Crouching Chimera - Chimera

[Asinine Soup]

The sting of the barbed tail slapping against a wary, red-headed Acolyte sends a hiss indicating the pain associated into the air of the Korriban Academy's outer grounds.

"Ahh," Lillieth hisses, peering at the rather minor wound, then to the large, red prey whom had stalked her with hopes of likely making her its prey. Large, non-native to Korriban (to her knowledge). "Wh-where did you even come from?!"
Rather exasperated wouldn't begin to describe how she felt right now, because she could only attribute the randomness of the attack to her luck. Without missing a beat of the attack - one of which her aggressor intended to lunge and capitalize upon - the Lightsaber beneath her robing is pulled into her palm utilizing the Force. Frowning as the nature of her wound had not yet beheld its toxic nature, the buzz and whirl of crimson escapes the blade. The snarl of the creature is indicative of its painful experience of combating a lightsaber in its hunger for a meal; a large laceration had become of its shoulder as it lunged past its would-be dinner.

Lillieth squints at her shoulder, robing torn - again... - and a minor wound becoming the focus of her annoyance. Bereft of caution, at this point, Lillieth traipses forth and twirls the blade as the beast's tail whips around for another attempt at bringing down its small, human prey...

The blade cuts right through the stalk of the tail, a resounding cry of the beast emitting into the air, only to be cut short as a follow-up blur of red is given in the form and fashion of a final blow - the woman's flourish within the realm of the Bastard Form carving deeply into its vitals. It falls to the ground, cloud of dust rising from its corpse and few dying breaths, Lillieth's lightsaber still held outward as she soaks in her final strike's form.

Could use some work...

"Wh...what in blazes even just...just happened?" she quizzes herself, pulling her blade close to observe the animal that had attacked her...and its detached tail. Barbed ends...fluid oozing from their tips upon further inspection.
Lillieth gulps.

"Poison?" rings through her head.
"...dammit, Sunsinger...always reckless, and now you've finally paid for i-- ghhh..." A shortage of breath and a heave renders her heightened heartbeat as having sped up the effects of the poison.

Well...this was no good. There was no way she would make it back to an alchemist or a medic, and the chances of them having this antidote planet-side was...slim, at best. She scowls at the beast down below, grunting, yet unable to feel detest. A beautiful creature, surely, and it had fought well, however short-lived.

"Well..." she trails off, a shudder escaping her lips as she thinks of...what exactly there was to do, now.

 

[Amilthi]

Rhasru liked to meditate outside under the sky of Korriban, between the rocks that surrounded the Academy. The heat of the sun, the rough stone and sand, the cold wind, and the unpleasantness they brought, were a constant reminder that peace with the world was an illusion. The planet didn't like the life on it and tested it constantly, throwing the elements at it and spurring it to fight amongst itself. The presence of Shyracks and the much fiercer Tuk'ata was a welcome reminder that one could not be complacent, should not feel safe. It would have easily been possible to eradicate them in the vicinity of the Academy, but that would have been a step in the wrong direction. It was quite right that one shouldn't be able to set foot outside of its walls unarmed.

This Sith was quite unmoved by the threat, confident in his knowledge that the Force was his docile tool in fending off whatever the planet might contrive to throw in his way. He did have piece, but it was with himself, not with the rest of the world. A thin smile on his lips, he enjoyed his conscience of the fact that however misplaced the planet might think he, as an intelligent, living being, was here, he could endure. It was a small matter, but the quiet of meditation allowed for it to expand and grow far beyond its ordinary significance, vicariously, as a symbol for much greater things.

At the edge of his consciousness, Rhasru became aware of the presence of another living being in his vicinity. He opened his eyes and rose from the ground, turning in the direction of it. His eyesight was not the most excellent, and all he could discern was that a somewhat short humanoid figure was walking on a path in a canyon between the rocks. But there was a second presence there, an animalistic creature, hidden somewhere, which Rhasru couldn't spot. The humanoid seemed quite unconcerned, perhaps it was a pet - but Rhasru had a premonition of conflict and strife to arise.

