Private &nbsp; Fall low and rise || A Dark Side of the Moon Story

Cali Ziiva

"What was the name of that little Province that took out our men?" Le'black asked with some interest in his tone.

One of his men responded curtly. "Garde Noire, Cap'n."

Shrouded in darkness, Jean Le'black could not help but repeat the name in the common tongue. "Dark Guard, eh? Well, let us send them a message befitting their prowess, shall we?" Le'black insisted, reclining back into his command throne as he laughed out. The pirates surrounding him glanced about before finally one of them spoke up again. "What should we do, Cap'n?" The man asked, before Le'black paused to consider the answer. "Let Tor'ok handle them, he's good at sending messages." At the mention of le'black's greatest warrior, the Wookie Lieutenant, Tor'ok the gathered group of pirates all suddenly descended into a wicked, amused laughter.

Several months later ~ Garde Noire

Illyria was just coming out of its winter months, meaning that production of agricultural and refining goods were going through a scheduled increase. Few of the mining provinces in the land had seen such a marked increase as Garde Noire, due to the dedication of

Xobos Yakieer and the innovative measures instilled by

Cali Ziiva . The province was one of the smallest in its continent, however it was quickly rising in prominence, even with the foreign Sieur in command.

Mining Foreman Legget Guidry had spent nearly every waking moment in the mines of the once-abandoned Alpha-13. Although it was not yet open to services, the mine was surely home to a bountiful supply of Durasteel metals that would boost Garde Noire over many of their neighboring competitors. Legget figured they needed another good two years for them to overtake some of the higher provinces, but the smaller ones were right within their grip. Moving through a damp, dark tunnel of Alpha-13 Legget held a datapad in his hands, trying to remember how to unlock the damned thing. The technology that had been introduced lately had been helpful but it was still a damned pain in the ass to the aged man. His eyes had been so fixated on the datapad that he stumbled in the darkness, his leg slamming against something and causing him to curse out loudly.

"Fuckin' hell!" He bellowed.

A voice called back down the tunnel. "Legget, you good down there boss?!" Legget turned back down the tunnel and shouted his reply.

"Aye, just slammed my good bone into a fricken' rock!" He said, before setting the brightness of his headlamp to its maximum function before looking down below him. Where he expected to find rock and stone he found smooth metal. His mouth came open to examine the cannister before he caught a glasteel surface. A datapad, roughly attached to the cannister. When he looked closely at the cannister he realized that it was connected to more and more of the metal cylinders. He stepped back, looking over the horde of metal cannisters in the tunnels before him. Each one with a datapad oddly attached to the face of them.

Then at once all of the datapads began to activate. Each one displaying a skull and crossbones on the screen.

Legget's eyes went wide. "Clear the mines!" He yelled turning back from the now-blinking screens. He ran back through the tunnels yelling loudly at his men who were further down. "Run! Run you legless bastards, run!" His men did not hesitate, they turned and ran as hard as they could.

Legget and a number of his miners escaped out the mouth of the mine, however behind them came a massive shockwave and a wave of flame. The fire kiseed Legget's neck as he was thrown from his feet, slamming into the hard ground. He scrambled onto his back to see the mines before him, alight with harsh, heavy flames. His eyes went wide. There had been over twenty men in the depths of that mine and Legget had escaped with only three. He pushed himself to his feet, growling angry as he yelled into the air. "No!" His boot slammed hard into the ground before he looked to one of the miners who had been watching with disbelier. "Tell Lady Yakieer what has happened here and get the other mines clear, now!" He demanded.

Not far from where Legget stood, in the thick brush of the trees, two predator like eyes watched the display with interest. A low rumbling coming from his throat. Tor'ok was very pleased with his work.

Xobos Yakieer · Jan 20, 2021

Location: Garde Noire, Outside Mine Alpha 13
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: |

The High Court of Illyria |

It had been months since the last incident with the pirates had wracked it’s way through the small township of Garde Noire. Their ship destroyed a granary mill before spilling out it’s rotten contents, allowing those inside to murder and slaughter any that dared stared in their way. The moment they met resistance in the form of Xobos, alongside Leven and Cali with the guards, they turned and ran like little rats into the woods surrounding the town. If they had thought that would save them, they were sorely mistaken, and their little romp through the woods was swiftly ended by the pack of Maalraas and herself.

For a time, Xobos had been on high alert and wary of what might come in retaliation. It was obvious that the pirates had not expected the level of resistance they encountered from the town, and losing that large amount of men would come as a pain to any pirate band. But nothing came of it, and outside of a few unrelated incidents, Garde experienced a time of unabated growth and expansion. New levels of the main two mines were being opened every week it seemed, while the plans for a new warehouse to store the ore had been completed only days prior.

