Shadows of Bankor

She'd barely eaten anything all day; there either hadn't been enough time for it... or her mind had been somewhere else. There was so much to think about, so much to *do*... but... so little she *could* do right now. Her stomach grumbling eventually grew to be a big enough distraction from her worries, and she went in search of somewhere still selling food; eventually finding her way into a diner that was still open.

Ordering herself the greasiest food available, she was practically drooling by the time it was finally put in front of her.

Petrus, too, was in need of food. He'd cleaned himself up after the battle, if it could be called that. And then... thought. For a long time.

Now, he found himself taking a seat in a diner, looking up, and... just two tables up, there was Verse.

Petrus blinked in surprise. "Uh... hello there." He said, waving a hand.

Verse was mid-munch as Petrus offered her his hello there. She looked up, unsure of what to expect. Death, probably. A red lightsaber in her face and...

...no. That wasn't it. It was... it was... a familiar face? Who? Oh!

"Petrus?"

She swallowed her food.

"The For-" she almost said it at full volume, but then caught herself and lowered her voice, "the force really does work in mysterious ways huh?"

Grimacing, Petrus held a hand up, palm down. He remembered that Verse lacked a bit of subtlety.

He slipped out of his chair, moving quickly to slide into the one opposite from her. "Yeah, no kidding." He flashed a quick grin. Pitching his voice low, he went on. "I heard you were here. I wasn't quite sure I believed it. But..." He spread his hands.

He tilted his head, regarding you. "How are you, Verse?" Eyes narrowed in concern, he looked her up and down. He figured it was a near certainty that she'd have been involved in the afternoon's hostilities.

“Hey sleemo,” Liua called following Petrus… ahem walking in the same direction as Petrus.

She gestured to the server as she found a seat, “He’s buying, give me the special, extra spicy. Water though, the good water.”

“So who’s the friend?” she added as she lit up a cig.

Oh, that's right... *terrible* things had happened. She still had some of the injuries to prove it. For just a brief moment she'd almost forgotten all about it. And then there was... someone else. Some kid she didn't know.

How much could she say?

"She took Qareme," she said as her face fell a little, deciding she could at least say that much. "We have to get her back, Petrus."

Dapper Dog wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:33 pm

“Hey sleemo,” Liua called following Petrus… ahem walking in the same direction as Petrus.

She gestured to the server as she found a seat, “He’s buying, give me the special, extra spicy. Water though, the good water.”

“So who’s the friend?” she added as she lit up a cig.

Petrus blinked surprise, but chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm buying. And hey yourself." He eyed Liua curiously, but it seemed like she was doing okay now.

"Liua, this is Verse, Verse, this is Liua." Petrus cleared his throat. "Verse is a former Jay, Liua is a new member." He knew Liua would pick on that. Wasn't so sure about Verse.

"Wait, what?" Petrus frowned at Verse. "Who took her?"

"Hi," she gave a small wave at Liua, before turning to Petrus with a look of confusion.

"I'm a former what?" She totally didn't pick up on it. Sure, maybe the Jay stood for J which stood for Jedi. But no, that couldn't be it because Verse was totally still a Jedi.

"Oh uh..."

Well, the kid didn't look like she was too bad despite the smoking habit, so maybe it was okay to talk about it. Unless 'Jays' was some sort of imperial gang.

"...a Sith. We fought her, she was trying to kill one of the Aznuri leaders. We actually did pretty well against her for like five seconds. I even destroyed her lightsaber. But Petrus, she was really powerful even without one, and she managed to take her. I think to the prison camp in the desert somewhere."

She figured Xanna would help and probably Petrus poodoo head, and big guy. She gestured at Petrus and said, “Jays for life, but she’s still a junior member.”

“So we going to rescue her from this Sith sleemo? Or what, isn’t that what we are training for, to help people? Which is lame.”

Petrus grit his teeth. "A Sith? She?" His grimace deepened. "We already had an Inquisitor. That wasn't enough to deal with?"

He took a deep breath, centering himself. A Jedi did not act on emotion. Fear or otherwise.

"In the desert, you say?" He asked. Slowly, he nodded. "Yes. You're right. We should." He nodded towards her plate. "And we will. But first, you need to eat. We all do." Waving a hand, Petrus put in an order for himself, less greasy than Verse's, and less spicy than Liua's.

