Ask Kashyyyk Beneath an Amber Moon

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana continued to hold her lightsaber pointed towards Talak, shuddering with anxiety as she awaited his next move. What had he been expecting, if not this? This whole test seemed just some cruel way to torment and hurt her, and even the short-lived hunt of tonight had been enough to thoroughly abuse her. What callous tricks and traps did he have for her? His inquisitive evaluation unnerved her, and she could feel his serpent-like eyes studying her through the dim red glow of her lightsaber. She was quickly growing tired of the way he looked at her whenever she said anything like she was some kind of science experiment. She glared back at him and tried to slow her breathing, but the tension of the situation made even that difficult.

Whatever attempts to calm herself failed immediately once he ignited his lightsaber and mused about a duel. Before she had the opportunity to question whether it was a challenge or an assertion, he lunged forward to engage her. Her body’s fight or flight response kicked in and she could feel her muscles tense up, ready to defend herself. He was fast – far faster than she expected, and the dancing shadows did little to help her accurately judge distances.

She swung her lightsaber down perpendicular to his just in time to block his diagonal slash, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold the block. Their crimson blades clashed and cracked together, but he had the advantage in both health and raw strength. She lifted her free hand from her wound and thrust it forward, flicking a few droplets of blood at Talak and repulsing him with a solid shove of Force energy to the chest, hoping to create distance between the two combatants and imbalance him. If her push moved him back, even just a meter or two, she would limp backwards to try and increase the gap. She was in no state to fight, and she knew her death was coming soon. He held all the power here; all she could do now was try and survive the ordeal. She kept her lightsaber low and close to her, ready to block another incoming attack. The surge of adrenaline was coming back to her and helping dull the pain in her leg, but she wondered if it was too late.

What a fool she was to trust this man to not bring her out in the darkness and execute her. She was such a stupid, impetuous child, and now this would be how it ended for her.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak's strike was blocked as he expected, and the Force warned him of her impending attack only a moment later. His saber blow had been blocked and he pulled it back from her blade before plunging straight into the ground at both of their feet.

When the push hit, his feet and saber both dug into the ground and pushed him back several meters. The impact was worse than being punched, but his own erected barriers dampened the blow. He stood back up to his full height again, saber held in his hand. The blade flourished in front of him, casting all new shadows across the ground and across his face.

He reached out with his mind to feel what was inside her. She had found fear and even desperation, but did she have anger yet? Hatred? Desire to maim and kill and destroy. It was what he needed to bring out of her, and although there was a part of him that didn't want it to be directed at him, she needed to tap into it for the first time somehow.

He attacked again, this time his movements appearing much more like the traditional Makashi dueling strikes. He sent a thrust at her chest, forcing her to push his blade to the side and using his full reach to remain outside her own blade's reach. But all of that was the distraction. His left hand crackled blue and lightning leapt out almost certain to hit her square in the chest. She had used the ability only moments ago, and he needed her to feel the pain that would unlock the rage of the dark side. The attack wasn't enough to kill, but it would be miserable, crackling agony.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana took the opportunity afforded by Talak’s repulsion to brace herself for another attack. She watched him dig into the ground and skid back, carving a minor scar into the dirt with his saber. He seemed entirely unphased by the attack, almost as if he was toying with his prey. He rose from his low crouch, towering over her, and flourished his blade. The red glow and gentle hum of the weapon were perhaps the least nefarious aspects of his entire persona, which said quite a bit about this whole situation.

He surged forward once more, thrusting his blade at her. Almost instinctively, she brought her weapon up to swat it away, batting his blade to the side but finding herself unable to riposte given the differences in reach. While it kept her from being impaled, it opened her up for a much worse attack. She didn’t see him thrust his hand forward simultaneously, nor could she avoid the lightning that arced through the air and directly into her chest.