When the call came that there had been an explosion in one of the newest mines, at first, she believed it had been nothing more than an accident. A costly, and timely one to be sure, but nothing more than an accident that could be fixed. Such things were to be expected in a small mining town, after all.

It was quite evident by the time she had gotten there that this was no mere tiny accident that could be pushed to the side. Flames licked up toward the sky from the entrance of the mine, spilling out from the mouth. Her gaze turned to where the three miners had escaped to, and eventually over to where Legget sat near the side. She knew in the back of her mind to keep him and her apprentice apart for now. Turning to where Aym stood, she nodded to the woods surrounding the mine.

“You know those woods. You know what might be out of place. Go see what you can find, reach out to me if you want me to come.” Perhaps Aym would be confused on what Xobos meant by reaching out to her. She knew that well enough, but she was also smart enough to know the young man was knowledgeable enough about the magic, as he called it, that he’d be able to figure out exactly what she meant. Xobos had no doubt of that.

She then left her apprentice to head off on his scouting, moving to stand near Legget alongside the Zeltron close to her side. Her gaze moved to the mine, lips pulling into a thin line as her voice spoke just loud enough for Cali to hear. “I understand explosives aren’t completely your specialty…but what could have done something like this, Cali? For the fire to continue to rage like..it’s unnatural.” The gaze toward the mine was held for a few extra moments before she turned back to Legget, frowning down at the man then stooped down to his level, so they could look eye to…mask.

“How many people are still trapped in there, Legget?” She quizzed, voice dripping with a pained seriousness, knowing fully well that the mining guild leader and three others couldn’t have been all that was on duty. “Tell me..so I can try and get as many out as possible.” It wasn’t just that Garde couldn’t afford a loss like this if they were to make it through this season. There were men in that mine that had families they needed to get back to. Nothing was going to stop Xobos from at least attempting to find and rescue those people, not allowing them to die burning to death in such a place.

Cali Ziiva · Jan 20, 2021

What? The town had been attacked?!

Oh, right, she'd been there.

Little too much violence for a Pink One's taste. Illyria already had its share. At least they managed to contain the damage from a ship crashing into the mill -- both direct and indirect from all the water and fire suppressants. Still it had been a job cleaning that whole mess up and making sure the stores were kept safe.

Afterward Cali patrolled about with Xobos a few times to keep the dutiful Sieur company. The longer it went on, however, the less frequent her presence until it was about back to normal. She did like long walks with the cutey, after all. Nevertheless, there were things to do -- equipment to repair, upgrades to fashion, and strange new wonders to create! Couldn't let some pirates cause everything to come to a stand still.

"Huh?" Cali leaned back around a pillar to stare at the news of an explosion. She quickly stepped out to follow. "Come on, Goliath. Grab your mining gear." Anything that had to do with collapsing mines was rarely a good thing for anyone inside. Fortunately their resident Engineer and Tinkerer knew quite a bit about Xobos' enterprise in the mining biz. Had an emergency plan or two drafted up for times like these.

When they arrived on the scene, her bright eyes swept over the area while her brow was a mixture of emotion.

Her Miraluka, of course, set to work immediately.

Cali turned to look over at Xobos when the question was asked. "Accelerant, slow burning fuel -- no, an explosive. Probably a lot of smaller ones that caused collapses resulting in a larger explosion. Also, if it got hot enough it could ignite some of the ores... should be careful about breathing in the fumes, Xo, could be deadly." The Zeltron had been the cause of an explosion of two in her days as an Engineer. It was just a chemical reaction, after all. Like creating metal alloys, only these weren't terribly stable and let everyone know it.

As the Sieur turned to Legget, she looked back at Goliath. A fire in a mine... would that mean, if there was only one way in or out... but there were vents, right? So all the oxygen might not have been used up yet. But heat was an issue. Fumes were an issue. She knew of these things, but hadn't actually performed a real simulation to know the probability of, well, survivors.

"Xo," Cali turned back to Xobos, "we could try boring an escape tunnel, or try putting out the fire. The longer we wait, the fewer may survive, but if we don't know exactly what accelerant or fuel they used we might end up using the wrong suppression chemical... and the one guaranteed to put out almost any fire would," she sighed softly, "probably kill anyone left." Unfortunately, the decision was really Xobos' being they were her mines. "We can get started on the entrance though, see if we make any headway with some of the suppressants before we bring in the payload." That didn't mean she couldn't recommend a particular action to take. Cali wished she understood this kind of disaster better... a collapse she was totally prepared for? Sabotage had been a little harder to anticipate -- too many variables.

Tag:

The High Court of Illyria
Equipment: Lightsaber, Focusing Lens Modulator (Variant R), Tools, Military Droid with chemical pack, ropes, wires, and some spare mining parts.

