Clever Girl™

[Darth Carnifex]

"Stop using the standard attacks, use the unorthodox!"

The Dark Lord's voice was booming and authoritative amidst the cacophony of clashing blades and labored breaths. He stood tall and proud in an ungarnished training uniform that clung closely to his muscular physique, his curved lightsaber held in his right hand as he blocked attack and attack from an unknown assailant. Not many would think the Dark Lord of the Sith a quick nor nimble individual, he stood two-point-eleven meters even and weighed over one hundred and eighty kilos of muscle and sinew, and looked every bit the brute and lumbering warrior.

Yet his hands moved with a deftness that would surprise those who did not truly know him, his bladework exceptional as he moved with blurring speed to catch everything thrown his way from his sparring partner. She was unconventional, a total deviance from anything or anyone that the Dark Lord had allowed to grace his training halls. For she did not possess the physicality of his other apprentices, she was wholly unique.

Opposite the Epicanthix Lord was a one-point-seven meter tall theropod named [member="Cle-Var-Ri"].

She possessed a fire in her that made her a perfect candidate for the Sith Order, and the Dark Lord was keen to scoop her up and work to expand her potential as a fierce warrior. It was also a chance to see how well the Dark Lord could train someone with a vastly different biology than his own, and so far he was relishing in the opportunity.

"Faster, destroy my focus!"

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

As hot headed as she was, Cle-Var-Ri wasn't so dumb as to think she could gain an edge with sheer force alone, especially not when her opponent towered over her, probably capable of crushing her without any help in the forms of weapons or the force. While her opponent stood tall, the reptile remained turned inward, striking in short bursts of speed and withdrawing only to start anew. The plan had been to outflank the Dark Lord completely, a feat she had thought would be a simple ordeal.

Obviously, she was very wrong.

Growling in frustration, she took several steps of retreat, surveying the situation as she went. Out of sheer physicality, she was beaten several times over. Agility wasn't doing her many favors, either. Had she no concern for loss of limbs, she'd forgo the pretense of dueling and relent to just predatorial instinct.

Leaning back on her haunches, a snarl marked the coming onslaught. The lightsaber in unpracticed talons, Cle-Var-Ri's attacked was spurred by sheer animosity. One foot digging into what the pavement, her tale providing momentary extra balance, the other swiped at her opponent. Her jaw, filled to the brim with sharpened teeth, stood poised, ready to snap at the first thing she'd find purchase in.

If it was speed the Dark Lord wanted, he'd have it.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He could feel her frustration, the inability to overcome him no matter how hard she threw himself into the task. For all of her primal instincts she could not contend with his battle-hardened intellect, the collective sum of some forty years of battle being used to calculate every outcome, anticipate every movement his opponent made, and being able to react to them faster than most beings. Thus there were barely any marks on the Dark Lord's robes, while the distinct burns of a lightsaber dotted Clever's hide.

It was lucky that the Dark Lord had both of their sabers toned down to low power.

She charged with not only lightsaber, but with tooth and claw as well. The Dark Lord swung his lightsaber in a manner that deflected Clever's own, and landed a scalding blow on the foot that sought to gut him with its sickle-shaped claw. However, he'd reach out with his left arm to catch Clever's teeth on his forearm, letting her bite into his flesh. "You've remembered what I taught you, Clever. The application of both your training and your bestial instincts will unnerve your enemies, and there lies the secret to defeating them."

He didn't move to release her from his arm, but it was obvious from his stare that he'd do so if she didn't do it for him.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]​

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

A high pitched screech in pain was cut short as Cle-Var-Ri's jaw clamped down on the Dark Lord's arm. It'd been far from the first nor last time her scales had been acquainted with blade. Knowing that didn't make it any less painful. Nor did it take away from the small twinge of sadistic pride experienced as teeth dug into flesh. As minute as the bite would be in the scale of the little spat, she still reveled in the sensation of actually landing a hit, a feat that, judging from her opponent's relatively untouched person, was almost an anomaly.

Instinct spurred the girl on, urging her to retain her hold on her opponent's arm, use it as a means to remain in close proximity, maybe even get an actual hit or two in all the while enjoying a small taste of the fruits of the hunt. As brave a face the Tiss'shar put on, she was not yet so blinded in rage to think she could maintain a hold for any longer than the Dark Lord would allow. Her glare said it all as she detached herself, limping in her retreat, tongue mopping up any mess made.

