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Meira
She don't mess around
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Oct 19, 2019 11:02:56 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Oct 19, 2019 11:02:56 GMT -5
She could feel every cell of her body vibrating, ready to rupture and transform. The voices of the Chorus, millions upon countless millions rang through her in a single note of perfect light and clarity. It was happening! She would be whole and one with that undeniable...
She could feel every cell in her body burning, seared and dying. That beautiful note became an ear piercing wail. Millions upon countless millions burned away and she felt every single one of them. And then she felt... Were she not restrained, she'd have curled around herself as she moaned. Hollow could not come close to describing the pain and the absolute emptiness. And the silence! It was unbearable! The black crept over her but she did not fight it. Anything had to be better than this. She moaned and writhed against her restraints until the warmth of absolutely nothing overcame her. She thought she'd embraced death, but for now... she only slept.
Her first sensation was pain. Her eyes ached, practically pulsed with each beat of her heart, and threatened to simply pop right out of her skull if her eyelids hadn't been clenched so tight. That throbbing pain, and her awareness of it, extended to her temples. She felt it pulse at the root of each of her horns. Her jaw ached from continuous strain. Her throat was dry and raw and her neck chaffed from the...
Her eyes shot open and she regretted it immediately. The light that shone over her face caused her vision to swim and she almost passed out from the vertigo. She croaked out a sand paper "UUuughh!" as she closed her eyes. Her head had raised up in that moment of confusion and the collar scraped around her neck as she let her head fall back onto the flat pillow of the... bed?
Keeping her eyes closed this time, Ylva continued her assessment of just how thoroughly fucked she was. Her shoulders felt bruised. At least two of her ribs had to be as well, if not fully broken. Her breathing came with sharp pains if pulled too deep. Her stomach growled with an overwhelming hunger that was quickly followed by a wave of nausea at even the thought of food. Her arms seemed fine. She gave them a flex but then realized the cuffs around her wrists prevented her from lifting her arms any more than a few inches from the bed. The bed itself was not large. She could feel the sides of it with either hand. More of a cot, really. The padding she was lying on was not thick, she could tell it was supported by some sort of metal framing. The cuffs around her wrists were secured to that frame, it seemed. She moved her legs and found that they'd been given the same treatment. With a growl that pained her throat, she resolved to open her eyes once again.
Slowly, Ylva parted her eyelids, allowing the light in with more steady and slow control. She still winced as it increased that ever present throbbing in her skull, but there was nothing to be done about it. As her eyes adjusted, details began to filter through. Spare walls, two at straight angles and one that curved in a wide, smooth arc. A rounded window set high in to that wall was the source of the light that currently fell across her face. That wall also curved up to meet the ceiling, giving the hint of a rounded, dome-like structure. For furniture, this room had her cot, a single chair, a small table, and a trunk. All were simple, but sturdy pieces of furniture. The chair and table were made of wood. As was the floor, and the only door. Come to think of it... so were the walls. Ylva squinted, perplexed. Where the hell was she?
"HEY!" she shouted, her voice coming out in a thin, strained rasp that clawed its way out of her throat. She coughed, dry heaved, and then shouted again. "HEY!!"
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Nov 4, 2019 18:03:14 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Nov 4, 2019 18:03:14 GMT -5
The loading bar blinking softly on the datapad’s display was filling infuriatingly slowly. Holonet connection could be more than a little spotty this far in the sticks where the nearest transmitter was his ships shitty comm array. The mineral deposits in the surrounding hills probably didn’t help much, either. Still, the med droid needed the most recent updates on the Archeri plague, to see how the downfall of the spires on Nar Shaddaa had affected the victims of the shrooms’ affliction.
What little Jayec had managed to glean so far gave him some cause to be cautiously optimistic; vast majority of cases reported indicated that a full recovery was generally expected. There were some fringe cases where the plague had done too much damage to the body for the afflicted to survive but those were mostly cases where the plague had reached its final stage and had been in process of turning the victims’ innards to a new Archeri or whatever the fuck the fucking mushrooms did to their victims in the long run. A few cases of post-plague recovery insanity had been reported as well, but the jury was still out on that regard since all claims of victims going nuts after recovery were unverified. Could be a bunch mirosike spreading tall tales to stoke panic for clicks and views or just infected psychotics continuing on being psychotic afterwards. But in general things looked fairly good for Ylva.
“Hey Baar’adat, anything new in that data you received so far?” Jayec inquired, tearing his eyes away from the datapad.
Droids could not sigh and very few models came with the ability roll their eyes, but Jayec could have sworn that somehow the medical unit he had originally acquired to look after captured bounties managed to do both. “Alor Veth, as I have already stated eleven point five times, I must entirely download and install an update before I can access any new data contained within. With the current speed of the data transfer, that should be in approximately two standard hours, fifty standard minutes and thirty-seven standard seconds. I am programmed to inform you immediately when the update had been installed, so please have patience.”
