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Jhyx
Jul 19th, 2014, 01:06:11 AM
How the small creature ended up anywhere was anyone's guess. How he managed to continue living was something of wild conjecture for any who had the... fortune... to meet him. And yet he still drew breath, and still marched through life with a brave face and jutting chest. Even if that chest was small and furred.

Finding himself on Ossus was like finding himself on any other planet he'd been to - waking up to the crashing din of mechanics and sharp yells. The sounds of a healthy dockyard. Most never shut down unless they were on backwater worlds; he knew that fact rather well. It was just one of those universal constants, and one that he had learned not to worry about. Another thing he'd learned was how to extricate himself from his napping spots with ease and a fair amount of quickness. There were just some instances that his quick thinking and good looks did not help. Most times the little Isnik never really cared, though. And because of that he'd been on the day's lunch menu more times than he could count.

He'd caught wind of a few words here and there though, as while rousing himself from his slumber and stretching, he listened to the robust chatter that floated to his ears.

One word caught his attentions quite easily, and caused his ears to perk up.

Jedi.

If there was ever a word to instill wonder and awe, it was that, and with suddenly wide eyes the small creature gave a final stretch. He gave a final yawn, placed his feet beneath him, and hauled himself up to his admittedly very small height.

And with a last scratch to his furred rump, the Isnik hopped down from his perch to skitter his way through pipes and conduits. Daylight filtered in through the small opening of a landing strut, and he slipped down further, through the opening and out into fresh air.

The sun was bright, casting brilliant rays all around as his paws hit the tarmac's surface. In the shade of the starship, he looked out at the vast expanse before him, seeing the bustling activity all around.

It really was a beautiful day on Ossus.

Untaaura Verratoa
Jul 19th, 2014, 03:54:36 AM
Ossus was still very much a frontier world, set apart from the beaten path of the civilized galaxy. As such, things taken for granted in such cosmopolitan hubs like Coruscant, Corellia, and Carshoulis often appeared as rare or diminished luxuries on the Jedi world, if they appeared at all. One such amenity was the post, or at least parcel service. While communication was handled almost exclusively through the HoloNet or other transmittable media, if you wanted to send a physical thing from point A to point B, you were still hamstrung by the means to actually move items from one planet to the next. While the military could reliably make critical items appear with the stamp of a bureaucratic foot, items of a less important or of an individually personal nature were tasked to less reliable courier services. Freelance freight runners (who probably turned to smuggling when the law wasn't looking in their direction) could make a small amount of legitimate pay by picking up a few tons of cargo on one backwater and 'pond-hopping' to another flyover world. There were no delivery date guarantees. No guarantee to the condition of the cargo. Hell, if the courier was unscrupulous enough, there wasn't even a guarantee the cargo would be there at all. Still, it was this or nothing, so far off the hyperlanes, so most people accepted the odds and rolled the chance cube.

"Verra...Veerta...Verri..." the hawker at the end of the freighter's cargo ramp called to the group of thirty or so onlookers assembled under a small metal pavilion at the edge of the tarmac. He seemed defeated by the polysyllabic salad of a name on the list in front of him.

"Verratoa." replied an annoyed voice kept in check with unsurprised restraint.

"That's what I...said. Was going to say..." The human freight jockey gave a weak shrug at the mangling of the woman's name, then caught himself staring at the Cizerack marine's scar-pocked face as she stepped out of the shade. Untaaura Verratoa wore a sleeveless PT tank top with BDU trousers bloused into combat boots. It was what amounted to casual wear in the Jaanni'saari's distorted worldview, and the off-duty Cizeri Major fell into a shoulder-wide stance, waiting for her parcels to be gathered. She was waiting on a small treasure trove. Nicknacks and much-requested sundries from her favorite cousin on Idantis who made sure that wherever Untaaura might be deployed, she was never too far from home. Finishing the cigarette she'd started during her wait in the queue, the Cizeri Major turned to flick away the butt, her eyes catching a blur of scurrying movement down one of the freighter's landing struts.

Vermin.

Untaaura frowned. That wasn't the best sign. Hopefully the contents of her care package were unspoiled. If she knew Cousin Heidaari, she would have included more than a few tastes from home, and it was something she'd been looking forward to. Again her attention was broken by the deck hand, who pressed a datapad forward.

"Here you go. Sign here and here, Miss Ve...Veert...eh you know."

She wasn't even mad. Not today. Today was going to be just fine.

Jhyx
Jul 19th, 2014, 02:55:02 PM
With precious little time to waste, the Isnik scurried his way from crate to luggage, mindful to stay out from under the tread of boot and mechanical limb all the same. He'd been stepped on enough times to become more than proficient in dodging and weaving.

Making his way to the edge of the tarmac was easy enough, and the small creature let his bounding stride lengthen. Soon his paws hit dirt, and he skidded to a halt, feeling as the grime collected between his toes and relishing every mucky speck. Wriggling his digits further down, Jhyx reared up to stand on his hind legs, his neck jutting up as he gave another look at his new surroundings.

He let a slow grin creep across his muzzle, and bringing front paws together in a little clap, he entwined fingers together in expectant anticipation.

Today was going to be the first of many good days. Well, hopefully at least.

And with a final look around - there was some dour-face Cizerack a short distance off, but he paid her no more than a passing glance as he set off once more in the direction of the settlement.

If there really were Jedi around here, he was going to find one!

Hwooroc
Jul 19th, 2014, 04:19:40 PM
Post day! Post day! Care packages ahoy! Jando root and cookies, and maybe even toys!