At first, her brain couldn’t quite comprehend the sheer agony she was experiencing as the lightning coursed through her. Her vision went white for a moment and all of her muscles contracted immediately. She cried out towards the sky, a shrill shriek that would unnerve even the most stalwart defenders, but she could barely hear it as her senses were overstimulated. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her lightsaber and convulsed while her fingernails dug into her palm in her free hand to mix the new, fresh blood in her palm with the blood from her thigh. It was a horrible, unyielding anguish, and though it might have only lasted a second or two, it felt like she was a prisoner in her own body for an eternity.

Her heart raced and her breathing became ragged, even when the lightning subsided. It took her a moment for her vision to clear and readjust to the darkness, but once she did, all she could focus on was the man who had tormented her. She was afraid and hurt, but, more predominately now, she was angry. This man had brought her into this god-forsaken forest with the intent to torture her and she fell into it like an idiot. She confused his animosity for altruism, and the idea of those snakelike eyes judging her in the darkness incensed her greatly. She wanted to rip into him the same way she did the spider behind her.

She forgot about the pain in her leg and surged forward with a desperate shout, sweeping her lightsaber overhead in a scything motion, wrapping her bloodied hand around the hilt in a two-handed grip. The blade crashed downwards towards the crook on the left side of Talak’s neck in a feral swing. Even if he blocked it, she would continue to try and rain more strikes on the same spot, not focusing on precision or elegance. She knew this was the end for her, and her feelings of anger towards the one person who’d done nothing but hurt her overwhelmed any apprehension she had. She wanted to do damage to him, even at the cost of her own life.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
His attack had worked as anticipated. The thrust was blocked, but the lightning was not. It tore into her body, causing burning and muscle spasms. It would send her to the ground and cause her to wish she was dead. It was power, and perhaps the most raw manifestation of the dark side itself.

The feeling was intoxicating. Complete power over another being and the dark side heeding his every whim and call. It was the side of himself that he hated to explore. It was the process of breaking another person that he hated, but it satisfied a hibernating evil. It clawed at his mind, commanding him to give in and kill her. To exercise the full extent of his power simply because he could.

But the lightning stopped. He wrestled back enough control from the beast to remember that senseless killing wasn't what he was here for and pulled himself short. Even as he did so, the malevolence tore at his mind and urged him to keep going. To give in to the darkness was all he could think and crave at that moment. His breath was coming more heavily now as if he'd just wrestled a Wookiee with his bare hands.

He had all but forgotten to sense her emotions and feel her thoughts now that he was so caught up in his own. His eyes were all but glowing amber now, swirling with the dark side on a far deeper level than only moments ago. He was a vortex in the Force now, sucking in all that was around him.

She charged at him, filled with rage of her own. It seemed to pass back and forth between them, filling the entire clearing with an unnatural chill. Even the creatures of the jungle didn't dare attack the pair now, their own senses seeming to warn them away. It was a terrible display as red sabers flashed back and forth.

His own saber came up, meeting her attack with strength of his own. Her rage boosted her strength and if he'd been thinking more clearly he would have noted that it now far surpassed what should have been possible for someone of her size. Again and again the blows fell, and strike after strike he blocked.

His rage began to focus, and the unfamiliar bloodlust started to subside, being replaced with a much colder precision. It was his more natural state, but now laced with something far more malevolent. His lips twisted into a sneer as he leapt backwards from one of her downward strikes. It would slam into the ground, narrowly missing him, and lightning crackled from his fingers again and tore through the air toward her.

If she'd managed to master even a part of her rage, she would anticipate the attack and block it. If she did so, then she would have taken her next step to being a truly potent warrior of the dark side. His own saber was ready in case she managed to strike again or deflect his own lightning back at him.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
The circle had indeed become a perverted cynosure of the Force. Predators and prey alike who gathered to stalk the two humans now stood at bay, their instincts warning them of the immense danger present in the clearing. It was a raw maelstrom that allowed the two combatants to feed off of their baser emotions to use as fuel. Where Talak’s grasp of the Dark Side was focused and controlled, Ana’s was chaotic and unrefined, and it showed in the way the two conducted themselves in this duel.