The genderless modulator voice of the droid had no inflection and its tone was that of unflappable politeness the machine had come programmed with, yet it still managed to sound chastening. Or perhaps it was just Jayec projecting on the droid. The fact that the only thing he could do at the moment was to keep Baar’adat up to date and otherwise sit with his metaphorical thumb up his ass and wait, was gradually driving him up the wall. At least it shouldn’t last too long anymore. Ylva was no longer sedated and the concussion she had suffered during her capture was, according to Baar’adat, healing fairly nicely. She should be coming to any moment now…
Just then the motion sensor monitoring the insides of the cabin went off, followed quickly by the other systems picking up Ylva’s yelling. Jayec sprung up from the pilot’s seat, unceremoniously dropping the datapad the cockpit’s floor and charged out of the ship without even bothering to see if the med droid could get itself disentangled from the comm array without assistance. The only thing that kept him from sprinting the short distance between the cabin and where his ship was landed was the deeply ingrained hunter’s instinct that cautioned against heedless running. Hurry he did, nonetheless and soon was at the cabin’s door. He paused for a moment, not exactly sure what to say or do once inside but since no clear answer emerged during the few seconds his hand hovered on the door’s controls, Jayec decided to play it by the ear and entered.
Ylva was still laying on the bed he’d left her. Of course she was, she was still restrained. However, her eyes were open and she was clearly observing her surroundings. Good. This wasn’t some random spell of awareness then.
“You’re awake.” he said, stating the obvious and immediately hating himself for doing so. “How are you, uh, feeling?”
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Meira
She don't mess around
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Nov 16, 2019 11:43:38 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Nov 16, 2019 11:43:38 GMT -5
"HEYYOUFUCKINGSICKFUCKLETMETHEFU-"
She fell into another fit of coughing. Her body tried to curl in around itself as she hacked and wheezed, but the restraints made this impossible. The edges of her vision blurred black, even as white spots seemed to flash all around her. Her ears filled with the rushing sound of her heartbeat as her whole body seemed to flex and strain at the offense of being conscious. Each cough sent a flame of agony through her rib cage, which caused her to wince. The wincing spread the sharp stabs of pain in her skull. It was all she could do for several moments to simply breathe and keep herself from passing out again. As painful as being awake was, the deep animal heart of her was absolutely terrified at the prospect of going back into that black nothing. Slowly, the strain and the coughing subsided and Ylva laid herself back straight on the cot.
“You’re awake.”
She winced again. Ylva's eyes closed against the pain as she resisted the urge to try and jump to defend herself. She couldn't. At best she would upend her cot and find herself unable to move but face down on the hard floor.
“How are you, uh, feeling?”
Was that...?
Ylva opened her eyes and turned her head. The door was slightly behind her, making it difficult to angle her vision in that direction. Her vision swirled as she tilted her head, making it that much more difficult to focus. But she didn't need to. She knew him.
"Jayec? What the fuck? Where the fuck am I? Why the fuck am I tied to this fucking cot?" she jerked her arms and legs for emphasis. The motion shot pain through her torso, which echoes through her head. Ylva squeezed her eyes tight again, a growl forming then dying in a fit of coughing as it moved through her throat. Once again, her body tried to curl around itself. "Fu..." she wheezed, "fucking water!"
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Nov 27, 2019 10:38:50 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Nov 27, 2019 10:38:50 GMT -5
Water. She wanted water. Of course she needed water, she had been out cold long enough for Baar’adat to consider putting her on a drip. His eyes darted around the room, looking for a tap or something. There was one across the room from the cot, with a couple of metal cups laying in the sink below. Perfect.
He more or less leaped over to the tap and switched it on and let it run for a few seconds for the water to clear up before sticking the mug under it. Once it was full, he hurried back to the cot and place the mug on Ylva’s lips.
“Sorry about the restraints.” he said somewhat sheepishly as she was downing the water. “Baar’adat, uh, the med droid, thought it best since you were trashing around in your sleep. Or coma. Oh, and the collar is there to keep you from doing Jetii magic crap and we sort of just forgot it there. I should probably open those things. The news say you ought to be yourself again.”
With his free hand, Jayec reached for the restraints tying Ylva to the cot. It had been a good thing that Baar’adat’s set up had come with stuff like medical restraints. If he had cuffed her to the bed with the stuff lying around here and his ship, she probably would have torn her wrists open. Watching her having what looked like violent fever dreams from a layman’s perspective had not been the most pleasant of experiences.
He had suggested sedating her during some of the most violent episodes, but the droid had been firmly against unnecessarily sedating her. Apparently that would not have been too good for her concussion and the stuff Jayec had in stock on the ship was known to react badly with kolto injections, which Ylva had received a bunch to speed up her recovery. Without them, she probably wouldn’t be nearly as spry as she already was.
