Ask Kashyyyk Lost In the Woods

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Are... are you sure?" Ruzaan asked his friend as she offered to try and heal him, quickly clarifying his statement. "I trust you, it's just that I've passed out a few times trying to heal others before. It can be draining." He didn't want to think of what might happen if Samara slumped over next to him and then the Wookiees showed up...

However, Samara seemed determined to try, so Ruzaan did what he could do to support her. He'd been healed through the Force before during his many trips to the medbay on Yavin IV, enough that he was on a first-name basis with many of the healers there, but this was the first time he could remember that he'd been healed by a close friend. Ruzaan found himself meditating along with her; lending the Chalactan what strength and serenity he could. Just as a healing light began to glow from Samara's hands, that serenity was broken.

Just as Ruzaan opened his mouth to warn Samara, the Chalactan reacted by calling her lightsaber to her hand and brandishing it towards the intruder. From his position prone on the floor Ruzaan couldn't see much, but the light of Samara's blade was enough to reveal a familiar- and very unwelcome- Wookiee.

Kark.

It was so incredibly unfair, Ruzaan thought, that not even a 4-story sinkhole was enough to throw off their pursuers. Gritting his teeth, he gathered the Force within him, knowing that if the alarm was raised that both he and Samara were as good as dead. But in the second before he could send out a Force Push that would've sent the young Wookiee flying backwards into the stone wall of the cavern, he noticed that the Wookiee had made no sudden movements and was carrying no weapons.

A soft howl escaped the Wookiee's lips as it slowly raised its empty paws. "Did you hear what he said?" Ruzaan asked Samara.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Was she sure? Not in the least. Did she have a choice? No. Ruzaan couldn't walk out of here on his own two legs, not in the condition he was in. One wrong move, and he could potentially be paralyzed forever. For all of her imperfections and inexperience in the field, Samara was resolute in this—that she would never leave him behind. Not Ruzaan. Not any other Jedi in need.

The Wookiee, on the other hand? That was a different story. "I don't speak Shyriiwook," the Chalactan replied, her tone sharper than intended as she stared at the figure of the Wookiee with a pinched expression. As he shuffled into the glow of her violet lightsaber, it was clear that he was injured. He gripped his left arm, where brown fur was matted and stained with a deep shade of blood. A pitiful yowl fell from his lips, almost as if he was disoriented from the fall and expected them to help him.
Him. One of the Wookiees that had attempted to kill them earlier, that had attacked their only defenders. That had chased them through the Shadowlands and sounded the alarm. Samara couldn't find it in herself to sympathize. Earlier, perhaps, when she had tried to reason with him. When she had tried to convince him they were not his enemy. Not now. Not now that one of them was injured.

It would have been so easy to knock him unconscious. To hurl him across the cavern, into one of its walls and let him find his own way out, but that brought the Padawans no closer to an escape. Knuckles white as they gripped the hilt of her lightsaber, she spared Ruzaan a glance. She said nothing at first, holding her breath as she waited. He'd understood bits and pieces of the Wookiee's conversation earlier. Perhaps he would understand now. @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

It was at times like these that Ruzaan regretted taking naps in Galactic Language class; alone with a Wookiee who had been trying to help kill them earlier but seemed much less excited about that prospect now, it sure would've helped to be confident in their ability to communicate. The Togruta scrunched his face in concentration, desperately trying to remember back to his lessons on Shyriiwook.

"He's trying to apologize" he finally decided, wishing that he was more confident in his answer. "And he's asking you not to kill him. Says his name is Rhunaoapitcuynch, but we can call him 'Rhun' (rune) for short." Shyriiwook was nothing if not concise; it was amazing what one could get out of a few growls and grunts (Translation roll: 11/20).