Leven Jeyd · Jan 21, 2021

Location: Garde Noir, En Route to Mine Alpha 13.
Equipment: Daggers, rage.
Tagging:

When sleepless I lie,
As the hours slip by,
I go walking the paths back home.

That impromptu camping trip had been filled with dreams. But these dreams were not the usual menagerie of the bizarre and the phenomenal, of the grandiose and the unfathomable. In these dreams she was no queen of a star castle, nor a hero in a warfield, nor the little fly serving as hidden witness to a forbidden meeting. These dreams were simple - and yet they held so much more meaning than the other, wilder fantasies. The Jester dreamt of the place she called home. Of the mountains, the town and the seat of House Yakieer that she had been momentarily vanished from.

Vanished.

The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. That wretched Sith Lord whom she called Master had turned her away. Left her to rot in some forgotten dirtball with nothing but the daggers that had become her permanent companions. At the very least the blind woman had had the decency of returning some of her shape shifting abilities to her, making her task a lot easier. She only had to survive. Those had been the miraluka's words. At first, the young changeling had assumed that her stay in that unnamed planet would be one of a few days. She would hunt, eat, then return to the exact same place she had been left at - waiting for Xobos to return. Yet she never did.

Naturally, the changeling was outraged. She had been abandonned. Tossed away like some sort of broken toy. And yes, the weeks, the months spent on solitude had certainly accomplished her Master's purpose - Leven had learned to survive and had attuned her senses to the Force in a way that less radical methods would not allow - but this was of no consequence to the impish girl. She had been scorned.

To add insult to injury, the Jester just could not bring herself to understand why a part of her rage was derived from a faint and deformed sense of hurting. Had she failed Xobos? Was this punishment?

Her last night on Illyria she had helped defend Garde Noir from the pirates' attack. She had protected Cali, gruesomely but effectively. Her skills had been improving and she had not raised her weapons against Yakieer again. She knew this, yet the thought that perhaps she had fallen from the Lady's grace despite all of it was both offending and wounding. She was perfect, she could not fail. Yet she was afraid that she had. And as was well known by those who spent any measure of time around the changeling, her only answer to fear and confusion were anger and contempt.

No.

No one would rid themselves of her as easily.

Finding the way out of that cursed and lonely planet had been hard. She had been a stowaway, she had...commandeered certain shuttles and she had borrowed some credits from unattended pockets until she managed to get herself on a ship bound for Illyria. That was only after months of having been reduced to living like some pre-sentient creature in the depths of a hot and hostile jungle. But now she was back.

As soon as the shuttle landed, the Jester's ears were welcomed by that language she now could understand almost perfectly. Illyrian. A smile that threatened to stretch all the way up to her ears found its way onto the girl's lips. However, before setting foot on Illyrian soil, the changeling's skin shifted into something different. She adopted the form of a nondescript Illyrian commoner, and lost not a minute before beginning her final journey towards Garde Noir.

Upon her arrival, the girl walked at a calm pace - eyes roaming around her with care and precision. Everything looked in order, everyone looked fine. Reparations were finished and it looked as though the pirate attack had never happened. Her home was safe and sound, or so she believed for now. An expression that could be either a smirk or a frown painted itself on her face when she was at the gates of Beacon Castle. Finally.

It was then that she was stopped by the guards whom believing her to be a lowly civilian asked her t state her business. She demanded to be let through. The guard laughed and the denial of her request had not finished forming in his mouth before the changeling shifted back into the familiar shape of the imp of Garde Noire. The mischievous devil that all knew so well. The guard was at a loss for words, startled by the sudden appeareance of his Lady's apprentice. She did not allow him time to speak once again.

"Now - Où est lady Yakieer?"

After all this time, she would get the last laugh. Surely the Lady was not expecting her to return and Leven could imagine the expression of surprise on her face down to the most minuscule detail. Not unlike some monster from a tale, she had been invited in and now would not be expelled. She had imagined this moment every waking second of the last few days, and so it took her a moment to react when the guard did not respond in the way she had expected him to now that she had revealed her identity. He went off script.

Lady Yakieer was not in her office going through the day's paperwork. Lady Yakieer was not in the training halls, sparring against the guards. She was not in the main hall having an audience with some insufferable noble...

There had been an explosion, miners were buried within a fiery tomb and Lady Yakieer had left the castle alongside the pinkest of princesses, headed to mine Alpha 13. In a second, the snarky excitement on her features was washed away and replaced with a blank and acknowledging stare, piercing into the eyes of the guard whom took a step back as that aura of darkness grew suffocating around the girl.

Leven did not say a word, simply pushing the guards aside until she reached a speeder that was readied in the courtyard and leaving the castle just as quickly as she had arrived. It seemed as though her triumphant meeting would be held in a different location. And it would not be much of a triumphant meeting, not now that the blood had drained from her face and her little, hollow heart thumped heavily in her chest.

