Inheritance (Flashback)

[Wit]

Seeing Val's reaction Ronin couldn't help but laugh out, it was a rare occurrence when he could see someone make a fool of themselves and not be in that role himself. As she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him he picked up his broom and held it aloft over his head in a sort of mock victory salute.

Hearing Val ask him to clean the room using the Force, Ronin was about to give some weird reasoning as to why that was not possible when an idea occurred to him. Running to the edge of the training chamber he stopped next to the mattresses lying along the wall.

Reaching out in the Force he caught one and began dragging it along the floor, planning to use it to sweep the floor while pushing all the litter forward along its path. But when he opened his eyes he realized he had only ended up making the situation worse.

The mattress, instead of cleaning the floor, had just passed over much of the junk, crushing much of it as it passed and only increased the mess further. Looking up he turned to face Val, a seepish grin on his face, "Um, I think we should do this with our hands. It's character building you know."

 

[Sreeya]

Val could only gawk at him in disbelief.

"Are you...are you serious?"

She looked over at the giant mess he had made. It took every fiber of her being not to go over and smack him. Val growled in frustration and proceeded to help him clean. It took hours for them to finally clean up the temple. After they had done so, Val and Ronin both had to write up all the tenets, prepared to present them to Master Karasu the next day. The day ended with exhaustion for the both of them.

As they approached the exit of the enclave, Val yawned. She wanted nothing more than to go to her quarters and pass out. She turned to Ronin and smiled.

"I'm probably going back to Ossus tomorrow. I'll catch you...at some point."

She leaned in to give him a hug, handing him the hilt of one of the training sabers she had stolen.

"Keep that in case anyone tries to bully you."

Val winked at him and waved goodbye, heading off in the opposite direction.

---​

It was the next day and Talzea was already in the training chambers as usual. She was informed of Ronin's antics by Huang Karasu, someone who was not at all happy to see padawans in such a state. Talzea had simply smiled and offered to take care of the situation. The Danthiri had arrived early in the training room, taking the time to meditate. Ronin was a young boy, she could not fault him for being mischievous. The galaxy had a lot of things in store for him, and he would have to grow up rather quick as the threat of the war became a greater concern. She could not fault him for enjoying his childhood while he had it.

Talzea noted that Ronin was slightly late, not surprising considering how tiring the previous day had been. The Jedi Master remained in the middle of the room, legs crossed and eyes closed. She would feel his presence when he came, though she felt nothing at the moment.

 

[Wit]

"Ya, see you a..see you around." Ronin couldn't help but start feeling a little down upon hearing of Val's imminent departure. As she handed him the training saber Ronin smiled slightly knowing well that the saber would immediately remind him of this day, and it had been a fun day. "You take care of yourself too, Val."

---​

The next morning, already late, Ronin was running through the temple towards the training chamber. He had overslept, the previous day had been tiring after all, but it had been worth it, he hadn't had that much fun in some time. And with Val now gone back to Ossus, maybe the most fun he was going to have for some time.

As he turned the last corner he made a dash for the door to the training room and burst into the room shouting, "I'm here!" Stopping just within the doorway he put his hands on his knees and began taking in deep breaths, trying to speakthrough his panting. "Good...Morning M..master. Sorry for being late."

 

[Sreeya]

Talzea heard footsteps echoing, realizing that her padawan had arrived at last. She smiled knowingly, already sensing the stress that accompanied him at being late. By the time he made his way in, she was already on her feet. She simply held a hand up to wave his apologies away.

"Don't worry about it."

She motioned for him to sit before her.

"Master Karasu tells me that you and Miss Cross got into quite a bit of trouble."

Talzea smiled as she sat down before him.

"I hope you remembered to hand in what he had asked of you."

In a way, it was an effective means of punishment. Talzea knew he had the tenets memorized, something that padawans hated doing. However, as a means of punishment, she knew it had been ingrained into his mind forever. She called the Force to herself, her demeanor once again more serious.

"I understand you have gone extensively over the tenets. Can you tell me what they mean to you and how you perceive them? What do you agree or disagree with and why?"

 

[Wit]

Ronin was relieved as Talzea waved away his apology, starting to smile only for it to vanish as she mentioned him and Val getting in trouble the previous day. "Yes Master, I am sorry about that. We were only having some fun."

Walking forward with a more serious face he sat down in front of Talzea and noticed her smiling which relaxed him a little once more. "Yes, I slipped it into his room last night." He had been too scared to face the Sephi Master, so had just slipped it in under his door and made a run for it.