"Does anyone else know you're down here?" he asked Rhun, who shook his head and quickly repeated part of his phrase; still pleading for mercy and clearly expecting Samara to try to execute him then and there. Ruzaan reached out with a hand from his spot on the ground and gently squeezed Samara's foot. He didn't blame the Chalactan for being angry- it wasn't difficult to imagine a different outcome than this one if the Wookiee standing in front of them hadn't blown his hunting horn- but a fight, even with an unarmed and wounded Wookiee, wasn't a risk he thought was worth taking right now. Besides, an opportunity had suddenly presented itself.

"If we help you..." he said to Rhun, knowing he was taking a risk but feeling confident in the famed loyalty of the Wookiee people- "can you help us safely get out of here?"

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

"To apologize?" the Chalactan repeated, jaw set as she angled her body away from the Wookiee to stare down at Ruzaan, one rigid hand still resting against his temple. A declaration made in haste and without much thought, were she to state her mind. Had the Togruta not been slumped against the cold, damp floor of an undiscovered cavern in pain she could only imagine, she would have said so.
Only moments ago, that same Wookiee had tried to kill them. Had sounded the alarm. Had hunted them as if they were of no more value than wild animals that needed to be put down. Now they were supposed to forget all of that, simply because blood trickled down his fur? It wasn't that simple. She understood that, would grudgingly accept it if she had to, but her eyes blazed with her anger, and her cheeks flushed all the same.

"I'm not going to kill him," she muttered after that, lowering her lightsaber but not disengaging its blade. Louder, for the Wookiee to hear, she said, "I'm not going to kill you." Who knew if he even understood her? No matter what these Wookiees might have thought of them, they weren't the same Padawans that had strapped Wookiees to the outside of ships and shot them into orbit like fireworks on Life Day.

At Ruzaan's suggestion, the Wookiee nodded emphatically and let out a short, piping howl. He had agreed to help them. Out of compassion or convenience, Samara didn't know. She only hoped she wouldn't live to regret this.

Wookiee's honesty: 9/20 @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Thank you" said Ruzaan, although by his near-whisper it was clear that he was talking not to the Wookiee, but to Samara. "I don't really trust him either, but what choice do we have? Besides, we can't change the past; but we might be able to change his perception of us." A hand came up to gently squeeze her hand against his head. I hope he added silently, refusing to voice that fear.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you get all protective over me" he said, gray eyes dancing with mirth. Perhaps he could lighten the mood and get Samara- and himself- to relax a little by engaging her in some banter. The Togruta was trying not to dwell on the fact that the Wookiee had agreed a little too quickly for his liking, but Rhun made no hostile movements as he approached.

Even if he managed to break some of the tension he was feeling, Ruzaan figured that there was nothing he could say that would convince Samara to set down her lightsaber to heal the Wookiee, so he beckoned Rhun to a point where he could reach up to focus on the wound. A large gash on Rhun's arm was heavily matted with blood and dirt in what must've been an incredibly painful wound. Ruzaan closed his eyes and took a breath to calm his nerves, feeling the Force flow into and through him as he worked to heal the Wookiee. The purple glow of Samara's blade would be momentarily augmented by soft golden light coalescing on Ruzaan's hand, and the Chalactan would be able to see the look of discomfort on Rhun's face abate almost immediately (heal roll 11/20).

The Wookiee drew back, moving and testing his arm... only for it to suddenly swing forward at Samara, sending the lightsaber flying out of her hands with a mighty blow (Dice roll 1/20). From his position on the ground, Ruzaan could only watch helplessly as the now-healed Wookiee squared off against Samara in a fight that would almost certainly decide their fate...

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Ruzaan was right, as much as she hated to admit it. As much as she hated to go along with the idea, they were out of options and running out of time. Every Jedi understood that one day their life would be forfeit, that they would become one with the Force. In the line of duty, living out the code they swore to live by most likely. Surrounded by friends and family, if they were lucky. Jedi never seemed to have much of that. Not these days. It could be any day, any hour, and under any circumstances.

Samara didn't want today to be that day. She didn't want the last breath she drew to be comprised of fungal spores and damp air. She didn't want the last thing she saw to be the moss covered ceiling of a cave or the underbrush of Kashyyyk's Shadowlands. She wanted to grow old. To see the rest of the galaxy. To see her family and friends again. If this Wookiee was their only hope of survival, she would take it.