As soon he had her right free, Ylva snatched the mug from his hand and drank with enthusiasm. While she was focused on the drink, Jayec moved on to releasing her left hand from its restraints.
“Do you want more water or maybe something else?” he inquired as he was fidgeting with the locking mechanism.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Nov 27, 2019 12:14:57 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Nov 27, 2019 12:14:57 GMT -5
Fighting against the encroaching dark, Ylva heard Jayec move through the room more than she saw him. She flinched reflexively when she felt the rim of the mug at her lips. Jayec was not a slow man, but even her pain rattled mind was surprised at how quick he'd responded. The water was cold and stung her ragged throat, but she gulped at it all the same. He was talking to her, but it was as if every other word he spoke was a different language. Something about a droid... a coma... the collar. None of it made any sense.
Her eyes widened when she felt his hand at her arm, but he was unclasping the restraint at her wrist. The moment her hand was free, Ylva snatched the mug away from him, sitting up slightly in the process. The movement sent another pang through her, causing her to cough and choke a moment on the water. But she powered through, Tipping the mug vertical to get the last drops as Jayec freed her other hand.
“Do you want more water or maybe something else?” he said, just before the clasp opened.
As soon as she felt the strap loosen, Ylva shoved against Jayec with her now freed left hand. Her right swung in a wild arc. The idea was to land the punch on his face. The problem was that there were currently two of them, and she'd guessed wrong. The momentum of her swing pulled Ylva off balance. Instinctively, she she tried to shift her weight by moving her legs to keep balance. But Jayec hadn't freed her legs yet, and so gravity won out and Ylva tumbled sideways off the cot. The cot tipped, then fell with her, twisting her legs as she flailed her arms and fell. The mug went flying, clanging across the floor.
"Motherfuckingdamnpieceofshit!" she raged, kicking both legs in futile unison, causing the cot to drag and groan on the floor. "Get me the fuck out of these!" she implored, the blurring was increasing. Either tears or the vertigo; it really made no difference to Ylva. The end result was the same. The world slipped away and that terrible blackness she'd been fighting won out.
“Look Wolfie I don’t know what kind of paint you’ve been huffing to get this way but this ain’t you. So put your hands up and get down on the ground... Please.”
"Oh god...what have I done..."
”Just… be careful with this shit. You’re gonna’ get us all killed if you don’t.”
"You know, neither of you have any chance of winning this.”
"We'll see how well either of you can sing without a neck."
“Alright Wolfie, you’ve had your fun. Now it’s time to go.”
She groaned.
Her body curled in, her knees coming to her chest as her arms wrapped around them. She did not immediately notice that she could, or was, doing this. The world beyond her closed eyes was not as bright as it had been, but it was not the dark, horrible place she'd been a moment ago. Every fiber of her being pulled desperately away from that fading nightmare, imploring her to open her eyes.
His knees were the first thing she saw. She blinked them into focus, then moved her sight upward to find the rest of the man, seated beside her cot. He held the cup, and she reached for it, still greedy for water. AS she moved, she noted the distinct absence of the collar. She stopped, arm half way toward the cup, and moved her hand back to touch at her neck. The skin there was a little sensitive from where the collar had chaffed, but she was otherwise fine.
"What the hell happened?"
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
314 posts
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Dec 10, 2019 14:21:19 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Dec 10, 2019 14:21:19 GMT -5
"What the hell happened?"
The question caught Jayec off-guard. Not once had the thought of her not having a proper memory of the events of the past months crossed his mind while looking after her. What the hell was he going to say? You went nuts because of force sensitive shrooms controlled your mind with their spores? That should go down about as well as a fucking lead balloon. Then again, if she was having memory problems, would letting her know right now do any good for her health. After all, her hearing about all the shit she'd done under the Archeri's influence was sure to be a shock and she wasn't exactly the picture of health at the moment. Chances were that she'd pass out again or go catatonic. Then again, withholding something that massive from anyone dear to him felt pretty wrong. Easing her into it might be the best way to go about it, yeah.
"What do you remember, exactly? 'Cause a whole lot happened in the past months." he finally said. It would be better to figure out how disconnected she was with the things that had happened before blurting out any specifics. "And really, you probably shouldn't be thinking all that shit. Not right now. Just focus getting back on your feet."
Jayec gave Ylva an examining look. She seemed a bit more alert than she had been earlier, though less animated. Of course, then she had been waking up tied to a cot in a foreign environment with apparently faulty memory. Who wouldn't be animated under those circumstances. Hell, Jayec probably would have been shouting and struggling as much had he found himself in a similar situation.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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Dec 15, 2019 13:09:38 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Dec 15, 2019 13:09:38 GMT -5
What did she remember?