Garde Noir was not safe. Something felt wrong.

Aymeric Rouche · Jan 22, 2021

Aym was trying really hard to care about the fate of these miners, and the greater crisis unfolding, but just couldn't muster the energy to actually give a damn with any measure of sincerity. Ironically enough, it'd become rather hard to care about nearly anything since he'd made the commitment to trying to be a better person and find some direction in life. It was almost more funny than sad. His first run in with Cali, and those intoxicating pheromones, had put him in a relaxed enough state for some deep personal discovery and the first inklings of self-awareness to ever really take root in his admittedly warped and rotten psyche. Under the Zeltron's coaxing and understanding, he'd opened up about his past, the trauma dominating it, and the fear mostly keeping him from making any lasting change. He owed Cali a great deal for having the patience of a saint dealing with him during his first tenuous days in the castle. That being said, the longer things went on, the hunter was gradually growing further and further nostalgic for the simple life of being a vicious, ignorant hermit.

Living as an instinct driven force of nature had its benefits; chiefly among them being a certain singleness of purpose, and comforting assurance that you're exactly where you need to be. He'd been happy harvesting hibernating bats for food and digging pit traps to at the very least maim Loth wolves. There was rage there too, but that honestly just felt like a key component to having the will to survive out in the wilds like he had. What apex predator didn't feel a bit of anger just trying to make it in a harsh world? In contrast, now that he was trying to be what could broadly be categorized as a person, Aym found himself to be downright miserable most of the time. All the amenities he now had access to, though using only a few, were certainly appreciated, but did they really outweigh the whirlwind of emotions that wouldn't seem to go away anymore? Rage now had to fight with envy, regret and bitterness for center stage in his mind. Unrequited attraction and performance anxiety across the board were kicking his ass quite handily; worse than any time he'd ever been mauled by wolves.

The hunter quietly fumed as he'd followed beyond Xobos and Cali towards their destination, keeping his gaze anywhere but on them. His attitude towards each woman couldn't be more different, yet together he was reluctant to engage with either. He'd made a point to avoid Xobos as much as possible, except for training sessions, for numerous reasons; established power dynamics and smoldering rage born of festering jealousy being the most relevant in this situation. Conversely, it was hard to not wanna be around Cali all the time; she was just kindness and understanding incarnate, and he liked her for it. For the sake of keeping his word, he'd been mostly civil to the entire household since they'd become friends. Thankfully, most of the other tenants knew to give him a wide berth, so neither had he really had a reason to be malicious to the garrison of hypocritically judgmental traitors and barbarians.

Aym continued to be standoffish when they reached the mine, repeatedly scanning the treeline to keep busy. He finally made eye cont- well, contact, with Xobos when she'd addressed him about an assignment. The hunter simply grunted and gave her a nod, given there really wasn't anything to say. There wasn't really much else to see of him expression wise either, besides his dark eyes from within the shadow of a hood and the tight hug of a mask obscuring his face. He wore a hooded poncho that nearly reached his knees for the former, and the latter was just a convenient neck gaiter. Both were of a common camouflage pattern around here, especially at this time of year; mostly dark brown with a smattering of gray and lighter particles, complemented with a dash of green to imitate the first plant life to rise after the spring thaw commenced. The pants and shirt underneath the poncho were of the same configuration, not that the latter could really be seen at the moment.

With barely a sound, Aym vanished into the underbrush, leaving only the slight shaking of a branch as an indicator that he was ever there.

Xobos Yakieer · Jan 23, 2021

Location: Garde Noire, Outside Mine Alpha 13
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: |

Leven Jeyd |

The High Court of Illyria |

No backtalk. No yelling. Not even a comment toward the mining captain, in pain at her feet.

It seemed as though Aym was falling into his place by her side. She couldn’t say she expected it to happen so early. Yet the way the apprentice moved from walking slightly behind both her and cali, heading into the brush like a seasoned hunter, brought the slightest hints of a smile to her face. Aym would be a valuable piece to the puzzle one day, but more than that, she hoped he would be able to carve out his own life and make something of himself. Illyria was changing every single day, and traditions were being lost. Perhaps having someone around that could remember those traditions and still held to them would be beneficial to all.

The time to discuss those things would come at a much later time, as Cali’s sweet flowy voice, tinged with a seriousness that Xobos had come to expect with these types of situations, began to give her take on the situation. What seemed to be an extremely grim happening from the very beginning was given no light from what Cali could figure out. Everything was evolving so quickly, and if decisions couldn’t be made quick, there was little chance that the remaining survivors would be able to pulled free from the firey coffin.

And Xobos’ decisions would be paramount to saving what could be saved.

