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Author	Topic: The Wise
NiobeAsha Registered: Mar '07	Date Posted: 7/11/07 9:24am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	Excellent!! This was really a neat chapter in combination with the last, because I love to see different sides of the same situation. I like that you went back into Ten's history some more here, too. I'm really nervous to see who comes out on top, here! -----signature----- BrentusofGath's very bad padawan. Mando par vurel! I'm all about the Zabrak lovins!!
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BigE Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 7/11/07 10:01am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	Ah, back to our old friend, dubbed ‘Ten’. But, throughout it all, he kept one copy of his List. His Ten. Because he truly believed the words he wrote, and fully intended to live by them, regardless of what his Master claimed. Sure, knowing the colors of voice was invaluable, but it wasn’t the same as his Ten. His Ten was more than a list of words, after all. It was a philosophy. I loved the ‘Rules’, and seeing his own special set of rules take over and dictate his actions as Mouse strove to best him. I enjoyed re-reading the scene through Ten’s eyes. -----signature----- Aha! That's it. Hold it right there. Pronoun trouble. It's not "he doesn't have to shoot YOU now," it's "he doens't have to shoot ME now." Well I say he DOES have to shoot me now!! So shoot me now!
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correllian_ale Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 7/15/07 8:12am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	Chapter 8: Prey Okay, first off; your PM said Chapter 9 - but the post is clearly labeled Chapter 8. What kind of game are you playing at Yodimus? Ah, Certain Point of View-esque update? I loved the flashback and seeing more on 'Ten' and his method for creating and controlling an 'army'. Information that can be of use someday if passed down? Including his Ten Rules for Engagement. (there must be a Rule 66 he hasn't thought of yet though) Really, it was a lot of fun to see things through ten's POV in the chase. I wouldn't mind it again for the upcoming confrontation. hint, hint Then he started to feel pain. Like a glow, like an ember, like an anchor, and then he remembered who he was and what he was and where these things were happening. The temperature began to come back a little bit (hot at first), and then sounds, and then the smell of stale minerals, of rotting iron. What he would later identify as the smell of blood. Mr. Burn's voice Eeeexcellent... Phenominal update my friend, and congrats on all those well deserved nominations too! -----signature----- Consider this my "throw back" jersey... I govern my life around my own personal code of ethics, and I suggest that you do the same.
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 8:19pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	(I'm cutting my response into two posts, because the boards really aren't liking this reply for some reason.) Pre-PS: Thanks to everyone who nommed me! While I cannot hug you, I send a worthy ambassador in my stead - MsLanna posted: I wondered why you started with the time in the factory again. With the list of rules it's making sense, though. Interesting rules he made up, too. Hey, as long as there's more to tell, I'm gonna tell it. MsLanna posted: Love to see how different those two are thinking, and both think the other stupid somehow. I know which kind of teaching I prefer, but I'll keep my final judgement until I see who gets out alive. Both is not an option? Yeah, funny how they both think they're right. Also, I'm afraid no amount of eye batting will sway me from changing my mind about the final outcome. All is set in stone, my girl. You'll have to wait and see. Healer_Leona posted: VaderLVR? Leona? Keanu called, he wants his line back. Sass!! Always. Healer_Leona posted: The actual battle cry from his attacker - this supposed Shadow Beast - sounded...different. Even in its power, it did not sound nearly so frightening as the one his own mind had invented (or had it been the Force?). Ohhh, the imagination always sees, hears, imagines worse. I think I like the boy's thinking more. The fact he's thinking appeals to me moreso than the girl allowing hre seeting anger and hate to guide her. It's interesting to see everyone here start taking sides now. ..I wonder at what point the face paint and 'go team!' banners start to appear? VaderLVR64 posted: Keanu can't have it. It's ours! For shame! Stealing the man's only tenuous, superficial link to real acting like that! Next thing I