"And yet it hardly fazes you. Not much of a fight, is it?" Each syllable, already more of a hiss than spoken word, was laced in what venom one could muster. Even then, the bitterness towards just about every part of her situation was far from aptly conveyed.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"That is because I am not the one you must be prepared to fight." He held up his bloodied arm, pulling back the ragged fabric to reveal the multitude of incisions made by [member="Cle-Var-Ri"]'s powerful jaws. Undoubtedly to Clever's bewilderment the wounds would begin to close simultaneously, the flesh knitting itself back together to leave behind silver scars as the only evidence that there had even been damage. All over his muscular body would reside many similar scars hidden beneath dark fabric, the remnants of every battle he had waded through since his latest reincarnation all completely healed thanks to the genetic modification that had gone into the creation of his latest body.

"It is the Jedi who you must overcome, my apprentice. Our eternal enemies. You will find it fortunate that they are not like us, they weaken themselves with compassion and delusions of redemption. The greatest charlatans among us have made a mockery of the Jedi for eons, fooling them with false concessions only to gut them the moment they let their guard down. If you cannot defeat a Jedi outright, then you stoke the flame of their compassion with honeyed lies and fraudulent repentance."

He gestured to her snout, to her claws and talons. "And when they think you beaten and defenseless, you open their bellies and feast on the spoils of victory."

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

"Then what is the point in all of this?" If frustration was somehow unclear before, it was crystalline now. She watched incredulously as the incisions healed themselves, spelling out all the time and energy she'd put into the fight as useless, making her own wounds burn all the more evidently. All this time and energy laid to waste. Cle-Var-Ri was worn and fatigued while [member="Darth Carnifex"] seemed as spry as ever. Hardly a fair match at all. Yet she couldn't help but wonder - would his healing abilities work had her teeth pierced his throat rather than arm?

A dismissive flick of the tail and heavy huff of nostrils indicated just how interested the reptile was in the lecture. Lies and fraudulence were a language in which she'd been all but bred to speak fluently. The refresher course was hardly welcome, however necessary it might be in actuality. Powerful or not, these Jedi would hardly stand a chance as far as she was concerned. Given the chance, she'd tear them all to shreds. They and all who dared stand in her way.

"Then why waste time here when I could be fighting real Jedi?" Surely, these Jedi weren't that powerful, right? She could bite her way through a young one, at least.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Because your training is not even close to being complete, apprentice. Do not overestimate your skills, you have the ferocity and potential to be an infamous killer but you need to hone your grasp on the Dark Side of the Force."

His brow knit together in thought, he had been working on something to use for himself, but now that he thought about it... It could be the perfect environment to teach someone like [member="Cle-Var-Ri"], an environment that she would be intimately familiar with. He hooked his lightsaber on the loop that hung from his belt, and beckoned the Tiss'shar to follow him out of the spacious training quarters and down one of the many halls branching out from the chamber. They walked for a long time, all the while in silence. The Dark Lord said nothing about where they were going or what was going to happen when they got there, he didn't even bother to pass the time with idle chatter.

Eventually they would reach a platform overlooking a massive dome with a glass ceiling akin to an aviary, and the distinct forms of several mundane birds could be seen flying between massive trees behind the near-invisible glass surface. The whole complex itself was as massive as several blocks of Ravelin City, and was itself encircled on all sides by more of the Dark Lord's palace. "I've been working on this for quite sometime, apprentice. An enclosed hunting ground to track and kill one of the most dangerous quarry in all the galaxy... Jedi."

And gestured towards it, urging Clever to take in its magnificence. "And soon it will be where you achieve your first Jedi kill."

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Cle-Var-Ri watched with both suspicion and confusion when the saber was deactivated. While more than happy to take advantage of the reprieve from that hopeless sparing match, she could only guess what [member="Darth Carnifex"] was planning. More likely than not, it'd be something she'd hardly enjoy, especially giving her current state. The match and all her attempts at getting an edge had taken a toll on the reptile. Another loss, with any sort of victory no where in sight, was demoralizing, the fact that this was all training being her only saving grace.

Following her master as per his instruction, she was content to remain in silence save for the scrapping of talons on pavement. Such sounds were emphasized every now and then as the pains of the sparring match came and went in bursts. No matter the power level, Clever simply could not recommend anything involving lightsabers and legs. If it was this painful for her, she could only imagine how bad it must be for those stuck with flesh rather than scales.