Daydreams of mini Life Day cornucopias of gift giving filled Hwooroc's head as he bounded toward the tarmac. Mom and Dad had said they'd sent something along, but parents were all secrety and stuff. It was a surprise and he didn't even get a hint. The possibilities ranged from...nah it was a Tauntaun! Had to be! He'd name it Boobo and he'd train it and ride it everywhere. With his trusty steed, the entire planet of Ossus would unfold like a flower full of adventure!

Lost in his delusions, and certainly not looking where he was going, he tripped over a womp rat or something, going butt over teacup and landing on his back.

"Mwaag!"

Grimacing and rubbing his back end, Hwooroc sat up and began dusting off what had been a nice clean coat of fur, when he noticed what he tripped over wasn't a womp rat at all. The youngling gawked without shame.

Jhyx
Jul 19th, 2014, 04:45:46 PM
Of course, not all masters in the art of skillful dodging were one hundred percent on the mark, and as he was sent skittering over a small patch of earth, Jhyx couldn't help the squeak that came from his mouth as his body thumped against the hard-packed ground once, twice, then a third time before coming to a rolling stop on his stomach.

For a moment he remained still, as sometimes a frantic scramble only made things worse, but once he was reasonably sure that no other harm would befall him, the Isnik rolled over to sit up, sending narrow eyes to the one who'd barreled into and over him.

"Getting to be where a fine fellow can't even walk down a street without getting pushed around," he grumped.

He made a show of dusting off his arms, and pulled himself up to his feet.

Hwooroc
Jul 21st, 2014, 11:54:52 PM
"Gna ag auu, mwooofwaagh."

Apologizing profusely for his clumsiness, Hwooroc finally clambored to his feet, shaking off the last bit of dirt. Wait a second...womp rats don't talk! The wookiee's head slowly rose, and in a wide-eyed expression, he leapt back in surprise. IT DID! IT DID TALK!

"HRAAAA!!!"

Jhyx
Jul 22nd, 2014, 12:20:03 AM
A Wookiee.

The realization was like a shot in the arm that only caused his face to go slack, mouth slightly agape as he stared up at the youngling.

And just as quickly, his ears swiveled back and flattened against his skull as the Wookiee let out a loud cry. Small paws went up to protect sensitive ear drums even as his own mouth opened and he instinctively joined in on the surprised yell with one of his own.

Hwooroc
Jul 23rd, 2014, 12:58:07 AM
The dawning look of a skeptic started to appear on Hwooroc's face in response to Jhyx's sympathetic caterwaul. First off, he was still pretty sure womp rat's didn't speak. I mean, surely he would've heard of something like that before, right? Not to mention the taxonomy was all wrong. The fur color was about right, but this thing stood upright, as easily as he did. The tail was wrong too...maybe.

As he did whenever conjecture alone was insufficient, Hwooroc unshouldered his backpack and began digging into the contents, until he pulled out the Sixth Edition Imperial Guide to Galactic Fauna. Deft fingers moved along the datapad, entering WOMP_RAT into the search field. The Wookiee stood there for a moment, scrolling through information and pictures, periodically looking over the datapad and back at Jhyx, before bookishly retreating back to his source. Throughout his investigation, he Hrromphed and Wraured to himself, nodding and shaking his head when appropriate.

Nope. Not a womp rat. At last, he tucked the datapad under his arm, and scratched at his cowlicked head in dumbfounded confusion.

Why not ask it, you doofus?

A sudden pie wedge underbite smile popped on his face. "Gnaa!" Carefully, he reached to the vox module that hung around his neck, and turned the unit on. Okay, you'd better work, darn it.

"What are you?"

Jhyx
Jul 23rd, 2014, 01:17:47 AM
For a few short moments he said nothing. Instead he stood with his paws still up to his ears and eyes turned upward in a squinting gaze at the young Wookiee. It didn't take long though, for him to be reasonably satisfied at the lowered noise levels, and bring his arms down, Jhyx rolled his small shoulder back as if the act would relieve any kinks left over from his travels.

The youngling's question, translated by the vox, was given a small bit of thought.

He would've struck out a paw, but the difference in height made shaking hands a bit tricky, so the little Isnik settled for something a bit more easy, and with a step that brough him closer, he gave a look to the little one's backpack.

"Name's Jhyx... "

Was there maybe food in there? He'd not had anything to eat since leaving whatever starport they'd taken off from, and he was famished. At the look from the Wookiee, he stopped short of reaching a paw into the depths of the bright red pack.

"... and if you could point me in the direction of food... "

Hwooroc
Jul 23rd, 2014, 01:50:41 AM
Jhyx? Funny name. Sounded like a sneeze. Hwooroc reached for the smaller alien's paw to give a big handshake like he'd been taught to do when making first impressions, pausing mid-pump to take into account the Isnik's smaller stature.

"Hi! I'm Hwooroc!"

Jhyx was nearly lifted off his feet by the handshake, to which the Wookiee sheepishly grimaced.

"Oops."

Right, food. Basic life needs and all. There was the sandwich place...no no no that would never work. If Hwooroc couldn't get a sandwich then this guy was hopeless. The cafeteria wasn't serving meals at this hour. Anbira was waaay over the three ridges and usually if you wanted to eat then you had to work and sit and talk and it took up a lot of time. He was weird. Oh oh oh! It was Post Day! Hwooroc jerked a thumb in the direction of the ship.

"Well, today is Post Day, and I might have a proton torpedo from Mom and Dad!"

Darnit! "Gnarrghf!" Hwooroc smacked his vox.

"Care package. Not a torpedo. Heh wow."