Pathfinder

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, Merrin, OTA
WHERE: The city that is not Temba
WHAT: Finding trouble in Exploring Not!Temba
WHEN: Late July/Early August
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: Will match pose preference.



I. Meet Me in the Hotel Lobby
Exploring any place new is a bit overwhelming. The place looks more crowded for all the extra greenery in the form of trees that liberally occupy spaces even taken up by buildings. Cal's suggestion would be to find the city's center and work from there. Ideally somewhere tall would maybe get them a better glimpse of the place so they can have actually see what they're dealing with.

This is essentially how he and BD-1 can be found at the hotel. The state of disrepair is hardly anything to daunt the padawan as he has a look around within. If you don't find him inside, you might find him outside sizing up the stonework or even already in climbing progress as he scales the walls.


II. Not-So Paradise Estate
BD-1's busy scanning every new plant he comes across. There's an abundance of them around this area alone, full of flowers and fruits. Cals picked a few berries as samples, tucking them into a pouch. He'll have to pass them to an agriculture specialist later. But in the meantime it seems that after circling the place, there's really no clear way through to the building framed within.

"Well, I guess that means we cut our own," he says, removing his lightsaber, giving it a lazy spin as he activates it. Eyeing the bushes, he checks with his droid buddy to make sure he won't be accidentally chopping into one completely before he sets to work. Just have to give this hedge a quick trim!


III. There's Always a Bigger...Fish? (For Merrin)
Compared to Temba, this place is absolutely teeming with life. Even without reaching out through the Force, it can be heard everywhere, especially where the trees grow thick. "I wonder how long this place has been abandoned," Cal says quietly as he walks along. The echoes he's come across have been from a time long past, and for how vague they are it makes it difficult to really tell just how long.

His eyes trace the strange stonework that surrounds them. The overall feel of this city seems to be leaning more towards the organic, something artful to the mesh of architecture and nature that's lacking in Temba. Those toppled trees however hardly go amiss.

"Well that's always a good sign," he comments dryly, glancing over at Merrin.


IV. Choose Your Own Adventure
((OOC: Anything else you'd like to do with Cal? Toss up your own starter or ping me to work something out!))

Comments

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs. "Well, kind of? It was more like an on-purpose sort of thing, even if neither of us were aware we were supposed to meet each other. Someone I'm traveling with used to know the person BeeDee belonged to before."

When Steve starts asking about the climbing difficulty, Cal can't say he didn't expect it, but he looks over his shoulder again, down at the man. "Um... Well, I wouldn't say this is a beginner level climb, no," he admits. "...can you reach where I am?" It wouldn't be too much trouble helping the guy up if he can manage some climbing, at least, but if that didn't work, they might have to try a different approach.

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve doesn't fully understand what Cal means about the whole BeeDee thing but he nods anyway to be polite. At the answer to the climbing he nods again but this one is more pensive and considering. Steve looks at the wall and seems to be really thinking about whether or not he can make it. But at the end of the day this is Steven Grant Rogers. So...

"Yeah. I can make it."

And up he starts in his 40's, leather-soled shoes and with the upper-body strength of a preteen. But what he lacks in proper equipment or muscle he makes up for in bloody-mindedness. Slowly, he starts making his way up.

"Not...that hard..." he huffs.

[out_of_order]

With no real reason to doubt that the man can't handle himself, Cal shifts so he can watch Steve make his way up, nodding. BD-1 peers over his shoulder.

Cal's not going to judge anyone for the progress made. Not everyone's spent five years clambering around old starships to deconstruct, after all. But given how tired Steve's already getting and where he's barely managed to get, Cal isn't too sure how long the man'd last trying to get to the top.

"It's going to get a little trickier once we get past the second floor," he warns. "We can try another way up if that might be a problem."

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve concentrated hard on the climb and tried his best to not look too exhausted by the effort. "Nah," he says between breaths. "This isn't so bad. I'm sure I can make it."

He's not even sure what they are climbing up for but he is sure he'll get his way up there one way or another. Different shoes would definitely help, though. His own slide a little and refuse to get a good grip as he moves closer to where the other man is. Finally one slips off completely and Steve lets out a startled noise before focusing and getting his bearings once more.

"See? I'm sure I can make it."

[out_of_order]

Cal tenses a little more as he sees Steve slip, although thankfully the man manages to keep his grip. BD-1 has shifted to look over his shoulder, watching anxiously as Steve moves slowly but surely.

"At least ropes are more predictable. How'd you do with that? You said you were military?" he asks, trying to keep the conversation light as he monitors the man's progress.

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve manages to get a little higher before the wind thins enough to make him wheeze. Nothing too bad though. He's had worse and keeps going.

