Merrill (dalishpariah) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2015-04-04 12:59:00 |
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Humour was easy to come by for Revan. Resorting to immature remarks and antics may have been unbecoming for most Jedi, but for him, it was second nature. His entry to the unfamiliar network on and unknown world had been a means of singling out those who might be from his world, though those who had been inclined to reply had only added to his confusion. After all, hearing that you were long since dead and gone was a bit unsettling. Not to mention the whole Jedi Purge bit, and the fact that some sort of Empire led by a Darth Vader was a thing. Oh, and you're not even real. But Revan was good at deflecting such unpleasant thoughts. It was difficult, he’d admit, but he’d focused on the people that he had spoken to thus far, focus his energy toward learning more about this strange world through his conversations with them. He ran his hands underneath the cold water streaming from the faucet in the sink, then brought his wet fingers up to press against his eyes.There is no emotion, only peace. The words whispered through his mind, bringing to him a sense of calm he’d not felt since he had last seen Bastila’s face. It helped to steel him in his search for the park he’d meet Merrill in. At the very least, the idea of meeting someone of an entirely new species he’d never heard of was fascinating enough to keep his thoughts away from Bastila and his unborn child. And he was genuinely interested in the bit where she could use magic that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the Force. The brief journey to the park was easier than he expected, and he’d arrived fairly quick. This entire city was like a tiny version of Coruscant -- crowded still, yet still planted firmly on the ground. It was...odd, and refreshing all at once. He hadn’t been there more than a few moments before he’d started reaching out through the Force. Gently so as to not draw attention to himself from other Jedi. For now, he might enjoy a small bit of peace that the time gap and his false name afforded him. His hand slipped into his pocket as he wrapped his fingers around his lightsaber, eyes narrowing as his mind wandered. An approaching presence piqued his interest and stirred him from his thoughts. He turned in time to see a woman walking in his direction, and he need only consider what her presence told him to know it must have been Merrill. Anakin Solo was correct about these magic users, it seemed; he might have mistaken her for a Padawan himself had he not known beforehand. “I expect you’re Merrill?” he asked as she drew near. “I’m Avner. Appreciate you coming to meet me.” His eyes trailed over the tattoos on her face and the point of her ears. She was certainly not a human, he could see that much. “Hopefully no one will mind if we use this park,” he added after he stole a glance around the area. --- Merrill was in awe of everything around her. The buildings were so tall, taller than any trees. Horseless carriages, vendors selling DVDs and purses but no weapons. She felt out of place holding her staff. No one else had staffs. Or swords, or maces. She saw many people dressed up as if in a masquerade. There was even a man dressed as a tree! She was disappointed that he wasn't really a walking tree. She made her way to the park-- it was colder than she was used to. Merrill decided to borrow a pair of boots that were just sitting in the hallway! Just sitting there! Clearly, they were for borrowing. There were a few dirty looks tossed her way, especially when she stopped to pet every dog. Some let her, some dragged the poor things away by their leashes. Merrill stopped when she felt she was far away from others in the park. That there was space. She sat on the ground and laid her staff over her legs. Her fingers went straight for the grass and she was content to just feel the earth below her. She looked up and saw a man coming near. Hopping to her feet, she walked to him as he walked to her. He was just as handsome in person-- she noticed the same thing of Hawke when first meeting him. She apparently liked them tall and dark-haired. Oh, and Qunari. Why couldn’t there be any Qunari around? She nodded when he said her name, “Well met, Avner. And yes, it doesn’t seem there’s much people in this particular part of the park.” Merrill giggled, “People particular part park.” --- He offered a small smile, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards only slightly, as he turned back to face her. She was a petite woman, and the staff she carried only brought that much more attention to the fact. His eyes trailed over it as he considered what use it might have had; he wondered if perhaps it was simply her weapon of choice, though it didn’t appear overtly threatening. “Well, hopefully it stays that way,” he said. “As common as weirdness seems to be here, I doubt they’d be especially enthusiastic over a couple of people using their park as a demonstration field.” All the while he spoke, he once again reached out to sense what he could of her through the Force. There was a power there that betrayed her unassuming appearance, the sort that he was sure would have caught the Order’s eye had they been here themselves. Of course, he didn’t actually think that was a good thing. He pushed away the thoughts before they became embittered -- he had made peace with their decision to take away his identity, and with their decision to condemn his relationship with Bastila. “Can I ask what the staff is for? I have a feeling it’s not just for show.” He released his lightsaber and withdrew his hand from his pocket, motioning toward the staff as he spoke. --- Merrill smiled back, almost as a reflex. She had to look up to see his face-- which she decided then, she liked to do. “Aw, they’ve probably seen worse.” Her accent was thick but had a sweet little lilt to it. She held the staff out so that Avner could get a better look at it. “It’s a conduit for my magic. It’s very helpful, I mean, I could do magic without it, but it’s just nice to have, ya know?” Happy to have eyes on her, she laid her staff on the ground. “Watch this,” she conjured up a small fireball and held it between her hands. “It’s warm!” She pushed her hands together and the fire disappeared, all the while leaving her unharmed and unburned. --- Revan took the opportunity to examine the staff when she held it out, taking a closer step forward so he could have a better look at it. As his eyes trailed over it, he listened carefully to her explanation. It seemed, to him, a simple explanation -- perhaps too simple, in some ways -- but he wondered if such an application of the Force could be mimicked. He decided he would consider that question another time, and he took a step back to his original spot when she set the staff down. His arms crossed over his chest while he waited, and