He stood quietly and observed. Moments later, a large four-legged creature jumped from the rocks and attacked the figure below. It wasn't of a kind that one would have expected on Korriban, its skin scaly and red, but its movements more alike to those of a cat than a reptile. Rhasru raised an eyebrow when he recognised the yali for what it was. A red lightsaber flashed, and seconds later, what the yali was had become what the yali had been. The humanoid figure, however, remained on the spot.

Rhasru descended from the protrusion of rock that was his vantage point, landing several meters below on a field of rubble, which he then descended onto the path, approaching the figure. It became clear that the person was a female of human or near-human descent, presumably an acolyte, and noticeably in a state of distress.

"Good day", said Rhasru amicably, his hands folded, concealed in the sleeves of his roomy robe.

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth gasps lightly, turning around swiftly to meet the eyes of one whom clearly took her by surprise - or, at the very least, elevated her from her reverie of her possible upcoming death. The wound upon her shoulder, having been nothing more than a light laceration, had begun to sting and grow hot, the skin beneath her injury trickling cold...numbing slowly.
A light exhale escapes the semi-pursed lips of the red-headed Acolyte, amber eyes filled with something that seldom found its way within her psyche: shame. While she tended to make a habit of constantly using the Force to peruse her surroundings, this one had been able to take her by surprise. Yet, another disappointing shortcoming she likely wouldn't have the lifespan to make up for.

"Good day," she returns airily, eyes falling back down to the corpse of the beast whom still radiated heat from its recent death, last breath finally escaping its whiskers. She found herself at a loss for words, and as she peers at the slash in her robing, she couldn't help but to frown.
"I think someone forgot to put a leash on their exotic pet, here...and forgot it's square meals." she slips out with a sigh, kneeling down to further examine the beast with the slightly awkward company of a stranger up ahead. She knew not what the man had planned, or what his intent was, but you'd never know with these Sith and their power plays...

"...poison, of all things." she grumbles, gloved hand trailing the secreting barbs upon the severed, detached tail of the beast bereft of life. Slowly, the young woman shakes her head. With a smirk and a slide of a few fingertips toward her temple, red hair tucking behind her ear, she peers up to Rhasru, lifting an eyebrow.
"You wouldn't happen to know this species, would you?...Preferably, an antidote for the poison it's tail concocts?..."

Her voice sounded absolutely devoid of hope, and radiated sarcasm. Even when faced with severe consequences...

 

[Amilthi]

Rhasru had meant to admonish the girl for her want of awareness of her surroundings, which had allowed her to be surprised by the predator; but he could feel her intense embarrassment as she likely expected exactly this, so he decided that it wasn't necessary to rub more salt into the wound. Her own awareness of her failure was enough, and making it more painful might only serve to make it more difficult for her to contemplate it and improve herself. He remained silent for a moment as if to contemplate what to say.

"Ah, yes, a yali", he said eventually, thoughtfull. Beastly things, native to what used to be Chiss space, I believe. How irresponsible indeed to allow one's pet to roam freely here. It might have come to grief." There was a playful twinkle in the Sith's eyes. "Naturally, I don't carry an antidote with me. The poison is not lethal, in any case, it's merely a paralytic that won't affect your vital functions. Your problem is that it's not healthy to be paralysed outside on Korriban, especially not when night falls."

It would have been easy for Rhasru to pick up and carry her back to the academy to deliver her into the care of the medical facility, but he had no intention of doing so. He strolled over to a nearby boulder and placed himself on it, one knee pulled up, supporting himself with one arm. He looked at the girl, examining her. From a purely aesthetic point of view, it would be a shame if she perished here. Although she was too much of a child yet to be attractive to Rhasru personally, it was clear that she held much potential in that regard. But if that was all she had to recommend herself, then perish she would - as she should.

"I wasn't my pet, if you're wondering", he finally remarked with a smile. He spoke slowly and gave an impression of profound leisureliness in every word and movement. He looked around for a moment before his gaze returned to Lillieth.

"What's your name?"

