Eddie's never met a Jedi. Of course he hasn't. But he's seen a Jedi, way back during the clone wars, when a battalion had helped after seppies had targeted civilian supply lines.
Eddie's pretty sure they were Kel Dor, what with the breathing apparatus. They'd worn tan and woody robes, long and elegant and flowing as they'd weaved between people, helping them stand or tending to wounds.
What had stood out to Eddie, watching this being that was supposedly a fierce warrior of light, was that they...were normal. They laughed and shrugged and cooed at babies, just like anyone else.
That was until the Jedi had raised their hands and lifted a two-tonne shipping crate into the air without so much as touching it. It frightened Eddie, then. Barely twenty and in the middle of a war his planet didn't want a part of. Beings that could lift and toss objects too heavy to move without machinery like they were playthings are not to be unwary of.
Of course. Eddie had spent a lot of the redistribution of rations effort around clones. They'd seemed...fine? While he is no stranger to speaking his mind he had thought well enough ahead that he probably shouldnt ask if they'd wanted to be there. Figured that might get him kicked off the project and he needed the money.
He listened instead. How they called each other things like Spoon and Duck and Trinity and Loopback as though they were names. Maybe they were. Eddie didn't know and didn't want to ask at the time.
But the Clones had been friendly, if formal. They spoke of their general with fondness and respect and a tinge of awe that felt appropriate to seeing what a Jedi was capable of frequently.
Eddie had liked them.
And then Empire Day came, and the Jedi were declared traitors and the galaxy as he knew it fell apart.
It never made much sense, from what Eddie had seen, for the Clones to kill the Jedi. But nobody asked Eddie, so Eddie didn't say. He did get sucked into the Rebellion though, and heard rumours about mind control and sith and a dozen other things.
So no. Eddie had never met a Jedi. But he'd seen one.
Chrissy had spoken about the rumoured Jedi (or-- not-jedi? She said they often refused the title) that stayed in the small Rebel enclave they've been helping. There were two, apparently. She'd met them, even, during a debrief where she'd been discussing how to better use their resources to help her contacts on the Freedom Trail. They'd barrelled in and spoken in such a way that Chrissy would have swore they were of the same mind, had they not been on opposite ends of the room.
"they were polite." Chrissy said, headtail twitching. "For people who interrupted an important meeting." Eddie'd laughed. "One, the Balosar man, he was very insistent that we delay our plans. The other, I think she was human? It's hard to tell, said the force was calling to them and very insistent about it during meditation."
"seriously? And the generals did it?"
"oh no. They argued for another twenty minutes before the not-Jedi threw up their arms and said, in unison Eddie!, 'The shipment will be lost if you go ahead with it. Better late than never, pricks.' and walked out."
So. On an abstract level, Eddie knew that whenever he entered the hangar bay to run maintenance or completely rebuild a ship, there was a chance for him to meet a former? Jedi.
He'd gotten well acquainted with a group of teenagers there, ones who were friends with the younger brother of the heir apparent to the region they were in and liked the make-believe games he ran in his off hours. But he never really thought about the Jedi that supposedly haunted the base until a woman shouted for Dustin, a rodian who was part of his little sheepies and had literal stars in his eyes when Eddie spoke, to come over. Dustin, the betrayer, jumped up and dashed off without even a word of goodbye.
"okay, so the head mechanic needs this-" she gestures to a small smuggling freighter that had seen far better days "hunk of junk out of the way so they can start work on a couple of x-wings. Steve and I figured we could help her out and get you to work on control of larger objects."
Eddie meandered casually over. Just to watch. Just to...see.
Dustin bounced on his feet. "Really? Woah! Where are we putting it?"
She pointed up, to the open vertical entry doors that created the roof of the hanger. "Steve's up there, he'll make sure if your control slips we don't crush the ship or anyone on the floor once you get it high, and he'll get it out and place it where it's supposed to go. I'll be here with you so you don't hurt yourself."
"I'm not gonna hurt myself."
She patted his head "yeah. Cuz I'm right here making sure."
"uhg. Almost wish I never learned you guys used to be Jedi."
"and who would train you then? No one. You and El would be sad little tooka kits all on your lonesome." She raised her voice to yell at the roof, "you ready Stevie?" and it should not have been loud enough to carry, the tone of an after thought, as though she already knew the answer and the question was just for the spectators, but the figure silhouetted waved.
Then, Dustin took a steadying breath, raised his arms, and closed his eyes. Slowly, the ship in front of him groaned and rose up. A crowd had formed, watching a magic thought extinct.
The woman's eyes darted between Dustin and the freighter, one hand loosely outstretched. It occurred to Eddie that neither wore the tunics and robes of Jedi. Dustin ran around in the mismatched pants and shirts of the Rebels' donations, while the woman wore deep greens. There were no dramatic sleeves that swished when they moved, just slightly loose fabric fastened by a belt and holster. He wonders if she ever wore them.
Dustin struggled for a moment, the ship quivering ten feet up, and the woman tensed slightly before he loosened. Eyes open, she deftly moved her arms up with the ship following, an ease in her movements that Dustin lacked. When she dropped her arms as well, the freighter stayed moving upwards, the other not-Jedi, Steve, likely taking over.