No verbal response or acknowledgement was given. In its place, she simply squeezed his hand in return. She would play along.

The fumes or the pain must have been getting to Ruzaan, because the next comment he made was entirely out of character for him. "I think you need to work on your timing," Samara would almost smile, cocking an exaggerated eyebrow. A part of her wondered if he was just trying to lighten the mood or if he really was starting to become delirious.
Sliding to her knees and turning toward the Wookiee again, she said in a brusque tone, "We'll have to carry him out." It would be dangerous, moving him now when his condition was critical, but like Ruzaan had said—they didn't have a choice. Samara couldn't leave him here in search of a way out. There was no reception this deep in the forest, and no one on the other side of a comlink except for the Wookiees that had brought them down here. Perhaps some of their defenders had survived, but... there was no guarantee. "I don't suppose you know a way out of—"

Samara would never finish that sentence, the training lightsaber she gripped knocked from her hands. The blade deactivated, landing in a puddle somewhere to her right. The cavern was pitch black now. Furry paws seized the Padawan by the wrists and threw her to the ground. Something sharp and cold jabbed her in the back, breaking the skin, but she managed to roll to the side before two great fists were brought down to crush her skull.

The Wookiee howled, in anger or pain Samara didn't know or care. Unable to see two feet in front of her, she couldn't attack. Not without running the risk of striking Ruzaan, too. She scrambled to her feet, hands groping wildly in the darkness for her lightsaber, heart beating uncontrollably.

Defense: 11/20 Attack: 8/20 @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Bathed in darkness, prone on the ground, and unable to move to help Samara, Ruzaan nonetheless had a clear picture of the surrounding area thanks to his montrals' sense of spatial awareness; a sense further augmented by his command of the Force. His options, he knew, were extremely limited, but he wasn't completely out of the fight. The fact that he wasn't able to move much meant that he had that much more capacity to concentrate on the Force.

Ruzaan pushed aside the pain he felt; there was no time to acknowledge it now. He pushed aside the embarrassment he felt; it would only cloud his thoughts. Togruta often eschewed footwear in favor of a physical connection to the land they walked on; prone on the damp, musty ground at the bottom of a sinkhole in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, Ruzaan opened himself up to the Living Force that was somehow found in this place, too.

He reached out to Samara, easily finding the Chalactan's presence in the Force; a presence that was familiar to him from many hours of sparring together. She'd been disarmed, and her training lightsaber would do no good against a Wookiee anyways. Ruzaan's training lightsaber, on the other hand, had been set to lethal mode several months ago and he hadn't figured out how to turn it back.

"Samara!"

One word and one toss would send the double-bladed lightsaber flying towards where he knew Samara's hand to be. He'd shown her how it worked, so she could ignite one or both blue blades as she wished. The rest of Ruzaan's concertation would go towards a hasty stasis effect on Rhun- not enough to stop or really even slow the Wookiee down, but perhaps enough to give Samara time to strike before his fists crashed down on her head.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Pale, trembling fingers groped in the darkness, fumbling over caulid and rocks and plunging into sodden crags saturated with water whenever they slipped. The all-too familiar sound of her own heartbeat thrashed in her ears. Had the cavern not already been pitch black, her vision would have been honeycombed with black spots. Samara's thoughts were as incoherent and scattered as her coordination, searching for the training lightsaber knocked aside. She couldn't find it, and she was beginning to panic.

A suffocated scream reflected against the cavern walls as a pair of long, powerful arms wrapped around the Chalactan's waist and swept her off her feet. Enveloped in his colossal, shaggy arms, she struggled. Clammy, clenched fists struck his wrists as she kicked at his torso with the heels of her boots. It was like shouting at the storm. Swimming against the current. It did nothing.

Pitching, the Wookiee threw her to the ground, and she landed face first in the water. Before she could move, five fingers covered her skull, their group holding her in place against her will, pushing her deeper into the ice cold stream. Samara thrashed violently in protest, levying her entire body against the Wookiee—legs kicking, hands attempting to pry his hand free.