She rained blow after blow on his saber, wanting to break through his guard with sheer brute force. There was no thought put into the attacks; she assumed she was a dead woman walking, and it didn’t matter how she hurt him, so long as she did so. Crack after crack echoed through the forest as their blades made contact again and again. Each moment of contact made her angrier as he defended himself, and her face was by now contorted into a rictus of hatred. Whatever reposed and graceful presence she carried before was long gone during this flurry of strikes and was replaced by something entirely unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

Her final swing passed harmlessly through the air and slammed into the dirt, cleaving a gash in the earth. Again, Talak raised his hand and shot his hand forward, that same malevolent energy arcing through the air towards her. That feral feeling of survival and fear kicked in immediately, enhancing her already supernatural reflexes, as she brought her lightsaber up in a horizontal block. She knew the cost of not defending against such an attack and refused to suffer through that agony a second time.

The lightning slammed into her blade with more force than she anticipated. Her grip on her hilt tightened and she flexed her knees, digging into the ground and bracing herself to hold the block with a grunt. Blood squeezed out of the wound in her thigh as she tensed her muscles, but she was past the point of feeling it anymore. "Why are you doing this to me?!" she shouted over the din of battle.

Ana trudged forward against the force of his lightning, her voice rising from exertion in a yell to match the sound coming from the crackling blade she held. With significant effort buttressed by the overwhelming frenzy she was in, she rotated the blade to a vertical position and slashed downward, redirecting the lightning from her blade to slam into Talak’s lower body. Flowing with the attack, she then brought her blade diagonally upwards in a backhanded slash, starting from his right knee, twisting her body to the right to give her a bit more reach and power in the swing.

She was starting to enjoy the feeling of power that her emotions granted her. Where she was afraid and uncertain just moments ago, now she was suffused in the power of her anger and hatred towards Talak for tormenting her. Her white teeth flashed in the light of her lightsaber, bared like an animal’s. The power coursing through her pushed her body beyond its physical limits, making her feel truly empowered for the first time in a long time. Even if this was to be her end, she was going to enjoy every last second of it.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
The whole of the battlefield seemed arrayed before Talak. His eyes showed him the world as it was, but the Force showed him the world as it would be. He caught only a glimpse of her plan, and he would have missed it if it weren't for the fact that he expected her to deflect her attack. It was clever of her to go for the legs, though, he had to give her that. He understood why some referred to the Force as "second sight."

He leapt, the Force launching him into a backflip that landed him several meters away. The lighting slammed into the ground where he had only just been and the saber slash, when it came, would only catch the air.

He didn't make a follow up attack, but held his arms out to his sides as if to show her the clearing. If she attacked, he would be ready and he was confident he had the time to defend himself in plenty of time.

Because of this, he growled. Look at what you can do, he said. Power that you would never have otherwise, he said. Only time would tell if she was still so bloodthirsty and caught up in the battle to stop and think. He wouldn't have been surprised either way, and if she did attack, he was ready.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana grimaced as her blade again passed harmlessly through the air, cutting nothing but the darkness apart. Talak deftly avoided both of her attacks and leapt several meters back, leaving nothing but a small scorch mark from the lightning’s impact where he had been standing. He stood with his arms open, taunting her, enticing her to recklessly charge at him and prolong their engagement. She considered it for a brief moment, the rage inside her demanding she lash out and finish this. Her body shuddered violently for a moment every few seconds like she was some kind of feral savage trying to not succumb to bloodlust. There was a pull on her to step forward, but she remained rooted in place, holding her lightsaber defensively in front of her. Her eyes cautiously studied him.

She mused on his words, but never took her eyes off of his. She could feel the malevolent energies saturating the clearing whispering to her soul, probing her defenses for any way in. There was a desire to let it take over, to let that raw power consume her and dictate her actions. If letting her rage flow freely let her contend with someone far more experienced than her, then why refuse its siren’s call? A twinge of fear of losing herself kept her barriers up, but she was far more accommodating of those negative emotions than she had been earlier in the night.