know, you'll be taking the Wayne's Brothers' only funny joke. Horrible. VaderLVR64 posted: I loved the pattern of this post, and this was my favorite part. It's was a neat break from straight paragraph-scanning. I enjoy messing around with composition when I can. <cut> -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 8:28pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	NiobeAsha posted: This was really a neat chapter in combination with the last, because I love to see different sides of the same situation. I like that you went back into Ten's history some more here, too. Originally, I had very little of his history included with this chapter. But after posting the earlier parts, I (and Oqi. Mostly Oqi) began to notice that the girl was way, waay more fleshed out that he was. And that just wasn't fair at all. NiobeAsha posted: I'm really nervous to see who comes out on top, here! Then you're gonna be nervous for a while, I think. BigE posted: Ah, back to our old friend, dubbed ‘Ten’. I loved the ‘Rules’, and seeing his own special set of rules take over and dictate his actions as Mouse strove to best him. I'm really happy that everyone approves of the rules. It was really hard coming up with them, because that had to be two things at once. 1) useful, well thought out and realistic, while also 2) look like something a seven year old (a brilliant seven-year-old, yes, but the point still stands) would come up with. Very tricky, to say the least. correllian_ale posted: Okay, first off; your PM said Chapter 9 - but the post is clearly labeled Chapter 8. What kind of game are you playing at Yodimus? The kind of game where I constantly forget the rules, apparently Here's the deal: in the midst of getting ready to post this chapter, I was struck with a bit of inspiration which turned it into two chapters (this one and the next one). So while this clearly isn't chapter 9, nine was very much on my mind at the time of the PMing. But look at it this way - it got you some insight on whose POV the next one will have. correllian_ale posted: I loved the flashback and seeing more on 'Ten' and his method for creating and controlling an 'army'. Information that can be of use someday if passed down? Including his Ten Rules for Engagement. (there must be a Rule 66 he hasn't thought of yet though) all of that assumes he lives long enough to pass anything down, of course. It would be the height of my generosity, I think, were the boy to last the night in his current condition. correllian_ale posted: Really, it was a lot of fun to see things through ten's POV in the chase. I wouldn't mind it again for the upcoming confrontation. hint, hint What I do next is a mystery I dare not disclose my friend, but trust me (and I say that much the same way a used car salesman would), my dealings in the foggy land of POV are faar from over. See yous next update! -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 7/16/07 8:29pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey - Date Edited: 7/20/07 12:48am (2 edits total) Edited By: 1Yodimus_Prime
	grumblegrumble kriffin spotty connection grumblegrumble [EDIT] does the time warp to respond to Oqi via the past Oqi: "Better than before." I'm seeing you in folded-arm eye-over-shoulder Professor-mode here. Which begs the question - is that what you tell people when they're getting an A, or just not getting an F? "Excellent job--you've added so much depth to this chapter" Just a matter of flexing my latent and unmatched genius in order to casually pull out a couple extra tidbits of brilliance. shines fingernails Yep. ..Oh yeah, that, and following the advice of all those comments in red you added. [/EDIT] -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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oqidaun Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 7/18/07 7:47pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	Better than before. Excellent job--you've added so much depth to this chapter. Brilliant! -----signature----- . . . .
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NYCitygurl Title: Manager of SFFBC, C&G, and NSWFF Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 8/6/07 2:04pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	I finally caught up!!! I really love this story!! The backgrounds of Ten and Mouse are really . . . cool? Interesting, I guess. Scary. And I'm dying to know why there are two people claiming to be the same person -- unless they ARE the same person . . . Anyway, update soon, please!! And I'd like to be put back on the PM list This time, I promise to read when you post -----signature----- "Not till the moon falls. Not till the world ends."
