Nomi’s brown-black eyes remained fixed on Julian’s face while he made excuses. What did mood or tiredness have to do with it? They weren’t just Jedi, they were Guardian. And they were the best at it. You need to do it again, you do it again. He should know that down to the bone marrow. He had known it. But she was an adult… and Jedi. Maybe his priorities had changed, maybe there was something else he was still fighting with. She didn’t ask.
She watched his eyes snap back to her wrist and evaluate it with something like the same thoughtful shock she’d just experienced, but more grief. And then he was back. More worn, with that concerning and halfhearted smile that she wanted to narrow her eyes and shove him for worrying about spending his energy on just for her sake. But he was Julian. The Zeltron-reassurance thing was coded into him somewhere—and maybe it had been too many years for him to put the hero mask down yet.
“Julian. Please don't play games. You know exactly what startled me. We both know perfectly well that's never happened… and it obviously hit you at least as hard. You’re not happy about it. I couldn’t tell you if I am because I am not finished with that. But I am…. Stunned. Good job.”
She breathed out through her nose and returned the weapon in her hand to her belt, hooking it neatly on her side opposite the scraped black hilt, and habitually rolling her shoulders while she tried to think.
“I… would like us to do it again. Now. But I’ll wait if I have to. So…”
A spark of controlled energy flickered to life in her eyes.
“We have a planet. I’m going to run and you should too. I'll race you to—” She jutted her chin at a tree-capped rock peak some 20 clicks out in a straight line, but with the hilly valley and rock cut river terrain, it was bound to be more. And it would be fun.
“—Whatever the best thing I find up there is. And I will see you there.”
Summoning a last grin and an agile show-off flip she didn’t bother resisting, her feet hit the ground running. Abandoning Julian, she shot off through the trees.
(BYE!)
A Small Clearing
-
Nomi Jonan
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:33 pm
Re: A Small Clearing
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
-
Julian Orspach
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 11:03 am
Re: A Small Clearing
Julian listened intently to Nomi, there was no hiding from her, twenty years or not she knew him down to the core. He rolled his neck again and listened for the crack, it was a satisfying feeling, cathartic more than anything. Perhaps it was a tell, one that he she would work on eliminating, but who really cared? He never did it in battle, not before at least, after was okay especially if he had one which he had done so. He looked at her and how whole she was compared to him, sure there had been trauma in her life but she remained intact. He was still trying to put all the pieces back together and had been mostly successful, but this moment here in time, caused him to question if he'd ever been Julian Orspach again.
"No I'm not happy about it because if this was six months ago you'd be dead Nomi...you, the only person capable of stopping me would be dead. You need to..."
He blinked. She was going for a run? When was going for a run ever a good idea? He remembered a story his father had told him long ago about going for a run and how it ended with him being given his robotic arm...which he loved. Julian snickered, his father was a true Guardian down to his core he wore that robotic arm like a badge of honor. Perhaps one day Julian himself would learn to wear his scars both seen an unseen the same way his father wore his arm. Then Nomi abruptly announced her departure and took off.
Cheater.
A sense of child like frustration at his friend filled his mind as he watched her take off, without hesitation he immediately followed her. Where she was going was anyone's guess, but he imagined one could not lose the race if they arbitrarily decided the finish line along the route. Typical Nomi, cheating and then claiming victory.
"I see you haven't changed!"
He shouted to her as he took off behind her, his feet pounding the ground, a typical stride at first, he stay off his toes until the last bit and sprint at the end passing her perhaps without tripping her, perhaps not. She was a good several meters in front of him, they came upon a small stream, he watched Nomi jump over it with a bit of help from the force, he followed suit. Staying close enough behind her to catch a draft and shield his body from the direct impact of the wind allowing him to expend slightly less energy than her.