The dome that was this soon-to-be Jedi hunting structure was one that Clever could most definitely see herself taking advantage. If not for the Jedi, for the sheer beauty that was the place. So many areas to hide, creatures to hunt. Why, she could see herself just hanging out in the area in general. Truly, this was a space she could get very comfortable with. "That day can't come fast enough."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"A great deal of the dome has already been completed, how you feel about a test run?"

Adjacent to the platform was a lift operated by a simple lever mechanism bordered by a metal rail and small latching gate. The Dark Lord walked over to the lift and unlatched the gate, opening it to grant [member="Cle-Var-Ri"] entrance with a welcoming flourish of his hand. Once both were safely inside, he would pull the level and both would begin to descend to the ground level that surrounded the massive dome. All around them were technicians, engineers, and laborers working tirelessly to bring the Lord's vision of a habitat designed for the hunting and killing of Jedi for sport come to life. The entire interior of the dome was built to be its own isolated ecosystem, utilizing an elaborate cloaking technology to conceal the outer walls of the dome and mimic a forested skyline complete with artificial sun and moon cycle.

There was also a vast underground network of tunnels and waterways, allowing the puppet masters of this grand illusion to transport dangerous animals into the habitat at the current location of the hunted Jedi. And there was no doubt that the Dark Lord had an expansive menagerie of beasts at his disposal to set against whomever he hurled into his death trap.

"I have several Jedi padawans in captivity already, perhaps we could corner off the unfinished zones and let you test your mettle against one of the brats as a test of the systems. What do you say?"

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

"Is that even a question?"

Perhaps she was speaking out of turn for her rank. Perhaps she was being reckless at the prospect of spilling Jedi blood, even if it was only padawan. Whatever the reason, her spent energy returned with some bit of fervor, compelling her to enter the lift with a new skip in her step. Her beady eyes flicked back and forth between anything and everything as they descended, paying special attention to the sacks of meat that were the employees. Already, she could envision herself spending countless hours here. Not necessarily for the hunt, either. Sure, that was the main purpose but she could only imagine what sort of spaces the dome held that'd be perfect for a midday nap.

No, Cle-Var-Ri didn't even need to see the entire complex before she was certain she'd make good use of this area. Just the prospect of it all had her considerably more active than but minutes ago. "Let them run all they want. I'd love to play with them."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Good, then let us begin."

Clever would eventually be separated from her master and escorted into a subterranean tunnel that ran beneath the habitat. Through it she would be granted entry to the habitat itself, which was configured to mimic an dreary morning with the slightest hint of dew coating the ground and surrounding foliage. Several benign animals would also be joining the apprentice as she hunted her single Jedi quarry, generally small mammals and reptiles that skittered through the underbrush in fear of the obvious predator in their midst.

It was the perfect hunting ground.

And, of course, only [member="Cle-Var-Ri"] would possess the knowledge that her environments were artificial. The Jedi was not afforded such knowledge, and truly believed that he had been dumped into an actual forest somewhere in the galaxy. A thousand different cameras would monitor both of the occupant's progress throughout the habitat, with the Dark Lord watching his apprentice work with keen interest.

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Left to stalk the forest at her leisure, Cle-Var-Ri was almost hyper-aware of each scamper of small creatures. A melody of hisses and growls followed her, head swaying from one side to the other as she searched for prey. Were they there- no, that was a reptile. There? No, that was some other animal. Her growl grew in intensity, her trying very hard not to pounce on the creature. She was on a mission, she couldn't let herself be distracted by-

The creature didn't stand a chance, giving a little screech as Clever's talons struck it. Within seconds it was torn to shreds, hastily devoured. Maybe not the best idea but it sure was tasty. Licking her chops, ridding her scales of any sign of the creature, she continued on her way. The little appetizer would further energize her for the carnage to come, and there would be carnage, no doubt.

Raising her snout to the air, she took a whiff, trying to place unfamiliar scents, locking in on whatever she found. This hunt would take off one way or another. Whether or not it'd occur in an orderly time was another question.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Dark Lord monitored everything from the control room, a multitude of screens arrayed before him that caught everything that happened. The death of the rodent was gruesome, and barely any of it remained once Clever had her way with it.

"She certainly is ferocious in her element," he mused, "This will be interesting."

