Dragons are forever

[NightSister]

Mara had heard tales of dragons ever since she was tiny, and had been introduced to Dathomir's native rock dragons once or twice during her childhood. However, rock dragons were dragons only by name and, ever ambitious, she had been quick to entertain the notion of finding herself a dragon as a companion creature. Yes, dragons were dangerous, but so was she, and if she could find a baby, she thought in her eternally high view of herself, how hard could it be?

All the same, even a baby would be difficult and potentially disastrous to handle if she didn't do it right. Mara had been unable to find much about the species of dragon she had decided would work best for her - the Arkanian dragon - so she had enlisted the help of a Zabrak man who at best would have the animal expertise he claimed to have and could help her find and tame a dragon, and at worst would be an extra lightsaber if the dragon didn't cooperate.

She had agreed to meet him in a tavern at Adascopolis, the capital of the icy planet, partly so they could be introduced and partly - mostly - because she was rather sensitive to the cold and would need a piping hot drink to ready her for wandering the icy planet for as long as she expected. She had reached the planet at nightfall and was waiting in the inn wearing a thick, fur-lined jacket and drinking from a steaming tankard of ale.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

It wasn't often Krest was asked for his beast talents. For years he had a companion Bha'lir, a giant cat and endangered species. It was his closest ally for some time, until it's death. It was a sad time, but the animal was old, and could only survive for so long. But it wasn't that much of an impressive feat. Well, maybe it was. So when [member="Mara Sedaya"] offered him a job about dragons, he was quick to take it up.

Once he got to the frozen planet however, he was quick to regret it. The cold was never his ally, and here even less so. Already he could feel the chattering of his teeth, and while he was wearing layers with furs, he was still cold. He entered the inn shortly after Mara started to enjoy her ale, and unceremoniously plopped down across from her. "Y.. You must be Mara, right?" He said through his chattering teeth. A kettle was brought over, steaming, and set on the table. Helped to plan ahead. Quickly the Zabrak poured himself a glass, and pulled out his own custom tea, letting it steep.

It didn't take long for it to, mostly because of how it was altered with the Force, and he would sip at the drink. Almost immediately the feelings of cold faded, leaving only the sensation of warmth drifting through his body. Ah, the wonders of the Force.

 

[NightSister]

Mara looked relieved as the Zabrak finally came and sat down beside her. "That's me," she said between sips of ale. "Nice to meet you, and thank you for coming." She was a good deal more grateful that she was letting on - finding somebody with the knowledge had been hard enough, then narrowing that group down to those who could tolerate the icy temperatures of Arkania had left only Krest. Not that she was initiating another conversation if she could help it.

"So, how much experience do you have with dragons?" She asked, keeping her hands around the heated tankard. Somehow ale was always nicer in sub-zero temperatures. "I do know the principle, but with dragons it's really much better to have someone with firsthand experience."

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

"Pleasure to meet you too, kid." He spoke between sips of his tea. [member="Mara Sedaya"] got a smile as he set down the glass. Now it wasn't as if he had trained a dragon before. They were rare, exceedingly so. But they weren't that smart. Not that they were stupid creatures, but they weren't sentient. His Bha'lir was similar. "Can't say I have, honestly. But I've trained plenty that were just as smart as these dragons, so I ain't as worried. Only problem is finding them. You understand how rare they are, aye?"

Once again the Zabrak lifted up his tea once more, letting the warmth flow through his body. It wouldn't be much longer that he could enjoy such heat, and soon he'd have to deal with the cold once again. Oh what fun that would be, trying to stay warm while searching for fabled dragons. Oddly enough, deep down the Zabrak was excited. It had been far too long since he last truly communed with an animal.

 

[NightSister]

Midly offended at the 'kid' quip, Mara bristled. "I am aware," she replied, "but I've done my research. Rumour has it that these dragons like to hid in abandoned diamond mines, and the most recently sighted dragon was at a breeding age when it was spotted a year ago." She drummed her fingers on the table. "Finding them will be a hard task, but not a dangerous one. The dangerous bit is when you find the dragon, assuming it's hatched, because there hasn't been enough invested in raising dragons to compile the resources to know how to train it. It'll be trial and error - not something I love when the 'experiment' breathes fire."

