Jonnie ⚜ Merritt (angryjonnie) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-03-22 10:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | !locale: naboo, dee, liriael d'lander |
you did the right thing, covered your scars
Who: Dee & Liriael.
What: A little recovery time.
When: A few days after this.
Where: Outside the medcenter.
Rating: G as F.
Absently, Liriael prodded at the healing pink skin on her shoulder, feeling the give of it and the remaining twinge of pain. Faint, it reminded her only a little of the horrible bite that had inflicted it. That memory was still wrapped up in batting, soft and difficult to see, as a result of the medicine they had given her in the medcenter. A lot of her was still fuzzy, and she decided to peel off the medpatch still on her arm. If the pain returned, she would ask for another dose, but she’d like to be clear for a little while.
The bright Naboo sun beat down on her head. Normally, Liri still shunned the sunlight, growing up as she had on such a darker, wooded planet. But the heat felt good on her hair, and it loosened the stiffness in her joints. She had located a bench not far from the medcenter, surrounded by the greenery that the Naboo people were so fond of, and she sat, determined to put a few of her thoughts in order.
She was not left to her own devices for long: in a moment her medic appeared, black curls bound in a high ponytail, the bones of her necklace clinking out soft music as she walked. Dee waved while she was still paces away from her captain; her smile grew as she drew near. She took a seat beside Liriael, sliding close on the bench.
“It looks better,” she said, peering at the scarred bite. “I’m glad you let me see to it.”
“Hey, I hired you for a reason,” Liriael joked, thankfully not wincing now when Dee poked at the sensitive flesh. “I’m no martyr….give me relief and give it to me fast, you know? I don’t get the whole, suffering to be a better person.” Chuckling, she stretched out her legs, to ease the cramp of the injury there. “I’m glad to be alive. I knew that eventually, someone was going to have it in for me, but I really didn’t think it was going to be so soon.” As she glanced over at Dee, she added, a little quieter, “Sorry for scaring you all.”
Dee shook her head. “If you knew the half of what I’ve dealt with,” she said. “What’s a work week without a little light mauling, right?”
A shadow crossed Dee’s face; her brow knit, and she looked a bit more closely at her companion. “So… you think someone ‘has it in’ for you? Do you think this animal attack was intentional? Someone’s pet, perhaps?”
Liriael was quiet as she considered her answer. “I don’t think necessarily that someone planned to attack me before….I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, mostly because it was a routine errand, and it’s too flat out where the property is to really follow me without being noticed. But I do think that whatever it was went for me intentionally as soon as it saw me. So...that means I might have a new enemy, now.” She flexed her arm, before she added, “I rather like the scars, to be honest. I don’t know why, but….perhaps to remind me I should be grateful about life, instead of giving in to fear of danger.”
“I’m told some people find them attractive.” Dee’s voice was deadpan, but a small smile curved her lips. “I understand what you mean. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to heal them completely, all the same. I’m not sure what held me back, but…” She sighed. Sitting back on the bench, she folded her arms across her chest. “Regardless, you know we have to find the creature. And whoever set it on you, if that’s what happened.”
The comment made Liriael laugh, a little sheepishly. “I’m kinda a celibate person,” she replied, amused, “but it’s not a bad thing, to have someone find them interesting, I guess. And don’t worry about it, you did so much.” She reached over and squeezed Dee’s shoulder. Dee smiled, and leaned into her touch.
“You and Cassie, always so pent up. Relax. I think you guys are doing fine. More than fine, considering you aren’t even in your own galaxy. I have it easy.” For a moment, she tipped her face up to the sun. “I have got to get used to being a daytime person. Ugh. Much prefer the night life. And yea...I think Caine might be champing at the bit a little to track it down and deal with it.”
Dee chuckled. “Caine seems like the sort to champ at the bit about nearly anything,” she said. “I mean no offense. Only he's very… aggressive. He clearly cares about you. I hope he trusts that Cassie and I do, too.”
