[M] Fish Out of Water [Yggdrasil_Hugger & NoviDome] (February 22nd Event)

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Thankfully, the mind trick hadn’t affected her ability to run. They ran for a while, cutting north through the forest toward the mountains. After a while, the presence of the Jedi seemed to fall back. Only when he could no longer sense them did he relax. He slowed to a walking pace, still gripping the arm of the human.

“I have a ship hidden at the foot of one of the mountains. I wanted to make sure I had a way to get off-world quick if I needed to,” he paused. “You never did tell me which planet you were from.”

[NoviDome]

With adrenaline coursing through her body, Isabel was able to run with this creature a lot longer than she had expected herself to. Years of studying and working with computers in her basement hadn't necessarily improved her fitness, and running was definitely something she didn't enjoy. But the sense of imminent danger went a long way to keeping her on her feet the whole time.

When they finally slowed down Kavik didn't appear as worked up anymore, though he was still holding on to her wrist with an iron grip. It seemed like they were out of harm's way, at least for now. She stopped walking and placed her free hand on her knees, letting her head hang down as she tried to catch her breath. As her adrenaline levels dropped, her panting turned into slight sobbing as she tried to comprehend what had happened. The words he spoke then only made her confusion worse, and she looked up at him with eyes brimming with tears. She tried to pull her arm out of his hand, on the verge of hyperventilating.
"No... I don't know what all this is-... But I just want to go home," she said, her voice shaking.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

When she pulled away from his grip, he released her arm. She was hyperventilating, on the verge of tears, and shaking like a kicked loth cat. When she mumbled something about going home, he took a step back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Traditional Sith teachings require emotion. Anger, passion, hatred, they all lent themselves to strength. But for now, we need calmness. Cool and collected, he thought. He released his breath and opened his eyes again.

“I apologize if I scared you. Let’s start over,” he cleared his throat. “My name is Kavik. What is yours?” He carefully tucked his hands behind his back. The way she had been staring at them made him think they were stressing her out the most. And who could blame her, when most of the galaxy had hands like hers?

[NoviDome]

She looked at him, her chest heaving as she tried - and failed - to get her breathing under control. He introduced himself to her once more, and her manners urged her to reach out to shake his hand. Instead, she held her hands close to her chest, slightly rubbing the wrist he had held onto. The last thing she wanted right now was to touch those eerie, otherworldly hands again.

"I-... I'm Isabel," she said softly, and finally managed to take a calmer breath. "L-Listen, if this is a joke of some sort... If Andre put you up to this... It's not funny." Of course, that had to be it. It was the only explanation, the only one she could accept, and it felt like a beacon of sense shining through the thick fog of confusion in her mind. She latched onto that little bit of logic for dear life. "T-This is certainly not the way to resolve our conflict, I'd gladly sit down and talk but this..." she looked around, but the details that all of her senses were registering made her faith that this was all explainable waver. So instead she fixed her eyes back on Kavik. "This is not okay. Take me back. Take me home."

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Behind his mask, an eyebrow quirked up. He didn’t know any Andres, and her name seemed strange, even for a human name. He studied her face again for a moment. There was something subtly off about her in a way he couldn’t describe. Of course, it was hard to focus when her mere presence seemed to scream at him.

“Well, Isabel,” he said, mouth struggling with the odd syllables, “I can assure you this is no joke. I’m not sure who Andre is. I can take you home if that’s what you want. Where is it you live?”

[NoviDome]

She eyed him nervously, her heart still beating in her throat. She'd learned the hard way not to disclose such personal information to a stranger. However, she didn't feel like she had much of a choice right now.
"I live in Chicago," she murmured, and then reluctantly recalled what Kavik had said when she'd asked him where they were. Planet Sorgan. Whether she liked it or not, on some deep, fundamental level she understood what she refused to accept: that she was a lot farther from home than she would like. "...On planet Earth," she added in a lower tone of voice, as if she couldn't quite believe that she was saying the words.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

At last, she was telling him where she was from. Shekaago, on… Earth? he thought.

“I have never heard of a planet called Earth, but perhaps my ship’s navicomputer can locate it. How is it you got here in the first place?”

As he spoke, he began to pace. Her strange aura and her odd clothing belied a deeper mystery than where Shekaago was. Unless, of course, they were related. Teleportation was impossible by mundane means, and even hyperspace traveled somewhat through real space. Did the Republic finally crack the impossible equation?

[NoviDome]

She let out a nervous chuckle, and felt tears stinging her eyes. She planted one hand on her hip and ran the other one through her hair, taking a deep yet shaky breath. Her eyes searched their surroundings for any sign that this all wasn't real, but denial was starting to seem more and more futile. She chewed on her lip and balled the hand in her hair to a fist, knowing full well it would mess up her braid. But she didn't care right now. This was wrong. All of this was wrong, so... wrong.
"...I don't know," she murmured, shaking her head. There was some venom in her voice now. "God dammit, I don't know!"

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Kavik watched as she became more and more agitated. He let her stew in her anger for a moment before continuing.

“Are you sure?” Was all he asked.

[NoviDome]

She looked at him, her gaze both helpless and accusatory. Her hand went to her backpack, to feel for her notebook and her laptop. Both were there, to her relief. She took a deep breath and adjusted the straps to play off her earlier movement.
"...Not entirely," she admitted softly, trying to blink her tears away. "It makes no sense, I..." She shook her head and looked around once more. "...This shouldn't be possible."