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 8/19/07 4:39am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 8: Prey
	And I promise to post for you to read I've just been released of my parents' first LA visitation. Whirlwind tours, Malibu excursions, and Hollywood craziness abounded; now they're gone and I can go back to my regular life in the valley, ignoring all that crap So expect an update soon. Well...I think Oqi needs to look at it first. I don't know if she's done that yet, I haven't checked. In any case, we're spinning back to the boy again. It should cool. And Interesting. And scary. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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raisedbywolves Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 8/20/07 11:49am Subject: RE: The Wise
	wanders into thread, droopy-eyed and very late Who's a miserable workaholic to the point where she neglects her hobbies? Yes, you're looking at her. But I gotta say - it was sort of awesome to read those chapters one right after the other! The differences in POV were great fun. As was the swashbuckling. The foot-stabbing was ouchy, though... jeez Mouse... Keep the good stuff coming, I'll be around. -----signature----- What She Saw: http://boards.theforce.net/Before_the_Saga/b10475/21886008/?0 Proud (if erstwhile) padawan to Master Darth Pixel. It's not Darth Real Life, actually - I prefer to think of it as my very demanding Jedi Master.
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 8/25/07 9:07pm Subject: RE: The Wise
	raisedbywolves posted: wanders into thread, droopy-eyed and very late Who's a miserable workaholic to the point where she neglects her hobbies? Yes, you're looking at her. And it's like lookin' into a mirror. I'm glad you liked the POV switches. As for swashbuckling...I...don't remember pirates being involved with this story, but perhaps I'm mistaken. Unless there's some hidden paragraph where people frantically buckle swashes...or I simply have know real idea what that word actually means. Either way, I'm happy you enjoyed them. Though I thankfully can't speak from experience, it needs to be said that foot stabbing is rarely not ouchy. Mouse definitely should have known better. Makes you wonder: Nature or Nurture? Who is to blame for this, or should we just put 'em all on Ritalin? I fear we may never know for sure. Oy, kids these days. And please, please - do stick around. You won't be disappointed -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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1Yodimus_Prime Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 9/21/07 6:00pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Date Edited: 9/21/07 6:02pm (1 edits total) Edited By: 1Yodimus_Prime
	Chapter 9: Choice He got up. He got up and it was like standing upside down, like ascending a thousand meters, like falling into space, he got up and everything went dark but he got up, he got up anyway. He got up and his brain flew away. His body stayed there, stumbling wretchedly through the dark woods, while in the meantime, his mind retreated someplace else. Someplace where the pain from his shoulder and from his foot and from the growing bump on his head could not follow. Someplace safe. Someplace warm. Rainy. Sunny. Someplace… A triple rainbow held strong just over the rarely-tended orchard. Three bands of all seven colors – the bottom band the most brilliant, the middle one the widest, the top one the most violet – spanned the tiny valley between two enormous mountain ranges. They seemed to stick together like brother gods: bright, strong, and all-knowing. The birds were out too, filling the entire estate with a chorus of sounds. All these things were pleasant, but at the moment, his attention was held firmly toward the ground. The boy knows exactly where he is. It’s a year prior, on Dolus, right at the sweaty, suffocating end of a heat wave. There is no nameless planet yet, no freezing fields of snow blocked in by canyons on all sides like a giant cul-de-sac, hemming him in, cornering him. No girl out to kill him. No tree to fall from. No endless dark forest stretching out before him, mocking his ragged, injured form with the promise of a long, hard, difficult, painful, impossible trek. None of that. Only the hint of a Shadow Beast in the back of his mind, and the tail-end of a sweltering summer promising a whole upcoming season full of new things to learn about. That was all. Maybe this was a memory being lived in by a fevered, freezing mind…or maybe all this stuff about being chased to his death on a snowy night was just a bad dream, playing out in the back of his mind. That could be it. He’d been daydreaming and it turned ugly. The storm must have caused it – the first rainfall of autumn. The natives say the first one always brings about