Ask Dathomir Riding the Unrideable

[Veles]

Dathomir, Southern hemisphere
2 days after Chronicles of Naboo

He watched through the window as they hopped out of hyperspace right on schedule and the huge red orb appeared in front of them. Veles felt excitement surge in his chest as his homeworld grew in front of them, the ship approaching the atmosphere fast.

"Lord Veles, Acolyte Din, please strap in and prepare for landing," the pilot droid announced over the comms. After that last fiasco, Veles had finally bitten the bullet and decided that it was well worth it to stop hiring humans and just sticking with the reliability of a droid. Droids never got sick and called off, never refused to follow orders, and their memory could be reset whenever he wanted which ensured no loose ends to tie up. They also very rarely spoke unless spoken to, which was perfect for the Sith Lord. His last few pilots had all been condescending assholes who thought that the real world was like flight school and they knew better than him.

He clipped the belt and then looked over to Altair as the ship rumbled a little, and they began their controlled descent. "You see? This one doesn't hit any mynocks. We actually get to walk out of the ship willingly." Much better than clambering out of its smoking ruins only to be kidnapped.

As they neared the surface, all the details came into view--the dark, ebony trees and snake-like vines that stretched under branches and around trunks. Altair probably had never been to Dathomir before, and most off-worlders tended to be very surprised at the red glow of their sun and the effects it had on the planet.

"Lovely planet. Great food." He rose as they landed, unclipping the belt and heading for the exit. If Altair knew about the Nightsisters, his first thought would probably be "lots of hot chicks" but that was definitely not the kind of relationship the tiefling would enjoy.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

After their last ridiculous crash landing and subsequent events, Altair was definitely a bit sketched out about Dathomir. The planet sounded wild and there was very little actual information on it. He knew that the Empress was from there and was apparently fiercely protective over it. However, he certainly liked having a droid pilot over the last guy.

“What happened to that dude anyway?” He asked Veles, “Did he ever make it off the planet?” Was the pilot guy also kidnapped? In that case, he was probably burned at the stake or some other medieval bullshit.

Altair had his face plastered to the window as they descended, never having seen a planet like this before. He undid his belts as soon as they landed, actually a little excited. He let Veles walk off first to see if there was any sudden kidnapping..

“Great food?” He asked skeptically, “Don’t they eat spiders and stuff?” Altair asked inquisitively. Dathomir sounded like it had strange practices and foods. However, the chief thought on his mind was -“Hey so when can we scope out some of these witch hotties? Think they’ll dig my horns?” He, of course, did no homework on the violently matriarchal society on the planet…

@vamp

 

[Veles]

"No idea, but he was such a massive imbecile that I have no doubt he'll fit right in to the crumbling post-revolutionary society of reactionaries that is to follow." Realizing that the Acolyte probably didn't know half of those words, he rephrased. "He was an asshole, just like them."

Altair allowed him to exit first, and as he stepped out the door, there was a faint, nearly indistinguishable smile of amusement on his face. The Acolyte was clearly anticipating another kidnapping, and truth be told, Veles couldn’t blame him. Still, here on Dathomir, he felt the most at home, and he knew the planet in ways that most do not. The region they were in, the one where he had been raised, he knew like the back of his hand. Still, he didn’t let Altair know. If the kid had a fire lit under his ass and he relied on Veles to help him escape, he’d probably not get into anything he shouldn’t. It was important that the Acolyte was on his best behavior today.

”You can come out,” he declared as his feet touched the soil. ”Nothing is going to eat you. I think.” He let the words hang in the air as though it were a grave, terrible statement. Things may try to eat them, but the creatures that prowled the forests during the daytime were womprats compared to the other things he’d fought. He could handle a rancor or two.

He stopped abruptly, whirling around to face his apprentice. Veles put a hand on Altair’s shoulder, a grave expression on his face. ”Altair…” He paused for dramatic effect, keeping him in suspense. ”They are hot. They are extremely hot. Unfortunately, they hate men and keep them as slaves, essentially.” He lifted a finger, knowing exactly what Altair was going to say. ”No, not the good kind.”

They kept walking, with Veles leading just a bit in front of Altair so they could still talk. ”And don’t be decrying the delicacy that is crispy vursonk tentacle without trying it,” he added over his shoulder.