"I...yeah... I was part...of a program. Got taken...here before it...could be finished. Which is a...bit of a dis...disappointment. But I still...had the training. And... I... Did really we- AH!"

Steve's hand slips on his next hold. With the weight suddenly shifted, his smooth shoes come off the wall as well. Steve has a second to think 'Bucky is gonna kill me if I don't die' before gravity takes over and he starts shouting on his way toward the ground.

[out_of_order]

Maybe he should have let the guy put all his focus in climbing. Cal continues to listen however, genuinely interested in whatever experience Steve's had. And then the man slips.

"Steve!" the teenager calls out, throwing a hand outward as though reaching out to catch him. Which...he is, albeit not by physical means. Through the Force he tries to grasp the man before he can hit the ground, his mind flashing back to when he watched Prauf falling back on Bracca, surrounded by a graveyard of starships.

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve is climbing one minute and then falling the next. Falling fast and with nothing to hold onto until, suddenly, he's not. He's floating? Or maybe that is not the right word for it. But he is definitely not falling anymore. Steve looks to the ground and then back up at Cal with his extended hand. His eyes turn into planets.

"Woah. Holy crow... You can do magic, too?"

[out_of_order]

Cal slowly eases the man to the ground, letting out a breath. "Not magic," he explains, pausing as he studies the distance to the ground and the lengthy way above. If Steve was going to insist on joining him, maybe this way up wasn't the way to go. He readjusts his grip before starting to climb down a few feet, before simply dropping to the ground to land beside Steve.

"It's called the Force," he explains as he straightens, shaking out his arms. Maybe starting from scratch is a good call. Clinging to a wall while conversing is a little wearying. "It's an energy field that exists around and in all things. Where I'm from, some people are sensitive to it, and can even tap into it to do things like...well, like earlier."

[usedtobesmoller]

"Like...a soul or something...?"

It seemed almost divine, the way Cal talked about it. Something that went through everyone and somehow could be touched and worked with to create miracles. The potential and implications of such a thing isn't lost on a Catholic like Steve. He looks at Cal with open interest and just a little bit of awe.

"That's incredible. And you call it 'Force'? That's really amazing. What else can it do?"

[out_of_order]

"Not exactly. I think souls might be a part of it though. In death we return to the Force."

How it all worked together was one of the many unexplained mysteries, even to Jedi. "There's still a lot we don't know or understand of it. I'm sure the things we even learned at the Order make up only a small portion," Cal explained. "Some Jedi can relate better with animals through it. I think Ezra's specialty is along those lines, and Master Kenobi's. But we can jump higher, or just be more aware of our surroundings, sense anything wrong."

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve nodded, completely riveted by the story and what it suggested. "That sounds similar to what I believe. Not the same but... I get it."

He considered the animal thing and the Jedi business. At the mention of an Order, he perked up and figured he understood it. "So the Jedi...you all are like priests? Or monks or something? People who access the Force and serve it? Use it?"

[out_of_order]

Cal chuckles, shaking his head.

"No, not really. I mean...I guess some people have likened it to that. But we're not serving the Force. We're trying to gain a better understanding for it, so that we can make use of that connection properly. The Jedi stood for peace and fought for justice. But not all those who can sense and tap into the Force do that. They're taken in by the power, and they abuse it."

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve listens, rapt by what he is hearing. Not only does it sound profound and spiritual to him, but it also sounds like something that is incredibly interesting. After all, Cal is not much bigger than him and was able to stop him in the air with little more than a hand. He stands for peace and justice. Stood against those that abused the power.

It is a fascinating thing to hear.

"That's amazing. Are...only people from your universe able to feel the Force?"

[out_of_order]

"So far as I know," Cal admits with a bit of a shrug. "Everyone else I've met here who doesn't seem to be from any familiar worlds has never heard of the Force, but there are some who have other powers that I guess they're born with or obtain through other means."

Which is fascinating in its own right.

[usedtobesmoller]

Steve's shoulders sag a little at that. He had been hoping just a bit that this was something he could maybe learn. It sounds instead that this is something from entirely outside his universe and likely inaccessible to normal folk like him.

Luckily, being denied access isn't something new for him.

"Yeah. I met Billy pretty fast here. He made this inhaler when I had an asthma attack. Pretty swell device. Stopped me wheezing right away and Billy'd just pulled it from the air."

[out_of_order]

Cal smiles faintly at that. "It's even rare back in our galaxy, if that's any consolation," he offers. "...unfortunately the Order was destroyed, so the number of Jedi in the galaxy's just as rare now."

Billy's magic was some powerful stuff. Cal's still not sure what to make of it, but it seems to ignore any sort of rules. His lips quirk in a smile again at that. "Yeah, I'm not sure how he does it, but it's pretty amazing."