Ask Welcome to the Jungle

[Renfry]

Renfry listened as she explained about what she did when it came to piloting. Renfry didn't care much for piloting, though she could do it if she had to. Most of the time, however, she simply let her droid do it because why not? That was what he was built for.

The mention of not using a navicomputer caught her attention. From her understanding not using a navicomputer was dangerous and perhaps even a bit reckless. Her quirked an eyebrow but didn't mention it. Perhaps she understood, and she was confident she knew far less about the topic than the redhead did.

A hypergate? she asked. She'd never heard of such a thing and had absolutely no concept of what it was. Was it something to do with hyperlanes? Probably not if she was actually making a special mention of it.

She listened to Lyra's explanation of what the gate was as they continued to walk until they eventually came to the mouth of a cave. She had a feeling that the caves stretched deep into the mountain, and while she wanted to begin scouting it, she knew they wouldn't be able to map the entire thing.

Guess we might as well dive in, she said, looking at the mouth of the cave and heading inside. She reached into her pack and pulled out a bag filled with small devices that were dome shaped.

Here, take some of these. They're trackers to help map where we go and where we've been, she said. A convenient piece of technology that was probably closest in function to a GPS waypoint.

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"A hypergate." she affirmed, "It is ancient technology that existed before hyperspace travel, but still managed to find a way to manipulate space and time to open portals to other systems." Lyra explained in the simplest terms she could think of, but knew the jumps were a bit more complicated as she found in her research so far. Let alone tracking where they could be in the galaxy was like finding a needle in a haystack the size of the galaxy. "Near instantaneous travel, don't even need to get in your ship. The idea is that you just walked through the portal and arrive on another world."

As far fetched as it sounded, Lyra knew it had to have the potential to work after witnessing the campsite belonging to the Blackwell team who perished shortly after getting it to work.

They were at the foot of the mountains and she saw the cave that Renfry had taken interest and her eyes traced up the mountain until she saw the peak disappear in the low clouds. Renfry lead the way inside and Lyra felt her step stutter as she was taken by the awe of the natural landscape. She could count on one hand the times her family growing up had visited the mountains, the ocean was their go-to, but every time, she was taken aback when it came to the mountains.

Inside the cave Renfry handed her some trackers to help with the mapping process. She clicked one on, watching a couple lights blink, signaling it was working and set it down on a large stone next to them. "What type of creatures make their home in caves like these here?" she asked, her gaze looking along the dirt of the cave floor to see if there was any indication of tracks to alert them of other occupants of the cave.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry put her things together and began her descent into the cave as Lyra set the first transponder. She was glad to hear the question, though her answer was going to be disappointing.

A lot of dangerous ones, she said. The Felucian jungles were packed with alien animals, and many of them made their homes in the caves. It meant that what the pair of women were doing was going to be dangerous.

Almost as if on cue, Renfry heard a low growl from deeper within the cave. Her body stiffened and her hands began to glow green. The purpose was twofold: preparing her spells and providing light as they moved forward.

On the bright side, they could fight whatever predator was here now without having to wait and wonder if it might leap from the shadows.

She couldn't see whatever it was, but she had that sensation of being hunted or stalked. The way the cave echoed made pinpointing its precisely location all but impossible until it showed itself. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra pursed her lips in disapproval when Renfry informed there were dangerous creatures that could be residing inside the cave. She shook her head of anymore false hopes that this task would be easy and paused when she heard the growling of a creature that residing in this cave. Slowly she turned her head to look at Renfry with a scowl, displeased with coincidence. "Well, we are in their home..." she sighed and took her saber hilt into her palm, but did not ignite it as Renfry's hands glowed green. It did not offer anymore lighting and the Force alerted her to the danger, but she could not exactly pinpoint its exact location.

What Lyra knew for sure if they were intruding on its home, where it felt safe and it was going to do whatever to protect this area. She remembered when she fought the Krayt Dragon, it too hid far inside the cave and so she had to draw them out. The redhead raised her free hand palm up, using the Force to manipulate the sound of a scurrying creature and luckily, if one could call it luck, it was enough to draw out one of the creatures.

