The Call of Nature

[Abarai Loki]

It was a beautiful day on Ossus. The sun was high, the sky was wearing its brightest blue, and the only clouds clung in wisps to mountain peaks like cobwebs blowing in a breeze. When Loki cleared the mountain pass, he winced at the light, and felt its warmth ooze through his clothes like honey. He raised a hand to shield his eyes and marvelled at the view.

The valley unfurled itself in graceful verdant slopes of knee-high grass and shimmering dew-kissed fields. Sunlight danced playfully down the hillside, it rolled on a sea of glossy tree canopies, and splashed on the surface of a lake with dazzling vigor. He took a long deep breath, wishing he could somehow inhale the beauty around him, and plant it in his soaring heart. By virtue of the altitude, the air was crisp and clean, much like it had been in Miwu Shanma, except here, when the wind dipped into the valley, it was perfumed with the sweet kiss of citrines. It urged him onwards, the lapping breeze at his back, beckoning him to explore - Loki was happy to oblige.

There was no trail; every step provoked a gasp of grass as it brushed against his shins. His presence felt like a violation, but ahead, the trees were whispering and the crystal waters winking, and the virgin land sung its siren's call. It was as if Ossus itself had chosen him, Abarai Loki, to share in its secret jewel. Untouched by the Jedi, here, he could make for himself a home; if there was good earth and game; if he so desired. It had been a week since he'd last seen another Jedi; they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but in truth, his felt lighter. He rejoiced in his newfound freedom. He ran.

A fisherman swoop sailed overhead with a mighty beat of its wings. Loki watched with delight as it dipped low over the fields, and with another beat of wings, skimmed the surface of the lake, flying like a spear; a sudden splash, and the bird vanished, only to reappear an instant later with a silver fish in its beak. It shook off water like diamonds from its yellow-crested head, and took to the skies with its prize. In that moment, Loki made his decision: this was his new home. Sprinting now, blissfully oblivious of the heavy load on his back, and the obscene clattering of tin pots, he recalled his youth on Maridun, and the days with nothing but the sky above him and the soil beneath him. He was free. And the first thing he was going to do was unburden himself of his pack, and his boots, and his clothes, and baptise himself anew in those crystalline waters.

His giddy train of thought was derailed, however, by a sudden and resounding crack. Loki's gaze fired left and right, picturing an Ysanna sharpshooter hiding somewhere in the underbrush, but it was not a bullet that hurtled in his direction, but a shiny red ball. He dived just in time, and tumbled like a battle-ready Amani down the hill. When he came to a stop, it was with a thunderous crash of cooking utensils. Buried under the weight of his pack, he struggled to his knees with a grunt, spitting grass. And, as he resurfaced, he spotted a figure rising over the top of the hill. He squinted against the sun, and, with the force of a crashing Star Destroyer, his fears were realised.

"Halajiin Rabeak. What are you doing here?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Scoring a boundary, obviously," Hal replied. The red, leather-bound ball flew back into his right paw, summoned by the Force, and was then transferred into his left where he already carried a cricket bat. Reaching down, he extended his free paw to help the young man up. "Better question is, what are you doing out here? Never seen you at the lake, before."

It took but a moment to right Loki, and Hal looked the young knight up and down. "Been camping, have we?" he asked.

The Nehantite, as usual, looked nothing like the Jedi knight that he was. Khaki cargo shorts hung loose on his hips, while an short-sleeved, casual, white button-down shirt remained open across his upper body. The sun caught the edges of his yellow fur at just the right angle so that he appeared to have a golden halo - a sign of sanctity that seemed ill-deserving to the mongoose.

Loki had been missing for over a week, but now that Hal knew him to appear safe and well, he asked no questions about the subject. He knew full well what it was like to need some time alone.

[Abarai Loki]

"No," Loki grumbled, and followed suit in inspecting himself. Where his clothes had been stained by the grass and dirt, it looked like he had been smeared down one side by the stroke of some giant paintbrush. He dusted himself off. "I have been staying with the Gossam, on the mountain."

Once he was done with his own damage assessment, he considered Hal with undisguised scrutiny. He looked very well. Upon reflection, this came as no surprise: between the rolling hills and mountain air, and the dustbowl building site that was Sanctuary One, there was no comparison. Halajiin Rabeak carried himself with a lethargic sort of ease that was anathema to the organised mind, even his clothes looked ready to fall away at a moment's notice - which, in his case, was probably true. In his hand, he held a club of some sort, and the ball that nearly took Loki's head off. It was, in all likelihood, some manner of sporting apparatus, but for what reason someone would seek distraction from the staggering scenery all around them, Loki could only imagine.