Water filled her mouth and nostrils. Bubbles rose to the surface of the stream. A burning sensation spread throughout her chest, where she knew her lungs were already beginning to fill with water. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled Onderon. Drowning. The will to live dwindling with every gulp of water swallowed. That dreaded feeling of helplessness. She loathed that feeling. She wouldn't last much longer, not against her attacker's size and strength. One hand found purchase, on a rock twice the size of her fist, and raising it, she struck the Wookiee as hard as she could against the side of the head. A sharp growl informed the Chalactan that she hadn't missed, and in the confusion that followed, she began to crawl away, spluttering and coughing. Every breath she drew rasping and grating.

Before she could make it more than three feet, her attacker seized her once more. This time around the ankles, dragging her back until they were face to face. The blow to the head had dazed him, but he wasn't seriously injured, and he wasn't about to give up. Samara could only make out the whites of his eyes and his long, extended fangs as he hissed at her, furry hands coiling around her neck and beginning to squeeze and press. If he couldn't drown her, he would strangle her instead.

Blubbering, Samara tried to swallow—the need suddenly very pressing—but she couldn't. She pressed her hands against the Wookiee's chest, not sure whose heart was pounding so wildly—hers or the Wookiee's. All of his weight bearing down on her, she knew she couldn't make him budge. Out of options, Ruzaan called out to her, and without thinking, without even looking—she caught the lightsaber he threw her and, like muscle memory, activated it.

The blue blade hissed to life, and after that there was silence. Samara watched, violet eyes bulging, breath hitched, as the Wookiee's face grew slack, and he slid off of her, the lightsaber deactivating. In its fading light, she could see the Kashyyyk native's hand twitching in the puddle of water it had landed in. Scrambling into a sitting position, she clutched at her neck and stared.

"I think... I think he's dead," she whimpered, voice high-pitched and hoarse. Breathing labored, she added with a sharp, uncontrollable cry, "I think I killed him." @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

It was over.

Was it over?

Ruzaan swallowed a sudden lump in his throat when he heard Samara's voice; proof that his friend was still alive and that the Wookiee was not. Out of instinct, the Togruta tried to stand up to run over and comfort Samara, a fist slamming helplessly against the ground a moment later. A deep breath to calm his anger at his helplessness.

"Samara, come here" he said softly, beckoning his friend over. Ruzaan had seen battle before, had taken lives, and had risked his own on numerous occasions, so he knew all too well what Samara might be feeling in the moment.

"I'm sorry." Sorry that he'd been unable to fight alongside her. Sorry that the burden of killing another sentient had been unfairly thrust upon her. Sorry that she'd see this moment whenever she closed her eyes at night. Sorry that the galaxy was cruel and that this wouldn't be the only impossible choice that she'd have to make as a Jedi.

"Samara, I'm so sorry" he whispered.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Ruzaan beckoned her closer, but Samara did not budge. A dirty, quivering hand reached out to touch the Wookiee, drawing back at first—out of guilt or out of fear she didn't know—before resting against fur matted and wet, either with blood or with water. Under different circumstances, she would have hoped the latter. Under present circumstances, she didn't care. Either way, her hands were stained red. Stained with blood. The Force had left the Wookiee, and his life had gone with it. Whoever he'd been, whatever the life he'd led—he was gone now. Only his corpse remained.

How old had he been? Back in that clearing, he'd looked young. Her age? Younger? Did it matter? A life was a life. Pressing her eyes shut, she shook her head back and forth. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This never should have happened. He wasn't supposed to be her enemy. It should have been a Sith on the other end of that lightsaber, fighting tooth and nail to kill her and rid the galaxy of one more Jedi. Not a Wookiee. Not one of the Jedi's allies. It was supposed to be black and white. Good versus evil. So why wasn't it?