They trudged through the forest, though only on its side, not yet delving in. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped. ”Pick one: the claw or the hearth.”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair glazed over a bit when Veles explained about the pilot, but the summary was good enough. His eyes lit up when Veles confirmed that Nightsisters were hot, only to look disappointed about the whole man hating thing. But then he opened his mouth for hopeful suggestions when Veles cut him off again. How the hell did he know what Altair was about to ask?! Damn.

“How did you do all right here since you’re a dude?” Clearly Veles had mad game to grow up in a place that hated men, “And don’t they need dudes to make more Nightsisters? Or do they clone or do some weird ritual shit to make babies from the earth?” Everything about Dathomir sounded like shit from a horror fantasy Holomovie.

Altair grimaced at the idea of eating any kind of tentacle, “I will decry anything that still moves while I’m trying to eat it…” He muttered quietly under his breath as he followed.

Veles would hear a whole lot of shuffling around as they walked. By the time he turned around, Altair’s horns had a multitude of cobwebs and plants caught in them. There was even a creature of some sort trying to crawl along one of the horns. The tiefling stared blankly, attempting to untangle the nonsense. His head was not conducive to traveling through dense forests.

“Um…hearth,” He muttered, shrugging vaguely, “This place gives me the creeps.”

@vamp

 

[Veles]

"I never said I did alright," he chuckled, perhaps laughing a little too hard. Definitely something repressed knocking about in those memories. "But I also never interacted with the Nightsisters much. I did admire from a distance, but knew better than to approach."

He was a bit surprised by Altair's knowledge of Nighsister culture, and it seemed someone actually paid attention in class sometimes. "Yes, they do. They keep them around like livestock just for breeding and they're second class citizens. It is a lovely world, I know." Despite the inhospitable land, lethal creatures, dangerous natives, and remoteness, he liked Dathomir. It was his home, after all.

Veles didn't hear Altair's quip about the tentacles, which was for the better because the lecture that would have followed would have lasted at least two hours and by the end the Acolyte would be able to list the chemical reactions of the different spices involved. The Sith Lord was passionate about cooking and Dathomirian cuisine.

The sound of branches moving about and shuffling was to be expected, since Altair did have horns, but Veles was still surprised when they stopped and he saw him. "Does this always happen to you in forests?"

The Acolyte picked hearth, and Veles' face very subtly shifted, almost as though lighting up. "Ah, hearth. In that case, we're stopping by my parents' house." Was it official Sith business? No. Was it part of the training? Also no. But since they were on-world and it had been years since he'd seen them, Veles considered that a little detour wouldn't be so detrimental. It would be interesting to see how they'd react when they see he has an apprentice and is actually well on the path to fulfilling his family's destiny.

They turned and entered into the forest, walking down a path that had huge ebony trees with branches that hung high enough that Altair would not have the same difficulty, a chill air blowing through the corridor. Dathomir was definitely unnerving, and perhaps Veles was seeing it as much less so than it actually was.

And after about fifteen minutes of prowling around, they turned a corner and came into another clearing, this one fairly larger. There was a field with crops growing, as well as an actual fence protecting the property. Many trees in the area had been cut to make space for what could only be described as a ranch. The wood the houses that dotted the site was black like the trees, giving them quite an interesting and dark look, but there was something about them that exuded safety. He knew that it was the rituals that his parents kept up daily were the source, and the family would not have lasted this long here without them.

His nervousness increased as they approached the door, peaking as they went up the steps and stopped in front of it. It had been long. What if his parents had changed? What if they were going to be upset about him not visiting? What if he hadn't done enough?

Then he realized he was a Sith Lord, and worrying about whether his mom would get mad at him for not giving her a call was not something Sith Lords did. She didn't even have a datapad, so if she wanted to talk to him she could move offworld, like he'd suggested dozens of times.

"They're nice," he assured the tiefling, perhaps procrastinating just a little bit. "This won't take long, and then we can move on to the actual challenge."

And then he knocked.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Look,” Altair said, entirely serious, “How bad could it be living the life of breeding stock? Like, your full time job is boning hot chicks. I wouldn’t mind being treated like an 8th class citizen for that,” The tiefling grinned, “And look at me, dawg, I’m jacked. I bet they’ll be like ‘aww shit look at those genes, I want some powerlifting babies!’” He enunciated his point with a high pitched voice to mimic Nightsisters, all while flexing his arms.