Keeping those that were already safe alive was at the top of priority list, and on the recommendation of her trusted partner, she pulled a rebreather from her belt and swiftly brought it up to her lips. “We don’t know the kind of heat we’re facing, people! Mask up, everyone that gets anywhere near the fire needs to have a rebreather on. The last thing this night will entail is more people dying because of inhalation poisoning.” She called out the group of miners that had gathered around by this point in time, many of which were already getting too close to the fire for her tastes. There had been enough death for the tonight, she was going to do everything possible to make sure there was no more.

“Let’s try and at least get the entrance under control,” She spoke through the rebreather’s robotic voice modulator, turning to look back at Cali. “There’s always a chance that the fire is in the majority of the first few chambers, and hasn’t yet spread through the rest of the mine, right? If the explosion occurred from one of the first chambers, then it would try to escape out the nearest entrance…being the front one, in this situation.” There was a hopeful tinge to her voice, even if in the back of her mind, Xobos knew it was becoming more unlikely by the minute. Regardless, the best thing they could do at the moment was try and establish some sort of foothold. If they could get the entrance under control, then maybe pushing into the rest of the mine would be easier.

Xobos took a few steps toward the mine, intent on getting a bead on helping Cali and her massive droid companion on pushing in, when the crunching of dirt under boot was suddenly halted as the entire Sieur’s body froze. The mark on her wrist, her mark, throbbed lightly. Barely noticeable, but enough so that her gaze slowly moved to look toward where the manor sat upon the hill far from the mine. Despite everything was happening, everything going wrong, the slightest of smiles began to form at the edges of her lips.

Ah, so the Jester had returned.

No doubt fuming, but…she had come back. Just as Xobos had hoped. The Miraluka also had no doubt the lithe changeling would be making her way toward the mine soon. She’d meet the girl when she suddenly appeared by her side, but for now, she pulled her eyes from the hill, instead back into the mine which she started toward once again. It was time to ensure there was no more death in the air tonight.

Cali Ziiva · Jan 23, 2021

"Yeah! I have a few 'breathers here," the Zeltron called out in the wake of Xobos' command. Mining was dirty work, but that didn't meant the miners had to breathe the dirt. Admittedly, Cali hadn't expected to need them because of a fire, but they'd work all the same. Better than nothing anyway.

"And someone get the fire suits from the supply shack," Cali added after she began handing out a rebreather or two. Maybe she hadn't been prepared for a fire being the emergency -- a collapse had been more likely -- but that didn't mean the camp wasn't. Always keep emergency supplies on-site to help respond to relatively contained matters. This wasn't at all contained, but even a few extra supplies were better than none while they waited for backup.

Xobos' voice drew Cali's wide eyes as the Sieur made a decision to suppress the fire at the entrance. "Mm! Fire will appear bigger out here because there's more oxygen." A smile hoped to reassure her cutey things would turn out all right. Of course, she didn't add that the interior of the mine had more combustible material than the outside, so it was a delicate balance at this point. How long did they have? Well, probably depended on how deep those explosives had gone.

They couldn't have gone far, right? How would someone have managed without being noticed? An issue to contemplate later.

Cali hopped atop the storage platform on Goliath as the treaded droid began mobilizing toward the blaze. "Come on, Big Guy. Let's start with 'B' class suppressants." Difficult to say how much grease there'd be, but B was good for wood too. At least it wouldn't be too dangerous for any survivors further in. Anyone at risk of exposure was, well, probably already on fire. "Activate your environmental shields." The droid could weather fire for a good time, but they didn't need to start there. Though the Zeltron hoped they wouldn't be entering the fire for this to be much of a problem either.

Goliath began targetting the fire even as Cali sought to direct its attention. Dispersal connections made, its trunk-sized arms extended outward to begin dousing the area in a mix of chemicals to suppress and neutralize the conflagration at the fore of the mine.

Tag:

The High Court of Illyria |

Leven Jeyd
Equipment: Lightsaber, Focusing Lens Modulator (Variant R), Tools, Military Droid with chemical pack, ropes, wires, and some spare mining parts.

Leven Jeyd · Jan 24, 2021

Location: Garde Noir, Woods surrounding Mine Alpha 13.
Equipment: Daggers, rage.
Wearing: XxX.
Tagging:

The speeder screeched in agony as the changeling pushed it well beyond the sensible limit. For if there was one thing Leven Jeyd could show a grotesque lack of it was patience. The need to get to where she wanted to be was the only thing in her mind, and she could not care less if the poor vehicle blasted away into pieces so long as it got her to her desired destination. She could see the smoke rising up into the sky, if she reached out through the Force she could even feel the heat despite the distance. The feeling that something was terribly off was unshakeable, and like the hound who had caught a whiff of fresh blood her pursuit would be unstoppable until she found an answer to the dire feeling.