Dopamine filled his brain as they moved to the fourteen click mark in their run, it was euphoric and as he looked at Nomi in front of him he could feel a smile forming on his face as he breathed in through his nose. This was fun, this was a good idea, sweat dripped down his face and he thought about sprinting here and now and tackling her to the ground and drawing his blade again and re-dueling her right here and now but he was also a master of his own genetics. He knew full well that was the Zeltron part of his brain talking which...it had a good point, tackling her might turn out interesting because the fact was that she was experiencing the same runner's high that he was, they were Jedi, but not immune to basic biological facts. You run for a long distance and dopamine pours into your brain to give you that extra motivation. The thing that would make it interesting though was that he was Zeltron and the simple fact was that while all living beings have pheromones in their sweat, including Nomi of which he was now keenly aware of being as close to her as he was, Zeltrons had a lot more and they were a lot more powerful. Zeltrons could also release them at will, which he most certainly was not doing, but he was dripping in sweat and that could not be changed. He was however most certainly in this moment sure of his attraction to her and that it was not simply a boyhood crush that would pass after spending time together as adults. So tackling her here and now, might well be fun and it might lead to another duel, but he did not want to risk her thinking that he had an ulterior motive in doing so. Still, he knew Nomi had more will power than that, as did he, but best not to even tempt fate which had been somewhat unkind to him in the past...
Eighteen clicks. He could see where he thought the finish line was as they trekked up hill over rocky terrain, dodging tree branches, both of them expertly maintaining their footing on far from safe terrain. This was exhilarating!
"Almost there! Want to rest?"
Julian kicked it into high gear and started running only on his toes, giving him more speed, he sprinted as he closed in on Nomi breathing heavily, the cold and thin air filled his nose...they were almost there...
"No I'm not happy about it because if this was six months ago you'd be dead Nomi...you, the only person capable of stopping me would be dead. You need to..."
He blinked. She was going for a run? When was going for a run ever a good idea? He remembered a story his father had told him long ago about going for a run and how it ended with him being given his robotic arm...which he loved. Julian snickered, his father was a true Guardian down to his core he wore that robotic arm like a badge of honor. Perhaps one day Julian himself would learn to wear his scars both seen an unseen the same way his father wore his arm. Then Nomi abruptly announced her departure and took off.
Cheater.
A sense of child like frustration at his friend filled his mind as he watched her take off, without hesitation he immediately followed her. Where she was going was anyone's guess, but he imagined one could not lose the race if they arbitrarily decided the finish line along the route. Typical Nomi, cheating and then claiming victory.
"I see you haven't changed!"
He shouted to her as he took off behind her, his feet pounding the ground, a typical stride at first, he stay off his toes until the last bit and sprint at the end passing her perhaps without tripping her, perhaps not. She was a good several meters in front of him, they came upon a small stream, he watched Nomi jump over it with a bit of help from the force, he followed suit. Staying close enough behind her to catch a draft and shield his body from the direct impact of the wind allowing him to expend slightly less energy than her.
Dopamine filled his brain as they moved to the fourteen click mark in their run, it was euphoric and as he looked at Nomi in front of him he could feel a smile forming on his face as he breathed in through his nose. This was fun, this was a good idea, sweat dripped down his face and he thought about sprinting here and now and tackling her to the ground and drawing his blade again and re-dueling her right here and now but he was also a master of his own genetics. He knew full well that was the Zeltron part of his brain talking which...it had a good point, tackling her might turn out interesting because the fact was that she was experiencing the same runner's high that he was, they were Jedi, but not immune to basic biological facts. You run for a long distance and dopamine pours into your brain to give you that extra motivation. The thing that would make it interesting though was that he was Zeltron and the simple fact was that while all living beings have pheromones in their sweat, including Nomi of which he was now keenly aware of being as close to her as he was, Zeltrons had a lot more and they were a lot more powerful. Zeltrons could also release them at will, which he most certainly was not doing, but he was dripping in sweat and that could not be changed. He was however most certainly in this moment sure of his attraction to her and that it was not simply a boyhood crush that would pass after spending time together as adults. So tackling her here and now, might well be fun and it might lead to another duel, but he did not want to risk her thinking that he had an ulterior motive in doing so. Still, he knew Nomi had more will power than that, as did he, but best not to even tempt fate which had been somewhat unkind to him in the past...
Eighteen clicks. He could see where he thought the finish line was as they trekked up hill over rocky terrain, dodging tree branches, both of them expertly maintaining their footing on far from safe terrain. This was exhilarating!
"Almost there! Want to rest?"
Julian kicked it into high gear and started running only on his toes, giving him more speed, he sprinted as he closed in on Nomi breathing heavily, the cold and thin air filled his nose...they were almost there...