"good work for your first go." She said, draping an arm casually over Dustin's shoulders.
"I barely got it off the ground! Don't patronize me, Robin."
Eddie stepped in "considering I wouldn't even be able to move it sideways an inch, I'd say you did pretty well, Dustin."
The kid spun, just as the light comes shining back through as Steve maneuvered the ship out of the hangar. "Eddie! You saw?"
He scoffed "uh. Yes? Why didn't you tell me this is what you did when Im not around"
The woman-Robin, Eddie supposed, tensed. "It's not particularly safe to boast about it. Especially when it's not clear if you're alone."
Ah. Yeah. That did make sense. "Then why practice in a hangar with two dozen people around?"
She shrugged, and looked up. Eddie followed her sightlines and "wait is he gonna-" just as the figure that must be Steve launched himself off the edge of the open roof and towards them. He landed, he's leather jacket flapping behind him, and stood straight, grinning.
Robin laughed. "You'll give someone a heart attack one of these days, Steve."
"eh. No one's died so far."
Dustin smiled too "I'm getting pretty good at my controlled falls too! Oh, Steve, this is Eddie!"
And then Steve turned his gaze on Eddie, and his brain may have melted.
Steve looked like a spacer, windswept from the fall and leather jacket snug around his shoulders, two different holsters visible, his pants deliciously tight. He ran a hand through his hair, his antennapalps bobbing, and stuck it out for a shake.
"so, you're the great Eddie Munson Dustin hasn't shut up about? Good to meet you."
"mmhmm!" He forced his hand out to jerkily shake Steve's. Jeez. It was as though he'd never seen anyone beautiful before. His best friend was a Twilek dancer (and spy) for star's sake. He needed to get it together. Jedi didn't date, Eddie was pretty sure. Something about the force or power or devotion or something. He wasn't sure. He wasn't a Jedi. He wasn't a not-Jedi either.
Steve only smiled and turned back to Dustin. "So. Next time you need to let the Force flow. You're still trying to shove it, which never works. You direct it, like changing the course of a river."
"but not," Robin added seamlessly, and oh, wow, that was weird than you Chrissy "like a dam. Trying to block it won't give you strength. You're more..."
"using a log to ensure the water finds a different path."
"to go where you want it to go, do what you want it to do, without preventing it's natural flow."
"you guys are so annoying." Dustin huffed. "You know that? You can claim it's your Concordance of Fealty all you want but I know your freaky thing is not normal for it." He groaned. "But sometimes I feel when you guys, like, shape it. Change it. What the kark is that about? If I'm not supposed to dam it, how do I change it and use it like you do?"
Both grinned "We're older. Master the basics, we must, before attempting the advanced, young one." The voice Steve used was croaky, an impression.
Dustin pulled a face. "Don't quote Grandmaster Yoda at me!"
Robin and Steve laughed, leaning on each other. Suddenly, Eddie felt as though he was intruding. Though they hadn't told him to leave, they were sharing about...about a relative, Eddie guessed. Someone near to them and their almost-dead culture.
"I can quote him all I want, I drank enough of his atrocious tea to deserve it!"
"he's dead. You're going to sit here and insult your dead great-grandmaster, the last Grandmaster of the Order?"
Steve got Dustin in a headlock "while we mourn their loss, and acknowledge the pain of their untimely and unjust passing, we celebrate their memory. Yoda, the old frog, is one with the Force, and while I can wish for his guidance, I can also make fun of his vile cookies I had to eat at lineage dinners all I want."
"pretty sure they were barely considered edible for near-humans" Robin adds. She caught Eddie's eye, and winked. "Who's up for actually edible tea? Dustin can practice his fine control and pour for us.
Both Dustin and Steve groaned. "The kid is gonna spill all over us for fun, Bobbin."
Concept post Dustin discovers they're jedi
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20 Life Transference with Chetney
i always get so fucking carried away writing chetney. he’s so fun IT’S NOT MY FAULT. anyways have fun with this sort of double h/c because life transference is like that and so is fcg!
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Life transference is a 3rd-level necromancy spell on the cleric and wizard spell lists.
You sacrifice some of your health to mend another creature’s injuries. You take 4d8 necrotic damage, which can’t be reduced in any way, and one creature of your choice that you can see within range regains a number of hit points equal to twice the necrotic damage you take.
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The fucking hunters are back, because nothing can ever be easy and their luck always sucks. Someone in the group definitely pissed off the Matron or whichever god controls the luck of random adventurers just trying to save the world. Chetney’s money is on Ashton, personally, because Ashton is possibly the only person he’s ever met who can piss someone off that badly while also having never met them.
Chetney, on the other hand, did meet Tuyen Otwana. And, well, wasn’t it nice of her to send someone after his ass. Their interaction was fine, really! It’s not Chetney’s fault that she was overcharging like a motherfucker! He left her alive and with medical supplies. She should have just taken the hint. So really, if you think about it, none of this is Chetney’s fault at all.