strange things. That was probably it. Maybe. Hopefully. It didn’t matter. Right now, he was staring at the most beautiful lifeform he ever saw. He had seen them before, flitting swiftly in the distance, but never so close. He’d never known how brilliant and shimmering its large glossy wings truly were. He’d never caught how they swam with color, morphing those membrane surfaces into constantly shifting, complex patterns. He knew they were pretty, but he never knew they held such capacity for…depth. As he watched those pretty wings with their complex colors and shapes, shifting fluidly, reshaping and reforming – his eye catching patterns that altered at just beyond the horizon of predictability – it struck him that these creatures might actually be intelligent. He sensed his Master approach and anticipated the question she would most likely ask first, “I’m watching a Pixie Moth” She did not so much as flutter in her step. If there had been surprise that her supposedly hidden creep had been easily caught, she hid it perfectly. That is, unless she had intended him to sense her all along, for some purpose he’d yet to learn. This was one of those things he loved most about her: nothing ever caught her off guard. He never felt bored around her, because she would always be a mystery still-unsolved. Darth Averus – but right now it was ‘Baroness Sarogga,’ because nobody on Dolus knew her by any other name, and she insisted he help maintain that appearance even within her orchard, which was sometimes open to the public. She casually looked over his shoulder, presumably to get a better look at this creature he said he was watching. “More like ‘gawking’ I’d say.” “If I may, Baroness, but what is the difference?” he preemptively floated a couple stones into the air, knowing she would demand something like that soon. She always did, “It sounds like just a derisive way of saying the same thing I said.” “’Watching’ implies the two of you are equals, each with his own Will; ‘gawking,’ on the other hand, implies that you are the better, and the other possesses no Will at all. You watch a ship take flight, but you gawk if it crashes.” The boy forgot the rocks now and brought all of his attention to bear on the beautiful insect. He’d assumed it was just resting. Now he wasn’t so sure… “You cannot see it, but there is a web there, pinning her. The Wisp Spider only eats Pixie Moths. Nothing else. A Pixie Moth holds still only twice ever in her lifetime: when she gives birth and when she dies. If she is still at any other moment, it’s because she is trapped in a Wisp Spider’s invisible net. There is never any other reason.” She crouched down beside him, “We are about to see the final moments of this poor creature’s life, I’m afraid.” “Oh.” The boy was taken aback. It put everything into a whole new, and rather sinister, light. This whole time, he thought he was simply enjoying the beauty of nature. Had he known this little insect – this possibly intelligent lifeform – was actually struggling and suffering, well… The Baroness glanced around, breathing in the moist air of autumn’s first rain, “This seems like as good a place as any to conduct today’s lessons. All that heat has kept us stuck inside for so long…so, shall we start back up on precision? I expect you to be able to target objects with the Force as far away as two hundred meters by Week’s end.” “We should save it.” “The Moth? Hm. Not with that tone, we won’t be.” “Baroness, I do not wish to be impertinent, but if we do nothing, it will die.” “Is that so?” again, no gasp or stammering or nervous chuckle – all things people have done after hearing someone so young effortlessly throw together such a mature, adult-sounding sentence. Averus though, she paid no heed. Instead, she looked at it critically, the way no one else ever did, “And tell me boy, do you think she would approve of being called an ‘it,’ after you do this saving? Perhaps this poor creature would rather die than be saved by someone so pretentious. Hm?” “If I ever learn to talk to them, maybe I’ll find that stuff out. As it stands, I’ll have to content myself with being pretentious…if that’s what it takes to keep this one alive.” “Well that is very noble of you.” She stood up, “the best way to do it is to remove the strands with the Force. Otherwise, they’ll stick and the spider will follow the scent of its net until it recaptures the creature.” “Okay.” He began reaching out, preparing for the delicate task. It would certainly test his precision too, there was no doubt. “Poor spider.” She mumbled. “Hm?” his concentration wavered. “The spider. It’s making its way up those little branches over there.” “Yeah, I see it, I know. There’s a time limit, I get it.” “You’re killing him.” “Hm?” again, his concentration wavered. These little interjections of her’s were not helping one bit. “The spider. It