[Closed] I watch the ripples change their size

[spiritwalks]

Who: Vyng spiritwalks and Obi-Wan jedies
What: A lowkey lakeside jaunt
When: Sometime toward the end of April
Where: Salt Lake in Trenchwood

Content Warnings: Listed in subject lines when applicable



[As they make their decent toward the shores of the Salt Lake, Cloudpiercer raises his body upward. With a mighty whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! of his wings to slow down, his talons spread out, and he seamlessly glides into a landing. The transition is as natural and smooth as any wild animal's touch-down onto solid ground. Vyng doesn't "steer" or give any vocal commands, instead trusting the thunderbird to act autonomously.

Once Cloudpiercer settles down and tucks his wings back against his sides, Vyng gently releases the tuft of feathers at the back of his friend's neck.

"Thanks, buddy," he murmurs, sharing his gratitude through their spiritual connection. Cloudpiercer clicks his beak in acknowledgment — fully aware he's doing his druid companion a solid, but glad to help regardless.

Only then does Vyng look back at Obi-Wan with a rakish grin.]

Enjoy the ride?

Comments

[jedies]

It certainly is. I can't recall the last time I saw something beautiful.

[ he hadn't really reconnected with nature. the war, coming to deerington and trench hadn't encouraged that side of him. which is a shame. qui-gon would have loved to find these places. to explore.

he feels a brief pang in his heart. even now, he misses his master. ]

[spiritwalks]

[Connecting with nature in a world riddled with blood-lust and corruption isn't exactly intuitive. Usually it means looking for the silver linings wherever you can. Seeking beauty in the most absurd places. And discovering ways in which even the environment's more gruesome aspects sustain life in Trench.

Sometimes, Vyng stumbles across gems like this one.]

It's an amazing meditation spot, too. Communing with the lake itself can be deeply cleansing on a spiritual level, I've found.

[jedies]

[ he hums. ]

How does it feel?

[spiritwalks]

[Vyng closes his eyes for a moment.]

Like...a warm hug for the soul. Motherly, in a way.

[jedies]

[ hmm. ]

Motherly, is it?

[spiritwalks]

Well. Depending on your own life experiences.

[Far be it from Vyng to attach definitive labels onto a lake, of all things.]

"Nurturing" might be a better word.

[jedies]

Nurturing's a good one.

[ he had mothers, among the jedi. numerous ones, who had helped and aided him. one who was closer than most and passed on too soon. ]

[spiritwalks]

[Vyng just had the one. Sometimes she was a literal mama bear who fended off predators with her bare paws. Other times she was a human who simply lived off the land and worked to pass her knowledge on to her child. But no matter what form she took, she always did her best to help him grow — a trait she clearly instilled in him.]

They say the Pthumerian Queen gave birth to Moon Presence here. So some locals do associate this place with motherhood. And...the nurturing parts of parenthood in general, I guess.

[jedies]

[ trench is such a strange place. born out of the endings of deerington, created in dreams and regrets. it doesn't feel real at times, much in the way the town also felt to him. ]

There are places like that in the galaxy. Where pockets of the Force grew strong.

[spiritwalks]

Oh yeah? What kinds of places?

[jedies]

Swamps, forests . . . There was . . . a planet once. Strong in the Force. I'm not even sure what I experienced in it was real or not. Plants lived and died in a day. Storms took place and vanished without a thought.

[spiritwalks]

Sounds like a different plane, a spiritual realm. Kind of like the place I used to travel through, before the Dream.

[One of his warmest memories was watching Garry Oak trees shooting into existence across the plains of the Spirit World. An entire forest bleeding across the land like water colors on a blank canvas, while the sun and moon rapidly chased one another through the sky. All the while, Tuck's tree trunk of an arm was wrapped tightly around his shoulders, while Billie buried himself in Vyng's old feathered cowl.]

[jedies]

Mm. It's possible. The Force works in mysterious ways. Even with all our knowledge, there are things we fail to understand.

[spiritwalks]

I'm always learning something new. [A beat.] I also have a terrible memory, so make of that what you will.

[jedies]

A constant cycle of learning, is it?

That's something to be jealous of.

[spiritwalks]

Is it, though? Is it.

[He's skeptical as hell, but there's also a hint of laughter in Vyng's words.]

My old tutors didn't seem to think so.

[jedies]

Well, perhaps they needed to redefine their ideas of learning.

[spiritwalks]

That is a very generous way of looking at it, hahah...

[Vyng's pretty sure the problem was he was a garbage student who couldn't retain useful info to save his life. Never mind that he was mostly interested in zoology and botany anyway. But those subjects are fun, so he doesn't count them.

Still, he doesn't argue either. Instead, he points his thumb toward the shimmering water.]

Wanna know the craziest thing about this lake? When it's not under full moonlight, it turns cold and black. It can't sustain any life at all. It's practically poison for the body.

[jedies]

[ obi-wan is nothing if not generous. he glances at the lake, following vyng's hand. ]

A perfect metaphor for the cycle of life and death. We return from what we come from. We have a saying among the Jedi. How we're luminous beings, not crude matter that makes up our bodies.

[spiritwalks]

Our bodies are but a temporary vessel for one's spiritual essence, it's true.

[jedies]

[ huh. ]

Do you have a similar philosophy? Among your people?

[spiritwalks]

We do. It's the basis for many Druidic practices and rituals.

[jedies]

What are those like?

[spiritwalks]

It depends on the branch.

Shapeshifting is one example. That's the act of reaching out to another's essence and swapping forms with them. But there's others too. Spirit walking, where you leave your body in the material plane to visit other realms. Forging a spiritual connections, too, so you can see and feel through another's eyes — even across far distances.

[jedies]

Fascinating. Our talents branch out in various ways, but we've never managed anything like that.