Nearly eight feet from head to tail and stood almost as tall as the two women, the feline creature pounced forward, its large claws scratching the the stone walls as it let out a growl. It seemed surprised to see the two women, clearly unfamiliar with humans being on Felucia, let alone in its home.

Lyra ignited her blade, looking for an opening to incapacitate their first challenge in the cave.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry didn't hesitate as the creature came into view. Lyra had done well to draw the creature out, but it moved fast. Renfry let loose a ball of green as she stepped quickly to the side, letting the energy slam into the creature's side and sending it tumbling into the far wall.

It growled viciously as it scrambled back to its feet, turning so that both women were in front of it. Renfry continued to swing wide, hoping to get it between both she and Lyra so that they could use their numbers to their advantage.

Its attention turned toward Lyra, hoping that without light or an attack yet she might be the weaker of the two targets. It hunched low and then leapt, its claws aiming to tear right through the redhead's face if she wasn't careful. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

It did not take a moment longer for the creature to decide to attack, leaping forward at the two women, Renfry struck first, the eerie green left her palm and met the feline with enough force to send it off its path. Lyra stood her ground as the cat jumped back up, Renfry swung again, but now the creature had its focus on the redhead. Lyra's hilt exchanged to her other hand, while shifting her foot back, toe pointed in the direction she would move as the creature make its leap at her. Its claws extended several inches, easily it could tear through her flesh if she would have stayed in place or turned to run away.

Lyra sprung forward, angling to give herself enough width from being nicked by the claws or for its massive body to through her off course, but not too far to where he blade would not miss as it dragged through the front leg and its side.

The feline let out a roar as it tried to land on its nearly amputated leg; its weight forced it to collapse forward on its self; the pain it felt fed into its need for self-preservation. Lyra spun around, the catlike creature tried to get up, but the extra weight, left it unstable as it collapsed again. It could smell the human and tried to swat at her with its other paw, but Lyra took it with her blade and the roar it released was muffled as her blade came back through its neck.

The mass laid still and Lyra extinguished her blade and nodded, knowing it was dead and that was not as bad as she thought they would encounter down here.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Just like that, it was over. Lyra made a good show of what she did. She took the leg first and she took the head next. The fight was just like fights were: a quick flash and it was all over with someone dead on the floor.

Are you okay? she asked as she moved over to look at the creature. That was a useful piece of information. The two of them wouldn't be mapping the entire cave system by themselves, and this would be valuable information for anyone else venturing into the caves later.

Well, that was fun, she mumbled, looking the creature over before standing again.

I doubt we'll see any more close by, she said. It didn't strike her as the type of creature to hunt in packs and therefore wasn't likely to allow others into its domain.

She headed deeper into the cave and lit the way once again, there were several drops and paths before she reached something that made her stop.

Is that an underground lake? she asked. She let the light burn brighter so they could both see it. The light glinted off the water below, seeming to ripple and flow in its own way. She thought it was quite beautiful, and had never seen anything like it before. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

The girl stepped back from the creature as Renfry spoke, she glanced at the woman and nodded. Aside from the adrenaline still coursing through her body, she was fine, not even a scratch. Renfry looked over the feline suggesting this one was probably the only one in this vicinity and Lyra agreed. A predatory creature as big as it was would have large territory. If there were more, they would have met the rest of the pack by now, otherwise, it was solitary, and soon another creature like it would take this area for itself. The idea that more of these existed in the jungle made the young Sith wonder what else lurked in this jungle, more so in this cave. She turned her gaze toward the shadow that covered their path, ready to move on as Renfry lead head, giving some light to their path.

As they continued, Lyra set down the trackers; she had to rely more on her sense of feeling than anything in here. She could feel the natural pulse of Felucia, an ebb and flow distinct from other worlds she had visited. Eventually she turned her attention to Renfry, feeling her natural pulse in the Force, Lyra thought it was nearly in unison with Felucia, but it was also different from other sith she had met. Though Sith like Lord Asminys and Emryc were different in their signatures that surely spoke of power, finesse, and strength, Renfry's felt more...ancient, one that carried a wisdom and respect that elicited curiosity from the redheaded Sith. Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but paused when Renfry spoke, questioning what they saw as the area grew a bit brighter.