Ylva moved her hand from her neck to her face, then brought the other there as well. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. The pressure that caused was somehow a pleasant counter to the throbbing pressure that seemed to push outward from her brain. As she did this, she willed her thoughts to unscramble as she tried to think back to the last thing she remembered before waking up here.
To say it was a jumble would have been the understatement of the century. The immediate stuff, right before waking up, was gone entirely. Reaching further back, She could remember a crumbling building, its neon lights flickering. A hole in the floor. But other bits and pieces kept pushing in. Forte imploring her to use her emotions to... fucking lift something? And, more bizarrely, things that she was fairly certain weren't even her own memories. Seeing herself, but through Remy's eyes. Sacha's near constant rage. She'd had so many dreams, but hardly remembered sleeping. All at once, these things poured through her mind, but dissolved into nothing if she tried to hold onto any of them.
With a growl, Ylva pushed herself up to a sitting position. She leaned forward, her face in her hands all held up by her elbows on her knees. She pushed all the noise aside, focusing on what she knew was her own. It took effort, and the reward was not exactly appealing. Scene after scene of strangers... random ass people, being brought to her. She exposed them to the spores. Most of them died. Bodied dragged off to back rooms. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sometimes the people survived. She remembered a hollow echo of happiness for them. Because they... fuck, where was that water?
Looking up, Ylva snatched the cup from Jayec and drank down what it held in one quick motion. Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she looked at Jayec. It was a very rare thing to see him out of his armor. He had a look about him, like maybe he hadn't gotten much sleep recently, and Ylva wondered how long they'd been...
"Where are we?" she asked, his question to her momentarily forgotten as she turned her eyes on the room to study it once again. Spotting the sink, she stood to get more water. The movement was maybe too much too soon, as she wobbled unsteadily and her step toward the sink was more of a lurch. She gripped the basin's edge tight, waiting for the room to stop spinning before turning the tap. She drank, refilled the cup, and drank again. A cough pushed from her lungs, suddenly, causing her to double over the sink, spitting and gasping for a few moments before it passed.
With a groan, Ylva turned the water off and pushed herself back to standing. Setting the cup down in the sink, she turned to Jayec. "Exactly how fucked am I?"
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Dec 24, 2019 13:37:27 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Dec 24, 2019 13:37:27 GMT -5
It took a moment for Jayec to think up a reply to Ylva’s question. In the past few months she had...the Archeri had used her to do all kinds of crap all over the Galactic map. Hell, if the Republic hadn’t gotten around updating their most wanted list to reflect the fact that the Archeri controlled terrorists hadn’t been willing participants to their actions there was a chance that she was still on the Pubs’ most wanted list following Bothawui. That certainly counted as deep shit.
And then there were the private persons the Archeri had dicked over using her as a conduit. Most of them might have some hangups about all that shit, even if they wanted to forgive and forget. Jayec knew his ability to ignore all the stuff he had seen her do under the psychic shrooms’ influence was something of an anomaly. If it hadn’t been for the emotional investment, long career in a field where a true friend was someone who gave you a heads up before accepting a contract on your head and having known Ylva fairly well before the shrooms got to her, Jayec probably wouldn’t have been able to be in the same room as her without the reassuring presence of a blaster on his hip. Even with that all, he still had to kick himself mentally every time he came close saying she had done something while under the Archeri influence.
“I can’t rightly say, Wolfie. The shrooms used you for all kinds of shit and some of it might come to bite you in the ass.” Jayec said after a brief moment of ponderous silence. “I know it ain’t fair but some folks might have trouble seeing past the Archeri mind-control shit."
WhileJayec was fairly that most of the bridges the Archeri had burned for her could be mended relatively quickly, some of them would certainly tale time. However, no matter how lonf´g it took, Jayec intended to be there to help her through it if she needed any support.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Dec 27, 2019 12:28:56 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Dec 27, 2019 12:28:56 GMT -5
“I know it ain’t fair but some folks might have trouble seeing past the Archeri mind-control shit."
Unbidden, Simone came to mind. An image of him, surrounded by smoke and rubble, holding his hands out to her... pleading. Ylva clenched her jaw and pushed away the thought. Most people she couldn't care less about. If the general public couldn't get over it, she'd survive. But there were a few people that she needed to know could see past all the bullshit and remember that it wasn't her... not really. The Jolly Janitors, or what was left of them, were the first to her mind. Simone in particular. He'd been at her side longer than anyone. She wasn't even sure how anything could work without him there. Lidah as well. Ylva had enjoyed an unprecedented several years of prosperity contracting for Lidah and the Exchange. But with that, came a sort of dependency as well. Now, with her reputation as a whole likely destroyed, she was more dependent on Lidah than ever.
"And you?" Ylva asked, her jaw held so tight she'd barely been able to speak the words.