"This place: I didn't know it existed."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal stepped back, popping his ball back into his right paw, then turned to survey the landscape. Surely there had to be somewhere on Nehantish that resembled it, but for the life of him, Hal had never seen it. Coruscant had boasted no such beauty, and the Nehantite was certain his memory of such places was confined purely to things which he had seen on holovision. Perhaps that was what had made his time by the lakeside seem surreal, disconnected. It was the place he came to practice his batting, to swim, or to just lay in the sunshine, reveling in the peace and quiet of being alone. To his knowledge, he'd never seen anyone else there, once he thought about it, which was likely why he had been so carefree in cracking off great, fence-swinging boundary hits.

"Yeah," he said without thinking. Staring out across the glittering waters, he couldn't help but smile. "I don't think anyone else knows it does, to be honest. It's sort of my private little getaway. Well, one of them, at least. I've explored a bunch of the area, around here. Had time for it, and all that."

There was a bitter swish of his tail to accompany his words, a sense of subtle mourning despite such freedom. Still he smiled. He nearly always smiled, to the point where a mask matched reality so closely that both genuine and counterfeit expressions were nigh indistinguishable. "C'mon, I've got some tea chilling down by the lakeside. Looks like you could use a drink," he said, then paused, "Well, unless you're in a hurry to get back to the complex, that is."

[Abarai Loki]

"No," he answered, a little too urgently, "I will join you."

It was the most diplomatic answer in his arsenal. The last thing he wanted to do was betray his own intentions to a fellow Jedi. But then, this wasn't just any Jedi, it was Halajiin Rabeak, and if he was half as acquainted with the land as he claimed to be, then it would not have escaped his attention that Loki was travelling in the opposite direction to the Jedi sanctuary. Perhaps Hal was being diplomatic, too.

There was still some distance to go before they were at the lake. Loki trudged clumsily down the steady incline, sore from his fall, and acutely aware of the clattering mountain of belongings on his back. But it was the disappointment that he hadn't just discovered his own personal paradise that hung heaviest on his shoulders; a childish complaint made worse by the fact that, not only did it turn out that Hal frequented the place to play games, but that he also had a jug of iced tea waiting for him by the lake. And, as the sun climbed higher overhead, the thought of an iced tea became very appealing - his companion had read him right in that regard.

"You told me you scored a boundary. I assume that is some sort of sporting terminology."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal popped the ball up into the air before catching it once more, as he walked, grinning. "Yeah, Cricket," he replied. "It's a game brought to Nehantish from off-world, not sure where it originally came from, but it's a pretty popular sport where I'm from. A boundary is where you hit the ball over the fence line. Automatic six runs scored. I'd explain the rules of the game, but... to be fair even I don't really understand them. I just like hitting the ball."

While there was no need to demonstrate, Hal did, anyway. Jogging up a few steps to clear some distance from Loki, he tossed the ball up into the air, then grasped the handle of his strange bat and cracked home a fantastic hit with the flat of the bat, sending the red ball flying. Watching it soar, Hal eventually reached out his right paw and called the ball back. "Kinda like that."

It was the only chance for a hit he got before they reached the lake shore, where Hal tossed both bat and ball into the scrub grass before tugging on a rope leading into the water. Within a few seconds it was revealed that there was a jug of iced tea on the other end, weighted by rocks, kept in the water to keep it cool. Hauling it out, Hal untied the ropes and passed the glistening jug to his guest. "Sorry, no cups. I usually just pull straight from the jug," he explained. Then he nodded to the heavy pack that Loki still bore, and chuckled. "And, feel free to take a load off. Beautiful day, no reason to be in a hurry anywhere, right?"

[Abarai Loki]

Not one to require a second invitation, Loki cradled the jug in his hands, and drank. His eyes closed as he relished the blissful contrast between the rich ice-cold tea travelling down his throat, and the warm breath of the sun on his face. He resurfaced with a sigh. A moment later, his pack, and all of its clunking attachments, were shrugged to the floor. He rolled his arms, he popped his neck, and massaged the grooves in his shoulders where the straps had bitten into the skin. After three hours of hiking through the mountains, it felt good.

"So, this is what you do when you're not terrorising the Jedi Council."

