Open Log

[art_of_war]

Who: Thrawn and You
What: Exploring and scavenging
When: Right after his arrival
Where The square, around the settlement, the forest
Warnings: None anticipated



The square

Thrawn was dressed in ceremonial white mixed with a makeshift bow strapped across his back, an equally makeshift canteen hanging from one shoulder, and a wicked-looking though also makeshift spear. All of that is juxtaposed with blue skin and glowing red eyes. He had not cut the sleeves off of his jacket yet but if the climate stayed humid he may be forced to.

At the moment that canteen strap was still hanging off one shoulder but instead, Thrawn held it as he bent over the fountain refilling it. It seemed to be the only source of water right now, so the first task would be finding another. Preferably one that wasn't also a common landmark. He also intended to find fruit in the forest and by its nature, it was more likely to be near a water source.

Around the settlement

Thrawn stopped to consider a sign with arrows pointing in many directions with symbols etched into it. Obviously, they are meant to be markers of some sort. But for what? They have arrived recently around the settlement so they are meant to aid. But who put them here and why such a varied group has been brought here in the first place is still mysterious to him. It's a good thing Thrawn enjoys solving mysteries.

Eventually, Thrawn left off puzzling over the sign and crossed what appeared to be a lot that was adjacent to an overgrown storefront. There had been several useful things inside of abandoned stores like these so Thrawn intended to look in all of them.

The forest

Focusing on the fruits and tubers that had been offered in the initial buffet proved to be a tall order. There was a great deal of vegetation - which helped to indicate local weather patterns - but the bag Altair had made only had a few of the rootlike vegetables in it. The sun was setting, but Thrawn seemed to be having no difficulty with the lengthening shadows.

He was charmed by plants that became more luminous as night fell. Some were glowing in different colors but the ones shaded a vibrant blue drew his attention. Following a tendril that was reaching up a different wide stem to where the tendril began and the plant it started with, led to some sort of natural well. Unfortunately, it was so choked with plants it wasn't accessible. But the glowing plant did lead to another plant with several hanging fruits, some ripe enough to pick.

Comments

[thrawnsaide]

The fact that he had earned it himself was what was important. Nor did he have anything blocking him from earning the rank. While it had hurt to a degree to be demoted, he was thankful it wasn't all the way back to the Ensign title he had for such a long time.

Some how, Eli wasn't surprised by Thrawn's statement. "I've stayed there the first time upon arrival, but afterward I chose to camp elsewhere. I particularly didn't trust the hotel. I just know that people tend to be there and could use some edible food that won't have any side effects."

[art_of_war]

"You are a better man than I am."

Said with wry amusement and perhaps a touch of self-effacing humor. Thrawn certainly couldn't see himself choosing to sleep around so many unknowns or be so selfless as to work to feed those same unknowns.

"I was looking for another source of water as I am not pleased with the idea of using a common landmark to refill a canteen."

[thrawnsaide]

"Back at Lysteria, we would always help out those who needed help. It was the way we were able to survive. No one else would look out for us, so we had to make due by relying on our neighbors." Eli responded with a wistful tone as he thought about home.

"What ever our purpose here, I believe we need to believe in the same thought. It might take others to warm up to the idea, but once they see they are being helped they may be willing to provide something valuable in return."

[art_of_war]

Thrawn didn't say anything for a long moment. The idea of 'home' obviously meant a lot to Eli but more than that it also seemed as though for him it was more about the connections with others that it stood for. Thrawn did not have that same frame of reference to draw from and his concept of a connection to others always ended up framed by a military hierarchy. The idea of relying on anyone outside of that was so foreign to him that he didn't even consider it.

"I would think that would be something of a risk. After all, others may be willing to benefit but ultimately unwilling to contribute."

Thrawn turned toward the settlement and started to walk that way. He took care to stay just a little bit in the lead as the sky darkened.

"After a time you may be carrying the weight of many by yourself."

[thrawnsaide]

"You're just dealing with human nature there. It's going to happen with anything and it's a risk that I'm willing to take. There are people out there that don't know what it's like to have help or know what to do to help out in return. Such an action has to start somewhere.

I also understand as well that there are people out there that would refuse help based on principle. One can only try. I joined the military looking for a simple career path, but now that path had changed I'm going to do what I can to help others out. Isn't that something you and I had been doing from the start?"

Eli responded as he followed Thrawn toward the settlement. He wanted to do something and he was going to do his best to help regardless if Thrawn felt it was too much or not going to go anywhere.