He blinked a few times when Veles asked if this happened to him in forests, “No,” He answered very quickly, “I mean, sometimes- but- yes..” He finished in a defeated tone, taking out some more cobwebs. Altair grimaced as he threw an oversized spider from his head. What the hell?! He was in the middle of unhooking some vines when the Sith Lord spoke again. Altair looked over, highly alarmed.

“Your….parents?” He said, mildly terrified. His own family was loud and obnoxious and it was embarrassing to bring people around. What the hell was Veles’ family like?! Not like he had a choice, because they began to wander off in that direction regardless.

“Man if it were my family, they’d be the challenge,” Altair said as they walked, “Love them but damn they’re loud,” He said as they came up to the door. By then, he made sure to get all the cobwebs out so he didn’t look ridiculous.

“Yo, Mrs. Veles won’t freak ‘cause I look demonic and shit will she?” He asked quickly, but it was too late. The door opened.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

The more Veles thought about what Altair said, the more frustrated he became. He racked his mind for an answer, for a contradiction, and yet--

"You know what? You are absolutely right." He should have just joined a Nightsister village instead of leaving. As of late, he'd found himself severely lacking in the "getting game" department, and one would think the opposite happened as you climbed through the ranks. "Maybe we'll meet a Nightsister and we can ask her if she'll have us." The odds of one wandering this far from the village on the other side of the mountains were astronomical, so if they did run into one, it would be worth a try.

Veles ducked as Altair threw the spider, its leg nearly catching onto his hair before the creature hit the ground and skittered away into the underbrush. Seeing the Acolyte's look of horror at the prospect of meeting his parents, he couldn't help but laugh. "Do you have a big family? Brothers, sisters?" He found he was genuinely interested in the tiefling, which was very rare for him when it came to meeting new people. He'd never asked anyone something like that before.

"No, they're going to lov--Oh hi, mom!"

The door swung open and there stood a spindly woman with shoulder-length gray hair. Her face was angular in the same way Veles' was, her eyes a deep hazel that had once resembled his. Her face bore the marks of age, the telltale crinkles in skin around her eyes that signified she'd laughed a lot, her eyes a bit sunken in but nevertheless full of life. Her lips pursed, her eyes narrowed, she glared at Veles, and he simply stood there. This was something Altair would never witness again in his life. Truth be told, no one would even believe him.

The Sith Lord was intimidated by his mother. It was clear from the way he stood there still, like a deer caught in the headlights, clearly bracing for an earful without even knowing why. His eyebrows raised a bit as she simply stared at him in silence, and then she burst into motion.

"Cinere Hux Autem! Not so much as a call! Not so much as a letter! Not even a postcard?" Despite the berating, she swept towards him and pulled the Sith Lord into a motherly embrace. "I know we raised you better than that!"

"Err... It's not Cinere anymore, mom." He looked at her, and she looked back to him, her eyes widening, her face lighting up. She opened her mouth, awestruck, and Veles simply nodded.

"Oh, we knew you could do it! We knew you had it in you! We knew it was you who was chosen!" She grabbed his face by the cheeks, pinching the tattooed skin as though he were a baby. "Come! Come inside! And tell us all about your handsome friend here."

It was just now that Veles' mother paid attention to Altair, and he would suddenly find himself beset upon by her piercing gaze. It was something that Veles had never been able to recreate or understand; his mother just had this way of looking at people as though she could see their soul and read their mind. It was unnerving to be stared at by her.

Except with Altair, that wasn't the case. No, she scanned him from head to toe, her head shamelessly craning down and then back up. Veles stepped past her and into the hallway and began to take off his boots. "Mom, he's 17! And how am I supposed to call when you can't connect to the holonet?!"

"If you wanted to, you would!" she retorted, and he scoffed. Then, she turned to Altair. "When does your species mature?" she asked Altair.

"Oh, just drop it, mom." He took his cloak off and hung it up.

She waved her hand dismissively in the air in his direction and began to make her way into the living room. Their house was relatively spacious but cozy, filled with all sorts of trinkets and books, stocked on shelves upon shelves. Trophies of creatures from all over the Galaxy hung up on the walls, and there were paintings around depicting famous Imperial victories. Veles' house was essentially crammed full of heirlooms and historical artifacts.