Meanwhile the Jedi prisoner had been moving non-stop, panic taking hold as he fervently sought a way out of this hell. His lightsaber was still confiscated, but in lieu of it he had been allotted a crude dagger fashioned from bone and sharpened stone. Unwittingly his bee-line through the forest was bringing him on a direct collision course with Clever, whose presence he was completely unaware of. Naturally, Carnifex had chosen a unblooded Jedi to initially test Clever's skills against, it was good to start at the lowest difficulty and then see where his apprentice's powers met their match.

Fifty yards till conflict.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]​

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

She was close, she just knew it. With no clue as to what the Jedi looked like, smelled like, Cle-Var-Ri had to rely on both the force and a sharp eye to find her target. It was only a matter of time before she sunk her claws unto Jedi flesh, to bloody her muzzle with their, well, blood. Best yet, to watch what little hope they might've had die, replaced only by fear (and maybe confusion) before she struck the killing blow. She could almost taste it now.

Forget rodents and the other resident fauna, she had a sole target in mind.

Increasing her pace, the overall search itself increasing in intensity. An unfamiliar scent, one that stood out against the typical forest smells, was starting to catch her notice. A good sign. So she carried on, tail swinging enthusiastically from one side to the other as feet scampered across the forest floor. When at last she did come across the Jedi in all their nonexistent glory, there was a brief moment in which the two just stared at each other. At first, Clever's eyes were blank, more so surprised by the sudden appearance of a creature that so obviously did not belong in the forest. Then, just as quickly as that had arisen, her eyes darkened, turned predatory. With a mighty screech, she charged, temporarily forgetting she even had a lightsaber. This was her moment, a time to truly let her animosity shine.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Forty yards till contact.

Thirty.

Twenty-five.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Five.

One yard till contact.

The image zoomed and enhanced as the Jedi tumbled through a pair of bushes, nearly tripping into a nearby stream that bisected the clearing he had just encroached on. It was at that moment that he finally decided to take a breather, perhaps calm his senses and take stock of where exactly he was.

Unfortunately, he had elected to stop at the most inopportune time.

From about five yards away the underbrush shuddered and split to reveal the predatory form of [member="Cle-Var-Ri"], his nostrils flaring as she loudly snuffed the air for the Jedi's scent. He saw her before she saw him, and the suddenness of both of their appearance stunned them into several seconds of inaction before the power of flight overrode fight and the boy's legs propelled him in the opposite direction of the sentient raptor. He came nowhere close to actually making a successful escape, Clever was just too fast and she caught up to him in record time.

He was knocked to the ground, flailing uselessly as her talons dug into the soft meat of his back. Blood spewed and stained the grass, rivers of crimson trickling down to mingle with the crystal clear water of the stream.

Everything was documented. Not one scream would go unrecorded, and nothing would be hidden from the cameras.

It was all on display.

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

It was almost too easy.

Clever hadn't known what to expect. She'd never taken the time to learn the approximate differences in skill between a padawan and a knight and whatever else the Jedi liked to call themselves. Still, it was almost pitiful the way this Jedi, practically a child, tripped over the terrain. It was almost cute to see him try and run away, like the scared rodent he so closely resembled.

Cute, and with a side of pathetic.

The moment the chase was on, any sort of reason was lost from the acolyte's consciousness. She took to the chase, catching up to the boy in record time, so quick she almost entertained the idea of hanging back just to prolong the chase and play with the prey a bit more. It was almost laughable just how easily she caught up to the boy, a simple pounce knocking him to the ground. Outside of the training grounds, such a weak prey almost wasn't worth hunting. The rodents she'd encountered while on this search would've almost offered more resistance than this boy.

That didn't stop Cle-Var-Ri from setting to work on her prey. The feeling of the Jedi's flesh on her talons only furthered her bloodlust. It was with great joy that she set to work ripping the boy to shreds, specifically avoiding vital organs until she'd grown tired of listening to his screams. When such a time came, she simply dug a talon into his throat, effectively cutting off those annoying screams and leaving her to feast in peace. It was hardly a clean kill, blood ending up everywhere, even places it probably shouldn't have. Nevertheless, it was another body to her count, another snack to satiate her seemingly endless appetite.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"It's quite beautiful, isn't it?"