Nothing could disturb the changeling and expect no retaliation. Specially since these had been trying weeks for the young girl. Her tolerance, if there was any to be found, was running low.

Soon enough she had reached the tree line of the woods that separated her from the mines, and while she had every intention to keep her course a straight line towards the raging fires, the familiar tug of a warning bid her to bring the speeder to a halt. The Force had a way of alerting those attuned to it to danger, to their surroundings. Xobos had taught her that, and with time Leven had stopped hating the feeling and had learnt to exploit it in some ways. There was someone else in this forest.

Leaving the speeder behind without a second thought, the changeling drew out the daggers she had grown so fond of and began pacing through the trees. Her step was light and quick, mostly soundless. The perks of having the blood of a predator running through her veins. There was a fire in her eyes, a fire that craved confrontation. Against her Master, against whatever it was that caused the air around Garde Noir to be filled with smoke and dread, against anything.

And the wicked little prayer had been answered, it seemed, for this presence she had felt before soon materialized into a physical form. What seemed to be a young man, clad in several layers, moving through the woods and away from the epicenter of the day's chaos. The Jester had a knack for remembering faces and presences, each person seemed to shine with its unique light in the eyes of the girl - ironic since she still found the vast majority of them utterly insignificant. Specially when compared to her wondrous self.

But this one seemed to gleam slightly brighter, and this inspired the changeling's distrust.

The changeling jumped, the tips of her fingers morphing into claws that allowed her to cling to and climb the trunk of a tree. Something that had been reinforced during her time on her own was her ability to make her way through natural terrain unnoticed and in unconventional ways. Though gifted and rage-prone, she was not confrontational. After all, why risk harming her precious being when there was no true need yet?

She was growing more anxious by the minute, and the unavoidable conclusion that this unknown individual could be tied to the explosion he was apparently moving away from would not be budged from her thoughts. One way or the other, Leven would find out.

One calculated leap afterwards, the young changeling found her footing on the branch of a tree some meters ahead of the boy, finally entering his field of vision. In a matter of seconds and with no words yet exchanged, one of the knives flew away from her hand to lodge itself deep into the ground just before the human's feet in an attempt to bring his movement to a sudden halt and, theatrically of course, get his attention. If so, he would be met with bright, blank white eyes that held the daunting pits of a bottomless lack of any empathy or care, in them there was only the dangerous promise of force.

That stare would have been deeply disturbing on its own, but it was moreso because it did not belong in the eyes of one as young as the Jester nor paired with the melodic voice that soon filled the silence in one simple, pointed question. One that almost sounded like a threat.

"Who are you?"

Aymeric Rouche · Jan 24, 2021

Meditation was another aspect of Aym's magic- er, 'Force' training that he'd given a single shot, then quickly cast aside as not for him. His mind never seemed to quiet enough to really focus, something he mostly attributed to the notion that sitting in a vulnerable position with your guard down seemed suicidal. As soon as he knelt and closed his eyes, his other senses and instincts went into overdrive; analyzing every footstep in the distance, the rustle of his clothes, and every shift in the air. It was honestly quite stressful. Conversely, actually being back in the wilderness was a relief beyond compare. With every ducked branch and shallow footfall, the hunter felt his new anxieties sloughing off, letting the old predator beneath run free; if only for a while. Under his mask Aym was smiling from ear to ear; this was bliss incarnate, the only thing missing was something fun to hunt and/or kill. He briefly pondered if he could lure some wolves down this far south sometime....

Even in the midst of speculating on this fantasy Aym's mind was still on the main task at hand, so immediately noticed when he came across a trail among the foliage. This wasn't definitive evidence or anything malicious, but still rather odd. It had been a group, and judging by their footprints, not exactly hunters like himself. Too heavy, much too sloppy. That screamed outsiders, perhaps the ones giving the miners so much grief. Suddenly, he both wanted to shake their hands and slit their throats, maybe not even in that order. Either way, he eased into the narrow path and started following the tracks towards his quarry. How things were going, he might not even have to involve any wolfs to scratch this particular itch; although, mounting the guilty party on his wall afterward was definitely not an option. That'd be too weird, even for him.

Unlike meditation, one aspect of his training that Aym had embraced wholeheartedly was letting the force enhance his senses beyond their already sharp clarity. Wrapping his mind around communicating through thoughts and feelings was still giving him trouble, yet bolstering his more traditional senses was something he'd been doing in small doses for years; his extremely acute of smell for instance. The hunter tried to play it off, but something felt...off after only a minute or so on the trail. According to Xobos, that was a telltale sign that the force was trying to tell him something. Reaching out with his mind would take much too much concentration to be practical, so he fell back on his nose instead. A few deep sniffs confirmed that there was something out there, something that smelled downright wrong. It was such a foreign fragrance that he couldn't really make sense of it. The important takeaway from this discovery was that it was moving, closing in on him in fact. He didn't take too kindly to being the hunted for a change, but he had to admit that this was exciting...