"Jak! Jak, get down here and come see your son!"

Veles motioned for Altair to take a seat on the couch across from him and fell into the armchair behind him. Oh, how he'd missed it.

His mother took a seat next to Altair. "So tell me about yourself. What's your name? Where are you from? How did you meet my son?"

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair completely lit up when Veles saw his flawless argument. He would remember to pitch a ploy to go score some Nightsister chicks later. When he asked Altair about his family, he smiled sheepishly, “Ten siblings, man,” He said, shaking his head, “We’re a clan,” He explained about his very loud family and how everyone listened to Ma. He also talked about how they all branched off to different professions. Most of it was spent gushing about how much he loved his family and how they were all Matukai and valued the Force above all.

The door opened then and Altair stared wide eyed at an older, prettier version of Veles. The glare was so severe, Altair wanted to sink into the ground, and it wildly reminded him of when he messed up and got that look from his own mom. Come to think of it, his sister Nana somehow had that look down as well so he got double the glares. The tiefling glanced over at Veles, surprised to hear his birth name. It took every fiber of his being not to laugh when the woman reached over to pinch Veles’ cheeks. However, he quickly looked back when she referred to him as handsome.

If there was one thing Altair was good at, it was behaving politely around elders. He extended a hand to shake hers, flashing a charming smile, “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Autem,” He said smoothly, “I’m Altair Din. I’m a tiefling, and I’m already matured,” He pointedly didn’t look at Veles. He made a point of taking off his shoes as he entered the home, taking in sight of the decor all around and old pictures. This was beyond fascinating and he decided he would spend a ridiculous amount of time looking through all of it.

Altair was all too familiar with the complaints of not contacting his own mother. He decided he would do Veles a solid, “Actually, Lord Veles here has been very thoughtfully collecting mugs from everywhere we’ve stopped just for you,” He smiled warmly at that. At the same time, his tail shot up to slap against the backs of Veles’ legs to keep him from opening his mouth. He knew the Sith Lord was ridiculously attached to his mugs, but he also knew this would pacify his mother and probably make her emotional.

The tiefling took a moment to walk past the pictures, spotting a younger version of Veles before all the Dark Side nonsense, “Damn, is this you?” He leaned in close, “Woulda had me questioning things if you looked like that now,” He grinned before playfully elbowing Veles in the side.

Altair didn’t miss how Mrs. Autem chose to sit directly next to him. He blinked at her a few times before smiling again, “Lord Veles is my Master,” He said, beaming with pride, “And he’s the best. He’s taught me so much already and saved my life a few times. I think he’s going to make me one of the best Champions ever. I’m a farmer from Bandomeer so I’m new to the Sith,” He nodded, pausing for a moment before he continued, “Mrs. Autem, I have to say, you look like you could be Lord Veles’ sister.”

@vamp

 

[Veles]

Already matured? While Altair didn't look at him, Veles was glaring daggers into the back of his head. Upon hearing word of his mugs, his eyes widened, and he froze mid-step. A surprised croak came out of his mouth.

"Are you alright, dear?" his mother asked, furrowing her brows.

"Y-yes I'm perfectly fine." He kept walking, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "The... mugs are on the ship. We’ll bring them to you tomorrow morning.” He spoke a bit more quietly than usual, but his mom didn’t pick up on it, instead overjoyed by the gift.

”You have? I knew you cared!” she exclaimed, and practically pounced on the Sith Lord, who looked a little uncomfortable being babied by his mom at the age of 24 while being an actual Sith Lord. Of course, he didn’t say anything.

”Yes. We have.” Veles did not seem to believe his own words as he spoke, but they continued on, finally making their way to the living room. ”I look ten times better now than back then, but sure,” he whispered, elbowing Altair behind his mother’s back.

They all settled down into the living room, and that was when the real hell began. The more the conversation continued, the more Veles wished he hadn't come, and remembering exactly why he rarely visited. They should have just gone to Mustafar to ride lava fleas or something.

"Oh, Altair, you flatter me too much," she gushed, playfully slapping his shoulder. Somewhere in the kitchen, a glass shattered into a million pieces, turned straight to sand. Veles' eye twitched. "How you can make an old woman feel like a young girl again!"

