." She paused, her Basic failing. She switched into her own tongue.
"For probing too much. It's not something I need to know, and maybe I was just jealous you have the Force and I don't. It... I was raised better than that. I'll help you get to a Jedi, it's the least I can do to say I'm sorry. It was very rude. I know I, we, that is my people, we can be very demanding. About socializing. And if you ever need time to be alone, just tell me and I'll try to respect that."
She idly scratched her leg, shifting her weight awkwardly as she glanced at the running water.
"Uh, you be happy to hear though, Grandmother announce to village that you take vow of fasting, so they not ask you to eat meat tonight."
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 24, 2016 22:00:26 GMT -5
Bekk's predictions for how things were going to go had a track record of at least 0 - 4 today alone, so it wasn't much of a surprise to have Raasha reply with a surprise apology. While she followed it up in basic, before switching to her native tongue, his mouth remainly slightly open and wavering. After every word she spouted based on this misunderstanding the zabrak wanted to set the record straighten, but also seemed to lose his nerve after each one as well.
In the end, Bekk threw out his hands to put the brakes on things before they got any worse. The truth may have go him into this awkward situation, yet he'd rather air that out then let the wrong idea linger around.
"Raasha, that's not it at all. I wasn't holding back because of the force, it has to do with the two of us." The zabrak began, stopping to clear his throat and stare down at the grass around his boots before continuing. "I didn't say anything about our earlier talk to your mother or your granny, but the latter seems set on playing matchmaker with us."
"Yes, I find you attractive....just I have no idea how to feel about that right now, let alone how you feel about it. When she told me to look after you, I think she meant it in a 'til death do us part' kinda way." Bekk concluded, biting his lip hard after delivering that last bit.
"So, that's good news about the feast, huh? Really dodged a bullet there." He blurted seconds later, as he turned to face the waterfall so his face could take on an expression of worry away from prying eyes.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 24, 2016 23:02:47 GMT -5
Raasha managed to have the sort of expression that Bekk felt like frequently. Her jaw had dropped like the pants of an overeager teenager, and she gaped at the thin air. Her exceptionally sharp fangs looked confused even as she managed to display the exact same emotion herself. She blushed. Which is to say the markings on her montrals and her headtails flared a brighter shade, and her eyes were wide. Then abruptly she closed them, and winced. She let out a lengthy sigh. This was not the first time she'd had this problem. No, far from it. As much as she loved and respected grandmother, she'd just gotten worse every passing year that Raasha stayed single.
"I swear she does this every single time I ever do so much as mention a man's name!" Raasha paced back and forth, waving her hands in surprising animation.
Grandmother was increasingly pushy about great-grandchildren, and warning of spinsterhood, and trying to arrange some marriage, any marriage. Even children had dropped out of their status as primary consideration. She blushed madly at that realization. Zabrak and Togruta couldn't have offspring, it meant grandmother was getting desperate enough to try to push relations between her and ANY man who came along! It was humiliating! She seethed over it.
"She constantly tries to set me up with people! She's tired of waiting and thinks that I'm too old to be single, and-" Raasha flung her hands in the air and growled. Literally growled. It was not the sort of noise a human throat could make.
She breathed in and out heavily for a few seconds, closed her eyes, balled her fists, released them, and then seemed calmer.
"Sorry for that... um... starburst."
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Mr. Slender
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 25, 2016 14:07:38 GMT -5
Bekk slowly turned around as Raasha began spouting clearly irritated words in her native tongue, and almost immediately he felt laughter start to form in his throat. This was too good. Just the conviction and digust with which she spoke about this earlier exchange between him and her granny was comedy gold, let alone the iconic agitated pacing. It was like she had to walk the angry all out.
The zabrak held back the torrent of laughter behind his lips for the sake of his friend, yet the growl she let out released the flood gates!
Bekk nearly doubled over as the laughter got so long and so hard he could barely catch his breath. He leaned forward and put his hands on his knees so he could laugh towards the ground instead of his face, but that didn't change the volume one decibel. It was more due to lack of oxygen that he gradually started to dial it back.
"Outburst.." He choked out, letting out a loud exhale before taking in an equally loud inhale. "You meant to say outburst...speaking out which, sorry for mine just now." Bekk explained, with a wide grin as he returned to standing upright. The smiling zabrak even flicked a few tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Don't apologize, my mother would've acted the same way. In fact, I'm still kinda curious how she's gonna take meeting you in Corvala. I think she'll like you a lot." Bekk continued, obviously feeling a whole hell of a lot less tense now.