 

[Asinine Soup]

Rhasru's vernacular flowed like a stream - like poetry - in Lillieth's ears, and to such a regard, she instantly made in her mind that she likely couldn't trust him; she couldn't trust herself, but in that same instance, she liked this stranger - she saw, rather profoundly, a bit of herself within the older individual. Calculating judgement aside, Lillieth seems to simply emit a sigh of relief upon hearing the non-lethality, still kneeling beside the beset tail of a fallen predator-turned-prey.

"It wasn't my pet, if you're wondering," the man smirks, and with a slight, inquisitive turn of Lillieth's red head of hair, the young woman blinks up to the man, establishing eye contact in tandem to him peering down to her.
"What's your name?" he inquires.

"Lillieth," she says a beat later, her name feeling strange...like toxic dripping from her tongue. Always a fan of melodrama, maybe it was just her imagination, she might've figured.
"Lillieth Sunsinger. Rude of me to discuss business without an introduction." she adds, a slight shrug of her un-wounded shoulder befitting her naturally eloquent posture. Slowly, she stands to her full height so that she may twist and bow her head to extend a more...formal introduction toward the stranger. She expect to hear his name in return, but you would never know. With a lift of the palm, the item - her weapon - is returned to the belt beneath her robing as she makes a mental note to take a few samples of this poison. It could...surely come in handy, that was for certain.

A pregnant pause, may it ensue, would be followed by a soft sigh, then a whisper synonymous with her ever-contemplating mind. "It would have made a fine companion, were it not so belligerent," she comments, "though your words hold truth - nothing is safe, and..." Lillieth pauses, unable to fully contain her disappointment within herself. She was warned when she first set foot on this planet. She should have known...had it been something more aggressive - more lethal, smarter, less frantic and desperate - it were a heavy possibility she would be dinner for something, or someone, right about now.

"...well, at any rate - whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" She sheds a brilliant smile, one that cast a sense of revelation toward her namesake and a hint of light toward her history.
She couldn't lie, though...perhaps it was paranoia, but after hearing the news of the toxin's effects, she thought she felt her joints tensing, preparing to lock...

Oh, how rude would it be to become paralyzed for who-knows-how-long in front of a half-stranger?

 

[Amilthi]

"Rhasru Denal." He paused for a moment, then tilted his head slightly. "Belligerent, you say? I hardly think so. I hear they are actually quite social and cooperative, they are pack-hunters. Surely you can't blame this lost specimen for its attempt to sustain its own life by taking yours. Of course, its choice of prey was unwise, but that is another matter." There was a mildly mocking tone to his voice as he spoke.

"This rather precarious position you have got yourself into... What do you intend to do about it?"

He was still lolling on his rock, when suddenly the ledge where his hand, supporting a significant part of his weight, rested broke off, resulting in him awkwardly falling backwards. Rhasru looked at the red sky above his eyes in confusion and disbelief over the ridiculous event that had just occurred. After a moment, he collected himself and rose from the rock, throwing at it a skeptical look with a raised eyebrow. "Most unfortunate. But then, hardly a mortal danger", he remarked. "Much unlike yours, I should say."

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth felt condescending undertone within the stranger's voice, mostly in pertinence to the lack of wisdom - was it an entendre? - be it on the animal's part...or her own. She sighs softly, though continues listening regardless of being demeaned in the face of the situation. This was her first 'goof' on this planet, and...well, failure didn't feel good at all. Then a question rears its mocking face into the equation, a question she wasn't prepared to answer despite her constant thinking ever since the stranger's appearance.
He didn't seem hostile. Yet. So maybe it was one problem at a time at this point.

She sees, but makes little expression in response to Rhasru's blunder upon the rock and takes his statement with a grain of salt.
"My intentions are uniform: not die." She thinks aloud. "I suppose the most I can hope to do is meditate to slow my heart rate, call upon the Force..."

The practicality of healing herself with the Force was too good to be applicable. Nothing was damaged, so there was nothing to heal...so much for 'light side remedies'.
After a few moments of silence, an idea dawns. Could she...capture the poison in her veins with the Force?...Extract it before it's absorbed into her cells?...Her organs?

