bridgescribble | Stranded... out there

Disaster. Your plane crashed, your boat holed, your guide has left you stranded in the depths of the wilderness. Certainly, your surroundings are beautiful in their way, but we all know that nature is long on majesty and short on mercy. And unlike those guys on the Discovery Channel, there isn't a Motel 6 around you can pop into.

Desert. Whether it's cacti and hardpan, or dunes and sidewinders, you'd better find an oasis fast. And take care... it gets cold at night.
Jungle. Ah, the rainforest, that thriving hotspot of biodiversity! ...and just as many toxic compounds as there are species.
Tundra. Doesn't matter if it's Farenheit or Celsius, the thermometer is too many digits in the negative. But hey, at least there might be penguins.
Mountains. You might be hungry and windburnt, but the view is unmatched. Watch that first step, it's a doozy!
Savanna. Lions and termites and baobab, oh my... Never mind looking for food, you might be food if you aren't careful. And stay out of trenches with too many wildebeest.
Deep forest. The woods are quiet, dark, and deep. Do you know how to tell edible puffballs from Destroying Angel? Better learn quick.
Deep space. Maybe the ship has lost its engines and is drifting towards nowhere fast, or maybe it's a space station long abandoned, but you know what they say--no one can hear you scream.
Island. Let's face it, it would be nice, if it had been your idea to be here. Where did the Swiss Family Robinson find all that stuff, anyway?
Motel. Never mind, there is a Motel 6. No, wait--Motel 5? Oh boy. You really wish they hadn't left the light on, because nothing it reveals is something you want to see.

Problems:

Weather: It's turning for the worse and you need a place to hide.
Hostile wildlife: Whether it's looking for lunch or wants you off its patch, this is going to be a problem.
No luggage ...or anything else, including food, water, or shelter.
Hurt: Perfect time to practice making splints out of sticks!
Other! Listen, it's a big world, it has lots of ways to make you miserable.

adapted from the Lost in the wilderness meme @

memebells

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Anakin knows she's afraid of heights, or falling, or some combination of not being solidly on the ground. Not without reasons - some being speed - he's choosing to take this tactic instead. Because she also needs to learn to manage her fear in a way that it doesn't in the way in the moment.

As she grabbed him, Anakin reached over to steady her, and once she was, gave her a little squeeze of a hug. "That was good. Try to relax a little more, keeping your legs and back relaxed a little so you can sink, not bounce. That will help you land better."

He might be in a foul mood, some of it might be her fault, but he wasn't going to skip over actually trying to teach her.

It's just that things hurt when you fall and Misa is fond of things not hurting.

She takes a deep breath, holding onto him a bit longer than she needed to. The switchback trail is the fastest way down, and she understands the necessity for speed, but ugh, she would like to not jump down the mountain.

Still, she knows that if she expresses that, he'll make her jump through Coruscant. She knows that. So she swallows her irritation at having to do this, and nods in response to his instruction. For all that he's a tough teacher, he's also a kind one. She'd been very lucky to be found by him.

He's aware that the leaps can hurt, but he also knows it's possible to use the Force in such a way that it doesn't. He also knows she dislikes pain - and that too is manageable in the Force. She needs to learn.

That is part of the point of this excursion.

"Remember, the Force will help you. Reach for it."

She gives him a look, but keeps her mouth shut. Really, what does she gain for mouthing off to him? Nothing, save more rigorous training. So, instead, she follows him down the switchback trail.

Her leaps become more confident the more she does them. Oh, that doesn't mean that she liked it - in fact, she didn't - but she managed. Everything was going fine, until the last jump.

She landed easily, comfortably on her toes, slowly straightening from the crouch. She tries to brush off the dirt from her hands. It just smears on her robes. Sighing, she turns to ask how far to their rendevous point, when something warns her. "Look out!"

Misa grabs Anakin and flings herself backwards, dragging him along with her. She lands hard, the breath leaving her in a rush as he lands on top of her, but at least, they're both alive. The trail where they'd been standing had collapsed, falling into the river below them. "Alright, I know you love adventures, but this is getting ridiculous." Now, the dirt and sap is in her hair and that? That is unacceptable.