”That’s all this was about?” she challenged, lowering her lightsaber to her side. ”Letting me wander these woods, watching that… thing,” she said, pointing her bloodied hand at the spider behind her, ”Attack me, only to pounce when I was weak?” Her eyes glanced downwards at the gash in her leg, watching the hot blood seep down her pants and onto the ground like a hound’s drool into a thick puddle. She traced the ground back to Talak, ”All it took was for me to just,” she finished her sentence by flourishing her lightsaber and hacking a gouge in the ground, not really sure of what it was she was trying to say. She was becoming more aware of how exhausted she felt, and soon her ragged breathing returned just as it was before the duel.

A grim, pained chuckled left her lips and she shook her head, ”It felt good,” she remarked, ”The fear, the anger, the hate… All of it. I felt powerful. Her hand drifted back down to her leg and pressed down on the wound. Her eye twitched and she winced in pain, baring her teeth in a scowl, but she let her mind focus on the feeling, studying it. ”But I didn’t feel in control,” she finally said, ”Like something else was guiding my body. It was like being a prisoner to my emotions.” Her shoulders dropped and she sighed, but her mind kept focused on Talak, certain that he still meant to do her harm.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak knew all to well the feelings she described. He could still feel the dark tendrils creeping over the back of his mind even as he stood here. Tapping into that power was awe-inspiring, but it was more difficult to escape from that grasp every time.

He took deep breaths of his own as his saber fell down toward his side. He could sense that her will to fight was draining away as was his own, but he could also sense that she wasn't ready to be rid of the dark side. She seemed confused and perhaps even lost, but that was why everyone needed a guide. At least for the early steps it was important for someone to show you the way.

Then the question is whether or not you want more, he said, deactivating his lightsaber. The tone of his voice wasn't as harsh as it had been, but it was no less resolute. The path she was wanting to walk was a difficult one, and to follow it half-heartedly was dangerous.

You've finally tasted the dark side, but you don't know how to control it yet, he said. Even he didn't fully know how. He could wrestle control sometimes, but he had nearly lost himself in the power and bloodlust as well. He wasn't sure if "controlling it" meant actually controlling it or simply growing accustomed to its sway over you and slowly redirecting yourself within its grasp. The difference may have appeared subtle at first, but the gap between the two was enormous.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana kept her lightsaber by her side as Talak’s dropped to his, paranoia of another attack keeping her wary. The pain in her leg was becoming more apparent, and the bodily exertion she just experienced did nothing but exacerbate the issue. Her chest rose and fell in an irregular rhythm as she tried to slow her breathing, but the emotions she felt from the duel lurked in the recesses of her mind. It demanded she lash out while his guard was down, to punish him for harming her, but it took incredible effort to remain standing. The wound in her leg needed to be seen to before it got infected.

”I want more,” she asserted without considering the implications. Did she truly want more? She certainly wanted more now, wanted to experience the high she felt from finally being dominant, but would she want these dangers lurking always a day from now? A week, month, or year from now? Could she wrestle these demons and bend them to her will, or would she succumb in the same way as the ancient Sith did and let the darkness consume her? These were uncertainties about the future that she hadn’t considered, but she was tired of living in fear. She was willing to do what needed to be done if it meant feeling that power again. It was the most insidious of vices, and once she had a taste, she craved more.

While he deactivated his lightsaber, she kept hers on. The gentle thrum of the weapon made her feel secure in this forsaken forest. ”Then teach me,” she commanded, her gaze penetrating the darkness to observe him. She wouldn’t let him deny her now, not when she was so close to her goal. Whatever the cost, she decided that it was worth it. ”To let it sit in the back of my mind would be maddening. I want to control it, not be its slave.” She meant it when she said nobody was her master.

She raised her lightsaber in front of her face, studying the blade, before bringing it back down to her side. ”No more hunting stupid lizards,” she asserted, casting another glance at the spider corpse. It was her first kill, and she wouldn’t forget it for a while. The mark it left on her, physical or otherwise, would stay with her forever. ”I want to know more, and you’re going to guide me.” The conflict had emboldened her, steeled her resolve. The fact that she was still alive was proof enough that he was amenable to the idea of her further corruption.