That garnered a couple of head nods from the technicians around him, but otherwise the surveillance room was still and silent as images of the butchery were displayed on the multitude of screens lining the walls. The silence droned over for several more minutes as Clever continued to dig into the boy's corpse, ripping away his flesh with serrated teeth before swallowing the chunks of flesh whole. Despite her keen intellect and (almost) civil speech mannerisms, there was a real monstrous nature that fell directly in line with her bestial appearance.

It was one of the reasons he had chosen her over others.

"Alright, kill the lights. Send in the next test subject, one of the more bloodied sorts if you would."

The artificial lightning that mimicked morning would be dialed back until the entire habitat was shrouded in the blackest of nights, faint glimmers of lightning serving to resemble distant stars twinkling above. The next Jedi was one that had served on several tours against the Sith Empire before she was caught by the Dark Lord's Inquisitors, and while she was nowhere near the proficiency of a full-fledged knight she was still something of a capable warrior.

But would she survive in the darkness?

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]​

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

It wasn't enough.

Actually, no, between the rodent and the Padawan, Clever was quite content to settle in for a post-mauling nap. Another rodent or two or something slightly bigger and she'd be completely stuffed and ready for a food coma. As it was, she was meticulously working over the bloody mess that used to be a Padawan. Her talons ripped bone out of the way, her teeth picked and gnawed at the more desirable parts of flesh. It was a mess akin to the table of a surgery gone horribly wrong, the acolyte working faster than any scalpel could, regardless of the practitioner.

And now, for a nap.

Ripping away a good chunk of flesh, the bone still attached, she settled herself not too terribly far from the corpse. There she chewed at a more leisurely pace, savoring the flavor, gnawing on the bone. She could get used to this life, hunting Jedi and then relaxing as she feasted. Already, she could feel a yawn rising as she got comfortable. With the last bit of flesh swallowed and the bone sufficiently chewed on, she rested her head.

Not five seconds after she let her head touch the ground, the area got dark. A more exhausted Cle-Var-Ri would've taken it as a sign, that even the powers in charge agreed that it was time to sleep. But Clever wasn't quite that tired just yet. If she knew her master, based on the relatively brief interactions she'd had with him, another hunt was afoot.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The arena was pitch dark, with only the occasional light of wandering glowbugs illuminating small portions of the artificial jungle. The cacophony of the environment was deafening, the chorus of a thousand different insects and small animals rising up in conjunction to pierce the night air with their interweaving songs.

That was, however, until Clever came around.

The sight and scent of a predator silenced everything around her, though her movements were as equally silent. The Jedi, on the other hand, was a tad louder than the vicious blood-soaked predator. She was more skilled than her eviscerated predecessor at least, and had already begun to put some of the survival skills she had learned in the Jedi to the test despite the oppressive darkness obstructing her vision. They would have to serve her well as her ability to call upon the Light Side of the Force was diminished in this place, smothered by the Dark Side of the Force.

A tree had been felled near one of the streams that bisected the arena, part of its trunk harvested and whittled down to a spear by the determined Jedi with the simple dagger she had been provided by her mysterious captors. She didn't know what lurked out in the darkness, but whatever it was...

It had to be vicious.

[member="Cle-Var-Ri"]​

 

[Cle-Var-Ri]

Cle-Var-Ri's yawn was a squeak high enough that only fragments of it could be picked up by recording. Her head flicked from side to side in a shudder, all to waken her senses a bit more. She rose her snout to the air, sniffing for that one telltale of something that didn't quite belong to the rest of the scenery. Her previous meal, blood still lingering on her scales, did little to assist. In this case, she was better off relying on the force at least until she drew closer to the query.

Sound was certainly her ally, the reptile navigating the forest in a stop and go fashion. With each scamper of a creature, she froze, waiting for the noise to cease or continue on enough to be better identified. It was a slow process, one that would've taken much longer had she been lacking in that lovely attunement to the dark side. Once more, the Tiss'sharl would find challenge, this time in the form of a stream, its constant flow of water providing enough interference to be annoying. With it, also came the chance to get rid of some of the blood, Clever sniffing at it before dipping her snout in the cold for just a bit. Artificial light (or lack thereof) or not, it was still dark enough that she wasn't willing to go through the effort of trying to wash her entire person. No, surely she'd have much better chances for that.

As the search continued, Cle-Var-Ri's fatigue bore down on her patience, the now irritable acolyte making no attempts to hide it in her movements. She was so frustrated, in fact, that she didn't even pick up on the sounds of someone very much not native to forest, not until it was very nearly almost too late.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]​