Ylva felt a lump in her throat and half coughed, half growled to clear it, turning to the side so as not to face Jayec directly. Her eyes moved around the room, looking for something, anything else to settle on. They found one of the windows, set high in the wall, and she stepped over to it. Outside, Jayec's ship sat in a clearing near the structure they were in. The ground all around was rocky, with dead scrub grass, most of which was covered in a thin layer of snow. Beyond the clearing, trees obscured the distance, though there was a distinct slope to the north. More snow was falling, a steady and slow fall of fat flakes completed the scene. It was quiet, and peaceful. There was a part of her that wanted to rush out and stomp around, to destroy it.
"Did you bring me out to the ass end of nowhere to get rid of me?"
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Jan 11, 2020 15:40:16 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Jan 11, 2020 15:40:16 GMT -5
Had Jayec wished to be rid of Ylva she wouldn’t have woken up at all or they would currently be behind the shed with him telling her about the tookas. He almost said as much but the quip died in his throat before he uttered even a single syllable once he saw the expression on Ylva’s face. She had the hollow look of a woman broken, or at least badly fractured, on her face and, while it was an expression Jayec had seen a couple of times before, it was one he had never thought to see it on her. Quips were the last thing she needed right now.
“I ain’t looking to get rid of you Wolfie.” he said softly, stepping forward and gently placing his hand on her shoulder. “I brought you here to recover, simple as that. Figured you could use some distance from the places where the all the shit went down.”
While he took slight umbrage over Ylva referring Mandalore as ass end of nowhere, Jayec reminded himself that a) Ylva wasn’t aware they were on Mandalore, b) Manalore was kind of away from what regular folks might consider the center of the galaxy. Plus they were also kind of middle of nowhere on Mandalore, well into the northern hemisphere. Not many clans had regular presence in here so it was mostly hunting lodges like this one that made up the ‘civilization’ ‘round these parts.
“Speaking of recovering, I should probably fix you something to eat.” he continued. “You were out cold enough for the droid to consider putting you on the drip.“
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Meira
She don't mess around
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Jan 12, 2020 14:09:26 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Jan 12, 2020 14:09:26 GMT -5
She gave a slight, involuntary flinch when she felt his hand on her shoulder. The part of her that wanted to destroy the pristine scene outside raged. Ylva Vuk didn't flinch. That rage burned, white hot in her core, desperately wanting to erupt to the surface. She could see herself spinning around, grabbing Jayec's wrist and turning, twisting until it popped. Her fingers twitched with the desire to lift him, choke him... end him for exposing even a hint of weakness in her. She could have done that, her body remembered being able to do that. But that power, that... song, it was like a fading dream. The futile rage burned and coiled, exploding and collapsing inside of her. But it was small, and she was so tired.
She didn't spin around. She didn't grab his wrist, or squeeze his throat with her mind. She didn't scream.
“I ain’t looking to get rid of you Wolfie.”
She sighed.
His words lifted an unseen burden from her shoulders. With that weight gone, the need to stand strong against it disappeared as well. Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled. She leaned back, sure that his solid frame was there. She felt dizzy, but knew she wouldn't fall. At his mention of food, her stomach growled like some starved beast. She supposed it was. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. It had seemed pointless before. This body -she looked down at herself, seeing how wasted she'd become- wasn't important to the Chorus.
"Hell yeah." she said.
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Feb 19, 2020 17:54:36 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Feb 19, 2020 17:54:36 GMT -5
”Right. Lemme raid the larder and see what I can scrounge up. You just wait here and take it easy, okay?” Come to think of it, was there anything in the larder? He’d been living off of the rations in his ship’s dispenser so the level of supply in the larder was a total mystery to him. Someone usually kept at least emergency rations in here stocked but there was no guarantee. After all, this was just a family hunting lodge and all it took for the food stores to be empty was one forgetful or lazy cousin not filling them up again after use. I’m gonna wring someone’s neck if the larder is empty…
With that, Jayec hurried off towards the hatch leading to the larder. The latch securing the storage was a touch rusty but yielded with a minor use of violence and cursing. Jayec pulled the hatch open and was pleasantly surprised by what greeted him.
The larder was fairly well stocked; there were several boxes of different kinds of preserved foods, mostly vegetables and fruits, a shelf full of emergency rations Jayec knew to stay away from unless he was dying of hunger and still it would be a tough choice to make. The real price was however stored in the large fridge at the back of the larder; choice chunks of game from all the local hits. He could work with these ingredients, certainly. There was even a few bottles of ori’buir Jayric’s ‘special reserve’ crammed next to the emergency rations. That shit could power a small spaceship.
He grabbed an assortment of the different ingredients and headed back up into the main room. “I hope you don’t mind eating canned and dried stuff for the moment.” he said, as he carried his haul over to the stove. “I can set some traps for the night and see if I can’t catch a strill or some other critter if you want something fresher but for now this is all that’s available.”