They indeed came upon an underground lake, the mineral waters eddied as they both looked onto the pool. "There is certainly a current..." she said crouching down to better look at the movement of the sediment. "Either there is spring feeding into it, or there is life underneath." she spoke, rising back up and glanced to Renfry, "Maybe both." she added, though she was uncertain of what kind of life would exist in such a pool. Lyra took out another tracker, finding a ledge in the cave's walls that hopefully would be high enough to keep it from being submerged in the waters if there was flooding.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry let the light in her hand blaze a bit brighter, casting a green glow over the room that expanded much further now. It was exquisite and beautiful, and in addition to that, it would make a good launching point to begin setting up operations.

It was a simple job to set up trackers throughout the room, and in short order the first step of base creation was done.

Perhaps, she agreed. She wasn't sure if anything had taken up residence in the water, but a part of her doubted it. And yet, each world was different, and she couldn't say with any certainty.

You want to ask me something? she said. It was merely an impression in the Force, but the redhead had a general sense of curiosity about her in the Force. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra stood with Renfry, looking out onto the pool for a few moments longer, taking in the natural beauty of the cave and the water. It had reminded her of stardust, the cosmic particles that were suspended in weightlessness as they drifted together in space, a beauty that lures curious spacers only to met with havoc and treachery as they try to navigate through such dangerous entities. However, compared to the peacefulness of the pool, it brought reminders of the beauty, certainly not as dangerous for either her or Renfry if they were to step in the water, but something to be respected and perhaps admired from afar even as the temptation to disturb it was there.

After setting down several more trackers, they started to back-track through the cave; Lyra's mind was still on the pool, she processed in her questioning of self-reflection when Renfry spoke. She clearly felt Lyra's touch from earlier and the girl's cheeks slightly blushed from being called out.

"Ask you something?" she questioned, trying to scramble for an actual question instead of statement, "Well, I...uh...well, your power - the Shadow- it doesn't feel like others I have felt." Lyra started, "Where does it come from? To me, it feels old, ancient almost and heavier than the Force I know." the young Sith shrugged, trying to put words to feelings, "Tell me about the Shadow you know."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry seemed to have caught the young woman off-guard with her question, which was somewhat of a surprise. Perhaps whatever the redhead had been thinking was not something she felt comfortable asking. Maybe that's why she had opted to remain silent.

And yet, Renfry was curious. She wanted to know what was bothering the other woman, and when the question finally came... well, it was more or less a variation of what she'd been asked many times. If anything, she was surprised it had taken this long for the question to come up.

But knowledge could be traded, couldn't it? In learning you taught and in teaching you learned. She had her own things she was curious about.

Still, the question made her pause for a moment as she thought about what it was that was different. She'd learned a great deal since joining the Sith and much of it was very different than what she was taught as a Nightsister.

It's different on my home, and the way I pull from the Shadow is different, she said. The explanation wasn't much of an explanation, was it?

It's the same energy, but we channel our energy through spirit and earth rather than directly into ourselves, she said. That probably didn't seem like much of an answer either.

What do you feel from me vs, say, your Master? she asked. This was one part learning opportunity and definitely had nothing to do with Renfry's curiosity about Emryc. Nope, not one bit. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra walked just a little closer to Renfry as she waited for her answer, the silence seeming to build anticipation to what Lyra assumed to be some great secret. However, as Renfry looked for the words to explain how it was different, Lyra felt it was lackluster and a bit of disappointment crept into her chest. Though now she was a bit curious to how it felt on Dathomir and what it was about this world compared to the woman's homeworld, the idea that it was channeled through the earth and spirits gave it a greater mystical quality. "Spirit and earth..." she repeated, glancing away in thought, thinking about how the darkside was channeled through her own body by her will, but before she could ask another question, Renfry asked her own.

The redhead thought about what she felt from Emryc in the Force and unfortunately, she felt many things, though much of it seemed clouded by her own conflicted feelings. "There is a finesse." she finally stated, her tone falling softer, "Its calm and refined, as though it had been processed over and over until there are not flaws." Lyra pursed her lips lips in thought, "I can never read it, only feel it, but it falls through my finger tips whenever I touch it."