Upon hearing his Master's next question Ronin began thinking before giving his answer, "Well I agree with some of them like being guardians of peace, having to listening to the council, protecting the weak and not killing unless necessary. Those make perfect sense according to me. It wouldn't be right if we didn't use this gift we've been given to help others so these make perfect sense. Oh yeah, so does the one about being mindful of the Force, living in the present and all that. I mean fixating on the past isn't really going to get us anywhere is it? There's also a tenet about controlling our emotions which I am not really sure about, one of my trainers once told me that arrogance and fear can lead to the dark side so I guess we must control our emotions in order to prevent that? If so then thats why the tenet regarding personal wealth is also there right? Rich people seem to be so arrogant of their wealth, just gathering money and not using it to do any good. I don't really know much about the dark side but I have heard people talk about it like it's a really bad thing and from what the other kids say I don't really want to find out more about it. So if looking for wealth is gonna take me closer to it then I'm happy to be poor. I think there were two more, yes the one about adventure seeking and falling in love and so on. I guess seeking adventure is not good because it's not really why we're here, if we look for glory instead of helping others then we might someday end up making a stupid decision which might end up hurting someone. The love one, well I have no idea about all that mushy girly stuff so can't really say anything about it. And thats it, the nine tenets."

 

[Sreeya]

To say that Talzea was impressed was an understatement. Not only had he memorized them, but he had developed his own in-depth ideas about each one. She was truly happy to hear his breakdown of the tenets, nodding in satisfaction.

"Very good, Ronin."

She thought back to his words.

"About wealth...that goes more hand in hand with how much you want to be a civilian. Jedi live a monastic life, but there is nothing to stop you from venturing out and being just like everyone else. This includes wealth and being able to manage it. The tenets are guidelines, yes, but it varies from person to person. Some need to rigidly follow it, where others have enough self control to be able to be lax with the rules."

Talzea had to laugh at the words.

"However, I think you have broken enough rules so far. Perhaps it's best if you stick to the tenets for now."

She took out a small knife and backed away from him.

"Since you know all about the tenets, I'll go right to one of the most important teachings for a Jedi: healing. It's difficult to master, but you would want to have a firm grasp of it before we proceed to lightsaber teachings. My method of teaching this is more hands on than most trainers, so I hope you're not squeamish."

The smile remained on her face as she took the knife and neatly cut a thin line on the inside of her hand. She presented the wound to him. Usually having an actual cut provided padawans with a sense of urgency that ultimately honed their skills in healing. Talzea remained calm, her aura not shifting the slightest bit at having her blood spilled.

"Focus, Ronin. Gather the energy around you and bid it to close the wound. It will be difficult at first, but don't let anything distract you. Clear your thoughts. Do not be misguided by the initial shock of seeing a cut. This method could save your life one day."

 

[Wit]

Shocked as Talzea took the knife and cut herself, Ronin tried to gather his wits about himself as she asked him to heal the wound. He wasn't really bothered by blood, but someone voluntarily cutting themselves in front of him was another thing altogether. Taking deep breaths he tried to calm himself before making an attempt at healing her wound.

Closing his eyes he focused on the wound, reaching out to it through the Force. Not knowing how to start he just concentrated more on the wound, remembering his Master's advice to stay focused and not to get distracted. Finally after what seemed like months, but must have been a few minutes, he finally felt something, a sense of how her hand would have felt like without the wound. He could feel the Force flowing through Talzea, her life force flowing around the wound but how it was slightly weakened within the wound itself. Catching onto that fact he began pouring the Force into the wound, trying to return the flow to normal. After some time the wound started to feel right to him, the flow seemed to be a little more normal.

Opening his eyes he noticed that the wound did indeed seem to have healed a little, the bleeding seemed to have slowed down. Closing his eyes once more he began concentrating on the wound once more. This time, knowing what he had to do, it came a little more easily to him, focusing the Force around the wound, letting it heal the cut. Finally, when he couldn't keep it up any more, he let go of his hold over the Force and opened his eyes.

Talzea's wound had completely stopped bleeding and had healed to a degree. It was not completely healed, far from it, but he hadn't expected to do even this much. Having never used the Force to do something like this he was once more awed by its powers. "Wow, I can't believe I actually did that."

 

[Sreeya]

Talzea looked down at the wound, smiling.

"Very good. You are definitely gifted with the Force, Ronin. More so than most padawans your age."