is a long and difficult task, you know, catching a Pixie Moth. I’ve studied them in my time. It could take weeks for him to find another. It probably took weeks to get this one. He is starving, and there is no chance he’ll have the strength to wait again.” “Which means he’s going to starve to death after the Moth is free.” He felt his connection to the Force deflate, wither. “I’m afraid so. Because of you.” “Well…” he felt flustered. He didn’t want to show it, though. He hoped it didn’t show. He wasn’t sure, “…It’s not my fault the only thing he eats is Pixie Moths.” “It’s not his fault either.” Finally, the boy stood up and stepped back, placing himself next to his Master, “So, if I save the Pixie Moth, the Wisp Spider dies; if I do nothing, the Pixie Moth dies. Baroness, I do not think you could have invented a better moral conundrum if you tried.” “That’s because conundrums aren’t my forte, they’re Nature’s. I’d rather just teach you how to get better at levitation and precision, to be very honest.” “Yeah right.” “Well there’s no good answer here anyway. You said so yourself. The only conclusions will result in death, requiring you to choose who lives and who dies, which amounts to playing God: something I’ve always been against. So there you have it.” He looked at the little prey, trapped invisibly on the surface of that bush. He looked down at the little predator, climbing tiredly and wearily upward, “There’s always a third option.” “The third option, from the way I see it, would be to go out and find a Pixie Moth you like less than this one, catch it, and replace that one for this one. You still play God, boy, and something still dies. Not ideal in the least.” He put a hand up as a plea for patience. He was thinking. She always had a way of settling back and staring, in this one particular way, whenever he was thinking hard. She would shift her weight backwards till all of it rested on her heels, and both lift and tilt her head, looking down at him – almost suspiciously, but not quite - while at the same time fold her arms and screw up her face like a mechanic trying to pretend she knows what’s wrong with an unusual droid. It sometimes seemed to him like she was trying to decipher the foreign language of his mind simply by sniffing the air. “You said they only eat Pixie Moths, right?” he began. She remained fixed in her pose, “Correct.” “Why?” She looked at him funny, or funnier, it should be said, “I don’t follow. It’s just another part of the circle of life or what have you, I imagine.” “Yes, but shouldn’t there be a specific reason they absolutely need to eat Pixie Moths and only Pixie Moths? There’s something unique in their biology, or chemistry, or something. There has to be.” “If you say so.” “I don’t say so, the spider says so, every time he refuses to eat other passing insects! You said they could starve to death trying to catch the Moths, yet there are all kinds of life much weaker and easier to catch all over the place. If there is truly one specific thing they can only get out of the Pixie Moth, then what would happen if we provided them with that nutrient or mineral or vitamin or whatever? If we figured out what it was, and isolated it in order to manufacture it on a larger scale…perhaps fusing the data into the DNA of common fungus spores…then the Wisp Spider will never have to kill these beautiful creatures again!” “Sounds…involved.” “Yeah. This one would not live to see the benefit.” “And his brothers and sisters?” “Depending on how long they live. Probably.” “Ah. So the real question is: will they survive the inevitable and devastating overpopulation, after their one and only predator has been made to lose interest?” He didn’t have an answer for that. His contingencies only ran so far. His eyes wandered toward a tiny brook that, during the heat-wave summer, had been nothing but an inconsequential but long divot in the ground. Now it was bubbling and sputtering with snaking life, a prominent and noticeable fixture among the low-cut grass at the edge of the orchard. During his short time as a slave, and at various moments while working at that warehouse, the boy had been convinced that he could predict anything. Now, he would have to reassess that assertion. The Baroness tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder, “The universe can be an exceedingly difficult thing to reshape.” “I…guess it can be, yeah.” “The Spider and the Moth – it might not have much to do with refining your precision, but it does serve as an important lesson, don’t you think? It is a good analogy to the greater world. I could almost imagine some kind of complicated children’s story being invented around the problem. But…you must understand something,” She knelt down to his level, “And this is in case you’re frustrated and think you should give up your little random thought