Competition: [GJW XVII Event Long] Fiction - The Hutt and the Bear

Title page image made using Gemini

Master Windos was a strong Jedi who loved to help people. He had silver hair and large drawings of shields on his arms.

Because he was a Miraluka, Windos did not see using eyes. He used the magic of the Force to see the forest around him. Today, the forest was very peaceful until he heard a loud crash.

Windos found a giant brown Wookiee wearing a fancy green vest, and a very rich Hutt with a tall top hat. They were yelling at each other next to a heavy wooden cart. The cart was stuck in the deep, sticky, mud.

The cart was filled with important medicine for the sick people of the village. "We should smash the cart into tiny pieces!" roared Barlumpa the Wookiee. "I am strong enough to carry the boxes on my furry back!"

"That is a silly idea, you walking rug," laughed Moola the Hutt. "My family has lots of money to buy a brand new cart! We should just leave it here in the mud and take a nap."

Windos stepped out from the trees to talk to the pair. "Smashing the cart will break all the medicine," Windos said. "Leaving the cart here means the sick people will not get better."

Windos walked around the cart, making a plan. He was very good at moving things with the Force. But the cart was too heavy, and too stuck for him to lift alone.

Windos had an idea, but he needed the Wookiee and the Hutt to work together with him. "We are going to be a team to save the medicine," Windos said. He pointed at a thick vine hanging from a tall tree.

"Moola, you are very heavy and can be a great anchor," Windos explained. Moola the Hutt was surprised that his heavy weight was finally useful. He held onto the thick green vine so it would not slip away.

"Barlumpa, you are very strong," Windos told the big Wookiee. "I need you to grab the middle of the vine. When I say go, you must pull as hard as you can."

"I am going to use the Force to make the heavy cart lighter," Windos said. He used his special Force powers to grab the wooden cart. He lifted it up just a little bit to loosen it from the sticky mud.

"Go!" Windos yelled to his new friends. Barlumpa the Wookie roared loudly and pulled the vine with all his might. Moola the Hutt used his heavy body to keep the vine straight and strong.

With a loud pop, the cart rolled back onto the dry grass. Not a single bottle of medicine was broken or spilled. "You both did wonderfully today," Windos said to the Wookiee and the Hutt.

Moola the Hutt laughed a big, booming, laugh that shook his belly. "When Force users and non-Force users work together, we can fix anything!"

Windos agreed. They safely delivered the medicine, saving the village and proving that true strength comes from working as a team.

Once there was a slovenly Hutt and a lethargic Bear, neighbors within the same woodland. To consider them friends would be an overestimation of how much they cared for each other, but they were at least on good terms. One day, the Hutt arrived at the Bear's door with a proposal.

"Bear, there is a magical fruit that grows on a tree nearby, which grants one immortality. I aim to obtain it."

The Bear, who had just roused from a long slumber, rubbed at his eyes. "I have no need for immortality," he said. "I'm just a Bear."

"The fruit is next to a hive of honey," said Hutt.

"I'm in," said Bear.

The two ventured into the woods where the Hutt had mentioned this special tree. Now, this tree grew tall, taller than either creature could easily climb. Bear, hoping for a quick snack, felt bitterness at being tricked into actual work.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" asked Bear.

Hutt contemplated for a moment, then was struck with a thought. "Stand beside the tree, Bear, and I will climb on your back!"

Hutts are not typically known to be good climbers, and this one was not a difference to this rule. As the Hutt attempted to clamber on to the Bear's back, his mucus caused him to slide back down. The Bear groaned in disgust, and stopped the Hutt from making another attempt.

"Wait, let me try," said Bear.

Bears are more typically estimated to be good climbers, however this one was not. As the Bear tried to scramble up onto the Hutt's back, his claws scratched up the Hutt's shoulders. The Hutt roared in pain, and stopped the Bear from making another attempt.

"Stop! Stop!" shouted a voice unfamiliar to the two creatures. A slender Grey Jedi had appeared. "You must work together to solve this," they said. "Use your intellect!"

Both creatures looked to the other, then to the Jedi.

"I think we need a hint," said Hutt.

"I think we're out of ideas," said Bear.

The Jedi put their face into his hands, then went to work instructing the two to create a rudimentary pulley system. Bear collected rocks from the stream while Hutt collected vines from the nearby trees. It took them all day to do, and they finished by torchlight. Once the device was made, the Hutt was the first to test it. Bear considered it out of character for the Hutt to show such bravery, but he wasn't going to.

"Hoist me up!" ordered the Hutt.

"Take a torch," said Bear, offering one. "To smoke out the bees."

Bear and the Jedi pulled on the ropes, sending the Hutt into the tree. However, the slimy Hutt decided to grab for the fruit. Tugging the fruit from the vine caused the bees to wake, and they soon surrounded the greedy Hutt. Hutt howled and fell from the tree, tearing the pulley system down with him and squashing the fruit under his bulk. He jumped back up with surprising speed and ran into the woods with bees trailing behind him.

Though Bear considered following his acquaintance, he noticed the hive had fallen from the tree as well. Thus the Bear gorged on honey, forgetting all about the Hutt. The Jedi looked on with a wearied sigh.

large text because my eyeballs don't work the way they're supposed to... x)

HELLO THIS GOT AWAY FROM ME
I cried, I fistfought PowerPoint, I yelled at Gemini to leave me alone.
Please see attached the "PDF-2" which is the full story with included artwork, formatting, etc intended to be viewed. For purely plaintext of the fiction, see attached also the plaintext PDF-1.
Other assorted screenshots are just process documentation of the artwork I made. All done in GIMP, word art in Slides. There is a link to a STATIC PDF in the presentation PDF as well.