She flexed her fingers, the pain drastically reduced. It was interesting how his method of healing was more internal. The wound did not look completely healed from the outside, yet it felt ten times better than it looked. Talzea briefly closed her eyes and the wound healed completely within seconds. She glanced up at him, feeling exhaustion from his use of healing.

"It's taxing, as you can tell. Therefore, when you are in battle and need to heal, do as much as you can to be able to keep going. If you focus too much on it, you will exhaust yourself and be unable to keep fighting, should you ever find yourself in the midst of a battle."

She knew the thought would be daunting to a boy so young. However, Talzea was always a warrior, differing vastly from others within the Order. She would teach Ronin to be a fighter as a result, someone that would have no problem facing any threats the galaxy presented.

"We will work extensively with healing for the next couple of weeks. It's difficult to master so I want to devote time to it till it's second nature to you."

 

[Wit]

Over the next few weeks Ronin and his master spent more time on his healing abilities till he had reached a level of proficiency with the technique that satisfied student and teacher alike. After that they moved onto lightsaber training, but he learnt soon enough that he really wan't any good at it. His sparring sessions with Val had been disastrous, but he had thought that was due to her being that good. But he had realized that he just wasn't that good at it. So they had focused more on his strengths, further developing his control over the Force.

---​

Ronin was sound asleep when his alarm suddenly started blaring, its piercing sound painfully bringing him back to consciousness. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he rose quickly only to bang his head on the upper bunk bed. As a sharp pain exploded into his head, driving away the last shreds of sleep from his eyes, he could hear someone laughing above him. Rolling out from his bed, he stood up and turned around to face the laughing idiot lying on the upper bunk. "Haha, very funny." Birbal, his twi'lek roommate, continued laughing and jumped down to the floor. "Yes it is. No matter how many times you do that it's always funny."

As Bribal left the room to wash up, Ronin picked up his own things and began heading out of the room when he suddenly popped his head back into the room, "By the way, aren't you supposed to be meeting your girlfriend today?"

Suddenly remembering the date Ronin picked up the chrono to check the time. Realizing that he still had time, he relaxed a little. "She's not my girlfriend, and that joke's really starting to get old." Picking up his things once more he rushed out of the room, giving Birbal a whack on the head on the way out.

About an hour later, he was walking out towards the temple's main landing platform to meet Val. He hadn't met her in over four years, though they had maintained correspondence. A lot had changed since she had left for Ossus to continue her training. He had grown into what Birbal liked to call the size of a stunted Wookie, six feet tall and still a little fat. Also, kids didn't really pick on him like they used to back then any more, his size and skills with the Force making them wary of him. But some things were still the same, he still stole food from the cafeteria every chance he got and Gabbar Singh threatened to kill him every time he got caught. He still sucked at lightsaber combat, and talking to girls and even after all this years was still not really what you would call cool. But he was alright with all that, he didn't really see himself as that kind of a person anyway.

Suddenly the sound of an approaching freighter drew him out of his thoughts, looking up as the craft came down for its landing. Taking a few steps back as the craft landed, he stood facing the craft, waiting for the ramp to descend and Val to emerge.

 

[Sreeya]

"Why do you still hang out with that kid?"

"Yeah he's like so lame."

The bubble Val was blowing popped, receding back into her mouth. She rolled her eyes, looking at the two padawans that had accompanied her on the trip. One was a Zeltron, the other a twi'lek. All three had formed a group of some of the most popular girls in the Order. They had matched their schedules up to have missions assigned on Alderaan between painting each others' nails and doing each others hair (though Nandini, the Twi'lek was exempt from this). Nandini's specialty was makeup and Madhuri's was hair, which is why all three looked spectacular at all times.

The freighter was minutes away from its stop and Val's chest swelled with anticipation. She hadn't seen Ronin in far too long. Her training had gotten rigorous. She had been taught enough to realize that the Force wasn't her strong point. Val had honed her skills on sabers since then, something she was naturally quite talented at. Madhuri, the Zeltron, once again scowled at Val.

"I'm sooo bummed that you're not coming with us. We planned this out!"

Val sighed, looking out the window.

"I know, guys, but bear with me. I haven't seen Ronnie in four years."

Both girls giggled.

"You've gotta be the only one that doesn't call him Donut."

Val laughed along with them, keeping the facade on. She felt the transport come to a halt. She had no idea why she was nervous about seeing him again. They had been friends for as long as she could remember. She grabbed her sabers and bags, her robes in her arms. Madhuri and Nandini followed.