at her demonstration with the fireball, he felt his eyes narrow just slightly. Fire was not an uncommon ability among the Jedi, although he himself had not bothered to learn much about it beyond the basics, and it was in itself a neutral ability. He was relieved at the notion, if only for his own peace of mind. “That’s...quite the talent you have,” he said finally. “Where do you draw your abilities from? Where I come from, those who can perform such feats take their power from the Force.” --- Merrill smiled wide when he seemed impressed. He could have said ‘that was all right, I guess’ and she still would have beamed. “I was born with it. I’m the third child in my clan to have such abilities. It’s common among elves.” She picked up her staff again. “Now it’s your turn, Ser Avner!” --- "Well, it's certainly impressive if you can just draw it from nothing," he said. Though he had his doubts. Such a thing was nearly impossible, wasn't it? Everything came from the Force. Surely other worlds had similar rules. At her words concerning it being his turn, he took a moment's pause to consider. He had to be careful not to draw too much attention to himself. While the other Jedi might have been so much further into the future as he knew it, he wasn't convinced they hadn't heard anything about him. And, he had no way of knowing what they had heard exactly if they had at all. But he supposed a small demonstration wasn't out of the question. He glanced off to his side and spotted a number of fairly decent sized rocks, ones he assumed were meant for decoration. He held out one of his hands and reached out to one through the Force. Invisible fingers wrapped around the rock, lifting it after a second of wobbling in place. He pulled it toward them and settled it neatly between them, setting down gently into the grass as he slid his hand back into his pocket. "There's more where that came from," he said with a slight shrug. "I'm surprised the Force is in this world at all, honestly." --- Merrill clapped excitedly. “You can move things! That must come in handy when you don’t want to get out of bed. You know, once you’ve gotten your blanket just how you want it.” The Force must be like magic, she reckoned. “Maybe it came with you. The other people from your world they can do this too?” Her hand fell to her hip, where a small dagger hung. When he said there was more, she wondered if she should show him her special trick. --- Revan’s mouth once again spread into a small smile and he nodded lightly. “Tempting as it is, they do discourage using the Force for those reasons. Too easy to fall to the dark side and become a servant of evil, you know.” The words rolled off his tongue casually, though he knew what it was to fall all too well. As she continued to speak, he gave another pause before he answered, considering her question carefully. “I suppose some of them can, yes, and it could be that the amount of those sensitive to the Force have brought its influence along,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know any of the people that come from my world. Seems I’ve been dead for thousands of years, according to the year they said they’ve come from.” His eyes followed her hand when it fell to her side and he took note of the dagger it hovered near. He wasn’t worried about an attack of any kind from her, not really, but caution required him to reach out again with the Force, this time attempting to sense her emotions to get an idea on her intentions with the blade. Simply asking was, after all, overrated. --- Merrill couldn’t pinpoint it if she tried. She felt something strange about Avner. Maybe she was sensing the poking of the Force? Could she even do that? When Avner hovered over her hand at the blade, he could probably sense pride. While blood magic was often seen as reprehensible, Merrill thought it was … well, cool. It made her strong. “There are people here that I know as well. They come from different times. There are people who know the people I know, as well. They are from my world. It’s all very strange, the Tesseract reminds me of an Eluvian.” She paused for only a second before explaining, “It was a mirror once used by elves to travel and communicate.” --- “Eluvian?” he repeated. Truth be told, he only barely understood what the Tesseract was; he hadn’t yet bothered to research more into it, as he’d been more inclined to acquaint himself with his new surroundings first. “There was a massive machine that was capable of amazing, terrible things,” he said, though his words seemed distant and unattached. The Star Forge wasn’t his favourite topic of discussion, if only for the fact he had so few memories of it at all and those he had tended to lean on the darker side of things. The feeling of pride washed over him as he studied her, and he withdrew his sensing for the time being while he adjusted his stance. Revan slid his hands back into his pockets and shifted his weight, choosing now to use his own eyes to study her. “You said you practise -- what was it? Blood magic? Would you be willing to show me how that works?” he asked, deciding to ease the topic more toward their reason for meeting. --- “The Eluvian, a mirror. My people used it for communication and travel. It’s a magical item. I think the Tesseract works the same way. It’s not like the technology that is here.” She didn’t understand machines and when Avner mentioned a massive machine, she didn’t really want to know more-- on top of him looking uncomfortable. “You’d like to see?” She bit her lip, gently pulling the dagger from her belt. “Are you sure? It’s not … it’s not really … I mean, there will be blood involved.” Merrill, the girl worried this man might faint at the sight of a little blood. --- “And it was a mirror?” Revan was quite taken aback at the thought, admittedly. He didn’t expect to hear of such a thing when he arrived here -- then again, he didn’t expect to arrive here, so, really, he had no idea what he was expecting. Still...not that. Even without using the Force to sense her emotions, she seemed unsure, like he would regret asking her to show him what she was capable of. For a moment, he wondered if he would; it wouldn’t have been the first time he’d be surprised, anyway. But for now, he was certain he at least wanted to know what he was dealing with. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a nod, the words not quite finding their way from his lips. --- "I don't-- I don't know how to show you without hurting someone..." She sounded nervous, a little panicky suddenly. "I suppose I could show you how it gives me more power..." Merrill pulled the dagger from it's spot on her belt and cut across her palm. Blood welled up fast. She then pointed her staff at the sky and several big bolts of lightning were loosed from the end of it. They were huge and lit up the sky. People several yards away made little sounds of shock and began cleaning up their picnics. --- |