Once he settled into the armchair, Veles pulled out his datapad as Altair spoke to his mom, tapping a little before putting it away. The tiefling’s datapad vibrated in his pocket.

⮜

____ALTAIR ​

☎___ⓘ​

—1654 primeday—​

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
( is that you hitting)
( on my -----------)
( mom?----------- )

( 😊 )

( just like my sister, )
( huh?------------- )

He slid it back into his pocket, satisfied, and returned to the conversation.

”Well now, what’s all this then?”

A man appeared from upstairs,descending surprisingly fast for his age. He, too, looked like he’d been around for a while, and yet he also had not aged badly. It seemed the Autems just had the good luck.

”Cinere is a Sith Lord now!” his mom declared, turning to her husband. ”He has an apprentice and everything!”

”That’s indeed incredible, but don’t forget Sith Lords have a Darth name,” his father replied, giving her a sly smirk as he took a seat on the only other spot remaining, which was the armchair next to Veles, so his wife was now between him and Altair. A true battle of wits. ”Got a Darth name?”

His dad’s gaze was interesting, welcoming, warm, and inquisitive in an intimidating way. ”Veles.” He smiled a little.

”Ah, like the ancient entity?” His dad didn’t even skip a beat. He already knew. He’d even already known his son would pick that name since he was 13, but he had not told him, of course.

”Yes, actually,” the Sith Lord predictably reacted, genuinely surprised.

His mom got up and smoothed down her shirt, heading toward an area that seemed to be the kitchen. ”I hope you boys are staying for dinner!”

”Oh, well actually, we were planning t—”

”Oo stay around for dinner,” his dad interjected, beaming from ear to ear as though he had made the most clever remark ever.

Veles looked to Altair. ”I suppose we can stay for dinner,” he finally agreed, looking completely defeated.

”So what has my son taught you so far?” he asked Altair, his attention now on the tiefling. "And were you just hitting on my wife?"

Veles' lips twitched just a little bit into a sly smirk.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair smiled sweetly at Mrs. Autem as she blushed from his compliment. He felt his commlink buzz, but he didn’t look down just yet because that was impolite while he was engaged in conversation. His attention was taken away from her when Mr. Autem made his appearance. There was a hint of disappointment on the tiefling’s face, but he quickly recovered and offered a smile to the man. He rose and walked over to introduce himself, “Altair Din, pleased to meet you sir,” He gave the man a firm handshake as he had been taught by his own dad.

The tiefling went back to sit down next to Mrs. Autem, listening to the brief exchange between Veles and his father. He couldn’t imagine what it was like being an only child and have the full attention of his parents. Altair had to compete with his siblings most of the time and he ended up connecting more with his older sisters that felt more like mother figures. He was drawn out of his thoughts at the mention of dinner.

“We’d love to!” Altair answered before Veles could weasel them out of it. His gaze followed Mrs. Autem as she rose from her seat and walked away. He turned to regard Mr. Autem when he spoke, avoiding looking at Veles. The man completely put Altair on the spot and he chewed the inside of his lip for a moment. However, he decided to play it cool, leaning back slightly in his seat. The man completely called Altair out..

“Well, sir,” He began, his voice firm and strong, “Lord Veles taught me that I miss every shot I don’t take. And I only live once, so to make the most of it,” Altair smiled at the other man.

“Now if you’ll pardon me, sir,” He said as he slowly rose to stand, “I’ve been taught it’s mighty unkind not to help out with dinner,” Altair said politely before excusing himself to go help Mrs. Autem in the kitchen. He certainly knew his way around the kitchen, after all, and he had no intention of sitting around to let her do all the work.

“Mrs. Autem,” He said as he approached, “Can I help with anything? Chopping, sauteing, baking, whatever you need, I can handle it.”

@vamp

 

[Veles]

So Altair did not look down at the datapad. It was no problem, because he would see it later, and constantly be on the look-out for any consequences. It made the Sith Lord smirk to himself.

When Altair completely owned up to it, he choked on his own saliva quietly, his father glanced toward him, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows raised. Veles just shrugged as his apprentice rose from the couch and headed for the kitchen to “help his mom cook.”

”What the fuck was that, son?”

”He’s 17. Give him time. Remember me at seventeen?” A small grin tugged at his lips, and his dad chuckled.