"I hate changing into robes."

"At least we don't have to change till we get to the temples."

All three girls stepped out onto the platform. Nandini and Madhuri were first to step down, both pulling on their sunglasses and loudly chewing gum. They were adorned in low cut tops and mini skirts, along with heels. Val came up behind them, dressed similarly. All three wore pink, their hair done up stylishly. Val wore the least amount of makeup, but even she looked like she was dressed for a party. She spotted Ronin immediately, smiling. Madhuri leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Is that him?! He got tall!"

"Still chunky, though."

The two girls giggled, causing Val to lightly bat them on their arms.

"I'll see you guys later."

The girls waved goodbye to her, also turning to Ronin before they strutted past him.

"Heeeey Donut!"

This was followed by a round of giggles before they walked off towards the temple, where they would inevitably have to don their robes to look like proper Jedi. Val walked over to Ronin, unsure of how to react. It had been ages since she had last seen him. She simply paused in front of him for a while, looking up at him as he towered over her. Val smiled up at him, nervousness apparent in her voice.

"So...hey.."

 

[Wit]

As the freighter touched down, Ronin shifted around on his feet, eager to meet Val again. As the door slid open and the ramp descended Ronin saw two girls step out first with Val in the rear. As they stepped down Ronin's first impulsive response was to burst out laughing, though he managed to cut down on that desire and maintain a straight face.

He had to admit that they looked good, the twi'lek and the zeltron, stepping out in their mini skirts, low cut tops and high heels. But the amount of pink they were wearing was so overwhelming that Ronin had to put forth all his will power not to burst out laughing.

But then he noticed Val in the rear and a wide smile spread all over his face. She was dressed in the same manner as the other two, albeit with lesser amounts of make up plastered on her face, and he was sure to pull her leg on her appearance at a later time but at that point he was so glad to be seeing her after so long that he couldn't bring himself to do so just yet. Besides, she did look good, much better than the other two.

As the two of them walked up to him and passed by, calling him out as Donut, Ronin gave a slight nod in response. He wasn't really bothered by name calling any more, specially from people like those two. As they walked on towards the temple entrance, Ronin couldn't help but see them walk on towards the temple, turning around to find that Val had almost walked up to him.

As she stepped up, an uncertain smile on her face, Ronin looked down at her and for a second was lost for words, uncertain of what to say. As she nervously greeted him, Ronin reached up with one hand to scratch the back of his head, messing up his hair even more than it normally was. "Hey, long time huh?... How've you been?"

He was surprised that he was finding it so difficult to talk to her, they used to talk so much as kids so it shouldn't have been so awkward. Remembering the old days suddenly made him aware of something, the difference in their height. He had always been taller than her but in their youth it hadn't been as obvious a it was now. Even after wearing those giant heels she was barely reaching up till his shoulders.

His uncertainty suddenly vanishing, he looked down at her mischievously, "Um Val, were you always this short? There must be Jawas on Tanotooine who are taller than you."

 

[Sreeya]

Val could feel that he was just as nervous. It didn't help that her mind went completely blank. She should have prepared for this, with a set of notecards and outlines and everything, as if giving a speech.

"Y-Yeah...I've been okay.."

She was about to comment on further useless things when he commented on her height. At first, her eyes went wide behind her giant film star sunglasses. However, she caught that glint in his eyes he had for as long as she had known him. All of a sudden, it registered exactly who this was. Val's surprise was replaced with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh Ronnie I've missed you!!"

She immediately pulled him into a hug, though he was much bigger than her. Val felt that old feeling of joy explode inside her every time she had come to Alderaan before the four year gap. She pulled back and grinned.

"Man it's been ages! Walk with me!"

She grasped him by his wrist and began dragging him towards the temple. By now, a few people were glancing over, surprised that her attitude did not match her state of attire at all. She decided to make conversation while they walked.

"Okay so..basically I realized I suck with the Force, so I stuck with sabers. I'm one of the top students now! I've been in so many duels, it's crazy. How about you? I bet you're good at everything. Still stealing food from the kitchens?"

She nudged his side, laughing out loud. She had truly missed him. Val had made many more friends, but none ever got as close as she and Ronin had. She reached into her bag and pulled out a datapad.

"Okay so I came here to do some missions. I don't have much time here, but maybe we could do some together?"