The Chalactan's thumb stroked the ignition switch on Ruzaan's lightsaber, tempted to ignite the blade and face the consequences. To look into the face of the being she had killed. To drown in the brown, lifeless eyes that stared up at the cavern ceiling in the soft blue glow the lightsaber emitted, but she couldn't bring herself to flick the switch. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Not yet.

"I can't believe I killed him," she spoke, voice cracking and hoarse. Unseen tears stained her cheeks, and her shoulders quaked. @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan bit his lip as he thought and rethought what would be best to say to Samara, who was still on the other side of the sinkhole from him. What was someone supposed to say when their friend was (understandably) horrified by what they'd had to do in order to survive? Maybe if Ruzaan hadn't been so quick to trust the wounded Wookiee, then perhaps Samara wouldn't have been put in such a desperate position... or maybe Rhun would've called for backup and they'd both be dead by now.

Ignoring the fact that he was now able to wiggle the toes on his right foot- a monumental improvement over just a few minutes ago- Ruzaan remained focused on Samara. What was done was done, and no amount of regret or hindsight could change the past.

"Samara, it's not fair to you... taking a life never is... but it was you or him." He had to get through to her somehow. "He made that choice when he attacked us, not you. As far as I'm concerned, he got what he deserved." The hardness in his own tone surprised him, but the more Ruzaan considered his words the more he knew them to be true. "I might not have made it clear to you, but I think do that you are better company than an angry Wookiee, caf girl." By now, he could swivel his right leg and thump his foot against the earthy ground, while his left leg was tingling up and down like it had fallen asleep.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Nothing was ever like it was in the holomovies, where the hero of the story was able to press on with little to no difficulty, just because he knew that he had done all he could. Done the right thing in black and white. Here and now, the necessity of the action didn't outweigh the guilt that followed. Ruzaan was right, and in the back of her mind she knew that. She had been given no choice. No quarter. In the heat of the moment, when words and reason failed, it was kill or be killed. Kill or let Ruzaan be killed. But by the Natura if it didn't eat her up from the inside out like acid in her throat.

"We can't stay here," she eventually spoke, rubbing at her face with her sleeve. She didn't acknowledge anything that Ruzaan had said, and she wouldn't. Not right now anyway. Now she had to face her own choices and bear the consequences. Biting her bottom lip until the unpleasant taste of copper filled her mouth, she flicked the ignition switch on Ruzaan's lightsaber. Its warm glow flooded the cave, driving away the shadows that had hidden her shame from her own eyes.
There was the Wookiee, as still and as quiet as the night. Warmth still radiated from the body, from the blood he'd spilled, but it was fading. Just as his presence in the Force already had. Slowly growing as cold and unfeeling as the stream that wound its way through the cavern. Blood trickled down his temple where she had struck him with the rock. His lips were parted in one final gasp for air. The last act of a dying Wookiee. This wasn't the first time she had witnessed death firsthand. First on Sullust, then on Onderon, but this was the first time she had been responsible for it, and she couldn't help but wonder about the future. How many more times would she have to take a life to save one? How often would it be her friends and not her enemies?

Wordlessly, the Chalactan bent down over the corpse. She knew what she needed to do next, but she couldn't rid herself of the lump in her throat or the knot in her stomach. Pale fingers began to collect the Wookiee's belongings. She tried not to think about what she was doing, to compartmentalize the reality that she was robbing a corpse. Stealing. A corpse that she had killed with her own hands. It wasn't stealing, she tried to tell herself, as her fingers unclasped the bandolier. She was just borrowing his belongings, in case there was anything they could use to escape the Shadowlands. Then she would return each of his possessions to his people, but she still felt cheap and swallowed hard.

A few feet away lay her training lightsaber, and she snatched it up, too, not bothering to dust it off before hanging it from her belt. The Wookiee's bandolier was placed over her right shoulder, as was the spiral horn. The bowcaster he had carried was nowhere to be seen. Buried beneath dirt and loose gravel no doubt. The ugly deed done, she slid the Wookiee's eyelids shut and turned at last to face Ruzaan.