"I'm just a Jedi."
-
Nomi Jonan
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:33 pm
Re: A Small Clearing
It was like they were ten and bolting in mad-dash covert races with Jachai and Qareth across stretches of feline territory to make it into the uninhabited areas without being noticed and sent back. Except that now they were three times that age, still Guardians, and they’d been apart from each other more than half of their lives while they grew up through all the challenges and the scars. There’d been a lot of those. But they were here today, and this planet and this lush air were exactly what she needed. This was her sixth run in their two days here, but every one of them had been some new direction, and this was the first with Julian. Following streamwater while they could, or forced to slow through a mile of thicket and then bursting back into freer forest paths — every footfall against dirt or root or stone was perfection, and she could care less about the smart of a few twigs that broke against her or caught against the forgotten fresh welt and purpling bruise on her wrist. She loved every bit of this and it cleared her head.
And ha! No Julian. She did not want to rest.
Nomi smirked to herself and shunted her amusement into a low snort on her exhale, more or less avoiding having to swallow the laugh or throwing off her breathing pattern. Julian’s lame dun moch attempt (where he had the nerve to spend up the energy he’d been saving by draft running behind her) was safe, silly, a bit immature, and every bit as reassuring as she was sure that he hoped it was.
She reflexively moved a hand against the murder weapon on her right hip adjust the balance a few times over the miles. The desecrated thing kept her grounded from feeling as much an emotional high as she might have, even with that bit of Zeltron euphora. But at the end of the day, it was a lightsaber with a weight as natural to her being as the familiar hilt on her left hip. It was Julian’s.
Nomi always did her clearest thinking in motion. She kept running, a grin dancing back into her expression when Julian kicked up his energy and caught up alongside her. She let her pace drop by a fraction so that she could afford glances at him from her periphery with minimal impact.
She had a minor stride advantage that might be relevant on less challenging ground, but they were matched enough muscle and endurance that they were close enough to equal. Julian was covered enough in sweat (not that she wasn’t) that her younger brother’s childhood commentaries came to mind and she snorted a sharper laugh than before, but that was it. They were busy.
He was fit and healthy. It wasn’t her priority, but she could tell and so could he that this terrain and this altitude’s air were coded into her systems and muscle memory more than his—this was work, but she was thriving at this. But he was more than keeping up and they were still pushing each other. There were scars on his arms, and especially coming up the side of his neck from under his shirt. But he was happy, too. He was still Julian. Good.
The terrain was turning sharply steeper and less secure by the millisecond with unstable ground, so simultaneously with their power increasing as they closed inwards and upwards toward the flat stretch at the peak, their speeds were forced to rapidly drop to more of a—still gloriously accelerated—rapidly increasing—climb.
Nomi loved climbing.
They muscled to the top of the incline to where the ground finally leveled out again into an almost flat plateau with plenty of room to move. Julian clipped her in the side, whether it purposeful or not she didn’t care, she caught him down with her, and they thudded into a tangled grapple on the ground until she hit his face with her head and kneed him off of her and flipped herself back up toward the finish line—“NO JULIAN!”—not that he felt more than a fraction behind her, but this was exactly her element. She threw herself between the goal rock and tree with no shame, and she won, as simple as that.
Nomi Joi flopped onto scrubby grass a few feet away from Julian in a tired flood of endorphins and satisfaction, catching her breath. They weren’t on any timetable today. The coiled black bun of her hair had frazzled and was threatening to give up on itself, but it was reasonably intact. Her wrist was fine. The rest of her was fine. That run had been glorious.
The Guardian woman glanced curiously at Julian once, but mostly she let him be for a few minutes. He was a little too hopelessly Zeltron for her to not instinctively keep a slight gap between them after that pseudo-proposal, or confession, or whatever he’d shared with her about his feelings. But they were settling back into trust and step with each other anyway. They were going to be fine. Nomi closed her eyes and briefly indulged in the most perfect stretch against the cool ground, then soon enough she got up and was back to rolling her neck, cooling her muscles, and letting her heart regulate back into a less demanding rhythm. She hadn’t brought much water—there was plenty on this planet if they actually needed it before they went back to the tiny Jedi base, but she was fine for the time being. Nomi tipped out a large palm full of four semi-gelatinous spheres from a tube in her pocket. She swallowed the first two, purposefully popping the thin skins against her teeth so that the minerals suspended in liquid left enough wetness and tang in her mouth to tell her system she’d given it something to work with. She passed the remaining two globules to Julian, then reached back and tightened her hair bun before it tried to come loose.