She wasn’t sure whether it was her speaking or the darkness saturating this profaned clearing, but it didn’t make a difference to her.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak noted the change in her tone. Far more demanding and far less insecure. It was what she needed to embrace if she was to become what the Sith Eternal needed. Though it was unwise of her to give him such direct orders, he made no response to it.

Not today, he said. She was badly beaten up and needed to take time to rest and apply bacta. He was sure she wouldn't be happy about that, but he had no intention of arguing about it.

Rest and bacta. We'll continue again tomorrow. And yes, "hunting lizards" still has a place in your training, he said. It was experience that could be extremely valuable for her yet. To hunt, kill, and dominate was the way of the dark side. Moreover, the decision to wait leant itself to her desire for the darkness to evolve. It would either grow inside her or it would diminish. Either result would be extremely telling.

With that, he turned to walk back to the elevator, ever wary of turning his back on her. If she moved to attack him again, he would respond, and violently. Still the walk back wasn't a time to waste, and there were things to learn that were without physical exercise.

Begin trying to conquer the darkness within you. Hone it so that you rule it rather than the other way, he said. If she grew restless in the hours until tomorrow, it would give her mind something to practice through meditation.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana was surprised that her brusque demands were not met with physical violence. This man, the one who tormented her so, was an anomaly to her. From aloof mentor to treacherous brigand back to mentor. The transitions were jarring, but it made a bit of sense to her; from her small taste of the Dark Side, it seemed like one could tap into those reserves of malefic energy and let loose to satisfy the craving, just like it appeared he had.

She stared at him for a moment as she denied her further instruction, unsure of what to think. The gnawing hunger at the back of her mind demanded to be fed, to experience those raw emotions again, but it was being caged back up like the beast it was. Her lightsaber’s blade dissipated with a gentle hiss and the clearing was once again enshrouded in total darkness. She could feel Talak’s presence even if she could not clearly see the man. Her brows perked at the mention of bacta, the wound in her leg becoming more and more troublesome as time went on. She longed for more training, but she knew the necessity of being physically prepared for the trials and travails that came from it. He was a relentless and merciless instructor, and she did not want to come unprepared for another meeting with him.

Ana trudged forward, hustling – despite the pain – to catch up with Talak. She was extremely wary of him and any surprise assaults, so she kept her lightsaber hilt in hand, ready for any additional betrayal. She pondered whether or not keeping her on edge was part of her training and surmised that it couldn’t hurt to assume someone wanted to do her harm at any given moment. He continued to speak to her during the walk and she took the time to contemplate his words.

”How do you enslave something so… primal? So base?” she asked in response to his lesson, ”it was so strong, as if nothing could restrain it without diminishing its power.” She’d meditated a few times under the tutelage of Melkor, but the Muun’s apathy towards the human he saved proved to be too burdensome and counterintuitive to her development. This man at least knew what she needed, even if she loathed every moment of it.

They continued the walk towards the elevator and the entire journey she felt the ever-watchful gaze of the forest’s many predators, though something seemed to keep them at bay for the time being. The darkness was dark and foreboding, but something about it placated her; she left her mark on this world and it left its mark on her, and it would be a lesson she would never forget.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Her question was at the core of everything that it meant to be a user of the dark side of the Force. To answer it was far more complicated than anything he could tell her.

To master that is to master the dark side, he said. You have to choose between control and power. Sacrifice power for control of yourself or give yourself completely to the anger and hate. The Sith Lords put off their old selves and committed to being a Darth. A new person, fully wrapped in the dark side he said.

There were many things that the old Sith did wrong, but there were pieces they did right. He considered their metaphorical killing of the old self and taking on of a Darth mantel to be one of those things done right, but he privately wondered if that was something he could bring himself to do. He also wondered if he continued down this path if it would even be a choice he could make or if it would merely consume him.

But to control it, you have to know it, he said. Truthfully, controlling the dark side wasn't something he even knew a great deal about. If he were honest, the darkness scared him, and he only dared touch it in small doses. He knew it was a fear he would have to confront eventually, though.