experiments, because you shouldn’t. But you need to understand: If you become my Apprentice, this question will need an answer that does work. And on a much, much larger scale.” “I know.” He said simply. “Hm.” She gave him a penetrating look, “Do you?” “I know, because the Sith Order expects no less than, uhm…than complete mastery of Power, in all its forms.” “…Concise.” She looked bemused, “But do you truly believe this, boy, or are you just trying to impress me?” He looked at her, his face incredibly serious. He involuntarily thought back to that moment when she had merely been a stranger who was saying things he had serious trouble believing. That moment in his life had laid an incredibly difficult choice in front of him: go with his original plans to save his friends, or go with this person he doesn’t know, who claims to have the power to fix everything without a drop of spilled blood. So he looked at her, more sincere than he’d ever looked at anyone in his life, and said, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” I wouldn’t be here… his brain repeated, mocked even, You wouldn’t be here if you ignored her, if you chose another path. If you ignored the Old Woman and sent the Sweatshop Kids to riot, to war, maybe you’d be a hero instead of running for your life, about to die. Maybe already dying. You’re bleeding, your brain is swelling out of your eyeballs practically, you’ve probably got frostbite too but you can’t feel it because you can’t feel anything. You’re gonna die. Even if you live you’re gonna die, thanks to that girl that insane girl out there, who’s pretending to be a Sith Lord, or who’s pretending to be a Jedi, who knows, it doesn’t matter. She’s gonna make double-sure you’re dead. No matter what, you’re gonna die. You’re gonna die because you decided to give all your problems to Averus. Like an idiot a weak idiot you gave in and let someone else solve your problems for you. Like a weak stupid idiot child who can’t do anything on his own. Even now, you can’t even solve this on your own. You’re weak. That’s what you are. You…I mean me. That’s what I am. The boy was still pushing through the pitch black forest, blood and wet hair blinding him, branches coming out of nowhere and slashing him; Icicles biting him; His shoulder flickering with pain like a broken light bulb. The ground rushed up every now and then, bruising his knees, giving him a face-full of snow, slowing him down. You would have been a hero, you would have had an adoring army surrounding you. You would have been safe… “And…outside of that…little group…” he got up again from a fall he couldn’t even remember, “…I’d…be power…less.” Never mind that he’d be responsible for any kid who died fighting for him, and he’d hate himself for that. Never mind that he’d be despised by the authorities and solicited by criminals that he would despise in turn. Never mind that he now considered such actions abhorrent. Never mind that those kids are better off now, safe and away from that place, than they ever would be with him, fighting back everyone forever, until they eventually lost. Never mind that. Never mind all that. Those were excuses. Even now, he knew some part of him might swear up and down that those were the real reasons that he chose Averus over them, but that would be a lie. That would be equivalent to, and as pointless and wrong as, replacing one Pixie Moth for another on the web. No, this is what made the difference that caused his choice in the end. This was the thing, and nothing else. No other virtue mattered. This was the one and only dealmaker: “I’m here cuz…” he let out a rough cough that seemed to single-handedly destroy his throat, replacing the smooth lining with rocks and nails. He slowed down even more. It felt like his feet were in glue. Freezing cold glue, “I’m…I’m here cuz…I want…” Power. His throat dried up before the word could come out. It stuck to his tongue like sandpaper. The next time he fell (it was not a long time after), he grabbed a handful of snow and ate it greedily. It was beginning to feel cold again, to the touch. Was he pushing out of shock through sheer will? Maybe. Or maybe it was the Force. He still had no idea how much of the Force he had the potential to actually control, only that it was a whole lot more than he currently did. This time when he got up, he noticed the tree-line was thinner. He could see his hands again. They looked scratched, and where they didn’t look scratched, they looked red anyway. He brought his head back up and kept moving. Then he saw them. Stars. Beautiful, twinkling stars. See? I’m not gonna die. So? You’re still weak. You’re weak and the Pixie Moth died. You never did save her… He was back. The clearing was only a few steps away, and so too would be the cabin. He dared not call out, though. If the girl realized he was running for help instead