“That was fun. Force, I missed you so much. Now, please.”
Her grasp closed around her lightsaber hilt as it settled into her palm. She kept watching him while her purple blade snap-hissed back into being, at the same pitch and intensity as before.
“I need us do it again.”
And ha! No Julian. She did not want to rest.
Nomi smirked to herself and shunted her amusement into a low snort on her exhale, more or less avoiding having to swallow the laugh or throwing off her breathing pattern. Julian’s lame dun moch attempt (where he had the nerve to spend up the energy he’d been saving by draft running behind her) was safe, silly, a bit immature, and every bit as reassuring as she was sure that he hoped it was.
She reflexively moved a hand against the murder weapon on her right hip adjust the balance a few times over the miles. The desecrated thing kept her grounded from feeling as much an emotional high as she might have, even with that bit of Zeltron euphora. But at the end of the day, it was a lightsaber with a weight as natural to her being as the familiar hilt on her left hip. It was Julian’s.
Nomi always did her clearest thinking in motion. She kept running, a grin dancing back into her expression when Julian kicked up his energy and caught up alongside her. She let her pace drop by a fraction so that she could afford glances at him from her periphery with minimal impact.
She had a minor stride advantage that might be relevant on less challenging ground, but they were matched enough muscle and endurance that they were close enough to equal. Julian was covered enough in sweat (not that she wasn’t) that her younger brother’s childhood commentaries came to mind and she snorted a sharper laugh than before, but that was it. They were busy.
He was fit and healthy. It wasn’t her priority, but she could tell and so could he that this terrain and this altitude’s air were coded into her systems and muscle memory more than his—this was work, but she was thriving at this. But he was more than keeping up and they were still pushing each other. There were scars on his arms, and especially coming up the side of his neck from under his shirt. But he was happy, too. He was still Julian. Good.
The terrain was turning sharply steeper and less secure by the millisecond with unstable ground, so simultaneously with their power increasing as they closed inwards and upwards toward the flat stretch at the peak, their speeds were forced to rapidly drop to more of a—still gloriously accelerated—rapidly increasing—climb.
Nomi loved climbing.
They muscled to the top of the incline to where the ground finally leveled out again into an almost flat plateau with plenty of room to move. Julian clipped her in the side, whether it purposeful or not she didn’t care, she caught him down with her, and they thudded into a tangled grapple on the ground until she hit his face with her head and kneed him off of her and flipped herself back up toward the finish line—“NO JULIAN!”—not that he felt more than a fraction behind her, but this was exactly her element. She threw herself between the goal rock and tree with no shame, and she won, as simple as that.
Nomi Joi flopped onto scrubby grass a few feet away from Julian in a tired flood of endorphins and satisfaction, catching her breath. They weren’t on any timetable today. The coiled black bun of her hair had frazzled and was threatening to give up on itself, but it was reasonably intact. Her wrist was fine. The rest of her was fine. That run had been glorious.
The Guardian woman glanced curiously at Julian once, but mostly she let him be for a few minutes. He was a little too hopelessly Zeltron for her to not instinctively keep a slight gap between them after that pseudo-proposal, or confession, or whatever he’d shared with her about his feelings. But they were settling back into trust and step with each other anyway. They were going to be fine. Nomi closed her eyes and briefly indulged in the most perfect stretch against the cool ground, then soon enough she got up and was back to rolling her neck, cooling her muscles, and letting her heart regulate back into a less demanding rhythm. She hadn’t brought much water—there was plenty on this planet if they actually needed it before they went back to the tiny Jedi base, but she was fine for the time being. Nomi tipped out a large palm full of four semi-gelatinous spheres from a tube in her pocket. She swallowed the first two, purposefully popping the thin skins against her teeth so that the minerals suspended in liquid left enough wetness and tang in her mouth to tell her system she’d given it something to work with. She passed the remaining two globules to Julian, then reached back and tightened her hair bun before it tried to come loose.