If she mouths off...well his reaction varies. There's a time for it, after all. And sometimes he'll just give her a look and ignore her. Sometimes there's a lecture. Once, and only once, had he reached over and lightly tapped his first and second fingers against her mouth. It was slightly firmer than his mother had done when he was a child, but much more gentle (physically and emotionally) than when his own Master bopped him in the mouth.

But there was also the point of this lesson, even if they had gotten off course and needed to find their way back. And he wasn't going to ignore lessons that needed to be learned for the sake of making it back quickly. Besides, she learned quickly and he was proud of the efforts she was making.

He sensed something wrong as he was landing, and he had been ready to bound off when Misa grabbed him. Sighing, Anakin pulled himself up and looked over her first. His right arm was throbbing as if it was broken in a few places and he glared at the empty air. "It's not that bad."

She's fine. There's a bruise on her back that a bit of concentration will get rid of. She'll have sore muscles, and wants to soak in a hot bath for a week, but she's fine. She looks up at him, making sure he's actually okay, before she pushes herself up on her elbows.

"I need a bath for a week." She's not really complaining. She knows better than to do that. However, she's not above mock-whining (as long as it's just Anakin around) to get him to smile, just a little. "Not that bad?" She raises her eyebrows at him. "I hesitate what to ask 'bad' actually is."

Misa had taken that one bop in the mouth hard and had not spoken for two days after it, despite knowing that's not what he wanted. She's still finding her feet, so to speak, with mouthing off. Has he grabbed her and shaken her by the shoulder? Yes, absolutely. Did he do it often? He didn't have to. Most of the time a finger flick or a sharp look cuts her deeper than a physical attack will.

"Which way from here?" He had the coordinates in his head. He'd done that on purpose, more than likely. This was, apparently, a learning trip, rather than something set down by Thraios or the Senate.

"There was that time the Geonosian brain worms infected several Troopers, Jedi, and Padawans, forcing them to do the bidding of their Queen. There was that time a death plague - with no previously know cure or treatment - was released in a lab on Naboo. Plo Koon and some of his men were once trapped in a life support pod without anything but emergency power, unable to even call for rescue." She could take her pick in ordering them, but all worse than this. And likely, Anakin had many more.

"We may be picked up with some bruises and I'll have a day of repairs and upgrades to make, but our lives aren't in danger so long as we trust the Force and we won't become a danger to others." Because he doesn't want her to take the wrong lessons from his answer.

"Across the river, there's a place to forge it about six-hundred meters ahead. If we time it right, it'll be low tide at the delta, and we'll be able to almost walk across a stone path." If no, they'll have to get wet, and Misa's feet won't quite touch in a section or two, but it will be easy.

He does know she'd been being rhetorical right? She really hadn't wanted to know all that. She's not entirely sure that she believes all of that - oh about Plo Koon she does, she's heard it from the clones - but the rest? Well, she's just going to keep her mouth shut about it.

That's the thing about Misa. She keeps her mouth shut and observes a lot. Thraios likes that about her, especially with her knack for going unnoticed, even without using the Force. She's startled the clones often enough that she is pretty sure they think she can disappear on purpose. Oh, she never startles Anakin, but he's Anakin, so she doesn't expect to.

She pushes herself up and sighs, falling in next to him to head down to the river, and then to the forge.

They actually do make it to the delta when the water isn't deep and stones peek up here and there along the path. Misa has gotten over her aversion to being damp. She hadn't liked it at first, but one of Padme's youngest cousins had pushed her into the water once, and then learned not to push her too hard, because she'd almost retaliated, and would have, had Anakin not been there to ease the situation. She'd stomped off and left the couple alone with the children, sitting in the sun to dry out. Then, Anakin had taught her to swim, so she wasn't at such a disadvantage.

She skips across the rocks, keeping an eye out for anything in the river or beyond that might take exception to two Jedi bounding along. Her boots sink deep in the mud on the opposite bank and attempt to make her leave her boot behind. "Yuck." She grumbles.

Stranded... out there

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