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Meira
She don't mess around
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Mar 1, 2020 12:08:21 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Mar 1, 2020 12:08:21 GMT -5
The light crept slow across her sleeping frame, inching ever closer to her face. As it encroached on her eyes, she shifted, turning over on the cot and facing away from the high window. But the unconscious effort to hold on to sleep failed, and Ylva's eyes blinked open. For a moment, she laid very still, her mind trying to catch up into consciousness with her body. Something was wrong. This wasn't her bed... her room. She turned her head, eyes scanning along the walls of the spare room. Where the hell...?
"Simone?" she called out, but then her mind caught up.
Closing her eyes, Ylva groaned into the pillow. This had happened the morning before. And the one before that. When she woke, she expected to be back home on Nar Shaddaa. And then it would hit her light a freighter. She squinted her eyes tight against the rush of thoughts, of memories, but it didn't help. She clenched her fist. She growled. She thrashed. The blanket that covered her went flying as she flailed, and then her fist shot out and slammed into the wall, bouncing back as the stud behind the smooth surface gave way not at all.
"FUCK!" she screamed, cradling her fist to her chest as she rolled on the cot. She was bleeding. Looking down she saw that her outburst had split the skin clean open across one of her knuckles and bright red blood had smeared on the wall and had already stained her shirt.
She stood, moving quick to the basin sink across the room and opened the tap. Cold water poured out and she stuck her hand under it, sucking in a breath against the stabbing, needle-like sensation of it. "Damn it." she mumbled to herself as she reached for a hand towel. She stopped the water and wrapped the towel around her knuckles. Now she owed Jayec a new towel. "Fuckin' great." she growled.
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Apr 14, 2020 14:33:33 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Apr 14, 2020 14:33:33 GMT -5
The traps had caught a few strills during the night. Not the best catches; both were kind of runty and small. At least they didn’t look like they had been starved, just that Jayec’s trap had managed to capture the two smallest of the pack. Might have been yearlings. If so, the tenderloin ought to be fairly tasty when grilled or fried on a pan. Better than anything he could find in the pantry or his ship, at least. Not that was a high bar. Anything was better than protein cubes from the dispenser and the dried and preserved stuff in the pantry couldn’t compete with fresh meat. Too bad berries weren’t in season, he could have used them to add some flavor to… well just about everything in the pantry.
He might have been able to dig up some fairly good roots, had he been inclined to spend several hours waving a shovel around. Unfortunately most edible roots in the region were something of an acquired taste and Ylva most likely wasn’t receptive to trying food in that category in her current condition. Not that she had ever been the first to try anything that could be used in a purely vegetarian dish as far as Jayec could remember. Come to think of it, Jayec wasn’t sure if zabraks were obligate carnivores and since yesterday’s meal had consisted mostly of cooked jerky and similarly preserved meat the subject had never come up. He might have to check on that before including any significant amount of veggies or fruits in her meals.
Just as Jayec was hanging the dead strills on a small hook screwed into the wall next to the cabin’s door, a loud ‘FUCK’ rang through the walls. Muffled, somewhat by the structure between but still clearly audible and recognizable as Ylva. Without a second thought he simply threw his catch on the hook and hurried back inside. She couldn’t be in danger from anything, this place was far too off the grid for anyone who might be getting misguided revenge on her to have tracked her down so quickly, so what had happened? Maybe she had tried something her body hadn’t yet recovered enough for and gotten frustrated?
As he entered part of the situation became clear. Ylva was standing by the basin with a bloody towel wrapped around her hand.
Jayec snapped his comm on. “Baar’adat, k’olar! Ylva cuyi shupur’yc!” he barked to the med droid and then continued over to Ylva. “What happened?” he inquired as he swept over to her.
Assessing the damage through the towel wasn’t possible and Baar’adat wasn’t far away. Even with its clanker legs, the droid would be arriving in moments. “Baar’adat will be here shortly, just keep your hand up. Minimize the bleeding until we can get some kolto or stitches on it.” he said, instinctively trying to help her to accomplish the instructions he had given by carefully grabbing her hand and keeping it up.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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May 5, 2020 9:09:40 GMT -5
Post by Meira on May 5, 2020 9:09:40 GMT -5
The heavy falls of his footsteps were heard almost immediately after her outburst. Ylva growled to herself as her eyes darted around the room. It was an instinct to hide the evidence, to just cover it up and let none be the wiser. But this was his cabin, and it wasn't very big. He was through the door just as she got her hand covered. It took only one stride for him to be beside her, taking her hand and lifting it up as he barked orders at his droid in Mando'a. She'd heard him use the language before, here and there, but that was usually only around his crew. It was strange to hear it, when it was just the two of them. It was strange that this is what her mind chose to notice in this moment.
"Nothing." she grumbled in answer to his question, pulling her hand away slightly in protest. "I know what to do, ok?"