“That was fun. Force, I missed you so much. Now, please.”
Her grasp closed around her lightsaber hilt as it settled into her palm. She kept watching him while her purple blade snap-hissed back into being, at the same pitch and intensity as before.
“I need us do it again.”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
-
Julian Orspach
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 11:03 am
Re: A Small Clearing
Julian Orspach, was he ten or was he pushing thirty? He wasn't quite sure anymore as his footsteps fell on the uneven ground. Everything about this was something that he most certainly needed in this moment. Memories of what had happened to him and what he had done over the previous years started to fade away from the forefront of his mind and he was transported back to a time when things were far simpler even for a Jedi.
As he tumbled to the ground with Nomi she shoved her head into his so that his fell back into the dirt and she used the momentum he was reminded of a proclamation he made when he was ten or eleven, the age didn't matter anymore. All was fair that was fair. Except when Nomi did it then of course it was cheating in every way imaginable.
Her head start was just a classic example of this and it was something that necessitated retaliation which according to the Guardian code of honor that Julian proposed about twenty years ago was of course not only fair game but absolutely necessary. Which meant that as he shoved himself to his feet without missing a beat that the second he caught her and inevitably beat her which he was sure to that Nomi was going to absolutely get what was coming to her.
As she crossed the finish line first and he toppled to the ground next to her he rolled his eye sand let out a bit of a chuckle. He turned his head to glance at her and noticed the slight gap in between them. It wasn't that it bothered him, but he did notice it. He as well recognized the amount of sweat he was covered in and was reminded of his own bio chemistry. He never really thought consciously about being Zeltron, but he definitely was one and it was apparent to him and had been especially throughout his teenage years at the temple. He had entered adolescence far earlier than his human peers and that more than anything made him a bit self conscious about the stereotypes of his species, even if he was only half Zeltron. Half Zeltron? He wasn't even sure that was an accurate description, yes his biological father had been human and his mother was definitely pure Zeltron, but when he looked and the mirror and listened to his own biochemistry he wondered exactly where the human half was exactly.
Julian smirked as his eyes caught hers as she rolled out two globules of he...wasn't actually sure he watched her bite into hers and swallow it and he followed suit. Almost immediately his body reacted to the effect as it instinctively knew that something good in the form of hydration was well on it's way. He wasn't sure about the taste, but he could instantly tell that it was good and as a Guardian he often consumed things that didn't taste particularly good because of the positive health benefits of doing so.
She then jumped up and tightened her hair...he felt a slight flutter in his stomach as he had kind of hoped she was going to let it down or let it fall down naturally in the fight. He might have enjoyed that a bit, but she probably knew that...and....Nomi always cheats...he had to remind himself that maybe just maybe she might use what she knew as an advantage to her in the fight.
It didn't take much, for him to jump up energetically and put the brief moment of reminded attraction out of his mind. He grinned and pulled her lightsaber....his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it, the blue blade hummed by his side.
"You like losing don't you? I'm not going easy on you this time but I'll indulge you."
Julian dropped into a Soresu stance and a youthful grin tugged on the corners of his mouth. He may not have been ten but he certainly felt like it again.
"Ready to lose?"
As he tumbled to the ground with Nomi she shoved her head into his so that his fell back into the dirt and she used the momentum he was reminded of a proclamation he made when he was ten or eleven, the age didn't matter anymore. All was fair that was fair. Except when Nomi did it then of course it was cheating in every way imaginable.
Her head start was just a classic example of this and it was something that necessitated retaliation which according to the Guardian code of honor that Julian proposed about twenty years ago was of course not only fair game but absolutely necessary. Which meant that as he shoved himself to his feet without missing a beat that the second he caught her and inevitably beat her which he was sure to that Nomi was going to absolutely get what was coming to her.