Draining the last of her ale, Mara set her tankard down with a thud. "So, I don't think there's much more to go over and we might as well start adjusting to the cold." Mara tightened her fur coat and tugged on her hood as she made to get up.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

"I'm not so worried about the fire part. So we should be alright on that part." Not that he was going to go into why. That would be revealed soon enough. As [member="Mara Sedaya"] finished her ale Krest did the same with his tea, downing it. The warmth would last for a while at least, maybe an hour or two. Hopefully long enough to find the dragons nest. "No, there really isn't. I assume you have an idea on where to start the search right? And what kind of weapons do you have on ya?"

He was slow to stand, probably because of the stiffness in his cybernetic joints. The cold wasn't going to be forgiving on them, that was clear.

 

[NightSister]

If he wasn't concerned about the fire aspect, Mara thought with a slight incredulity, then she had certainly hired the right person. Hopefully he could live up to the claim.

"I have looked into several abandoned gem mines and I have coordinates leading to the one most likely to house a dragon, specifically a baby or even an egg. As for weapons, I have a saberstaff, a blaster and a durasteel dagger, but let's hope it doesn't come to that." She had researched the finer details of her mission extensively - as best as she could given the limited resources she had, anyway - and concluded that assuming they somehow managed to provoke the dragon to the extent of being attacked, which was apparently unlikely, her small array of weapons would be all that she would need.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

"It shouldn't, yeah." His blue eyes glanced over to the door, and now back in his normal stride the Zabrak made his way to it. A wave of his hand opened it, and his gaze returned to her. "I leave it to you to lead the way then. Once we get to the dragons, I'll do my job." And hopefully he could do it. A pang of doubt echoed in the darkness of his mind. Could he actually take a dragon? Many times he had dealt with the dragons of Tatooine, the Krayts, but never once had he tried to commune with it.

Well. Time to learn.

[member="Mara Sedaya"]

 

[NightSister]

Leading out of the tavern, Mara wrapped the thick fur of her cloak more tightly around herself as the cold hit her full-on. She would be very upset indeed if their search was unsuccessful.

After perhaps twenty minutes of walking, they had reached the entrance to an extremely unwelcoming mine shaft. It had taken Mara a long time to locate the potential dragon to this mine, but she was now reasonably certain that given enough time to search, the quest would be fulfilled. Switching her lightsaber on to let the icy blue beam light their path, Mara gestured for [member="Krest"] to follow her inside.
The mine was dark and empty and very forboding, but having grown up on Dathomir, these things rarely got to Mara anymore. As they entered the mine, Mara made a mark in the wall with her lightsaber to indicate that they had been there and took a left.

"If you see or hear anything, anything at all," Mara said, "make sure I hear about it."

 

[Dezoti]

As [member="Mara Sedaya"] spoke, the Zabrak was already searching. While the pair had walked towards the mine, Krest made sure to cover his face with just as many layers as what covered his body. But once they went inside this dark place the masks were removed. Instantly the smell of rotting wood hit him, almost triggering a gag. He chocked that down however, and continued to sift through the smells.

Handy trick, Art of the Small. With enough time and practice, even his own biology could be modified.

Rats (or at least so he hoped) and their urine were the next smell to hit. It was a strong ammonia filled scent and held some good news. Things were living here. And if the dragons had made a nest, they also had a food source. That was until the all too familiar scent of a decaying body filled his nostrils down another path they happened to walk by. As well as the musk of something he just hated, no if ands or buts.

"A wampa lives here." Whether a natural inhabitant of the planet or an invasive species, the cold made it feel very welcome. Not the best sign for the dragon hunt, or perhaps it was. Could those dragons eat Wampas? And why did such a thought send a shiver down his spine? Regardless, Krest pulled out Templar's Edge, keeping his thumb on it's edge's ignition. "Keep your guard up, they're crafty."

 

[NightSister]

Mara groaned hearing that they might run into a wampa before they were finished. Although she had never had to face the creatures, she knew that they were fierce and formidable and not easily defeated. Hopefully two armed humans could take a single one out without much problem, but with any luck they wouldn't have to find out. She raised her lightsaber from its position at her side into an almost defensive stance as she kept moving forwards.

Deeper and deeper into the complex system of the old mine they went, and while they did on occcasion cross several small creatures nothing of interest came by. Mara was tiring and her joints were already stiff from the cold, and her desire to keep going onwards was diminishing by the minute. Finally, after what felt like hours, she heard a quiet screeching sound. Dragon or wampa or something else, it was certainly not human, and it was enough to fill Mara with new hope.