of safety, she’d disappear. Leaving him alone…maybe that was a good thing in the short term, (OH, how he wished she would), but what if she didn’t give up? What if she followed them to another planet? What if she never let this go, never stopped, not ever, until he was dead in her arms? He couldn’t have that. He didn’t want to live in fear for the rest of his life. You’ll live in fear anyway. He staggered to the door – it was no change in his step, he’d staggered the entire way through the woods – and smacked his palm against it, with no particular rhythm. He couldn’t decide if he was starting to recover from the dizziness, or about to black out. His mind was so confused, even his own self-assessments were getting crossed. Then again, maybe that was a good argument for the ‘about to black out’ side. On the other hand, he could still reason, and his vision was focusing again. At this moment, it was focusing on a girl in a ragged flight suit with a bloody leg, holding a bloody knife, half-limping out into the clearing, staring back at him with murder in her eyes. She looked like the archetypal Killer from a horror vid: lopsided, grisly, forever approaching, never quite in the light. But then, just as he thought it, there was light. From the window. Averus must have heard him. The door opened. He looked up at her, but she was looking at the girl and, for perhaps the first time since he met her, Averus was truly angry. Good, kill her. Show her who’s boss! “I see you’ve brought a friend,” Darth Averus said, almost snarling. She removed her hooded cloak, and the lightsaber on her belt glinted gently from the cabin’s dim glow. The boy looked back at the girl, and he smiled. -----signature----- Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. --- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26481069 - The Wise http://boards.theforce.net/B/b1/21283317 - Planet Hopping
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raisedbywolves Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 9/22/07 1:12am Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	1Yodimus_Prime posted: As for swashbuckling...I...don't remember pirates being involved with this story, but perhaps I'm mistaken. Unless there's some hidden paragraph where people frantically buckle swashes...or I simply have know real idea what that word actually means. Well, to me the word was "that one you can say when you're pretty sure you've already said 'fighting'" ... ah, well anyway. Great, great chapter. I loved the moth vs. the spider, but it really made me wonder if the kid gets this whole Sith thing. I mean, if you're trying to remake nature according to your own ambitions, who cares about a starving spider? Can't wait to see more on this. And if I'm not mistaken, here comes the big reveal - what's up with the apparent two Darth Averus-es? Yay! More! -----signature----- What She Saw: http://boards.theforce.net/Before_the_Saga/b10475/21886008/?0 Proud (if erstwhile) padawan to Master Darth Pixel. It's not Darth Real Life, actually - I prefer to think of it as my very demanding Jedi Master.
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oqidaun Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 9/22/07 7:15pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	You already know the parts I love the most and I still love them as much today as before. Beautifully written. I love the new title. -----signature----- . . . .
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correllian_ale Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 9/22/07 7:23pm Subject: RE: The Wise - Chapter 9: Choice
	Thank god! I thought my membership had expired or something! “Oh.” The boy was taken aback. It put everything into a whole new, and rather sinister, light. This whole time, he thought he was simply enjoying the beauty of nature. Had he known this little insect – this possibly intelligent lifeform – was actually struggling and suffering, well… It is the beauty of nature...oh, wait. If I cared to read on I'd see you make that point. But then, just as he thought it, there was light. From the window. Averus must have heard him. The door opened. He looked up at her, but she was looking at the girl and, for perhaps the first time since he met her, Averus was truly angry. Good, kill her. Show her who’s boss! “I see you’ve brought a friend,” Darth Averus said, almost snarling. She removed her hooded cloak, and the lightsaber on her belt glinted gently from the cabin’s dim glow. The boy looked back at the girl, and he smiled. what was it Han and Leia would say in a moment like this? Great to see this back Yod! A very manly update! -----signature----- Consider this my "throw back" jersey... I govern my life around my own personal code of ethics, and I suggest that you do the same.
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