She glanced at Renfry, "Nothing like your presence, yours doesn't consume, but him..." Lyra opened to speak her next words, but stopped, "I wonder if it would be easier to let it consume me, then I can have what he has." there was a flutter of anger in chest as she kept her eyes focus on the ground before her, "To know what he knows, what he thinks; he can be so pretentious!"

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened silently to what Lyra said and explained. She could practically sense the disappointment that Lyra felt at Renfry's answer, but it was a difficult thing to describe. The Nightsister had spent her entire life learning how to cast spells and perform rituals.

And she listened to what Lyra said about Emryc. Much of it sounded familiar. Emryc was... complicated. In fact, she had a feeling he had no idea just how complicated he was, but there was also no question about his precision. That was a good word for it. Nothing was done part way and anything less than perfection was failure. She could only imagine what it was like to train directly under him. Renfry's own Clan Mother had been demanding in many ways, but only sometimes.

But you respect him for it, don't you? she asked. It was only a guess, but she would wager the experience was indescribably valuable. She knew that she had been shaped by him in many ways, and that was without being his apprentice. Though she was his weapon, wasn't she? Was that better or worse? Different.

If you let it consume you, you'll become... more than you are, but less of yourself, she said. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Lyra tilted her head back in dramatic teen fashion and accompanied it with a huff, "Yes..." she admitted, as much as she hated the feeling, she respected him because she trusted him. It was a dangerous feeling, many in her life leaving her deteriorating how she viewed respect and trust. But Emryc was always there; he gave her the space she needed and pressed when it was time to push her. The redhead dropped her head into her hands and pushed back the flyaway hairs from her face, listening to Renfry add about the consumption of the dark side.

The redhead fell quiet, but her mind busy, quickly preparing the ammo for the next question. "How do you know my Master?" she asked Renfry. She remembered how the woman looked at her and sprinkled her with pity in her response at the Sullust celebration. There was something deeper there than her just wanting to know how she thought of her Master, she then frowned as a thought dropped and suddenly the corner of her lip curled into a coy grin.

"Are you guys like...dating? Or like were you dating?" she asked, recalling how some of the girls in her school would reply with similar responses after a bitter break-up. Though the idea of anyone wanting to date someone who was so flat personality-wise baffled Lyra. They might had been as bland as well!

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry knew that she respected him because it was difficult not to. He was often insufferable, but he was singularly driven and wielded a power and connection to the Shadow that was far greater than most and growing.

Lyra asked how Renfry knew him, and she paused a moment to think of the best answer. She was his weapon? Positioning to be his right hand? She served him? Any or all of those were technically true, and yet not one of them really fully encompassed everything. There was more to it than that. They were intimate and yet distant from one another. There was perpetual tension, and sometimes even a pursuit of something she knew couldn't be obtained.

It seemed, however, that Lyra had her own idea of what the two of them were. Of course, the concept of courting or dating was a completely foreign concept to Renfry, and so she found herself starting to think about calendar dates. That... didn't make any sense.

What's "dating"? she asked, frowning and scrunching her face up a bit in confusion. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

A look of bemusement overcame the girl's features as Renfry questioned what she meant by 'dating'. It had left her at a lost for words, now wondering how this woman could not know what was dating. It was certainly one of those things that Lyra was certain everyone knew, experienced, or had some understanding of the concept. Clearly that was not the case.

"What?" Lyra coughed, uncertain if she heard her correctly, "What's dating? You serious?" she questioned but seeing the confusion on the woman's face, perhaps she was not trying to fool Lyra. "You look serious..."

The redhead scratched her head, trying to think of a remedial explanation to dating, "Dating...its like when you go out for dinner or a holofilm with someone you really like, possibly even love and decide if this is someone you want to be with for the rest of your life...like courting someone...I guess that could be another word for it." Lyra explained, quickly glancing at Renfry to gauge how well she was grasping this concept.

"Sometimes you hold hands, buy flowers...candies...fancy jewelry, cologne perfume...to show how much you adore them. All about things like first kiss, first date, first song, first dance..." she added, "And if you like are really serious about them, you then move to more intimate activities.... you know like sex. But some just skip to that first and do everything else later." Lyra shrugged.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry's expression switched subtly from confused to upset as the woman made it very clear that she couldn't believe Renfry didn't know what dating was. She knew there was a great deal she didn't know about the galaxy, and she didn't love having it pointed out to her so unhelpfully.