As she crossed the finish line first and he toppled to the ground next to her he rolled his eye sand let out a bit of a chuckle. He turned his head to glance at her and noticed the slight gap in between them. It wasn't that it bothered him, but he did notice it. He as well recognized the amount of sweat he was covered in and was reminded of his own bio chemistry. He never really thought consciously about being Zeltron, but he definitely was one and it was apparent to him and had been especially throughout his teenage years at the temple. He had entered adolescence far earlier than his human peers and that more than anything made him a bit self conscious about the stereotypes of his species, even if he was only half Zeltron. Half Zeltron? He wasn't even sure that was an accurate description, yes his biological father had been human and his mother was definitely pure Zeltron, but when he looked and the mirror and listened to his own biochemistry he wondered exactly where the human half was exactly.
Julian smirked as his eyes caught hers as she rolled out two globules of he...wasn't actually sure he watched her bite into hers and swallow it and he followed suit. Almost immediately his body reacted to the effect as it instinctively knew that something good in the form of hydration was well on it's way. He wasn't sure about the taste, but he could instantly tell that it was good and as a Guardian he often consumed things that didn't taste particularly good because of the positive health benefits of doing so.
She then jumped up and tightened her hair...he felt a slight flutter in his stomach as he had kind of hoped she was going to let it down or let it fall down naturally in the fight. He might have enjoyed that a bit, but she probably knew that...and....Nomi always cheats...he had to remind himself that maybe just maybe she might use what she knew as an advantage to her in the fight.
It didn't take much, for him to jump up energetically and put the brief moment of reminded attraction out of his mind. He grinned and pulled her lightsaber....his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it, the blue blade hummed by his side.
"You like losing don't you? I'm not going easy on you this time but I'll indulge you."
Julian dropped into a Soresu stance and a youthful grin tugged on the corners of his mouth. He may not have been ten but he certainly felt like it again.
"Ready to lose?"
"I'm just a Jedi."
-
Nomi Jonan
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:33 pm
Re: A Small Clearing
‘Sai cha comes from the ancient words for ‘seperate’ and ‘head’. As you might expect, it describes the act of using a lightsaber to behead an opponent. Jedi commit sai cha only when battle is at its most deadly serious and threatening, or when an opponent is considered extremely dangerous even to the fully trained Jedi.’
― Cin Drallig
Nomi nudged the side of her boot against the dirt in controlled fidgeting while she sat on the ground and let Julian finish peeling charred bits of thread away from the raised wheal of a burn low on the side of her neck and shoulder. Nothing about today’s outcomes were a problem in her mind... the boots were a bit of a problem, and it pained her to even think it because she'd missed proper boots so much. But one way or another, she'd played the moments back in her mind and the minor things didn't matter. She acknowledged perfectly well that Julian had earned it. She wasn't worried though.
Unlike the wrist blister, the plasma welt on her neck and shoulder was angry enough that they bothered with applying a proper gel patch to this one. Then she accepted Julian’s offered hand up and settled a relaxed step or two away from him.
“It was fun, Julian." she purposefully reminded him with a grin and a careful roll of her neck and shoulder.
“You earned the wins. You just keep enjoying them. I MISSED you. They will be evening out very shortly."
She raised her arms testingly with a brief grimace, and then finished the motion and unpinned her protesting hair bun to let the thick braid fall against her back, not much different from the way her mother or Ashlin kept theirs. She preferred Nomi Jonan, but she was still a Li after all. The thin student's braid behind her ear fell into its place as well, and the Guardian woman wasn’t concerned.
"How are you doing?"
― Cin Drallig
Nomi nudged the side of her boot against the dirt in controlled fidgeting while she sat on the ground and let Julian finish peeling charred bits of thread away from the raised wheal of a burn low on the side of her neck and shoulder. Nothing about today’s outcomes were a problem in her mind... the boots were a bit of a problem, and it pained her to even think it because she'd missed proper boots so much. But one way or another, she'd played the moments back in her mind and the minor things didn't matter. She acknowledged perfectly well that Julian had earned it. She wasn't worried though.
Unlike the wrist blister, the plasma welt on her neck and shoulder was angry enough that they bothered with applying a proper gel patch to this one. Then she accepted Julian’s offered hand up and settled a relaxed step or two away from him.
“It was fun, Julian." she purposefully reminded him with a grin and a careful roll of her neck and shoulder.
“You earned the wins. You just keep enjoying them. I MISSED you. They will be evening out very shortly."