”Like the time you broke into my stash? Smoked a week’s worth of spice and made me run on fumes the whole week? Oh, I remember alright. I’m still waiting on you to pay me back for that, Mr. Sith Lord. I’m sure that Empire money is gooood.”

Veles shrugged. ”I guess I can spare some of the Kessel glitteryll I got back on the ship."

His dad’s eyes lit up.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Veles’ mom turned around to find the tiefling in the doorway, and beamed. She turned around to the live, lothcat-sized spider she had tied up on the counter that she was preparing to boil in a massive pot, like a lobster. The legs were absolutely delicious, daunting as the meal may seem.

”Oh, well, I think you can skin that fish on the cutting board! Thank you for your help, young man,” she replied, winking. Once Altair approached the fish and touched it, he would be shocked as it flipped around in his hands as though it had risen from the dead, its eyes turning red. Veles’ mother, overhearing, giggled.

”I forgot! You have to be careful, because they have a very nasty bite!”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair regretted stepping into the kitchen the moment he did so. He had been so focused on Mrs. Autem’ boobies that he forgot that Veles ate some weird fucking shit. His gaze flicked over to the live spider and the fish and a horror Holomovie theme began to play inside his head. By some miracle he externally kept a straight face, managing a polite smile as he gulped, “O-Of course, Mrs. Autem,” He said as he walked over to the fish.

“Are you from Dathomir, Mrs. Autem?” He asked curiously. Was she descended from Nightsisters or something? How the hell did people find themselves on this bizarre ass planet without being from here? Altair fought back tears as the fish chomped on his hand. He smiled through it, gritting his teeth and resisting the urge to pulverize the thing into tiny pieces. He extracted his arm, glancing down at the tooth marks imprinted on his skin now.

The tiefling picked up a butcher’s knife and slammed down with a satisfying thwack to cut the head right off. Stupid fish. From there on, he managed the rest easily as he had done this before. He wasn’t thrilled about fishy hands, and every now and then he glanced over suspiciously to see what horrific ideas Mrs. Autem had for the spider. Altair pretended it was a nice, roast porg she was about to serve everyone.

“What do you like to do for fun, Mrs. Autem?” He asked after a moment while he continued skinning the fish, grimacing a bit as he did so.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

The fish dug its razor-sharp teeth into Altair's arm, its slimy tongue darting across the tiefling's hand as it fought to decapitate him. Its grip loosened for a moment and that's when it lost the battle, its fate resigned as the knife slammed down, leaving only a scarred arm in memory. If Veles' mom noticed Altair's suffering, she definitely didn't show it, remaining just as cheery and carefree even as she wrestled the cat-sized spider into the pot and slammed the lid on top with a heavy clang. She turned to glance at Altair and smiled. "I guess you could say that. Our family is from off-world," she explained. "A lot of generations ago, the original Autems settled down on Dathomir after the fall of the First Order along with a large group. Now, only we remain." Veles was the first to leave the planet since they'd arrived.

She turned around and opened the door of the fridge. She looked around within, seemingly searching for something. After a moment, she spotted it and bent over to reach deep in the back, her entire torso inside the fridge and her lower half showcased so enticingly directly toward Altair. The woman took some time rustling around in search of whatever it was she was looking for. Abruptly, she withdrew and rose up, then turned toward the tiefling. She held a sort of fruit in her hands, which she threw into the sink and stabbed.

"I like to read and garden, though I dabble in rancor hunting once in a while," she replied, her expression not worried in the least even as the fruit began to crack and grow until it filled it. "This is for vegetarians," she added with a wink and pointed toward the now-meaty mass.

Veles wandered into the kitchen then, casually strolling in and looking around. "Smells nice." His eyes darted to the fish. "Ah, Altair, I see you have bested the Dathomirian blackfin! In some Nightsister tribes, that's considered a rite of passage to adulthood." He also noted the wounds, which made it clear that it had not been an easy battle.

A drowned, gargled screech shrieked from within the boiling pot, followed by a faint whistle. "The death cry of the Southern eight legged spider!" Veles' mom announced. "He'll be done in 30 minutes." The pot visibly shook as something gurgled inside, the lid nearly flying off. Veles' mom simply waved her hand at it dismissively. "They can be capricious sometimes."

@Sreeya