They made it back to the lift, and began the ascent. All talk of the Force ceased and the Wookiee noted the change in the woman's appearance and the blood-soaked clothes she now wore.

Where are you staying the night? he asked without giving explanation for the question.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana limped alongside Talak, listening intently to his lesson. The idea of losing herself to the power was frightening; the Dark Side was a gnawing hunger, a taint on her soul, and she wondered if one could truly ever control it. From her studies, it seemed like most of the ancient practitioners of the dark side met a grim fate as jealousies and wrath overtook any thoughts of restraint. Rivals, lovers, allies – anyone and everyone became a threat once you let that beast call the shots, but rare was the story of the dark sider showing restraint and control over such power.

The symbolic killing of the old self in favor of a new Darth name was interesting for its implications. To kill the self is to allow the darkness total control over you, whereas remaining the original self meant that the untapped potential of the dark side would never be fully realized. She wondered if she’d be able to erase her past and become a wholly new person if the time came.

Her head bobbed imperceptibly in the dark as she nodded along with Talak’s mention of knowing the dark side. By now, she had hidden her lightsaber, but she was still wary of the man beside her. She was impatient and desired to know more of the corruption she now felt, but the necessity of rest and her mentor’s insistence on it overruled her feelings on the matter. When they had returned to the lift, she said nothing, and the wookiee guide simply stared at her. It took her a moment, but then she realized that, prior to coming out, she was dressed well, cleaned, and finely groomed. Now she was covered in blood, scratches, bruises, and had a fat gash in her thigh. Talak looked no worse for wear compared to her, though that bar was set rather low now.

The ride back to the canopy was slow and quiet until Talak asked where she was staying. Ana looked at him bemusedly, furrowing her brows. ”My ship…?” she half-asked and half-stated, unsure if that was the right answer. Her ship had accommodations for her and two others, but she wondered what his intent behind the query was. ”Should… I be staying elsewhere?” In the distance, she heard the baying howl of some creature, but the lift would soon lead them to safety.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
She seemed to be picking it up quickly. Or at least, she was good at pretending she knew what was going on even if she actually didn't. He was interested to see what would happen to her going forward and how she would handle a new set of challenges. But that was a problem for tomorrow.

No, that'll be fine, he said. Not everyone had their own ship and this world wasn't known for its luxury inns. But if she had her own ship, then it wasn't relevant.

I'll see you tomorrow. 20:00 sharp, he said, and turned to head back for his ship.

---​

Talak had spent what little was left of the night and the next day painting, meditating, and practicing with his saber in the small hold. He actively avoided sleep in favor of relying on the Force, and he hadn't been seriously wounded the night before beyond a few bruises and scrapes.

When the next night came, he was at the same meeting point again, this time ten minutes early and watching his chrono to see if she would be on time.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana nodded slowly as he dismissed her and made the trek back to the landing pad that housed her ship. The walk back was relatively uneventful, but she did notice the stares increase from the first time she went through the village. Whatever conceptions the natives of this world had about her had likely changed upon seeing her ragged appearance after returning from the Shadowlands; she was, hopefully, viewed as a survivor of the place where even wookiees dare not tread without ample protection. A few times she would look up and catch the idle gaze of the wookiees, not particularly caring what it was they growled at each other about her.

She commed Beegee to open the ship before she had arrived so that she could limp up the boarding ramp and find a first aid kit. The rest of her night would be spent applying bacta to her thigh wound, cleaning up, and trying to meditate on the night’s events, only to fall asleep. She woke up the next day in the afternoon, groggy and disoriented, but alive, and that was all she could ask for. Meditating on the dark side yielded no results, so she took to a moving meditation and began painting. It was a somber piece, and, by the time she had begun working on the landscape, the time had come to meet Talak for the next night of instruction.

The air was colder tonight, so she opted into wearing a wool cloak over her outfit to protect her from the windchill. Again, the moons and braziers provided her with light along her path, and she marched through the village with a much more focused purpose, paying none of the natives any mind. They cast her the occasional indifferent glance, but otherwise ignored her. She checked her chrono and saw that she was slightly early, maybe two or three minutes, and wondered if Talak would be on time or not.