She raised her arms testingly with a brief grimace, and then finished the motion and unpinned her protesting hair bun to let the thick braid fall against her back, not much different from the way her mother or Ashlin kept theirs. She preferred Nomi Jonan, but she was still a Li after all. The thin student's braid behind her ear fell into its place as well, and the Guardian woman wasn’t concerned.
"How are you doing?"
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
-
Julian Orspach
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Sun Feb 02, 2020 11:03 am
Re: A Small Clearing
The charred flesh of her wound was not something that was particularly attractive even for the Zeltron half of his brain, in fact nothing about this leant itself to anything but a pure business attitude in terms of being Jedi. He delicately picked the charred fabric fibers from her flesh and helped her apply the gel patch. His mind fought to hang onto the moment, the youthful innocence of everything they were doing was still present. Wound or no wound there was nothing about this situation that was not familiar. One of them was nearly always helping the other with a minor wound sometimes a bit more pressing than others like when he received a head of horns into his chest...that one was one the healers couldn't just let them deal with on their own. Even still Jachai and Nomi both helped dress it before he was taken to the healers as he had done with each of them for various other injuries.
That was the thought that he fought to help keep him grounded in the nostalgic youthful moment.
The sobering thought was remembering what became of the person who put her head of horns into his chest in the first place and the eerie similarities between this moment and the moment she met her end at his hand. He blinked and focused on his task trying not to let himself get distracted by something he couldn't change and that he really needed to move past, but Nomi didn't know yet and today was NOT the day to tell her either. He had already dumped more than enough information on her for one day, this one last piece of information needed it's own day where maybe even nothing else was said but this one piece of information because it was simply that bad.
He took a shallow breath and smiled as he offered her his hand the smell of the gel patch thankfully masking the smell of burnt flesh which he had purposely tried to ignore. There was a constant fear that he was not Jedi enough yet, and he could fall back into old habits, it was an realistic fear but it was there and it tugged at the strings of his subconscious in moments like these.
It.
Was.
Fun.
He reminded himself constantly and after saying it enough times in his head and hearing Nomi say it, it became true again even after all the years where a lightsaber in his hand was anything but fun, it was in this exact moment and it could be again under circumstances like these.
He grinned and pulled her to his feet and he glanced at her neck and shoulder again.
"Why thank you, I felt like I did. I know that stings a bit, so maybe I should just go easy on you next time?"
He grinned making sure dun moch was extra lame this time so that she for sure knew it was in jest, but he wouldn't be surprised if that got him a shot in the arm either.
"How am I doing? Better than you, I'm not the one with the burn. How are you?"
He should stop with the kid stuff for a moment he thought, he was laying it on rather thick and she was likely to think he was using it as a cover which wouldn't be entirely untrue. His smile faded a bit and he looked into her eyes with sincerity.
"I'm okay. It was fun, there was some unpleasant memories but those aren't for here and now. It WAS fun and I missed you too. This helped a lot and we should do it more."
Julian glanced at Nomi’s braid. It was surprising that after everything she was not yet Knighted and he somehow was. Not that it mattered. It didn’t.
Maybe she could let the rest of her down? He chuckled a bit and shook his head. Maybe not ask that.
“I like your braid. I miss mine, I’d have liked to keep it or give it to my Master but oh well”
That was the thought that he fought to help keep him grounded in the nostalgic youthful moment.
The sobering thought was remembering what became of the person who put her head of horns into his chest in the first place and the eerie similarities between this moment and the moment she met her end at his hand. He blinked and focused on his task trying not to let himself get distracted by something he couldn't change and that he really needed to move past, but Nomi didn't know yet and today was NOT the day to tell her either. He had already dumped more than enough information on her for one day, this one last piece of information needed it's own day where maybe even nothing else was said but this one piece of information because it was simply that bad.
He took a shallow breath and smiled as he offered her his hand the smell of the gel patch thankfully masking the smell of burnt flesh which he had purposely tried to ignore. There was a constant fear that he was not Jedi enough yet, and he could fall back into old habits, it was an realistic fear but it was there and it tugged at the strings of his subconscious in moments like these.
It.
Was.
Fun.
He reminded himself constantly and after saying it enough times in his head and hearing Nomi say it, it became true again even after all the years where a lightsaber in his hand was anything but fun, it was in this exact moment and it could be again under circumstances like these.