Regardless of whose fault it is, Chetney’s face is pressed into the cobblestones of another alley in Jrusar for the second time in as many days, the weight of a silver net pressing down on his back and shoulders, sizzling slightly as he attempts to cast the stupid thing off. The fucker had brought a more magical friend with him, this time, probably to avoid the immediate ass-beating that he’d received from Orym and Fearne last time. Unfortunately for him, Chetney has more friends than that, and the Hells are currently engaged in a bigass fight with his dinky little squad.
Unfortunately for Chetney, though, that mage is causing problems. They got a lucky shot off and caught Chetney by surprise with a powerful firebolt, if he had to guess, and the other one had taken great pains to try and weaken him before netting him. With their efforts combined, Chetney is currently engaged in an internal battle as his better half fights to gain control.
Normally, Chetney would be fine with this—it’s called his better half for a reason, after all—but in his weakened state, he’s not entirely sure that he’s gonna be able to maintain the level of utmost self-control he normally exudes at all times. And he really, really doesn’t want to fuck up the Hells so soon after—after whatever had happened in Issylra had left Laudna so shaken. He saw how insistent Orym and Ashton had been about letting her unwind, how Prism (who was really very unsubtle about most things) had looked right at Laudna, worried, when detailing how she’d killed the Ruby Vanguard guy with one punch. The pieces didn’t paint a pretty picture for Chetney, and he doesn’t want to make Laudna’s jitters worse.
So he’s stuck. Staring at the ground, half-growling at nothing, trying very hard to think nonviolent thoughts while half of his brain insists very temptingly that murder is always the best solution to every problem.
He’s so focused on trying not to chew his friends’ faces off that he doesn’t notice the hunter sneaking back up to try and drag him off until his hands are already around the net, tugging and bashing Chetney’s head into the stone pavement. Chetney lets out an indignant squawk that deepens into a roar, which is very embarrassing, because he was trying not to roar, but also because he would rather not squawk like that whenever something mildly inconvenient happens.
His nose is bleeding. Dammit. That’s gonna make this a lot harder.
Chetney looks up, trying to survey the rest of the fight before he makes his next move. He catches Orym’s eye for a moment, which is very, very good—the halfling’s expression immediately shifts into one of alarm, seemingly recognizing the conflict behind Chetney’s eyes on sight.
“Fuck—Chetney needs a heal, he’s doing that thing again,” Orym cries out, motioning to the silvered heap that Chetney’s currently contained in as he speaks.
Ashton swears and motions at someone from across the street, hefting their new and improved hammer, and the familiar sound of rolling wheels on stone follows. Fresh Cut Grass rolls in, more mercurial than Chetney’s ever seen them, and manages to snatch the net from the hunter (probably because they caught him off-guard, but Chetney’s still pretty impressed).
Sparks fly as their buzzsaw hand immediately sets to work on the net. It’s not the most effective thing in the world, but Chetney appreciates it nonetheless. From behind them, Ashton comes barreling into the hunter, knocking him down to the floor.
“Letters,” Chetney grits out, “you got any juice left?”
“For healin’?” F.C.G. asks. “How much do you need?”
Chetney winces, taking stock of the situation, letting himself feel everything he’s been trying to ignore to keep the beast at bay. He gets dangerously close to a growl at one point, but he manages to tamp it down and glance back up at his little friend. “A lot, I think. Sorry.”
“No, it’s—that’s fine! It’s not like it’s your fault these people came after us.”
Chetney stays very quiet for a moment and tries his best not to look guilty. Luckily, F.C.G. is otherwise occupied.
“Here, I think—“
A strange metallic crunching sound rings out across the alley. F.C.G. winces, the plates on their body shivering, and draws a hand forward, glowing with blue arcane light. The light grows and grows, consolidating around their fingertips and the indent in their chest where the Changebringer’s face stares off into the distance serenely. Chetney cocks his head, momentarily distracted from his struggling wolven instincts by the difference in light shows. Usually, F.C.G.’s cure wounds are understated, momentary, and that crunching sound was new.
F.C.G. makes a sound like an exhale, a robotic breath, and the light surrounds Chetney’s wounds, invigorating him. He gasps slightly as the feral part of his brain soothes completely, slinking back to the corners of his subconscious where it usually waits.
“Oh, boy, that stings a little,” F.C.G. says, their voice shaking slightly. Chetney frowns—the glitching seems all too familiar after what nearly happened with those birds the other day.
“You okay, Grass?” Ashton shouts from where he has the hunter pinned and disarmed, Orym standing at his side. Laudna and Imogen are finishing off the caster, and Fearne seems to be preparing something with Mister, probably a plan to get him out of the net like she did the last time.
“Yeah, just—just a little jittery, Ashton,” he responds, shaking his metallic fingertips. For once, he actually sounds honest, and Chetney notices the tired edge to his voice. “Needed to do something to pick Chetney up fast, and it hurt a little.”
“Well, I’m up again,” Chetney pipes up, untangling himself from the net. “And it’s a good thing, ‘cause I’m not gonna let anyone hit’cha. Can never be too careful.”
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