It seemed far fetched. In truth, it sounded like a hopeful child's imagination, though she would conclude her trailing statement relaying the concept.
"...or remove the poison utilizing it?" It sounded even more ridiculous coming out, but...at this point, what choice did she have? She blinks up to higher rock (out of the way of ground-bound predators) and pops a meditative kneel atop it without another word, though her eyes naturally follow the strange Sith whom came to either feed off her suffering or spectate her demise as though he held the answers.
Why was she looking to him for help?...Guidance? What is he up to?

 

[Amilthi]

The girl was desperately grasping at straws, thinking at first only of useless ways to delay the inevitable, before Rhasru could feel the budding of an insecure hope within her. It was entirely the wrong emotion for the purpose. She had, at least, considered that there might actually be a solution, but she what she lacked was conviction.

"Are you asking me whether it's possible?" he said with mock disbelief. Then a thin smile formed on his lips. "My dear child, how could I know? I have never been hit by a poisonous beast's tail."

The Sith crossed his arms and paused for a moment. "So you don't want to die. That, at least, is a start. But there are many people who want all manner of things, and don't get them. The universe really doesn't care. What makes you think your desire will be fulfilled?"

Unsuited as her current state of mind was, the girl had potential. Her intense emotions were, it seemed, very reactive to the circumstances. Perhaps he could steer them in the right direction.

 

[Asinine Soup]

"I tend to bend scenarios to fit my will." Lillieth retorts plainly, blinking, having been giving Rhasru her attention ever since she sat upon the perch of the pillar she knelt upon. "I've twisted death's ugly face to allow me to continue living multiple times before, though...inopportune circumstances such as this tends to grasp a girl by surprise."

As her mind rampantly flickers from one possibility to the next, her first self-suggestion seemed to ring the most vibrant...the most hopeful in a scenario devoid of hope. She was on Korriban. She was a fool if she thought for even a single second that anyone would help her. She would need to help herself, and as a slight smudge of self-disappointment surges more powerfully over her feelings of fear and hopelessness, a more tempestuous surge of agitation fuels her hope.
"I can guarantee you that this won't be bringing me down - not here, not now." Lillieth seems to command. Her eyes flicker downward to her hands, palms faced heavenward and heartbeat slowing and calming even more than it already had.

Certain crystals with meditative qualities allowed her to think clearly even in the face of the most extreme danger, and for that, she was grateful for its previous owner.
"Hm." she starts, blinking back up to the strange man. "To answer your question, my desire will be fulfilled because I will bend the indifference of the universe's carelessness of my life into my hands and tip the scales."

Easier said than done, Starsinger... rings mildly through her conscience, inner-voice speaking but not deterring from her new goal. Lillieth closes her eyes and begins to focus upon herself; introspection on a deeper level as she attempts to harmonize with her body on a more biological level than metaphysical.

 

[Amilthi]

"That's better now", said Rhasru, a smile creeping on his face. "If I may venture a guess, I daresay you are more accustomed to bending other people's will to hand you what you desire, rather than taking it yourself. An effective strategy, certainly, but... it has its limits."

His arms still crossed, Rhasru began to slowly pace around her. "You should meditate, focus on your own body, be aware of its state and how it is... soiled. Marred by this foreign substance which doesn't belong there. Feel where is moves through your veins - and be disgusted, outraged by its presence. Only then will you be able to purify yourself." He paused for a moment.

"It will take time. Perhaps you cannot feel the poison yet. Or maybe a part of you still believes that I can be enticed to carry you to the academy." He smirked. "In that case... We shall have to wait. You will, I trust, soon realise the urgency of your need on every level." There was a curious smile on his face - there was still a whiff of mockery in it, but it wasn't sardonic; perhaps even encouraging.

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth frowns slightly as her eyes remain closed, listening to the words of the man. Ah, he was incorrigible...

...and she liked it.
Exhaling through her nose, she feels her joints beginning to stiffen. Ah, so this is what it felt like...the steady, paralytic effects of the poison slowly tainting her nervous system. This would surely be problematic, as previously explained, but as she continues to do as her intuition instructed, she couldn't help but find the truth in Rhasru's words.
He was still here. His laughter made it seem like he had a joke that she happened to be the butt of; ah, how humorous this must be for him, a poor, troubled Acolyte caught making grave mistakes in an unforgivable terrain.

