[D6 EA] Growing Pains

[Solork Tan]

It seemed there was a new task at hand, and to be completely blunt, the Gank really didn't know where to start. The logic he had was working out something like this:

1) (Due to his mistakes) The Grotto was beginning to wilt
2) The cause was a source of Dark Side energy being released (again, his fault)
3) To reverse the effects, he would need something with a natural energy to bring back balance

Of course, he had been looking for such a thing for a long time but now the shot clock was ticking (to steal the gravball reference). After weeks attempting to cultivate the Grotto had failed (when things had been going well) it seemed a new strategy was in order. It had seemed that the Force was strong in a particular area in the greater swamp. The Deep Swamp had a powerful dark force, while the Grotto had a gentle light. Starting here seemed like the best option as a place to start.

"Excuse me. I don't suppose that you know of something that grows...uncommonly well around here?"

It's an odd question, but the Gank begins asking around.

[Meiyokashi]

Solork caught up with one of the many working around the village at the moment. A young Twi'lek woman with an.. attitude about her the moment she saw him, but she sighed and looked up. Her expression shifting to be more curious about his intentions at the question, "Plenty around here.. strange question outsider, what're you hoping to do?"

[Solork Tan]

Sol sees no reason to lie about intent, even if he's not including every detail.

"There a stretch of cave a ways away. I have have going through it, and now I'm starting to see things starting to wilt. I was hoping to maybe plant something new or, I don't know, reinvigorate the earth around it. The most tenacious farmers I've ever seen seemed like a good place to ask. "

[Meiyokashi]

"Planting something new could be.. risky," she glances around, looking at one of the paddies. Giving him a wave, she says, "come with me."

Walking over toward one of the paddies she sits down on the side, leans in and pushes herself off into the water with the juvenile harvest of some strange looking plant. Putting her elbows back up onto the wooden walkway that crosses over the paddy she looks up to him, "Stay there. Don't want you trampling anything important.."

Reaching over she pulls some heavy gloves aside and fits them onto her hands, "These planets need a very specific environment that we maintain here, right? They used to grow all over but since the swamps shrunk over the past decades they have less and less space to grow. We manage to maintain something here but.. there's a lot of species of flora in this swamp and each one is fighting for survival. Your cave? Whatever's growing there is probably gonna be just as unique as this here. So- my advice is to just not touch it. If it's dying.. putting something more in isn't going to help, just gonna kill both species faster."

[Solork Tan]

"Hmm, maybe you can help me then. Maybe you have seen something like what I'm trying to help. You see it's...reactive" Sol clears his throat. "The plants seem to adjust based on the emotions of the people in them. As in, I could see the plants ripple when I was frustrated. When I was sad, leaves dropped like tears. Maybe you have encountered something like it?"

[Meiyokashi]

"Most life is reactive.." she chuckled, shaking her head a little. Wading through the water away from the edge a bit she took the opportunity to get some work done, it seemed. "But.. reactive like that? It's a bit fast," she shook her head, "not familiar to me. Mom.. mom always claimed that talking to plants helped them grow. Always thought it was more for her than the plant but.. maybe it's got something to it?" she looks up, shrugging.

[Solork Tan]

"Huh." The Gank cocks his head to the side. "Does she takes students? It" Sol coughs "Might be an area of intense spiritually and connectivity, so I can use all the help I can get"

[Meiyokashi]

"She passed a few years back," she said, kneeling down into the water she started working at the root of something. Dirt and muck of the swamp water clinging to her sides as she dipped in. "Not a teacher though.. well- she was my mom, just a mom. Liked to garden beyond the work we do here, took a lot of care and appreciation to it. It was nice.."

"I miss her," she admitted before digging in harshly and pulling out a long winding root from the pool. Tossing it up on the side in the walkway.

[Solork Tan]

"I think that's normal" Solork inclines his head forward. "I should probably say "She is one with the Force now" or something. But even when the loss doesn't quite hurt so much or so often, it's still an...absence, isn't it?"

He feels a few pangs in his chest, though he isn't sure of the source.

[Meiyokashi]

"Yea.." she looks to Solork suspiciously, putting her hands on her hips. "You.. what you just said right now, was that what I thought it was?"

[Solork Tan]

Sol shrugs. "Yes, it was. I mean, it seems I pretty dreck at following the philosophy, but I at least hold to it. I'm... trying" the Gank chuckles "Of course, "there is no try". I'm sorry... Is that a problem?"

[Meiyokashi]

"I.." she looks to him, then past him, and then elsewhere. "Just realized there's something I was needed for.. so," she walks toward the nearest side by the of the raised walkway, putting her boot on a notch sticking out of one of the walkways supports and lifting herself back onto the platform.

Standing she took a glance back to see he was there and chuckled, "I've gotta go," she said, "you understand right?" she said, taking a few steps backward and away.

[Solork Tan]

"No...no not really. Or understand at all." Sol reaches behind him and rests a hand on the back of his head. "But that is a pretty common thing to be honest. I mean, it's not like I'm prostletizing on it. It's nice for those who follow, but it's certainly not for everyone. Unless..."

Sol thinks about it for a moment. "I mean, the two most obvious ideas are that you are worried about blowback from having a Force adherent visiting. Which, I mean, isn't impossible, but unlikely. The second is that someone you care about is also an adherent...or practitioner, and you are worried about them and are thinking that I am here to hurt them, or try to pull them into something. I mean, I'm not terribly insightful on these things, but that one seems more likely considering you set up a farm in a swamp between two sites of significance, but hey, it's really none of my business unless you wish to share."

Sol shrugs again, trying to show a relaxed posture. "Like I said, I was here to see if I could help out a site that was I was looking to rejuvenate, but I've come to accept my limitations on that one"

[Meiyokashi]

While he spoke the woman continued making slow, careful movements toward walking away. Hands shaking a little she put them in her pockets and forced on a brief smile, she tried to hide her emotions but it was written plainly on her face. There was nervousness, a fear, but even more a deep seated anger she was barely keeping the reigns on.

"I really need to get going," she says, giving him a little nod and then turning and walking away with a quickened pace.

Villager: Deception vs Solork: 2eA+2eD 0 successes, 1 advantage

[Solork Tan]

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be here admiring your work. Please let whoever you are worried about know."

Sol lets out a sigh as the female leaves

"Yeah, convincing you to believe me is not what I'm good at. Patience, Solork, patience. Scaring these people or pushing them isn't going to get what you want."

The Gank makes no attempt to chase the woman, nor to hide, instead attempting to calmly ask others about sightings of unexpected growth or wildlife that an offworlder might find strange. And if harsh stares grew, that hopefully meant he was drawing the attention needed.