“He will,” Liri said, blithely. “Caine is the sort to judge you on your merits and how you act, not on your past or your affiliations. Once you earn his loyalty, it will be absolute. Get to know him.” She glanced over at Dee. “It’s his story to tell, about where he came from, but he had to persevere against some long odds. And he misses someone that he loves very much. Being here, it’s hard on him, and yet he’s making the best of it that he can. He’s a good friend.” Even as she said it aloud, she felt the words solidify. As much as she cared about her crew, Liri wished she could help them return to the world they knew, especially Caine. Cassie seemed happier here, so that was a blessing. And Dee.. “How are you handling being here, Dee?”
She considered her answer carefully. Her hands wrapped around the bench seat, taking comfort in the solid shape beneath her. So little felt certain these days; so little seemed lasting, or easily counted upon. Her nails dug into the wood. “It’s hard,” she admitted. “Usually I’m fine. Then I think about space travel, or talk to a droid, and I realize all over again just how far I am from home.” Her smile was frail and thin. “I’ll get used to it. I’ve missed having a close-knit group. Hopefully I’ll have that again soon.”
Considering both what Dee said and did not say, Liriael considered her answer. “I think that this crew, with Caine and Cassie, can have that. It’s just...a feeling I get. I’m pretty decent with the Force,” she added, with a mock conspiratorial air. “I am not a mind reader, as that certainly seems to be the prevailing rumor about people who are sensitive, but I can usually sense what’s on the surface. All three of you….and maybe one more crew member who I have been chatting with….you all fit well here, with me, and with the Vagabond.”
The medic’s smile turned sad. She started to ask a question, but it died on her lips. She folded her hands in her lap, shifting uncomfortably on the bench, and sighed. “I need to talk to you about that,” she said. “I want to be a part of the crew. But something’s… come up. I need to be away from Naboo for a while. Away from you and the others. I’ll come back when I can, but for now…” Frowning, she leaned in toward Liriael, as though her nearness might stave off the uncertainty and fear she felt. “I’m sorry, Liriael.”
Just as she said, Liri could feel the pain radiating off of her crewmate. Instantly, she said, “Of course, Dee. I promised you that there were no strings attached, in case you needed to take care of personal things.” Her shoulder ached as she reached, but she carefully slid an arm around the smaller woman. “I consider you a friend, not just a crew mate. You know, if you are in trouble in any way, I am here to help, but I won’t press. Just wanted you to know you could tell me.”
“I know,” Dee said. She settled in against Liriael, reminded--for better and worse--of old times, and other comforts. “And that’s exactly why I can’t. I’ll keep in contact as often as I’m able. And when I can, I will be back. I swear.” She pursed her lips. “You may want to keep Caine and Cassie very close for a while. Be vigilant. All right?”
Catching the undercurrent from Dee’s emotions, Liriael responded, “I will. But you are scaring me a little, Dee. I don’t like the idea that you are in danger. I’m not without skill, even though whatever it was that attacked me did nearly succeed in its goal. I may be able to help you, if you are in trouble.” She squeezed slightly, ignoring the pain that shot up her arm. “I won’t press, but that needed saying.”
Dee nodded. “Thank you, Liriael. I don’t mean to frighten you, but honestly this warrants it. I’ll continue my search for what attacked you as I can; being away won’t stop me researching. It never has before.” She sighed. “Perhaps it’s all connected. I don’t know. But if I did anything to bring further danger to you or the others… I would be selfish to run that risk.”
She pulled away enough to see the places that hurt Liriael still. Her frown deepened. “Speaking of selfish,” she said. “You’re in pain. I can try to alleviate that.”
Gently, Liri pushed Dee’s hands away. “You wore yourself out healing me before, and I can see that it didn’t work the way you had expected it. If you are heading out soon, save your energy to protect yourself. I know other healers that can help if I really need it, but my body will also heal on its own.” She frowned slightly, thinking about the attacker. “The more I review what happened, the more I suspect that it was nothing from Naboo at all….maybe not from this galaxy.” She let those words hang in the air.
“There are plenty of things that fit that description nowadays,” Dee said. “But what makes you say that? I know I’ve barely scratched the surface of my studies here, but it seems you have a wide variety of animals which might cause bites like those you received. I’ve known animal tamers before… surely those exist in this galaxy as well. How does this seem unlike what you know?”