Scoffing lightly, lips curling slightly into a smirk as though laughing along with the man, Lillieth betrays her own emotions. The crystal within her lightsaber had calming effects that were almost blissful; while she had the capacity to be outraged - "Trust me, I could massacre a playpen full of those insufferable animals right about now" rings internally - she simply found that remaining calm despite the situations beheld more fruitful benefits. Cast anger...her breath rate would rise, her pulse would gather, and the poison within her would ultimately pump her even faster to the demise she so calmly attempts to stride away from. So it's decided. As her arm begins to lock up, she casts the single thought away that this man would grant her the easy way out: there was no way he would carry her to safety.

"We bend them until they break, dear..." Lillieth says after a pregnant moment of pause to address the initial sentiment given. With the Force as her guide, tuning her senses to further introspect on what may be within her...just as Rhasru had stated...she begins to feel the droplets of foreign substance. No, not with detail...but just the diluted presence itself streaming, coursing through her bloodstream.
Force, be the net that removes this plague from her system...

"I...feel it, as you've said." she murmurs. "I pray it's not my imagination, but I do feel something. And I want it out." she verbally relays, nose curling slightly as she displays a hint of disdain regarding the scenario.
"I want it out." she elaborates to herself through clenched teeth, hissing the words this time...willing the Force to react.

 

[Amilthi]

Rhasru finally opened his crossed arms and put his hands into the opposite sleeves of his dark robe. He gave a barely perceptible nod, hardly more than an inclination of his head. He continued his slow pacing and eventually came to stand behind Lillieth.

"However much you want it, I'm afraid the path to your desire may be... lengthy. You will not be able to purge the poison at once. But if you keep your will steady, it will recede, and eventually you will be free."

Suddenly his voice came from above - he had elevated himself onto a ledge he had spotted in the rock above and was sitting there, leaning down. "I will not disturb you - nor will I protect you", he said calmly, almost gently.

 

[Asinine Soup]

A small group of Tukata can be heard howling in the Korriban wilds as the sun continues it's descent beneath the cloudless sky, temperature dropping as well as any hope of Lillieth getting this insulting, obscene substance out of her system in a timely fashion. Preferably, this should have been done sooner, but playing Q&A with the Sith Riddler, here, had her in a guessing game that wound her to the conclusion that the Force would ultimately be the answer she seeks.

"Reassuring. You have a pristine, recherche way by which you aid others..." Lillieth comments, eyes closed as the Force fiddles with the blood in her veins. Like a net, of sorts, it matches the sway and beat of her blood coursing through their river, though the pebbles that she intended to catch having distributed and slowly making their way to her heart...to her brain. Time was of the essence, yes, and as she sat there and breathed - audibly and visibly sighing, releasing - she works on the concept bit by bit. As few moments pass, a more introspective means of finding herself occurs, and Lillieth Sunsinger ultimately becomes more in-tune with her own body and what belongs...and doesn't.

A pebble is caught.

"Hn." escapes as a light moan, Lillieth using the Force to manually stop the bloodflow - however dangerous - for just a moment as she gathered the small trickle of poison that had separated from the mass that initially entered her body. Allowing the current to flow again, she takes the droplet amount of substance...and lifts it toward the inside wall of her vein. Then her muscle. Then her skin. Then?...Through her pores?...A small inkling of clear, venomous fluid is extracted with a slight tinge of crimson (her own blood) that escorted the foreign substance out.
A small victory...a battle having been won with a war that was ticking like a timebomb.

"No-...nothing...ventured..." Lillieth murmurs between exasperated gulps of air, the surprise written on her face as to what she'd just done, to a small degree.

"Nothing...gained..."

Her eyes close once more.

 

[Amilthi]

From his vantage point, Rhasru observed the Acolyte, smiling quietly to himself. He was quite satisfied that he had been able to set her on the right track, much as she might come to resent him for his methods. She was clumsy and brutal in what she was doing, and hurting herself as she was removing the poison, but that was the price to pay. Refinement would come with experience.

