~Siri~
"Because he did it!" Bant shouts, as she hop's to her feet like she has just been slapped. There is a cold fury in her eyes. "He took Obi-wan!" She says.
The boys faces turn grave and hard. "Arrrggghhh!" The Princess shouts, outraged. She is baring her fangs as if she smells something intolerably vile. My own heart is off the hook. Obi-wan has been captured. He could be hurt, tortured, dying, screaming…No!
"Come on," I say, fists clenching so hard my knuckles turn white. "We have to find…" I say no more before a shadow falls in the doorway. ""Arrrggghhh!" The Princess roars again.
Her furious bellow makes the ceiling tremble. My saber is out and ready before I can blink. Two other sabers snap out with a hiss, suddenly buzzing centimeters from Dray's nose. He is a repulsive coward!
He cocks his eyebrows, the overconfident chosski. "Well, good morning," he says with perfect composure. I knew he was not to be trusted. I knew it all along.
"Where is he?" I demand harshly. Dray stares at me as if he suspects I'm a few pieces short of the Sabbacc board. "Where is who?" he asks blankly. "I wouldn't suggest playing stupid," Garen growls, with the perfect amount of threat and courteousness. "What have you done with him?" he snarls.
"Done with whom?" Dray repeats, just as blankly as before. He's a good actor, I'll give him that. "Where are you hiding him?" Quin-lan adds, darkly, and I can almost envision the sparking lightning in his eyes. One thing you do not want to do is make Quin-lan mad.
"Who am I hiding?" Dray inquires again, he does sound rather perplexed. Is he under duress? Mind control? I've seen that before. It isn't pretty. Still, we need to find Obi-wan somehow.
Bant has the answer. "I WILL TEAR OUT YOUR BOWELS!" We all jump, startled half out of our wits by the normally placid and shy Mon Calamari girl as she shoves me aside and brandishes one of her medical needles in Dray's face as if it could compare to my lightsaber. Due to the fact that she is the shortest out of all of us, she has to stretch to do it, and even then the needle comes more to face with his chin than head.
Her random and very un-Jedi like statement, along her un-Jedi like weapon of doom, and the crazed look on her face are worthy of any comedy show. Dray stares at her with wide eyes. He looks as if he half wants to laugh and half wants to tell us to get the hell out of his home.
"AARRRGGGHHH!" The Princess screams, and, adding to the madness, she suddenly flourishes the lamp in his face, it is still plugged into the wall socket, and because of this, she is pointing the glowing top directly at his eyes. Though, she couldn't have settled with only that.
The lamp she holds with one hand while the other is in possession of one of Quin-lan's shoes. How she got his shoe and when he lost his shoe, I don't know, but she is swinging it around like a bludgeon by one shoelace, deadly brown eyes seething. Dray looks positively bewildered.
Suddenly, the force parts to let a neophyte into this horror frame. "Hey, Dray?" We hear a familiar voice call out. We all freeze. I stare at the doorway. Is it truly…? Obi-wan walks into view, carrying two plastic bags with a few supplies and mechanics inside while he digs through one.
"Do you have any…?" he looks up, and breaks off at mid-sentence, staring. I imagine we are quite a sight to behold. I sigh and slap my forehead. I mean really, we are Jedi padawans for force sakes. When will we learn to look before we leap to conclusions?
"What…?" Obi-wan begins, flabbergasted into speechlessness. It would be a miracle and time for celebration if the reason were not so warped. "Obi-wan! You're alive!" Bant screeches with joy. Obi-wan stares at her needle with confusion.
"Oh," Dray realizes, expression melting into mingled relief and amusement. "They thought I kidnapped you. I was wondering what in the blazes they were talking about. Good force, what is Yoda teaching you kids nowadays?" he asks, with some amount of delight.
"So to save me, you have a lamp and a shoe?" Obi-wan asks the Wookie, slowly. The rest of us are still paralyzed with shock and mortification. Obi-wan turns to Bant. "And you have a needle?" he asks, his expression befuddled. "She was going to tear out my bowels with it," Dray informs Obi-wan, his mouth twitching. The force uncoils with his amusement.
"And what is your job?" Obi-wan asks Garen, who probably has the same stupid look on his face. Garen seems to come too. Blushing furiously, he deactivates his saber and steps back.
"Shut up, Obi-wan," he mutters as Quin-lan and I do the same. "We thought you were dead!" I explode. Now that Obi-wan is here, I want to express to him my perennial displeasure.
"We thought you were huddled in a dark cell somewhere dying and in pain and pleading, and….And…" I stutter furiously. Obi-wan nods, staring at me with barely concealed mirth. "So what was your plan of vengeance? To have The Princess blind him with a lamp and then beat him to the ground with Quin-lan's shoe while Bant attempted to 'tear out his bowels' with a needle? And what were you three going to do to contribute? Stare him down with expressions that suggested you are having severe momentous and life-threatening bowel movements?" He asks.
That tears it. Dray bursts into laughter. Obi-wan is second in line, that follower. Then, only because the tension has finally been released and I am relieved I still have Obi-wan to insult another day, I laugh too. Soon enough, we are all doubled over laughing, tears streaking down our cheeks with our own ridiculousness.
After a moment of inappropriate levity, which would earn us harsh punishment in the temple, we settle back into our diplomatic roles. "We're very sorry for our accusations, Dray…" I begin but he waves it away. "Oh, please Siri, think nothing of it. I would have blamed me too. And besides, I haven't laughed that much in years. Good force," he succumbs to another moment of chuckling aftershock, before shaking his head.
"Well, I reckon that breakfast is ready. How about we dine?" He asks. I have never heard such a brighter aspect of the morning than the word breakfast. "Yes please," Garen agrees mildly. I can see in his eyes he is sorry, but the past is the past, and as Dray has assured us, he would have blamed himself too. Still, I will make sure and check my food before I eat it.
"Go ahead and have at it. I will remain here and see what else I can do for Master Jinn," he winks at Obi-wan, who smiles back gratefully. Somehow, I feel like they just shared a new flash of privacy between them. I twist my lips into displeasure but say nothing. I think we have said enough for today.
Leaving Dray to his healing, the rest of us disperse to the table and begin our patiently awaiting food.
Going to writing camp-post back again in a few days! Have a nice week!
~Queen Yoda