 

[Wit]

As she pulled him into a hug, her head banging into his chin, he felt the last shreds of anxiety vanish as he returned her hug. As she pulled back, smiling widely, he realized a similar stupid smile had shown up on his face. "Ya, I've missed you too."

As she began pulling him along, he noticed people turning in their direction who turned away when they noticed him looking at them. When Val nudged him he couldn't help but burst out laughing and putting his hand inside his robes pulled out a Muja fruit and tossed it to her.

"Wow I had forgotten how much you could talk. Well I don't think I'm really all that good at anything, I actually completely suck with sabers. Been concentrating on my Force powers instead, which I suppose I am alright at. As for food, well Gabbar Singh is more cranky than ever, threatens to poison my food whenever he sees me."

As she pulled out her datapad, mentioning missions, Ronin shrugged, "Sure, ought to be fun."

 

[Sreeya]

"Gabbar Singh still works there? He's prehistoric!"

She shook her head, recalling many memories of the cook with two prosthetic arms. He had made life hell for Val and Ronin. Then again, it was always Ronin's fault they were in trouble. At least that's how she chose to remember it. She grinned as he tossed her the fruit. She bit into it, instantly hit with its juicy flavor.

"You always know how to get the best stuff."

As they passed by a public restroom, Val grimaced, spotting the enclave up ahead.

"Hold up, I have to change.."

She disappeared for a few moments. When she emerged, her makeup was gone, hair back to normal and she was adorned in Jedi robes. Val continued walking, eating the fruit.

"I hate wearing robes all the time. I wish they were more fashionable."

Realizing that Ronin would have zero interest on that topic, she looked up at him, grinning.

"So, you find any special ladies on the Alderaan enclave yet?"

Val couldn't keep a straight face. It was a topic she had always pestered him with. Back then he used to think girls were 'gross', but she knew that had long since changed. While he answered, Val pulled out her datapad again.

"So these missions pretty much suck. One actually asks to herd Bantha. What the hell?! I feel like we should be doing more dangerous shit by now. I mean, I even crafted my own lightsaber already!"

 

[Wit]

"Oh he's still here, as is Kalia, that hell-hound of his. Though he's not as irritating as he used to be, he's getting lazy as he gets older. That and Gabbar's been stuffing him up with tit-bits so that he's fatter than I used to be."

As she bit into the Muja fruit, Ronin smiled sheepishly, "Actually that one was slightly spoilt, I was hungry so I ate the other."

As she stepped into the restroom and back out again, looking a lot more like the Val he remembered from their childhood, Ronin grinned at her complaints about the robes. "I'll make a petition to the council, I'm sure they'll look into it. Today's agenda, more fashionable robes."

As Val picked up the topic of girls Ronin just blushed a little and began looking towards the sky, he still wasn't particularly good at talking with girls. Come to think of it Val was probably the only girl he was so comfortable around. "Well, not really. There was this one arkanian girl, but then she left the order."

As Val pulled out her datapad once more and began talking about missions once more Ronin was glad for the change of subject. "You already crafted your own lightsaber? Wow, I'm still using that training saber you gave me. Put a proper crystal in it so that it actually works, but thats it." Pulling out the battered old saber from his robes he showed it to Val, slightly envious that she'd already got her own lightsaber.

 

[Sreeya]

Val spat out what she had bitten off when he kindly informed her that he had given her the spoiled fruit. She shook her head.

"I haven't been off the freighter for five minutes and already the torture has begun! I've taught you well."

She laughed out loud at how nervous he got at the mention of girls.

"Oooh Arkanian! Why did she leave the Order? You weren't too naughty, were you?"

She winked after the question, laughing even more. As he whipped out the old training saber she had given him, Val had to stop and marvel at it.

"You...you've kept it all these years?"

She remembered when she had stolen it from her own training and had a mock battle with Ronin. It was touching to see that he had held onto it. Val smiled at the sight, fond memories of their childhood filling her mind. She nodded at his words, reaching to her hip and pulling out a hilt.

"Yeah. They realized I was very advanced in my saber abilities so I was allowed to craft one."

She clicked the button, a long azure blade humming to life. Passerby people were somewhat alarmed, though Val didn't care. She expertly maneuvered the blade, her wrist rolling fluidly. Even the small gesture was hypnotic, a testament to her honed abilities with the saber. She clicked it off after the small demonstration, latching it onto her hip.

"It's pretty cool, though I wanna get some real use out of it.."