Her question was answered when she saw him standing there and waiting for her, having clearly arrived some time before she did. A twinge of anxiety popped into her mind as she observed him patiently waiting, but she forced the emotion down. She couldn’t let herself repeat yesterday. She halted some distance from the man and reached up to throw back the hood obscuring her face so that she could look up at Talak. Her lightsaber was hidden simply enough beneath the cloak, as was her knife, though she made no indication of either thing.

”20:00 sharp,” she echoed from last night’s order, ”Just as you asked.”
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak looked at her unflinchingly when she said that she was here on time. Did she want some congratulations for it? It was the expectation. He didn't say anything, though, because today was intended to be slightly less of an affront than yesterday.

How did your day treat you? How's the leg? he asked. It was likely she'd be caught off guard by the fact that he was asking at all, but he wasn't quite the heartless monster she thought he was. Of course, he'd intentionally painted that persona on the first day, so it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

He motioned with his head back toward the elevator again while she spoke, and the two of them started walking toward it. It was the same routine as yesterday, although hopefully today she would be carrying the lessons from yesterday.

He followed the same track they had taken yesterday, and as they reached the clearing, the body of the spider was no longer present. Something big had come through and dragged it away for food; another testament to the sheer size and danger of some of the creatures of the shadowlands.

Tonight we're going to hunt the same creature. But together, he said. No doubt she would be quite suspicious of him after the day before, and he was a closed book in the Force. However, he really had no intention of attacking her this time.

Are you ready? he asked, pulling the lightsaber from his belt and holding it up to light the clearing.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Ana was momentarily taken aback when he asked how her day was and how her injury was doing. Less than 24 hours ago, he was trying to kill her and draw out the worst emotions she could experience, and now he was concerned for her wellbeing? Her eyes studied his face for a moment, trying to get a read on him but failing in this endeavor. It took her a moment to realize that she was silently staring at him, so she stammered out an, ”Uh… good. I slept… well enough.” Her eyes fell from his face and to her leg where the bacta had pretty much healed the wound, then looked back up at Talak. ”The leg’s still there, so it seems fine to me,” she gave a nervous chuckle afterwards, uneasy from his cordial behavior today.

After this, the duo would silently return to the Shadowlands, mirroring last night’s ordeal. This time, though, she was prepared. The wookiee lift master gave them another curious look, but otherwise obeyed and lowered them to the forest floor where he would wait for their return. They traveled along the same path as yesterday and returned to the clearing, but it was empty. Ana looked around and figured it had been eaten long ago, making her wary of remaining in the same place in which she handed out a free monstrous meal.

She looked at him and cocked an eyebrow when he mentioned they’d be hunting together. ”Is this another trick?” she asked, absolutely suspicious of him, ”Is today’s lesson ‘trust no one?’” She couldn’t read his emotions or intentions, so it was a matter of trust, and that happened to be a rare commodity lately. Still, she drew her lightsaber nonetheless and ignited it in tandem with his.

”I am,” she said, turning to face the woods. She had no idea where to go to find this predator, but she allowed her mind to be far more open this time. Where she was once shut off from and ignorant to the stripped-away features of this forest, she now immersed herself in the life energies of this world, hoping to let the Force guide her path. Impatience took over, though, and she wordlessly began heading away from the clearing, ready to hack through vegetation and begin her second hunt for the katarn.

She halted at the edge of the clearing and turned to face Talak, her eyes scanning the forest around them. ”How do you expect to find this thing?” she asked, realizing his input was far more valuable than aimlessly wandering the darkness.
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak knew she didn't trust him, and he couldn't blame her, but he wasn't expecting her to actually ask that. He almost smiled because that wasn't the lesson, but it was applicable.

No, but you should remember that anyway, he told her.

She was ready shortly thereafter, and Talak watched as she started stomping through the jungle and hacking away at the vines. He knew he was supposed to be working with her, but he wasn't expecting her to just wander off and attack the jungle. Somehow he found it too entertaining to stop her yet.