As sharp as his nose was, Aym was having a helluva time pinpointing exactly where the pungent stalker was as he continued, just that their reek was getting stronger. It was almost worth trying to reach out with his more metaphysical senses to help out, but that quickly became unnecessary. A knife hurled at his feet saw to that. The hunter's poncho billowed in the breeze for a moment, as he tossed one side of it over his shoulder and revealed the hilt of the falchion at his side. Besides that precaution he projected utter calm, at least in terms of body language. If the apparition looming above's gaze was cold and empty, Aym's was overflowing with fury and bloodlust incarnate. Under the mask, his smile grew wider again. "Me?" the hunter asked, his voice deadly serious. He flexed the hand closest to his falchion to limber it up, then rested it on the hilt. "Your last mistake."

Contrary to the setup, Aym's attack didn't come from the sword, but from his other hand under the poncho. There was the briefest shifting under the garment, before a red blaster bolt ripped through the fabric and sent a shower of singed fibers drifting to the ground. Sadly, the first shot went low, flying below the creature's branch, but the others would try to be on target as the hunter adjusted his angle up a bit. When it came to blasters, Aym was better with a rifle than a pistol, but the latter really couldn't be beat in terms of concealability. Hiding his sidearm under the poncho certainly helped too; even though firing from the hip was an inexact proposition by nature. His other hand still wouldn't go for the falchion, instead reaching out to attempt snatching the previously thrown dagger from the ground with the force. The unnatural smelling thing probably had another, but no reason to leave a weapon they could use behind.

Not waiting to see if he'd downed the creature or not, Aym would dart back into the underbrush after ceasing his barrage of blaster fire. Sensing and telekinesis were still new, and mostly unreliable tricks in his arsenals, but easing into force stealth was like throwing on a warm, familiar blanket. Gods, this day had turned from horrid to the best one in weeks; he really hoped the creature was in the mood to have as much fun as he was, it deserved a final bit of joy before the end.

Leven Jeyd · Jan 24, 2021

Location: Garde Noir, Woods surrounding Mine Alpha 13.
Equipment: Daggers, rage.
Wearing: XxX.
Tagging:

He was shooting at her.

Leven heard the familiar noise of a blaster's trigger being pulled an instant before she saw the first few bolts that missed their mark. That had given the changeling enough time resume moving, blending into the dark brown tree trunks and deep green foliage as she evaded the plasma bolts. Leven had already faced such weapons before. She had stared down the barrel of a blaster rifle in Dorvalla and miraculously managed to still be standing today to tell the tale. So, either out of experience or sheer carelessness, she was not afraid of them any more.

But they did make her angry.

Specially when they were being fired by some insolent, insignificant human. The Jester moved with a speed that was uncanny, it did not correlate to her apparent human form and neither did her strength. Her kind, even if she did not know what exactly her race was, had been blessed with lanky and harmless appearances that only served as a veil to their real strength. If only she did not have so much growing to do left, this little encountered could have been wrapped up and finished just as soon as it had began. Alas, she would have to make do with her own methods - and there was no end to her creativity.

Right now, she knew her main objective was removing the distance between her and her prey. Unlike him she did not carry a fireweapon with her, and the best way she knew to neutralize that disadvantage was getting close enough to stab the source of the threat to death. Pretty simple, really.

Soon the fiery rain of bolts ceased, and the one who initiated began his running once again. Now with one of her knives.

<<"You are a mistake, yes. But too foolish to be my last.">>

In a fitting contrast, while Aym had a talent for force stealth, Leven had a knack for sensing. However, she was not yet talented enough to strain her concentration and depleate her energy by trying to pursue a presence she was very unfamiliar with. Aym was a stranger to her, but the same could not be said of the knife he had stolen. Knife that was by her side every minute of every day. Knife that was so deeply permeated by her contaminating presence that it stood out to her like a beacon in an open field. So she followed the knife.

Being able to focus on her movement now that her target was clearer, Leven made sure to begin positioning herself before she caught up to the survivalist. She was lucky that forest was thick enough that the branches intertwined and that she was light enough to traverse through them safely.

When she was finally above him, Leven jumped - seeming to have the intention of pouncing on the young man. Just as she abandoned the security of the foliage her free hand shot forward, eyes focusing on his blaster as she drew on the Force. Ideally she would have enough skill to send the offending weapon flying away, at least it would be enough to keep it in place and prevent him from using it against her as she fell.

