Myriad Reckonings

Raia eyed it. "That's a fine weapon," she said. She'd noticed it the second he stepped through the waterfall, and it was even more impressive up close. A lot of love and care had gone into the making and maintenance of this staff, and she could see the lighter spots where Sirejj had gripped it most often.
"Is it an heirloom, or did you make it yourself?" She pointed at the staff, hoping he would launch into an explanation himself.

Sirejj noticed her gesture and reached out to touch his weapon with his fingertips. They grazed along the handle of wood and bone. Even though he had not created the weapon completely from scratch, he had tinkered and modified and made it his own over time.

"This is the wood of the gravethorn tree from my homeworld." The twisted wood wound its way around the handle, a strong but flexible resin binding it securely around the metal staff. Two cuffs of metal ensured the wood did not split or fragment, and though the wood was old, it still flexed like a young sapling would. Thin pieces of bone ran up the handle. "The bone once was a part of an old Nightsister relic...it was scavenged from the dust after the droids came." He knew nothing of this meant a thing to her, but he wasn't sure how to show her the weapon silently. It had too much to say.

Spoiler

At DragonCon so replies will be slow

Raia listened attentively, though absolutely nothing he said registered with her. It was clear he cared a great deal about this staff, though, and she respected people who appreciated their weapons.

"I'm afraid my lance has very little of which to speak," she said, nodding at it. "It's seen the end of this world and I've used it to take the lives of many armored invaders. I carry it with me always--it will be in my hands when I die. But it hasn't been handcrafted like yours. It's a mass produced weapon, meant for soldiers and nothing more."

Spoiler

that sounds cool, what is it? also been wild busy over here too

"That is a formidable weapon there." He pointed to her lance. Even if it was plain, he admired anyone who could skillfully wield a polearm. He was partial to that method of combat.

Spoiler

It's like ComicCon but in Atlanta, Georgia. Basically a huge gathering of geeks and nerds in cosplay, and we attend panels about all sorts of things from Star Trek to tea dueling. Got a bunch of star wars stickers there!

Raia smiled reluctantly; how silly they must look pointing at each other's weapons. She wondered what he'd said; it must have been complimentary from his tone but she had no way of knowing. He could be ridiculing it for all she knew.

Spoiler

ooo that's so cool!!! Atlanta is only a few hour drive kinda wish i knew about it. I've never been to a con before though. We've got a big one down here close to me but I've never been so don't know when it is.

atlanta is kinda feral glad yall were safe haha.

Sirejj sighed. If he'd been less attached to his weapon, he might have offered to let her look it over. Their lack of ability to communicate was inconvenient. There wasn't really a good solution as he wasn't going to be learning their language in the few days he stayed, though he tried to pick it up. He wondered if he would learn how to communicate unspoken thoughts like he'd been doing with Kurra.

Spoiler

It happens every year! It tends to be really packed, but my aunt always finds us a good air b&b. The whole place was more crowded than usual this year.

Raia raised an eyebrow at him. There was some frustration in that sigh--not that she blamed him. She felt the same. He seemed all right, for an outsider, if a little strange. His tastes were clearly not the same as theirs; perhaps he wasn't used to eating fungus. His teeth appeared to be those of a carnivore.
Even so, they had their love of weaponry in common and he appeared to be passionate about learning the Atoan spells. She had to respect them for that.

Spoiler

honestly that sounds cool.

whenever these two are able to communicate i feel like they'll get along pretty well until they disagree on something. Raia seems like she's headstrong and intelligent and Sirejj is well...himself.

she's super cool. I'm waiting to see how she plays in to everything.

Sirejj, out of a little curiosity, attempted to reach into her mind to see what he could. He was careful about it, but he wondered if it would afford him anything in terms of understanding her or perhaps seeing a memory or thought that would give him a lead on his other objectives.

Spoiler

I'm hoping she's useful later! I like her a lot.

Raia's mind offered slight resistance, and her brow furrowed as a strange sensation came over her. Her focus was on the language barrier at the moment, but memories of her weapon still swirled at the back of her mind: cleaning blood from it after battle, driving it up through the gap in a clone trooper's helmet, tossing it toward a looming dark shape too far away for it to make a difference. Finally, a memory of dropping the spear and scrambling to pick it up as three star destroyers floated overhead with their turbolasers aimed at one of the last Atoan cathedrals.

Sirejj didn't look at her, but studied the fungus as he searched. He sifted through the vague memories for anything he recognized. The old cathedral where Garoche had fallen specifically.

He wouldn't dare attempt this with Kurra or their mother just yet. While he could passively glean much, he didn't want to burn bridges by fishing around.

There was a brief flash of the cathedral, once when it was intact and gleaming with light from the stained glass windows, and once when it was rubble. Raia's mind shied away from that place; there was anxiety and bewilderment surrounding the events that had taken place there.

Spoiler

next time he and kurra are talking he's gonna try to ask a few questions

She knew something about what had happened there, even if it was not what he was looking for. He let it be. Any further prodding and he risked her suspecting him. She would be useful later if he didn't press his luck.

Spoiler

Rad

The strangeness subsided, and Raia was left feeling oddly uncomfortable. She stepped toward the exit, goosebumps pricking along her arms. "You can find your own way back?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Hm?" He wasn't sure what she was asking. He stood up.

Spoiler

Do you ever have an idea for a roleplay but you know absolutely no one but you interacts with its fandom?

She gestured to herself and the door. "I'm going. Can you get back by yourself?"