By now, they had reached the temple. She sighed and put her datapad away.

"Okay well, since you live here, I'll trust you to find us a good mission! And..preferably away from Nandini and Madhuri. I don't feel like listening to incessant yells about broken nails.."

 

[Wit]

As Val spat out the fruit, Ronin burst out laughing, "Well did you think I picked up nothing from you after all those misadventures you led us on?"

But his laugh was replaced by a slight blush as she picked up on the topic of girls, not very comfortable talking about the fairer sex, even with Val. "I don't know why she left, though I did eat her entire lunch a few days before she left."

As Val commented on him having kept the saber, he responded with a shrug and a smile. "Well there wasn't really much need for me to change it, still works just fine." Observing her small demonstration, Ronin smiled admiringly at her skills with the blade, evident even in such small actions.

Thinking about missions suddenly reminded him of something and he pulled the datapad from Val's hands and began punching in a few keys. Bringing up what he had been looking for, he handed it back to Val.

"I think you just might find some use for it after all. Master Talzea had mentioned this mission a few days back and had refused to allow me to go on it saying that it was a two member mission. With you here I doubt she'd have any problems. There's supposed to be an increase in the activity in certain regions of the boundaries of Republic territories nowadays and there have been reports of a new smuggling ring that has emerged in one of the more unruly sectors. There was a request sent in to track them down and get information on their actions and their base of operations. It's basically a scouting mission but I think things might get a little heated up. What do you think? Wanna give it a go?"

 

[Sreeya]

***​

"Why the hell does it have to be so hot?!"

Val wiped the sweat off her forehead. She first took off her robes, left only in a tanktop and pants. However, the blistering heat began to scorch her skin, causing her to put the robes back on. She knew she was almost out of water. Tatooine was a dangerous place to be, especially with Hutt influences. However, this was also where the smuggler circles could be tracked. Various cities were suffering from these gangs, especially when it came to moisture farming.

She looked down at the map, realizing she had been reading it upside down. With a growl, she tossed it to the sand. Val looked ahead at the distance, spotting nothing but an endless sea of desert. She looked all around her, spotting what looked like a city. However, it could just as easily have been a mirage. She looked at Ronin, grimacing.

"We're lost, Ronnie. This sucks.."

 

[Wit]

Ronin himself was staring into the distance, trying to locate something, anything that could help them find their way through the desert. As Val tossed the map away, a gust of wind picked it up and began taking it away. Reaching out with the Force he caught it just as it was about to fly away, bringing it into his hands and staring into the map himself. After a few moments he gave up as well and pocketed the now useless piece of flimsy. "Yup, we are well and truly lost."

Suddenly his stomach started grumbling, sounding abnormally loud in the quiet desert. "And I'm hungry. We should have taken a speeder after all. We wouldn't have had to deal with all this tiring walking around and we could have brought food with us."

Suddenly another grumble was heard, much louder than before. Val turned to look at him with a slightly irritated expression on her face. "What, that wasn't me. I don't have a loud speaker stuffe.."

The words froze in his mouth as the growl was heard once more, much louder than before. "Um, what was that?"

Almost instantly his question was answered as a loud roar broke out from a little above them. While looking around for the source of the sound, Ronin suddenly felt a shadow fall over them. Looking to the right, towards Tantooine's twin suns, he noticed a large figure atop the sand dune that was running almost parallel to them. With the suns' light coming from behind it, the figure wasn't all that clearly visible. But them it moved and came into view, its vast body coming clearly visible now.

"Uh Val, I think I'm not the only hungry one here." Around ten meters in height and almost thirty meters in length, its yellow-brown skinned head covered in horns, staring down at them was a krayt dragon. The beast suddenly suddenly seemed to notice them, staring down at them before letting out a loud roar.

 

[Sreeya]

Val was getting progressively more annoyed. Here they were, stranded in the middle of a desert, and all Ronin could do was complain about food. As another growl erupted, Val got to her feet, scowling.

"That's it!"

However, she caught his sentence and her eyes widened. Following his line of sight, she looked upon what was the most terrifying and hideous thing she had ever seen. She had read about Krayt dragons, but to meet one up close and personal had never been on her agenda. Never having been in such a threatening situation before, Val was completely lost, despite all her training. She all but ducked behind Ronin, terrified.

"What do we do?! Do you think we can play dead?"

Val knew her question was absurd.

"Maybe we can outrun it!"

She glanced around. Open desert. They would have to confront it..