"Looks like there's something after all," she said, almost starting as her voice broke the silence. "Weapons out in case it's that wampa."

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

The snap hiss of Krest's own saber coming to life allowed a light hum to fill the air. His body was already tense, and his eyes scanning for what ever it was that made the sound. Certainly wasn't something the Zabrak had heard before. Given he had heard Wampa's before, this boded well. And not so well. Quick as a shadow the man burst forward, right for where the sound had originated. An open room greeted him, with a high ice ceiling and thick ice walls. What also greeted him was a burst of fire.

Dragon it was.

Fire quickly bathed the red man in it's warm embrace, hot enough to normally char a person dead right then and there. Yet the Force chose differently for the Zabrak. Fire burned but never harmed, and it quickly became clear as to why. The green blade was off, leaving Krest with both of his hands moving, channeling the flame all around him, yet never touching. The strain was clear however, for the man was out of practice and beads of sweat formed on the little amount of bare skin he had, and the clothing began to crisp.

Not wanting to wait a second longer both hands moved to the side, causing the fire to do the same, washing against the ice wall with a jet of steam. Deep gulps of air were next as oxygen was once again permitted to enter his lunges.

And before him, a matriarch.

​

​

Protecting her eggs.

"Well, here's your dragon. Shall we?" An opened ended question made to ask what [member="Mara Sedaya"] wanted done. This was her show.

 

[NightSister]

The moment she saw [member="Krest"] tensing with anticipation, Mara began to worry. She had been hoping for baby or unhatched dragons, but had almost entirely overlooked the fact that she could be faced with having to steal them away from a fully grown Arkanian Dragon. If there was one thing her research had not failed to remind her, it was that mother dragons were exceedingly protective of their offspring. When the Zabrak entered the cave, she saw the wall of fire being sent his way at once and upon seeing that he was in no immediate danger, followed in slowly, staying right behind him.

If later Krest told her that he had heard her jaw hit the floor at that moment, Mara would not have been surprised. The dragon was fierce and powerful and intimidating in the most deadly, beautiful way. It was almost entrancing. Although she would have happily looked at the dragon for hours on end, Mara forced herself to turn her attention to the eggs it was protecting. After all, she could not hope to secure the mother, much less convince the dragon that Mara was a friend worth fighting alongside. But the eggs, however, could birth dragons who would look to her as their mother, who would aid her and fight with her as she would aid them and fight with them.

Lowering her lightsaber ever so slowly, Mara locked eyes with the dragon. She didn't blink once, simply stared at it until the dragon stared back with an equally unwavering gaze. Control over animals was a trick Mara had taught herself during her childhood, and while it was much harder when the creature had such great strength and willpower, she knew she was capable of convincing the dragon to let her take an egg. After several long moments of staring back and forth, Mara reached down to scoop up one large, scaly egg and still keeping her eyes on the dragon, backed slowly out of the cave.

 

[Dezoti]

Krest stared at the dragon himself. Though, it seemed [member="Mara Sedaya"] had it's attention. There was no movement from either, and it wasn't difficult for the Zabrak to understand why. She was talking with it, in a way. His hand remained on his blade however, ready to ignite the sword at a moments notice. Once the girl grabbed an egg however and made her way back, he did the same.

As always though, he was prepared for a fight. Once the connection severed, the mother wouldn't be happy.

 

[NightSister]

Once they were both out of the cave, Mara carefully thought out how she would proceed. She didn't want to have to wrestle the egg away from its mother; she wanted a companion, not a prisoner. Unfortunately, she didn't speak dragon and although she could communicate with creatures well enough, making the dragon understand that she would look after her newly acquired egg would require a lot more than just communication.

After a few moments, Mara took her rucksack off and let the dragon see very clearly through the opening what she did next: she stashed the egg inside the rucksack, careful to not dent it at all and to wrap it up in the extra jacket she had packed so it would hopefully be clear that she was keeping the egg warm and safe. Holding her breath, she zipped up the rucksack and put it back on and after a long, tense moment, the dragon bowed its head in what she desperately hoped was approval. Mara let out a sigh of relief, then slowly and still eyeing the dragon, began to move out of sight.

[member="Krest"]