A new set of thudding steps sounded just moments before the droid appeared in the doorway to the room. The old thing was strange combination of killing and healing machine. It did not speak basic. It emitted a few droid-like sounds, and then something in Mando'a as it gestured toward the cot. Ylva huffed in frustration, but sat down all the same. If a kolto patch would appease Jayec, then fine.
She held out her hand to the droid as she sat on the cot. The droid removed the towel from her hand. When it did, the blood immediately began to flow from the split knuckles. In response, the droid's hand shifted to switch from a pair of gripping flat pincers to a needle that suddenly protruded from the limb. Without preamble, the needle was stuck into the hollow between two knuckles.
"Slua!" she barked in pain, shooting a death glare at the droid before realizing the futility of it and turning away. "Who the hell programed this thing?"
But immediately after the sting of the needle, her hand flushed with a warm, numbing sensation as the injection took effect. The medication also slowed the bleeding long enough for the droid to inspect the injury more closely. Ylva turned back to see for herself as well. It had looked worse than it was. The cut was deep but did not go to the bone. A patch would suffice. No stitches needed. But the droid moved slow, and so Ylva was obliged to sit there while it ponderously went about the work of cleaning, patching, and wrapping her hand.
Ylva looked sideways at Jayec, but then changed her attention to the cup on the small table beside her cot. It was empty, and just out of reach. She squinted her eyes at it, trying to force herself to remember what it felt like, to be able to reach out and just pluck something up. She had done that, with cups, with rubble.... with whole fucking speeders.
The cup didn't move.
The droid finished its work and released Ylva's hand. She examined the wrapping it had done, touching here and there to see how far the numbing agent had spread. The hand would be useless for an hour or so, she expected. Looking up at Jayec, she lifted the hand up as if for his inspection.
"Happy?" she asked, but the tone of her voice made it obvious she wasn't really asking him anything.
Immediately, she was angry at herself. Jayec had saved her ass, and brought her here so that she could get over her bullshit without having to deal with anyone else. He didn't have to do that. And she was repaying him with bitter words and ruined towels. But she couldn't help it. She was just so... angry. Everything bothered her. Just being awake was like a chore.
"Aren't you sick of me yet?" she growled.
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
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Aug 31, 2020 10:31:24 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Aug 31, 2020 10:31:24 GMT -5
There was a part of Jayec, one that was generally reserved for schooling new recruits with delusions of adequacy that needed to be squashed fast before they developed any bad habits, that was trying to rear its head as Ylva growled at him just for looking after her. However, Jayec knew to not to listen to the voice of a drill sergeant disciplining a young vod for doing something stupid that was telling him not to take that kind of crap. In this situation an aggressively authoritative approach would most likely end in a catastrophe. And he very much did not want this to end in anything that could be considered one.
“Not even a little bit.” he replied calmly. He was completely sincere. Ylva’s current anger might have grated a section of his personality but it was just a mood that would hopefully abate with time. Besides she did have plenty of things to be angry at or about. For someone whom had been made to commit acts of terror and destruction against her will, Ylva was handling things fairly well. Jayec was sure he would have been catatonic if he had gone through something like that.
“And I won’t ever get that way. So whether you need a punching bag or someone to rant to, I’m here and I will be here as long as you need it.” his words came from his heart. The injuries from the broken cup seemed like an accident but Jayec didn’t feel like taking chances. If Ylva was feeling the need to release any anger he very much preferred himself to be the target rather than chancing her turning on herself.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Oct 15, 2020 9:47:07 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Oct 15, 2020 9:47:07 GMT -5
Ylva made a noise -something between a huff and a growl- that might have been construed as a chuckle. But in the near silence that followed, punctuated only by the metal footfalls of the droid as it left the small room, she was still trying to piece it all together. Ylva was not one accustomed to being on the receiving end of acts of kindness. Nor was she much accustomed to doling it out, in all honesty. It was a cut-throat galaxy, and she'd had to cut her fair share -both literally and metaphorically- to get where she was. Yeah, she made some friends along the way, but they were useful. A fleeting image of Simone flashed through her mind but Ylva pushed that aside immediately. She was not ready for that.
She looked back at Jayec as she stood and scooped up the empty cup to take over to the sink. "Did I manage to land a hit on your fat head or something?" she asked as she filled the cup with cold water, then turned, leaning against the sink. "Or are you just getting old and soft?"
The cold air was sharp in her lungs, but she pulled it deep and relished the sting of every needle. She'd never breathed air like this. She'd lived her whole life in polluted cities, breathing the smog. Ship air wasn't much better; sterile, recycled... canned. The planets she'd been to while they had her didn't count. She pulled another deep breath in as she hopped over a log that had fallen across the trail. This shit was good!