From one of the compartments on the bandolier she pulled a length of synerope. Perhaps their ticket out of this hole in the ground. @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

By the time Ruzaan realized that he hadn't exactly paid Samara a compliment in comparing her favorably to an angry Wookiee, Samara was searching Rhun's corpse and retrieving her training lightsaber. The Togruta swallowed his apology with some difficulty as the mood at the bottom of the pit turned uncomfortable; given that their friendship had been built on banter, sparring sessions, and caf, Ruzaan realized that he had no idea how to support Samara in challenging circumstances like this. He hadn't been able to help her since they fell into the sinkhole, physically or emotionally.

Regardless, Samara didn't seem to be in the mood for talking about things right now, turning her focus to their escape from the sinkhole. As the Chalactan returned with some rope, Ruzaan mentally kicked himself and reached into his utility belt for his ascension cable. It appeared to still be functional despite the fall, a small light at the base of the handle glowing green Not for the first time, Ruzaan gave thanks to whomever had designed Jedi equipment to be rugged.

Ruzaan managed to flex his right leg slightly, grimacing in response to the renewed tingling sensation that movement brought. He was far from being able to walk, but the knowledge that the paralysis wasn't permanent did boost his spirits somewhat. He held out his ascension cable to Samara, thinking back to the last time he'd used it on Nar Shadda...

"If you can get out of this hole, you might be able to contact Master Ennias" he suggested; they hadn't gone that far into the Shadowlands, had they? A ghost of a smile crept across his face as he tried once again to lighten the mood. "I promise I won't go anywhere."

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Samara's attention snapped to the Togruta, still lying supine on the floor of the cavern. Violet eyes settled on the ascension cable he held out in his hand. "You had that the whole time?" she spoke through compressed lips, her jaw a hard line of veiled impatience. It wasn't right, losing her temper with Ruzaan at a time like this, when the Togruta was paralyzed and suffering physical agony that Samara could only imagine. Strained to the limits or not, she had no right to take it out on Ruzaan, who had been there to comfort her every step of the way, in spite of and through his own pain.
Hot tears stained the Chalactan's cheeks as she knelt down beside him. "I'm not leaving you here," she said after that, as if it was the most ridiculous suggestion she had heard all day. Even more ridiculous than trusting that Wookiee. Stiff fingers worked to attach the syntherope to the ascension gun as a tether before the device was pressed into Ruzaan's hands. He would go up first, and she would follow. Samara wouldn't take no for answer, squeezing her hands around his—simultaneously to comfort him and herself. "Throw it back down to me when you're up."

The device wouldn't carry both of them at the same time, not in his condition. She just hoped that he had the upper body strength needed to support his weight since his legs were currently dead weight. "I hope you've been working out." The joke fell flat, and her tone was hardly lighthearted, but it was all she could manage for now. If he needed her to, she would aim and fire. But it was the Togruta that would escape the cavern first, not Samara. @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Faced with Samara's anger, Ruzaan couldn't help but feel frustrated himself; his bitterness over how he'd fared thus far spilling over. He felt so helpless. "I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier... oh, wait, you were being strangled by a Wookiee!" Ruzaan would've said more, but he was forced to contend with a sudden lump in his throat at the thought of the Wookiee having gotten the upper hand. The anger drained out of him as quickly as it had arisen.

When he recovered, his tone was much softer; apologetic, even, and very honest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my anger control me like that." He'd spoken harshly to Atris at times as well; she'd never deserved it, either. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm touched that you care about me enough to want me to go up first." It was difficult to make eye contact with Samara given their respective angles, but he did his best, squeezing her hands as she held his in order to get her to focus on him.

"What I need you to remember is that getting out of this hole isn't the end of the mission; we'll still have to get out of the Shadowlands, and I'm in no state to defend myself or the rope while you climb out if I go up first and there's something else trying to kill us. Plus, I'm starting to get some feeling back in my toes. A few more minutes to recover would be great."