He looked at Liua. "Yeah, we're gonna rescue her. And you're half right. That is what we're training for." Petrus smirked.

Verse was relieved. Not only did the kid seem to be walking the path of the padawan; although what was with this 'jays' stuff?; but the two of them were also keen on rescuing her. Well, maybe not the kid but at least she seemed sort of willing.

"She was after something the Aznuri are protecting, but I guess finding a Jed... you know, us... she just took her as a prize instead."

She took another bite from her greasy meal when something occured to her.

"Wait, you've been training? Wouldn't happen to be near a bunch of fruit trees, right?"

Liua looked at Petrus and then Verse and said, "Yeah, but if you hurt the old man, I am going to punch your face."

She then pointed two fingers at her eyes and then back to Verse.

"I *knew* it! the fruit stuff was literal!" Verse exclaimed, totally ignoring the supposed threat.

Dapper Dog wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 7:26 pm

Liua looked at Petrus and then Verse and said, "Yeah, but if you hurt the old man, I am going to punch your face."

She then pointed two fingers at her eyes and then back to Verse.

"It's okay. I trust her." Petrus said.

He looked at Verse. "What do you mean. Did you... see something?" He made a vague gesture with his hand.

"Another Aznuri told my fortune, with cards. There were predators hunting me, I mean us I guess. And also a teacher handing someone some fruit, so you know, I thought I would him at a fruit farm or something. Oh, and something about the inquisitor being of two halves. But I don't know if that's about this female one or the other one."

She looked between the two.

"So you found an old man. Someone from the order?"

"Yes..." Petrus said, grimacing. "But we need to be very, very careful when talking about him. He's the number-one interest for the male one."

He frowned. "There's two of them. Badguys, I mean. Any chance the thing about being two halves applies to both of them?"

"I don't think so? It was about him specifically. The card was of him being of two halves. One of the Dark, and the other of the Light. So I thought, maybe he could be redeemed, and I got directed to the other Aznuri. The one the female inquisitor tried to kill. She was force sensitive. She didn't know about the inquisitor though."

Petrus frowned. "He... used to be one of us. But then he fell..." A quick glance at Liua.

He cleared his throat again. "I know people can be... brought back. But he's done such terrible things. I don't know if someone can come back that far." He spread his hands. "We could try... perhaps we owe it to who he once was."

"I never really listened as well as I should when Master Yoda was teaching us about these things. But I'm sure he's mentioned others, right? From the past? Who went so far and still came back?"

Petrus grimaced. "I don't know. I can't remember that well, either."

After a few moments, he shrugged. "Maybe the Exile counts. But I don't know enough of her story."

He was silent for a few moments as the food arrived. His eyebrows went up at just how much spicy sauce was on Liua's. "But one thing at a time. We do need to save our missing friend. Another Jay." He said in an aside to Liua.

"I know... keep it up and I will punch you next," she said to Petrus.

So 'Jay' *did* mean Jedi after all! Case solved!

"Yes, we should. I mean there was something about an old place belonging to us around here as well, but... that should wait until after we get Qareme back. Do you think... your new master... will help? Oh and... I mean, I'd like to meet him too of course."

Dapper Dog wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 8:27 pm

"I know... keep it up and I will punch you next," she said to Petrus.

Petrus chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, eat your food. Gotta keep your strength up with all the people you're punching." He nudged her plate closer to her.

Verse Aura wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 8:33 pm

"Yes, we should. I mean there was something about an old place belonging to us around here as well, but... that should wait until after we get Qareme back. Do you think... your new master... will help? Oh and... I mean, I'd like to meet him too of course."

Petrus stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think you could meet him. But... carefully. Like I said, he's priority number one. Someone who can teach... we need to keep him safe."

"I mean, duh. The secret's safe with me, trust me."

Verse Aura wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 28, 2020 8:41 pm

"I mean, duh. The secret's safe with me, trust me."

"I trust you." Petrus reassured her with a smile. "But even just coming and going, or if one of us was followed..." He shook his head. "I don't want to take too many chances. We need to be careful. Until we're ready."