The Sith felt a growing urge to turn his attention beyond the top of the cliff beneath which he was sitting. Perhaps the Tuk'ata they had heard in the distance some minutes ago had approached. While he had told the girl that he wasn't going to protect her, there wasn't necessarily a point in keeping his word. It wouldn't do for her to be eaten by the creatures of the wild. Rhasru didn't believe in adherence to the doctrine of baptism by fire to the point where young Acolytes' lives were wasted on pure chance.

He rose silently and propelled himself upwards, catching the edge of the cliff and pulling himself up swiftly. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't have noticed. On the other side, he was faced with a rocky downward slope, broken by several large boulders. On one of them, he could see a Tuk'ata, sniffing in the wind. His robes flowing around him, the Sith approached, and sure enough drew the beast's attention. Another of its kind emerged from behind the boulder and bared its teeth.

A few meters away, Rhasru stopped, his lightsaber in his hand, but unignited. [color="#B2222"]"You are unwanted here. Go back",[/color] he commanded in the ancient language of the Sith. The Tuk'ata on the rock tilted its head, as if to consider the words. The one on the ground, on the other hand, growled and drew back as if readying itself to jump. Rhasru didn't particularly admire these creatures. They had strength, and an intelligence superior to most other animal life, but they were a relic of the past and had long outlived their time, just like the Sith lords whose graves they used to guard. And now, they were simply in the way of his plans.

The crimson blade of his lightsaber flashed only for the blink of an eye as it caught the beast that had jumped at the Sith. As the body hit the ground, still twitching, Rhasru deactivated it again and looked at the remaining Tuk'ata, which had observed from its elevated seat. It glowered at him for several seconds before it seemed to make a decision to retreat, taking with it another that seemed to have lurked behind the boulder. Rhasru watched them with a smirk of satisfaction before turning back.

With a quiet thump, the Sith landed on the ledge he had left a short while ago.

 

[Asinine Soup]

While Rhasru had slipped away, his presence no longer felt, she figured she was here alone. Ultimately, that's what it came down to anyway, right? The howling of a Tuk'ata in the distance did nothing but strengthen her resolve.

Each time a net of the Force plucked the toxin from her veins, she grunts and groans as though retrieving a bullet from her shoulder...though something far more tedious and antagonizing - perhaps an arrow to the knee.
More and more had been extracted, and as the poison is diluted from her system, the paralytic affects dampen and mellow, stiff movement still an attribute of the small amount that had ailed her, but not enough to fully render her incapacitated.

It was around this time that Rhasru's presence was felt beside her once more. She peers up, lifts an eyebrow, then softens her expression. Something inside her was happy he came back. She refrains from blatantly expressing the thought, rather turning and trailing fingertips toward an opposite forearm. She would begin her second round of toxic combat there.

"I thought you left me out here." she says, softly and strained.

 

[Amilthi]

"Good", said Rhasru simply. He looked at the girl for just a moment before his gaze wandered off into the distance through the canyon, towards the west where the sun was slowly approaching the horizon.

 

[Asinine Soup]

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lillieth chimes a few moments later, eyes failing to rise and specify what she was speaking of. It's, perhaps, obvious she's speaking of the sunset. Her voice takes on a less hostile tone as though mesmerized by the aesthetic of the sinking sun, Korriban drenching itself within twilit darkness. Stars in the sky twinkled their heavenly well-wishes and distant stars and planets - vibrant and mesmerizing - paint the indifferent galaxy's repetitive pattern of beauty within its creation.

"As beautiful as it is deadly. If not more-so." she finishes after a pregnant pause, having removed quite a bit more poison as she speaks absent-minded. She was no longer feeling lightheaded, but as blood paints her arm (the crimson that accompanied the toxin that ailed her bloodstream), it becomes more and more apparent that Lillieth would, indeed, be making it out of here alive.

"Don't get too excited, Sunsinger...your pulse'll raise and you'll be back in the pit you just crawled out from." she scorns internally.

The words 'thank you' hovered along her tongue, but she retained it. Her gratitude would be paid, in time - Lillieth Sunsinger always repaid her debts. She guessed it was important for her savior - to a certain extent, word used loosely - should likely know that.
Perhaps he already did.