A shaky breath as Ruzaan realized that he didn't like the idea of letting Samara out of his sight, either; there was nothing like shared adversary to help form a bond, and there'd been plenty of adversary already on this mission. "It's got to be you going first, Samara. I know that you won't leave me." Of that, he was certain.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

"Don't worry about it," the Chalactan murmured, averting her gaze from his even as she felt him searching for hers. They'd both lost their tempers, and although she didn't want to admit it at the moment, she realized that Ruzaan had more right than she had. She was even more loathe to admit that he was right about her going up first.
The other Wookiees might have been waiting for them up there, ready to ambush them. Ruzaan, in his condition, would be helpless to fend them off while simultaneously holding onto the syntherope for dear life. Samara had to be the first one up, and that meant leaving Ruzaan behind. "Fine," she all but growled, hooking the lightsaber she had borrowed from the Togruta back onto his belt. "Keep this close. I'll throw the line back down to you as soon as I reach the top, okay?"

One last squeeze of the hand, and she pulled away, rising to her feet. She was trembling, still coming down from the adrenaline high of nearly dying, but she tried her best to ignore it. She glanced at Ruzaan once more, attempting to smile for his sake. She failed miserably. "I'll be waiting for you up top, Ruzaan. Just... try not to get lost on your way up." With that, she was gone, disappearing in the darkness as she ascended toward the gaping hole in the ceiling of the cavern @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

For a brief, tense moment, Ruzaan was worried that he'd pushed Samara too far. The Chalactan refused to meet his gaze, and the tone of her agreement was dangerously close to the growls of the Wookiee inhabitants of Kashyyyk. If it hadn't been for her hand squeezing his, the Togruta might've feared that their friendship had been strained. However, her parting words carried with them a reassuring familiarity; their connection had always felt most genuine to him when they were bantering.

Flat on his back at the bottom of the sinkhole, Ruzaan watched Samara ascend the rope, rapidly vanishing into the darkness. He couldn't think of a good comeback, so he just held onto the memory of her smile and her gentle teasing, awaiting the promised rope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Samara would encounter no significant difficulties during her ascent; with more than enough rope and a Jedi's conditioning, the climb passed without incident and she would soon find herself cresting the edge of the sinkhole. If it was possible, the Shadowlands were even darker than before; perhaps why the Wookiees hunting them hadn't continued their search. It had been enough to see the ground giving way beneath their feet from a distance to be all the confirmation the Wookiees had needed that Samara and Ruzaan had paid the price for the "vine incident". As superstitious as they were stubborn, the hunting party had fled the Shadowlands lest the vengeful spirits that had swallowed up the Jedi came after them, too.

That wasn't to say that the Shadowlands were tranquil- the sounds of leaves rustling and the calls of any number of Kashyyyk's infamous wildlife carried through the night air- but the Chalactan wouldn't be able to make out any immediate threats, either. As she reached the top, her commlink buzzed as it faintly connected to a satellite and received a message...

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Reaching a blood stained hand out, the Padawan groped in the dark for something to cling to. It latched onto the first solid object she could feel, an exposed wroshyr root twice the size size of her wrist. Once she was convinced that it was strong enough to hold her weight, by jerking on it two or three times, she tugged with all of her might. Over the edge of the sinkhole she crawled, both feet pressing into the loose dirt, scrambling for a foothold.

She reached the top and collapsed on her back, chest rising and falling with every labored breath she sucked in. The Chalactan's legs felt like a faltering tower of jello that might collapse at any moment. The urge to close her eyes and drift off to sleep, where she would be released from the aches and pains that settled and multiplied in every muscle, was powerful. Dull eyes stared upward, looking for the familiar and comforting display of an infinite number of stars flecked across the night sky, but there were no stars. No moon. No sky. Only the endless canopy of Kashyyyk's trees.

She listened for movement—a low growl, the snapping of a twig in half, or even the full call of a horn. Nothing. It was eerily quiet, disconcertingly still. Only the sound of her own breathing and the unsteady rhythm of her heart palpitating within her chest filled the silence. Until the comlink in her pocket buzzed. Samara sat up. Hopefully it was Master Ennias on the other end of the line and not the same Wookiees that had been hunting them.