He sat on the sloping bank and leaned back onto his elbows. On the other side of the lake, another swoop plunged into the water, only to depart with an empty beak.

"Halajiin Rabeak, to live in such hardship."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal couldn't help but laugh, plopping down on the bank beside Loki, and taking a swig from the jug when the young knight was finished.

"Oh, I know. It's a wonder how I survive," he said, then laughed again, shaking his head. "Nah, actually I get up to all sorts of stuff. But... lovely day, hot sun... felt right to come out here, whack a few balls around, go for a swim, just... enjoy it. Nobody enjoys stuff, around here, so I might as well enjoy it for them."

He then capped the jug and set it aside before lying back on the short grass, paws folded behind his head. A deep breath caused his bared chest to rise, then fall again with a contented sigh. "Days like this are far too rare and precious to be wasted away with thinking and planning, or chores or whatever else. They should be enjoyed, and savored for what they are; nothing more, nothing less."

[Abarai Loki]

Loki took a moment to digest what he'd heard, and then, parsed the meaning in Hal's words:

"The simple things in life."

It was a philosophy to which he wasn't entirely a stranger - in theory, if not in practice. The idea that, though there was much turmoil in life, and many challenges to overcome, it was important to find enjoyment between one's trials and tribulations. And, for the first time, as he relaxed by a lake on a beautiful day, he think he understood. Or, at least, he had difficulty providing a counter-argument. He closed his eyes and allowed his head to loll like a deadweight. Sunlight blossomed through his eyelids; there were days when he didn't even notice the sun in the sky above him.

Eyes open, he regarded Hal, who was splayed on the grass with all the languid torpor of a dog in a doorway, "So, what do you do on a day like this?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

The Nehantite closed his eyes, tail swaying ever so gently between his legs. "Play. Relax. Explore. And if it keeps getting warmer, as it seems to be, I might go for a swim," he answered.

Eyes cracking open once more, he pursed his lips and nodded. "Actually, definitely go for a swim. Weather is perfect, and... I need to get away for a bit. Thinking of a little camping out in the wild. Don't know of another lake this nice, so, why waste the opportunity."

He then rolled his head to the side to address Loki directly. "Why, what would you do on a day like today, dude?"

[Abarai Loki]

Dude. That dubious honorific. In times passed, it was enough to sour Loki's mood, and prompt from him, at the very least, a frown. He would remind himself that his name was Abarai Loki, and that he was a Jedi, and that he had not earned for himself a place amongst the Jedi Knights only to be called "Dude." In the silence between them, he considered the lapse in decorum, and, far from the brown robes, the stringent rules, and the hum of lightsabers, he found he didn't care. Instead, he allowed himself to ponder more important questions, like: What would I do on a day like today?

"I... don't know," he said, and now he frowned, "Routine and responsibility are the laws that have governed my days. Maybe I would... teach a class, or visit the library, or repair my tunic, or... or go for a run!"

The last one was blurted with a hint of desperation, in order to counteract the effects his words were having on Hal's face. He didn't look convinced that Loki knew what to make of such a day, and, in truth, Loki wasn't convinced he did either.

"On Maridun, there were many days like this - my brother and I treated it like any other."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

"Sounds like you grew up in a paradise," Hal nodded, turning his attention back to the clear, blue sky above. "I grew up in a desert. Oh, there were plenty of buildings, and there was enough artificially watered plant life that it felt okay, but... it was hot. And dry. And dusty. There was a water park, but my family was rather poor, so we never went. Learned how to swim when I got to Coruscant, actually. Had to join the classes with the little kids. Like that wasn't embarrassing..."

He trailed off, sighing again. "But on Nehantish? My brothers and I would ride our bikes places, until one of them got a car, and the other got a swoop bike. Friends and I would play cricket in an empty, dusty lot, or we'd find some back alley and play some sort of bowling. We were out and about a lot, all over our town without a care in the world. When you have nothing, it's easy to enjoy it. Guess that's why I like it out here. It's the closest thing I have to being back home. Well, except no brothers or friends, but, can't have everything right?"

Hauling himself back up to a stand, the Nehantite took another drink of tea, recapped the jug and tossed it back into the water to stay cool, then shed his shirt. "I'm going for a swim, care to join me?" he announced.