Still, she didn't say anything as she listened to Lyra's explanation. Candies and films and dinners and gifts? That... didn't really seem like what she and Emryc had. Sure they had the "intimacy" part, but none of the rest. Was that what they were supposed to have? Dathomir wasn't really a world that highly valued, well, any of that. Men were mostly just breeding stock and brute labor. The use of the word "courting" didn't do anything to alleviate the confusion.

People do all of that just to kriff? she asked in puzzlement. Was that why Morgan had been so put off by her advances? Was she supposed to go through all of that? Wait a second! He'd given her gifts at the spa! Were they dating?! No, no, that wasn't right, he'd given gifts to a lot of people.

Renfry was barely less confused now than she had been before the explanation.

I... don't think we're dating, she said after a moment.

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Renfry seemed to be bewildered by all the description she had given on what was dating and even questioned the efforts that some went through to get to the point of kriffing. "Its more than just a kriff, its an expression of love and passion that you have for the other person." she explained in a sing-song tone, a smile forming as she thought about all the romantic things she had seen others do for one another. Renfry added she didn't think she was dating, but there was something there and for a moment Lyra's eyes focused sharply as she ruffled through ideas on what it could be.

Perhaps they were like most sith in the Order: rivals, but that did not sit well with the young Sith, the reasoning seeming too general.

"So how do you know him?" she asked wondering if it were a similar story as to her own, "You seemed to know him well enough that you pitied me at that party." Lyra frowned remembering the confusion she had felt to her response that evening. "Did you grow up with him? Are you guys friends, rivals? Work partners? Lovers? Or just playing games and being facetious at the time." her last suggestion was met with hint of contempt. She didn't like the idea she was just messing with her in such manner.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry continued to listen and try to piece together what all of this "dating" stuff was. So people did this when they were in love with one another? Okay, well, that was... new.

And yet Lyra was unrelenting. She wanted to know so badly how Renfry knew Emryc, Renfry was just kind of quiet for a minute while she didn't answer. Grow up with him? No. Friends? Uh... well, that probably wasn't the right word. Rivals? No. Work partners? Sort of. Lovers? Yes. Playing games and being facetious? Uh, no.

We're... she started, stumbling over her words. It was... complicated. We work together. I've sworn myself to his service... and we have a more intimate relationship as well, she said. That was an uncharacteristically gentle way for her to put that, but the entire line of questioning was something she wasn't entirely comfortable exploring or stating because she had more questions than answers about it.

He'd made it very clear that she would never get from him what she wanted. So did she still want it? She couldn't decide. A part of her did, but she was pretty sure she was deluding herself. So should she just give up on the idea altogether? Her hopes seemed to dwindle by the passing day, but perhaps that was for the best. But that was easy to say now while she wasn't with him, and then all her sense would go out the window as soon as she was. She realized she was doing too much thinking, not enough speaking, and wanted to not be talking about this any more.

How did you two meet? she asked, trying to change the subject. @GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She decided she would have liked to remain ignorant of Renfry's relationship with Emryc. Her response felt like a rock dropping in her stomach, pulling her down with it. Now she had more questions than answers and it seemed she was treading in a place that she knew would quickly pull her further down if she pressed the woman further. She tried to comprehend how this woman had sworn her service to him while sleeping with him and yet working together? That did not make much sense, was she like a pet or a side girl, or in more derogatory form, a slave? Lyra realized her step had suddenly slowed after Renfry's response as she juggled with her thoughts; she suddenly became more self-conscious and caught up with her pace hearing her ask Lyra how she met Emryc.

Though she did not want to change the focus back to herself, she pushed aside her thoughts and worries and recalled when she first met Emryc. By the Force, she wanted to murder him that day; if she had the power and abilities she had today, then, she would have wrecked everyone in that silly port.

"I was having a bad day, made a deal with him to go to Corellia." she shrugged, "He traded me for spice, in response, I killed some cronies, mutilated a hutt, broke ankles, ate french fries and flew back with him to Eriadu." Lyra glanced at Renfry, "He tends to always get what he wants in the end." she turned her attention back to the jungle, sighing.

@Phoenix