Theed: Never Tell Me the Odds

This wasn’t Ord Mantell. The air was too full, too meaningful. All the buildings were marked with beautiful, elegant, lavish architecture. Green tops, vanilla bottoms, and bright paths lit the city in magic. This wasn’t Ord Mantell, this was Theed of Naboo. That was a fact, a truth, an answer, but the question was what I’nu was doing here. Dribbling out the stream of faces in the crowd into markets, old shops, and landmarks, the mixed breed seemed to be a vacation. Problem was I’nu never really did vacations. To be a bit general, it was like he was always on a vacation, but nothing this grand. Naboo was a planet of promise, splendor, and that wasn’t him. Adventure rolled in his thought bubbles, dreams, and Naboo was far too peaceful for such a restless mind. Even as he blended in, despite his unique looks, the question was still posed.

What was he doing here?

No one would ask it, though. No one cared enough. Nobody really wanted to go out their way and ask a young buck what he was doing on this side of town…or the galaxy, it wasn’t their business. Politeness over sincerity of course, because it was certainly on a few patron’s tongue. A Cathar and Zeltron mix wasn’t common, anywhere, in the galaxy. People were interested when they saw him, he was different. And maybe he was just too different.

The smiles he caught were a bit too pleasant. The lips widen a bit too far, like it was force. He felt uneasy. Naboo wasn’t like Tatooine, Corulag, or even Corellia. It was an earthy Coruscant. The political air was thick, and he hated taking in breathe sometimes. Running his credit, swiping, and walking out with bags caught each strangers attention. The uneasiness only built as he trickled back into the crowds of the street. Both his sharp, hazel eyes shot over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the people behind him. They didn’t look at him spot on, but they were watching. They were all watching.

Of course, this was all in his mind…or was it?

The question kept rising, along with the reason with the one about why he was here. Truth was that he didn’t know the answer to either question, and it was that which unnerved him. Even though he hated school, as a child, he loved having the answer. I’nu rarely raised his hand; he was half-shy…coy. But he was slick, and his answers were witty, and when he was called on he was sharp. Not sharp like a knife or a blade, but like Krayt dragon’s fangs. There was something natural, potent, and unmanufactured about his mind. It worked quite organically. Sometimes thoughts balm succinctly, and other times the thought bubbles pulled like an endless thread.

This time the thoughts came like long threads.

He couldn’t sow it into words. He rather not try. I’nu hated sounding mumbled. He didn’t care about rambling, but he liked sounding like himself, and he was cool. Trying was not in his reservoir, only doing and not doing. That was a note he picked up from his dad, the Teras Kasi champ. Unlike his father, though, he saw grey, lived in it even, but didn’t like it all that much. Such complications made his mind like it was at this moment…complicated. All the mix of emotions and thoughts made his eyes droop down; look at the ground, and face go blank. It was clear, he was in thought.

I’nu was trying to remember.

It was about a day or so back. He wasn’t all that sure, really, it went by fast. I’nu got stuck at a space station again. This time, it didn’t blow up, but he was on the escape. From what was something he rather not remember, but he had to get away. Naboo was the closest, decent, place to go, so he put in the credits and headed off. Truth of the matter was he sort of regretted it. The Empire’s presence was big here. When his eyes did shoot over his shoulder, and caught those glimpses, he saw the insignias and suits. They were everything, and maybe that was why he felt watched. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it now. At least a day or so needed to pass before he went space bound again. Who he was running from wasn’t going to be giving him a hug when he finally found him, so there was no rush in going anywhere.

The next stop was the Parnelli Museum of Arts.