In the hurry to get her the hell away from... well, everything and everyone, Jayec hadn't exactly had the time to pack Ylva a weekend bag. Her burned and torn clothes weren't exactly meant for exercise, but being cooped up in the cabin had all but driven her insane after a couple of days. So she started venturing outside. The cold did wonders to keep her mind in the present. It reminded her of every bruise, scratch, and burn she still sported from her last stand. But it also helped her note that she was still alive... still strong. Short walks tuned into jogs, then longer runs as Ylva slowly came back into her own skin.
She came to a stop, stooping with her hands supporting the weight of her upper body on her knees as she panted. She'd left her rancor leather jacket back at the cabin for the run but now that she was winding down her skin was prickling in the cold. Movement at the edge of her vision caught her attention, and Ylva looked up to see Jayec's frame moving from his ship toward the cabin. His back was to her as he walked. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as Ylva started to move. She wasn't exactly a master of stealth, but she did her best as she came up behind the man. When she was near enough, she sprang at his back, letting out a surely terrifying roar.
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CaptainBonkers
Nah, I'll just wing it.
314 posts
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Feb 5, 2021 11:11:24 GMT -5
Post by CaptainBonkers on Feb 5, 2021 11:11:24 GMT -5
Ylva was not as stealthy as she might have thought she was. She was by no means the worst Jayec had ever seen, but he had fairly easily noted her crouching and stalking towards him from the corner of his eye. Guessing she was looking to spook him, Jayec decided to play along and let her sneak up on him without calling her out. However, no matter what Ylva might have lacked in skill in stealth, she made up in speed and the attempt at giving him a fright Jayec had been waiting came few seconds earlier than what he had been prepared for.
As Ylva shrieked behind him, Jayec’s hand reflexively shot towards his hip, seeking the grip of a blaster that at the moment wasn’t there. Forcing his conscious mind to stop the instinctively triggered sequence of movements was almost painful. I didn’t realize how on edge I still am, he thought as he forced himself to relax and turned around to meet grinning Ylva.
“Ha ha, you got me.” he said in a mock indignant voice. “Very funny.”
He couldn’t keep up the pretense of being cross with her and cracked a smile. “Not bad. I did spot you around that stump over there, but you covered that distance way faster than I anticipated.”
It was good to see her goofing around, instead of mulling over all of the shit she had gone through. She had to process it all, of course, but even someone whose understanding in the matter was limited to gut feelings and some experience in giving mental first-aid to shell shocked comrades knew that it was not healthy to dwell on trauma intensely if it could be avoided. He had to figuratively bite his tongue so as not to ask how she was feeling; he didn’t after all wish to drag her back from what he hoped was a nice distraction to what was likely going on inside her head.
“So, you ever tried stir fried Strill?” he asked, raising the still warm carcass in his hand up for display. One of the traps he had set up had brought fruit and delivered a nice specimen for dinner. He’d have to skin and prepare it properly, but it’d make a nice meal eventually, considering how Ylva was basically an obligate carnivore. Her system could probably handle salad, at least technically, but Jayec could not recall her ever eating anything that didn’t consist at east 90% of something that used to frolic in a meadow.
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Meira
She don't mess around
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Feb 27, 2021 10:55:31 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Feb 27, 2021 10:55:31 GMT -5
"Haaaa!" She exclaimed, coming in to give Jayec several mock jabs to his abdomen. Burdened by his catch as he was, there wasn't much he could do to block her. Well, that wasn't true at all. Jayec could lay Ylva flat on her back just about any time he wanted. She knew that, but it was fun that he was playing along all the same.
"Yeah, yeah." she nodded, waving off his notes on her stealth skills... or lack thereof. She shook her head at his question, eyes moving over the carcass he carried. Her stomach growled loudly, announcing its eagerness to try this new dish. She chuckled, patting her stomach as if to say you heard the man! and fell into step beside him walking toward the cabin.
"I'm gonna clean up." she said as the cabin door closed behind them. "You got anything good to drink?" she asked. She'd finally managed to go most of the day without a headache. That had been the most annoying of her lingering ailments. scrapes and bruises were nothing. The nightmares were still bad, but they didn't linger after waking up like the headaches had. That damn droid had insisted she take a kind of medication that didn't mix well with alcohol, but after several days, she'd finally managed to ween herself off it. She desperately wanted a drink.
Not waiting for an actual answer, Ylva closed the door to her small room. If he had anything, he'd get it or she'd find it when she was done. They'd managed to find a set of spare clothes that fit her well enough a few days ago. Ylva only wore them when she needed to clean her own. Today would be one of those days. She gathered them up and brought them to the refresher where she intended to burn her skin off in the hot shower.
A good half hour later, Ylva emerged, wearing the cabin's rough spun clothes. They were simple and slightly big even for her, but they were warm. "Smells good." she said, walking into the kitchen area where Jayec was working on their meal. "What can I do?"
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