Hoth: Blood and Ice

When she came back to conscousness, unsure of where she was or how much time had passed, the only thing she wanted to do was cry. But whether the tears would actually flow or not would depend on the extent to which her eyes were still there, of course. She could not see, and she could feel the blood on her face, but it was possible they hadn't been fully torn out, at least. Simply destroyed to the point of longer letting her see a damn. But that was barely any concern of her now at all.

There were much more important things occupying her thoughts, and it was because of those things that she was crying to the extent eyes still allowed.

Everyone who cautioned her, yelled at her, mocked her, loved her. They'd *all* been right from the start, all along. It was she who was the fool after all, as it turned out. And she should've listened to them when she still had the chance. Even at her most pessimistic, she had never thought her future would be anywhere close to *this* painful.

No.

It isn't right.

She must not allow things to happen the way she was shown.

What would even be the damned point? She went and walked right back into darkness so she could *earn* the redemption she had convinced herself she didn't deserve, because *he* was still alive. A man she had never even met. And who turned out to be dead, after all.

What a terrible joke it was all turning out to be.

And it was all her own damned fault.

She lay there in the snow and darkness, waiting to die.

"Good morning, Master Sith, I had given you up for dead," Draahg's voice called out.

She heard him; but hoped it was just fear of the future she'd condemned herself to, making its ugly presence known again.

"...leave me," she managed to utter weakly, perhaps going unheard by the wind.

"You'll die out here, and we can't have that, our Master requires us to live," he said warmly kneeling down by her.

Of course he did. Of course he would pull her back to him. Of course he'd try and see to it that the darkest fate she saw would come to pass. She'd run to him so easily, telling herself it was all to avoid this kind of future. And now that she'd started figuring out her reasons had all been lies, and what it had really been about...

...fate was ironic. And cruel...

"..."

"...what about what I need?"

"Tell me, what do you need?" he asked cheerily.

"What I saw... I don't want it."

Better that she'd die out here in the snow alone, than force Daz to be the one to have to do it.

"Just... end it. Get rid of some competition. Tell him I didn't make it."

She doubted fate would be kind enough to oblige her.

The wind howled and the snow banks roiled in the plains, only the come crash on jagged Ice peaks.

From the wind came the humming noise of a speeder, still in the distance.

Layne Hoshin wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:42 am

"What I saw... I don't want it."

Better that she'd die out here in the snow alone, than force Daz to be the one to have to do it.

"Just... end it. Get rid of some competition. Tell him I didn't make it."

She doubted fate would be kind enough to oblige her.

“All in due time,” he whispered before looking to Baesal and said as he rose, “I found Master Hoshin, she seems delirious.”

"Due time is too late," she said, cold desperation creeping into her voice.

Something had been picked by Baesal's scanner and, coming closer, she heard someone yell out. While R-5 handled the directions she readjusted her binoculars.

''There..." she pointed out ''...directions: 15 degree south, 20 west...120 meters. Go slow on the approach''

Once near she got out in all due haste.

''By Tython Layne...what happened?''

"..."

No, she was not ready yet for this. The fact that Draahg hadn't given her what she asked for was disappointing in this moment, but at least he'd offered her an excuse to not answer the question asked by what sounded like Baesal.

"..."

She could just pretend to be unconscious. Or delirious. Just say nothing. Let them take her away. Until she was ready.

The jedi picked up her communicator

''Jay-one to Rescue-O two'' she paused ''Jay-one to Charlie-O two. I have contact. Come in Charlie-O two'' She paused and turned to Draagh, waiting for the reply.

''What happened here?'' Maybe there will be an answer from him

"Jay-one, come again? Come again, Jay-one?" The buzzy, crackly comm channel can't really convey the complex mix of emotions in Tethys's voice.

Some distance away, surrounded by blinding sun, snow, and the warm and very distinctive smell of her tauntaun mount, Tethys freezes in place (figuratively, not literally).

"Did you say you found... her?"

Baesal Zyn wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:43 pm

The jedi picked up her communicator

''Jay-one to Rescue-O two'' she paused ''Jay-one to Charlie-O two. I have contact. Come in Charlie-O two'' She paused and turned to Draagh, waiting for the reply.

''What happened here?'' Maybe there will be an answer from him

Draagh said, "Last I saw her was weeks ago when she said she had to explore the dark side, I had to return with Lord Khalan who was in a similar state. I can only imagine what she endured."

Layne remained there, motionless. Unresponsive. Aware of what was being said to the extent she could hear it, but choosing not to engage with any of it.

''By Tython'' there was an unknowable mix of emotions in her voice. She moved to the back of her vehicle to get the emergency med gear before rushing to Layne's side

''Layne? Can you hear'' kneeling to inspect her fallen friend she noticed the extent of the visible injuries and held her breath.

Lord Draahg stepped back to give them some space.

Layne would continue not speaking; barely able to physically if she should so choose, but emotionally entirely unable to make that choice. She just lay there in the snow; her armor and possessions seemingly all intact; except for that ancient broken blade she'd carried with her since Korriban, and a strange new possession that looked like some kind of talisman made from a lizard-monkey's paw, with four clawed digits; the fifth having crumbled away.

Hearing no response from Baesal on her com after that initial surprising transmission, Tethys goes from startled to concerned. She urges her tauntaun in the direction of Baesal's last known marker, though it will take her a bit of time to get there.

"Jay-one? Baes, come again, please?"

Baesal's comms picked up the transmission at last

"This is Jay-One, I have Layne. She is alive but wounded and unresponsive...sending you my coordinates."

Draahg continued to watch for interlopers.

Baesal Zyn wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:04 pm

Baesal's comms picked up the transmission at last

"This is Jay-One, I have Layne. She is alive but wounded and unresponsive...sending you my coordinates."

"Oh, thank..." thank something, anyway. Tethys clears her throat. "Thank you, Jay-one. Heading your way with first-aid supplies."

As before, the comm can't really transmit her voice with much fidelity. The full... soup of emotions there is known only to Tethys herself, and even she's not sure about some of them.

In some ways, it would be simpler if Layne had just died out in the Wastes, as some on the base had already assumed before this. A profound failure on the part of the Jedi, one Tethys would always carry with her, but... a simple and straightforward one, all the same.

Tethys had had a feeling Layne wasn't dead, though. She hadn't been quite sure if that was hope or a true sense from the Force. Whatever Layne had believed she had to do out here, she'd said it would be dangerous, and claimed she needed the darkness to survive it. To Tethys, that had sounded like exactly the sort of Dark Side-fueled self-delusion that could deceive Layne into choosing to destroy herself. Had enough light still remained in Layne to save her from whatever trial she found out here? Or has Baes now found only an empty shell, scoured hollow by the darkness?

Will Tethys know the difference, when she sees Layne? Only one way to find out. And they'd better get whatever they've found back to the base before those looming storm clouds arrive. So she urges her tauntaun to move faster.

((For fluff purposes, T has a med kit and the skill point to at least stabilize Layne and go 'holy crap, she needs a real doctor,' so that's a handy transition to med bay eventually? XD))

Waiting for Tethys's arrival Baesal had fetched and activated her fusion lantern to keep Layne as warm as possible and provide possible light for the rescue.

She eyed Draaghr

''Can you help in any way?''

Draahg nodded and gave his assistance.