Finally, she stopped and turned to ask him how to find the creature.

I expect you to use the Force. Tracking others is an incredibly useful tool. Now focus and see if you can find it. Tell me what you see, he said. It might take her time, but if she focused she would be able to see the creature or at least find clues as to where to go. The Force would tell her which way she needed to start going. There would be something. He didn't know what, but the Force would come to her aid.
 

Ana DAmico

Character
Sith Order
Rank
Champion

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Painus
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
20
Right. The Force.

Ana returned to where she had been before she decided to just roam off, realizing the necessity of patience and reaching out beyond her physical senses to find their prey. She looked at Talak, then at the forest around them. It was noisy, full of life, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to focus easily enough on the katarn without first stripping away all of the extra chaos. Her lightsaber blade disappeared as she deactivated it and knelt down on her knees, resting her butt on the backs of her heels.

”Focus and tell you what I see…” she repeated to herself, leaving behind her physical form. Her mind stretched outwards and away from her body, viewing the forest through the lens of the Force. Everything here was connected in some way, and it almost seemed more chaotic than using her five senses. Yet, at the base of it all, there was a clear hierarchy of how interconnected the forest was. She moved out from the clearing into the trees above, searching for the tree-climbing predators. ”I see… everything,” she said unhelpfully, filtering the things not relevant to her search away. Her bodiless form washed over the great webbed nests of the wyyyschokks above, causing her to involuntarily scowl.

She hemmed to herself and pressed on, tracking down her target. The amount of life down here was immense, and the intense sensations of flitting through the trees, leaves, and vines, darting from swarms of insects and smaller rodents, to stalking the great predators of this world was almost overwhelming. It was primal and raw, and nothing here cared for anything but its own continued survival. ”Everything here is connected, like threads all woven together.” This was nature at its finest. She heard a pained yelp and focused in on it, flying through the vegetation until she came across a creature dragging another across the blood-soaked earth with its mouth. ”Wait-“

She followed the predator as it carried its prize away. It was large and reptilian with a rodent’s tail. Several spines traveled along its back and its thick, ridged head contained rows of razor-sharp teeth inside an elongated mouth. It dragged its food towards what looked like a cave system and climbed up a massive wroshyr root to reach its entrance. Before she could follow it in, she was rudely brought back to reality by some insect landing on her neck and biting her. She yelped and smacked the thing off, then looked up at Talak.

”There’s a cave, erh…” she hesitated, looking around her as she regained her bearings, ”East of here. I saw one of the creatures heading towards it.” She stood up and ignited her lightsaber, turning towards the forest again, this time in the right direction. She didn’t rush off on her own this time, though. They were to work together, and she waited to see if Talak had any input.

”C’mon, before we lose it!”
 

Talak Rand

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Phoenix
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
926
Reaction score
232
Talak watched her as she slipped into meditation, sensing the world around her. If she was distrustful that he would attack her, it wasn't evident now. And he didn't attack her. They had a goal and she had a job to finish still.

She said that she saw everything and Talak smiled slightly. It wasn't helpful at all, but at least it meant that she was able to sense what was around her and begin to track her target.

Focus. Find the enemy, he said, reminding her to focus her mind in on the core creature she wanted. He watched her face, relaxing and tensing as she searched out her target.

He didn't expect her to yelp from being bit by something and his eyebrow went up a bit. She described a cave, which was as good a place as any to start. If that was where the Force had led her, then that was likely where their quarry lay.

He followed after her quickly, and they tore through the jungle together. It wasn't an easy trip, with vines, roots, and branches getting in their way at every moment, but eventually they came to another clearing and looked up to see the cave above. The root was there just as she had seen. Before she climbed up, he stopped her with an outstretched hand, catching her arm.

That anger and fear. You need to tap into that. If you don't, this creature is going to kill you. Do you understand? he asked, his eyes boring into hers in the glow of the lightsabers. He needed her to be afraid. He needed her to unlock that beastlier side of herself. The raw and primal emotions were the only way she would make it through this trial.
 
Top