He grinned and pulled her to his feet and he glanced at her neck and shoulder again.
"Why thank you, I felt like I did. I know that stings a bit, so maybe I should just go easy on you next time?"
He grinned making sure dun moch was extra lame this time so that she for sure knew it was in jest, but he wouldn't be surprised if that got him a shot in the arm either.
"How am I doing? Better than you, I'm not the one with the burn. How are you?"
He should stop with the kid stuff for a moment he thought, he was laying it on rather thick and she was likely to think he was using it as a cover which wouldn't be entirely untrue. His smile faded a bit and he looked into her eyes with sincerity.
"I'm okay. It was fun, there was some unpleasant memories but those aren't for here and now. It WAS fun and I missed you too. This helped a lot and we should do it more."
Julian glanced at Nomi’s braid. It was surprising that after everything she was not yet Knighted and he somehow was. Not that it mattered. It didn’t.
Maybe she could let the rest of her down? He chuckled a bit and shook his head. Maybe not ask that.
“I like your braid. I miss mine, I’d have liked to keep it or give it to my Master but oh well”
"I'm just a Jedi."
-
Nomi Jonan
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:33 pm
Re: A Small Clearing
Pink, Julian.
The black haired woman had scoffed at his grin and his lame teasing in good natured exasperation, her nostrils flaring at the annoying charisma that had become part of her grown friend’s best self. Whether she had a stinging shoulder or not, she answered his obviously baiting insult by throwing a convenient large tree nut at him. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, though. They were just settling into tones.
She kept listening to him without saying much for a while. Eventually they started making their way back toward the tiny temple in unspoken agreement. It wasn’t close anymore.
“I’m fine.” Nomi said with a shrug and an immediate mild grimace while she picked her way down to the next-lowest rung of level ground. The shrug wasn’t her greatest decision; but it didn’t matter.
“I’m not the one with the broken and unbroken head… We’ll do it again soon. Don’t worry.”
Her hand moved up to touch the cherished student’s braid against the back of her shoulder.
“Master Aero was so good. And he was getting so old. Knighting wasn’t the point. Then everything changed again and the carbon pods were the only plan. He wasn’t going to survive in one and he knew it. So we had more years on the ship. Stir-crazy, but we had time back for the first time in two years. We made it worth it. Then the collision happened… Mod 4 was wrecked—Zhi and Ashlin were there.. Jachai. Your dad. Master Erril. Integrity was going. Master beat us to the mods. He sealed off 3 and 4 with himself still inside. I’m not sure what happened to M4, but he at least got M3 stabilized on some sort of trajectory before he died.”
She shifted her shoulders in another light shrug, and returned her hands to her sides.
“It doesn’t get more Guardian than that.”
The black haired woman had scoffed at his grin and his lame teasing in good natured exasperation, her nostrils flaring at the annoying charisma that had become part of her grown friend’s best self. Whether she had a stinging shoulder or not, she answered his obviously baiting insult by throwing a convenient large tree nut at him. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, though. They were just settling into tones.
She kept listening to him without saying much for a while. Eventually they started making their way back toward the tiny temple in unspoken agreement. It wasn’t close anymore.
“I’m fine.” Nomi said with a shrug and an immediate mild grimace while she picked her way down to the next-lowest rung of level ground. The shrug wasn’t her greatest decision; but it didn’t matter.
“I’m not the one with the broken and unbroken head… We’ll do it again soon. Don’t worry.”
Her hand moved up to touch the cherished student’s braid against the back of her shoulder.
“Master Aero was so good. And he was getting so old. Knighting wasn’t the point. Then everything changed again and the carbon pods were the only plan. He wasn’t going to survive in one and he knew it. So we had more years on the ship. Stir-crazy, but we had time back for the first time in two years. We made it worth it. Then the collision happened… Mod 4 was wrecked—Zhi and Ashlin were there.. Jachai. Your dad. Master Erril. Integrity was going. Master beat us to the mods. He sealed off 3 and 4 with himself still inside. I’m not sure what happened to M4, but he at least got M3 stabilized on some sort of trajectory before he died.”
She shifted her shoulders in another light shrug, and returned her hands to her sides.
“It doesn’t get more Guardian than that.”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—
— Here I am!