“It was several small things,” Liri admitted. “Just for the basics….Grakkts are swamp-based, and vastly prefer the water. It’s usually very basic to avoid them. But this one was climbing on a house in the middle of a large, cultivated property with no water.” She was actually asking Caine to look into that; perhaps there was some pond or other watery area she did not see on the property before. “It was bigger than they get, too. But that wasn’t the odd part. I shot it several times, and each time I did, instead of a scorch mark or some other mark, the area showed...blue. Like bright blue.” That was the one of the two parts she was having a hard time reconciling to anything else. “And it smelled funny, like...rubber, like I was burning a coolant line or something. But trust me, those pale to the fact that it….” She wrinkled up her nose slightly, considering the explanation before she gave it. “Its tongue elongated, like a tentacle, a very very long tentacle, and wrapped itself around my speeder, trying to crush it. I looked up Grakkt files as soon as I was allowed to sit up, and that something no one else has recorded. The strength was phenomenal….it was actually crushing my speeder.”
A deep furrow creased Dee’s brow. “Gods,” she breathed. “That is something strange indeed. I know of nothing in my world, either, that would fit that description.” She gave a wry laugh. “And I have seen some things. I wish I could help, Liriael. Perhaps where I travel, I will find someone who has seen something of this description. It’s a blessing you got to the hospital, all things considered.”
Her expression cleared, and Liriael only nodded, with a wry look. “You can see why I haven’t been able to puzzle it out. Oh, I forgot to tell you the most significant part….I could not actually sense it, with the Force. Normally, I can feel people, and creatures, just by the very life in their bodies. I cannot always tell who, unless they are very familiar to me, but it’s...just a way of sensing overall. This creature, whatever it was, felt blank. As if it wasn’t there...a vacuum in the space where I should have felt it. Isn’t that strange?”
“Strange,” Dee repeated. She turned over this new information in her mind, but no matter how long she contemplated it, it made no more sense to her. She made a note to ask Issan when next she saw her. “And… impossible. Is it not? I know not everyone can sense the Force, but as I understand it, it exists in all things. How could something be, without some connection to the Force?”
“I don’t know if it’s impossible.” Liriael frowned, reminded again of the gaps in her own knowledge. “I’m hoping one of the Jedi know. I have learned all I can about the Force, Dee, but it still comes from holos, from books, from garbled stories. I’ve been able to piece together a history of the Order, before it fell, I know about those Jedi who have come before, but honestly...I’ve never met one. There are some Force-sensitives who I have trained with here and there, but my skillset is sorely lacking there. I don’t know if this is something rare, or if it is a skill that can be learned. Hopefully, I can meet one of the old Order and learn.”
Dee thought on this for a moment. She slid a hand through her hair, shaking out a thick mass of curls. “I hope you find someone who can help,” she said. “I didn’t think there were many of them left… if any.” She shrugged. “But of course I only know what I’ve read so far. Which is far less than what you’ve found, I’m certain.” She patted Liriael’s hand. “If there’s an answer, I’m sure you’ll find it.”
“We will,” Liri answered, firmly emphasizing the group. “You're still a part of my crew no matter what. But yea...Jedi are nearly extinct. With the rift, there may be a few that will speak with me.” She thought of her brief conversation with Qui-Gon. It seemed presumptive to mention anything about training or even a meeting when no decision had been made, so she left that subject be. “I have hope, though. I know one thing...if I stay vigilant, the creature should not be able to take me unaware again. That feeling of nothingness was far too distinctive.”
She nodded. It was a frightening thought, for nothing to exist where a spirit--Force, she corrected herself--should have been. “If I can do anything, even so far away… you’ll let me know?”
“You can't get away that easily,” Liri reassured her. “I need my crew, or else we’ll never get paid. Ships don't run on dreams, kid.” She chuckled, remembering her conversation with Han, who was thankfully very laid back as well. “We will be here when you get back.” Gently, she added, “Stay safe. And may the Force be with you, Dee.”
Dee smiled. She squeezed Liriael’s hand, then rose from the bench. Something sad darkened her eyes, but she did not let it color her expression. With a slight wave she made her last goodbye, and walked off toward whatever came next.