[Abarai Loki]

It was fascinating to hear Halajiin talk about his homeworld: Nehantish sounded like a world that had joined the rest of the galaxy, with its spaceships and hyperdrives, but had forgotten to bring the rest of its culture up to speed. So, naturally, when Hal uttered words like cars, cricket, and bowling, they rained like curios on his ears. Perhaps, one day he would get to see that strange world, and meet Hal's brothers; they could visit one of those water parks he mentioned. And then it struck him - with all the force of a body blow from a Wookiee, it struck him: all of Hal's brothers were dead. Everyone he had ever known, friends and family alike, were dead. In a day, Loki had lost the only family he had ever known. In an instant, Halajiin Rabeak had lost everything. He felt a strange swell of affection for the curious mongoose Jedi, in that moment; his story resonated with him in much the same way as the tragic story of Teagan s'Ilancy. And the cruel coincidence of their situation was not lost on him at all: they were alone, together, in a place that reminded them of home.

"Swim?" he repeated. His thoughts ran to the water park that Hal and his brothers never saw. He gave a nod, "Sure."

It was worth removing his boots just for the relief of it alone. His liberated toes kneaded the ground beneath them, and... and they really stank! As he peeled the sweat-soaked fabric of his undertunic from his back, Loki grimaced. When did he become so unbearably putrid? Silently, he cursed the Gossam, and their primitive, but utterly charming, way of life. As he wallowed in a miasma of his own filth, the painful truth was made clear: without a sonic shower, he was a beast.

His utility belt fell to the ground with a clatter. A cautionary glance to the horizon for a wayward Gossam or a local peeping tom, then he dropped his pants. He ran, naked as a babe, along the edge of the bank, across an outcropping of marbled rock, and leapt into the deepest, cleanest, part of the lake he could find. The water was cold and utterly refreshing; he revelled in the roaring gush as he plunged beneath the surface, and felt every inch of tension snap out of him in an instant. His reappearance was punctuated with a violent spray of water from the mouth.

"Hal!" he called out, "Are these fish... vegetarian?"

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Hal laughed as Loki nearly cannonballed into the lake, his own approach far more leisurely. By the time Loki surfaced again, Hal was already waist-deep, his shorts left on the bank. "Heh, as far as I know, yeah," he called back. "Never had any luck fishing for them with bait!"

That said, he took a step forward and performed a surface dive. Bubbles pocked the surface of the water where he swam beneath it, air escaping from the millions of pockets in his fur, until he surfaced once more. Wet, Hal appeared quite a different animal indeed. Gone was his flop of errant headfur, and his cute cheek ruffs were plastered to his face, almost making him appear as a golden otter. Treading water, he then laughed. "Damn, I should have brought a ball that floats! Wasn't expecting company!"

Leaning forward, he began to swim deeper out into the lake. "Though, to be fair... there could still be carnivorous fish, around, and maybe they didn't like my bait," he said.

[Abarai Loki]

"There are nexufish on Dac that can strip the flesh off a Herglic in under two minutes."

Whatever he had hoped to achieve by dispensing such an ill-advised nugget of information, Loki was unsure. There was no denying, however, that it was quite interesting. Holonet had its uses, but a nature documentary was no substitute for the real thing. The water was as clear as glass; its surfaced rippled in ribbons of gold across the lake bed, where vibrant gardens blossomed in shades of orange and green. When Loki kicked, tangles of weed tickled his feet.

They pressed onwards, and reached a precipice, where the floor of the lake dropped away into a veritable abyss. How deep it went, Loki could only imagine, and in doing so he experienced a faint flutter in his stomach. He stared for a moment into the dark below, where the only light to be glimpsed was the occasional knife-flash of silver as a fish zipped by. He steeled his nerves, and looked ahead. In the distance, a shard of jagged grey rock was pointing out of the lake like a gnarled finger, and the only thing remarkable about it was that it provided him with something invaluable: an objective.

Poised to take flight, he tore his eyes off the prize just long enough to find Hal, and fire off his challenge:

"Let us find out if all of your lessons in the youngling pool were worth it, Halajiin Rabeak."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Rolling over from having turned onto his back, Hal reached up to wipe excess water from his brow, and squinted toward the rock. He'd seen it before, but never swam out to it, as it was a not inconsiderable distance.

I don't know about this. We're good at leisurely paddling around, but... that's pretty far.

Eh, we can do it. I mean, we're fit, we should be able to handle that.

And if we can't?

Boy Wonder, here, can haul us back to shore.

Please excuse me while I overflow with confidence...