"By the way, besides this waterfall, is there any place I could grab a quick bath? I don't want to be reeking at the feast in a bit..."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 25, 2016 17:02:10 GMT -5
Raasha was somehow even more embarrassed when Bekk burst into laughter, and by the time he settled down she had an intensely sheepish expression. Not in the least because she'd managed to use the wrong word. Outburst. She tried to file that one away mentally so as to not make the same mistake. It was... Well she smiled sheepishly now. It was definitely a bit humbling. However, she felt better hearing Bekk's mother would do the same. And she also felt fortunate that her own mother wasn't so pushy at that. More... Selective. Excessively so.
She shook herself free of that quagmire, and focused in on Bekk's query about bathing.
Somehow she had a bit of a suspicion he wouldn't like how it was seasonally. In winter they used a tub heated by a stove, but in summer it was outdoor. Still, a request was a request, and it would do him some good to stretch his legs.
"This way," She said, tugging lightly at his arm, and walking downhill, following the stream. It dipped out of the village in a turn, and fell down another waterfall, though it was only a dozen feet, and poured into what was in essence a wide pool the water swirled in lazily before leaving at the far end to meander through sloping country of trees. The water was, mercifully, not crystal clear. Clean enough certainly, but not quite so ready and willing to betray privacy. Raasha, with the kind of experience given by childhoods well spent, wasted no time clambering down the embankment. She used various handholds. Bits of rock, tree roots. Of course there was also a path sloping around.
She paused happily at the bottom, grinning up at Bekk.
"This is it."
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Post by Mr. Slender on Mar 25, 2016 20:50:41 GMT -5
It was funny, up until that moment Bekk really hadn't thought about it long enough to clarify, but he'd been without a bath for six days, not five. The day that started this whole life transition he'd skipped his normally daily shower at the shop to not make Raasha wait too long. Armed with the correct facts, the zabrak almost felt bad that he'd asked for the means to end the streak. Another day and he could've bragged he'd been a literally week without a bath before.
Still, Bekk happily followed before his togruta friend, enjoying his increasing knowledge of the village and the area around it. Who knew what else was out here besides another waterfall? Definitely Raasha, but knowing all that was a high enough priority to bother her with that question. Raasha showing the path down eliminated the question for that as well.
That being said, the zabrak wasn't too keen on climbing down something that wasn't either treated timber or high quality durasteel. Bekk noticed the path leading down as well, but couldn't help but imagine it was for kids and old folks only. So down he descended, shivering on the inside but stoney on the outside during the endeavor.
At the bottom he stared at his wavy reflection on the water's surface for a moment contemplating what he was about to do next. Namely stripping naked in front of a woman he barely knew. Bekk certainly had nothing to be ashamed of with his body, it was just the idea of being that exposed sounded awful. However, he slowly started to disrobe, starting by setting aside the lightsaber and the contents of his pockets.
A minute or so later he was looking at his reflection again, just this time a lot more naked and feeling liberated. The nearly weeks worth of ball sweat he'd had to endure left the poor man with a hell of an initial itch, but will power alone saved Raasha from seeing her thoroughly scratching his tackle.
Although, the suddenness of his recoil from testing the apparently freezing stream sent things flopping around for a few seconds. "Geez, guess I was insane to think a naturally occurring water source would be warmer than runoff from a glacier."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Mar 25, 2016 21:31:19 GMT -5
Raasha stopped, and sat briefly on a fallen log near the shore while she weighed her own thoughts. He was starting to strip, and the Togruta thought quickly about polite limits. On the one hand, she was... Well, curious. She'd never seen a naked alien before. Of course they'd always had a sort of... Situation at the bathing area, of different times. Save for the teenagers who liked to do things more or less within the same general times. With much giggling and gawking. She'd done it a few times before Mother cuffed her on the lekku and made her go hunt for food as punishment.
Her better polite side won, and she turned her back, waiting to turn until she felt him start going into the water.
It was something of a surprise then that he immediately sprang back, giving her quite an eyeful. More importantly, now it was her turn to double over laughing. Another particularly amused snort erupted when he protested he thought it would be warmer than glacial water. Strangely 'glacial runoff' was a term she did know in Basic, from situations just like this with many people who paid for hunting trips.
She covered her mouth while she continued to chortle, then pointed high above and behind the village, to the snowy mountain peaks.
"Is because it is. It is glacial runoff."
Raasha decided that, clearly, he needed some encouragement.
"Is all better once in. Quick. Otherwise, you never do."
She pulled off the vest, then the long dress she wore. Luckily for whatever sense of modesty she was obliged to maintain, and unluckily for whatever questions he'd been having, she wore undergarments. Admittedly it was a tan leather bikini top and a matching bottom that weren't about to make anybody have chaste thoughts, but it wasn't nudity. Without any delay though, Raasha disappeared into the water with a splash, and her towering montrals reappeared above the water, face closely following, with a grin.
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