"Hello?" Samara spoke into the comlink. "This is Padawan Draven. Padawan Kai and I have been injured. I'm sending coordinates—" Only static answered her. The signal wasn't strong enough. Yet. The comlink was stowed in her pocket again, and the sytherope thrown back down to Ruzaan. The Padawan's violet training lightsaber was activated to light the way once he reached the top. A beacon of light to guide him toward her.
"Come on, Ruzaaan..." Samara watched with baited breath, an unsettling ache in her chest that she wouldn't be able to shake until she saw him face to face again. @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan didn't expect how much he'd been leaning on Samara's presence until she was gone. Togrutas hated being alone and they hated being hunted; here, it felt like he was both. The warmth of the Chalactan's smile in his memory began to ebb, crowded out by the chilling feeling that he was going to die in the bottom of this Force-forsaken hole. Seconds ticked by, each feeling like minutes; each minute like an hour. How long had Samara been gone? She wouldn't leave him- of that he was certain- but what if she had been captured at the top? What if the climb was impossible? What if, what if, what if?

With his right leg somewhat responsive and his left capable of bending, Ruzaan's strained patience finally wore thin. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his lower back, the Togruta hauled himself onto his right knee and began crawling over towards the side of the hole. As he did so, a few rocks and pebbles raining down heralded the most-welcome reappearance of the climbing rope.

If not for the help of the ascension cable, the climb would've been impossible. Almost immediately, Ruzaan could tell that this would be one of the most challenging climbs of his life. It was a difficult enough ascent as it was- four stories high, in the dark, with unreliable handholds and the looming threat of shifting earth- but he would have to do so without much support from either of his legs; his right leg was mostly functional, but he had very little feeling or control in his left.

Samara's commlink would buzz again; this time, a local call. Ruzaan's voice crackled over the system with a fair amount of static; apparently it had been damaged in his fall. "Talk to me, caf girl" he said, hoping that she'd moved past their previous disagreement. He couldn't put it into words, but he needed something else to focus on that wasn't the pain in his back, or the straining of the muscles in his arms, or the fact that his left leg was mostly limp, or the fact that the violet hue of her lightsaber felt impossibly far away as he began his climb. How long had he been climbing for? He'd made such little progress...

"What is the first thing you're going to do when you get off of this planet?"

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Night had fallen over Kashyyyk, and its Shadowlands felt darker and more isolated than ever. Tuneless sounds—what could only be described as "caterwaul," to use one of Master Paploo's favorite expressions—funneled through the forest. A cacophony of wild shrieks and howls, punctuated by the occasional chirp of a bird in flight or ready to roost for the night. None of the sounds she recognized, nor did she want to get close enough to one of the wild creatures to put a name to the call.

The only sound that did not belong to nature was the thrum of her comlink, vibrating in her pocket again. Ruzaan's voice cut through the static. Jedi issued communicators might have been the cheapest available on the market, but they still had a range of about fifty kilometers. "You haven't gotten lost already, have you?" the Padawan spoke into the transmitter.
It occurred to the Chalactan, for the first time actually, that Ruzaan might have suffered a concussion from the fall and risked falling asleep. Eyebrows drawn together, Samara could already picture it in her mind—Ruzaan slipping into unconsciousness, his grip on the syntherope failing as he tumbled to his death. "Just... just keep climbing, alright?" she continued, voice rising both in pitch and volume. "You're almost there."

That was a lie. Staring down into the pit, with only the glow of her lightsaber to illuminate her surroundings, she had no idea where he was. She couldn't see more than a few feet in, but she would say anything she needed to to keep him from giving up. "The first thing I'm going to do is take a cold shower." She tried to laugh, but it came out like a strained chuckle instead. "Then I'm going to lay in bed and watch tv. I've been binge watching the Crepuscular Sector. Want to join me?" For television, not for the shower. @SlagathorTheUnknown