"Okay, but one rule: no Force abilities, okay? Strictly physical power. Deal?" he answered.

[Abarai Loki]

"If it is defeat you seek, you have my permission to doggy paddle," said Loki, with no small amount of satisfaction. And then: "Let's go!"

If Hal wasn't ready, he had only himself to blame. The time for talking was over. Loki dived, and propelled himself away with a series of controlled kicks. His body arced gracefully, toes pointed, allowing him to resurface for a might stroke. It had been two years since he'd last swam in the open like this; how easily the muscle memory returned. Hands shaped like speaheads carved a straight line in the water. He kept his head down and took a breath only when he had to; he felt like a torpedo.

Over the roar of the rushing water, he noticed a heavy slap-slap-slapping: it was Hal, ripping through the water like he was scaling a mountain with his tail on fire. When Loki breathed, he caught a glimpse of the slick-furred mongoose, and he was gaining on him. A geyser of foam leapt skywards everytime one of his large paws broke the water, and with every consequent pull, the distance between them closed by inches. Strictly physical power, indeed. Loki cursed him and redoubled his efforts; he had not spent his entire life hammering his body into peak condition, only to be outdone by Halajiin Rabeak, the leisurely layabout of Ossus.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

In a furious flurry of motion, Hal worked his longer limbs harder, even swishing his tail to gain extra propulsion, and for a short while he gained on his rival. Clawing forward - quite literally - in the water, the Nehantite sucked down huge gulps of air when he could, snorting out of his forward-facing nostrils whenever he his muzzle dipped under the water to keep from drowning himself.

We can do it! We can do it!

He's pulling away...

We suck! We suck!

No. Hal wouldn't allow it. This was his lake, and he would defend his honor upon it! Even if he had no honor to defend, he didn't want to be beaten by a slippery teenage show-off. Summoning up his reserves, Hal pushed more power behind each of his strokes and kicks, his body undulating through the water in time with his tail as he struggled to make up ground. Or water. Or whatever you call distance between yourself and your opponent while swimming. Hal didn't know, he grew up in a desert country, for crying out loud.

[Abarai Loki]

Loki was having difficulty. On land, there were few who could match him for speed; in the water, he floundered. Roku had always been the better swimmer: he, like Hal, had the advantage of upper body strength. To compensate, Loki worked on his technique, with the same iron-clad determination with which he practiced his swordsmanship. But technique could only take one so far. As he struggled against the water, he recalled from his youth a swimming race that went dramatically awry: it was a hot day, and he and his brother had taken to the river to compete against each other - swimming for leisure was simply not done. Unlike the lake, the river was cloudy with sediment, making it impossible to see underwater. They spent the afternoon racing against the sluggish current until they reached the shallows; welcoming rest, Loki placed one foot on the river bed, and the other on the horn of a waiting charnoq. On his feet, he had his speed, and the charnoq's snapping jaws missed his leg by an inch. The water roiled and churned as the lizard beast gave chase, pursuing the brothers up the river bank on its eight stubby legs, hissing and snapping wildly at their ankles. They never went near the shallows again.

The memory had bubbled to the surface because he was reminded of just how exhausted he had been that day - just as he was now, in desperate need of respite. His infrequent surgical breaths had turned into an undignified battle for air. His legs burned and his arms felt so heavy they could scarcely clear the water. He was at his limit, and there was nothing he could do but watch as Hal swept past and took the lead, first by a hand, then an arm, then a whole torso. His arm juddered as he slapped the rock, arresting his momentum. The slick stone resisted his grasp, forcing him to summon the last of his energy reserves to pull himself up, and anchor himself to the ledge using his elbows. There, he sucked ravenously at the warm air, his face pressed against the stone.

"I am... unconvinced... you grew up... in a desert."

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Chest heaving for breath, Hal hung onto the rock, as well, grinning as he wiped his headfur back. "I can show you the street it was on, sometime," he laughed. "If it's still there, that is."

He then rocked back in the water, letting his big footpaws float up and stick up halfway out of the water. "Of course, big paddle feet and a swishy tail don't hurt. Not to mention a... well-practiced core," he added with a wink. "Still, dang, I really thought you were gonna beat me, there. Never been out this far. It's... a long way from shore, actually."

Hal let his eyes roam over the glittering surface of the water, the lake's edge and their clothes seeming quite far away, further than he'd expected. "Don't think I'm up for a race back, though. And from the looks of it, neither are you. Let's hang here for a bit, deal?"