As for the falchion waiting to be drawn out of its sheath, it would be handled by the dagger that still resided in her dominant hand. In the meantime, there was nothing left to do but prepare for her landing and his retaliation and to allow that feeling of thrill and bloodlust to start letting loose...

Aymeric Rouche · Jan 26, 2021

Aym was downright giddy when he picked up the creature's scent again, and in close pursuit no less. Good, he'd been a little worried he might have chased them off with the blaster fire. It was at least as tenacious as him, so the chances of an entertaining fight were at an all time high. Figuring accurate positioning would probably be key to this, the hunter dialed his scent back a few degrees and instead threw everything he had into his force sensing. Even then, his awareness only grew sharper to a negligible degree; although, it was good enough to pick up when the creature pounced down at him. He'd whipped around and was raising his blaster to take another shot at it, when something wrapped around the weapon like a vice. It only took a second or two to realize that this was the force at work, but by then the pistol had been yanked from his grasp. He didn't have time to be furious over this, nor ponder the fact he was facing another force user, training and experience took over as the duel started in earnest.

There was a screech of well-honed blade against an edge of equal quality, as Aym drew his falchion in a reverse grip and met the creature's strike, initially absorbing the blow then giving ground to let them roll past. Whirling around with his other hand, he'd try to slash at them with their own dagger. With that, he'd back off and sink into a low guard with both blades at the ready. The hunter's trusty falchion was a good deal heavier than the dagger, yet only slightly longer, ending in a tapering clip point tip; a real chopper for any occasion. Thankfully, whoever the original smith was had seen to making it a surprisingly balanced weapon, lending itself quite well to being wielded akimbo like this.

"I suppose this will be more fun without the blaster." Aym remarked, chuckling under his breath. "Wasn't expecting to kill another force user today, so thank you for the surprise." The last syllable had barely left his lips before he rushed the creature this time around, aiming his falchion to chop at the thing's waifish waist, keeping the dagger high and close to his chest for defense. Pressing the attack wasn't the same of being reckless, and he just knew this abomination wasn't to be underestimated. It having force powers just made this fight even more tense. With that tidbit right front and center in his thoughts, the hunter came to a horrid conclusion: he really should call for help, just in case. This new hand still didn't feel as fluid as his last one, so mistakes were possible. When the slightest mishap could mean death, it paid to hedge your bets.

Focusing his thoughts, Aym reached out into the aether for a familiar presence out there. Ironically, despite searching for Xobos' signature oddity, he ran into Cali's welcoming warmth instead. They wouldn't likely be far apart, so this would have to do. He wasn't skilled enough to send words, or even maintain a mental link for more than a second or two, so he hoped just broadcasting his unease at his friend in short bursts would do the trick. Now the onus was just on him to hopefully gut the creature before they arrived.

Leven Jeyd · Jan 27, 2021

Location: Garde Noir, Woods surrounding Mine Alpha 13.
Equipment: Daggers, rage.
Wearing: XxX.
Tagging:

The clash of metal against metal sang its steely, ringing tune.

The sound alone was exhilarating.

At first Leven had approached this fight with something that slightly resembled a justification. He was a stranger in her lands, running away from a recent catastrophe. That had changed when the pursuit began, now it would seem both of them were moved by a primal intent. This was not just a battle of hatred and purpose. This was, at its core, raw violence. This was about who wanted to kill whom the most.

And if a battle of such wills was to be waged, the stranger would not find the Jester's wanting.

As she once again found her footing on solid ground, she quickly fell into an opening stance - knowing that just as she had had the momentary advantage of the pounce, he would now have the opening to come at her with hopes of catching her defense lacking. The white, empty gaze of the changeling focused on the falchion. In a different scenario, she would have granted herself a moment to carefully analyse the weapon. It was no secret that she had a deep interest for all things shiny and sharp. Right now, however, the only purpose behind her watchful gaze was ensuring it did not accomplish its purpose to skewer her lanky form.

Leven parried his attack by allowing the dagger to intercept the falchion once more and stepping to the side. As momentum moved them forward, she raised her empty hand, this time not with the intention of using the Force but aiming to grab the fist that held her dagger near his chest. She was smaller than the young man, but she was also not human. She trusted herself to have the strength to be able to lock him into that position, and if she failed she would trust her speed to try and evade the dagger that she had dauntlessly moved closer to. It was a risky gamble, but what else could one expect from the impish creature? She did not appreciate him touching her stuff.

"Another Force-user?" The physical struggle of the affair made it's way into her voice, putting a slight shaking into it. Still, as always, it sounded too melodic. It carried an ominous harmony, a sickly sweetness. It was not even his death threat that had offended her, it was the gross comparison he had made. She was not just a force-user. She was peerless. "You are nothing like me." She hissed, finding his assumption utterly offensive. Punishable.

Then her own words brought on the joyful mustering of her macabre mischief. A cruel idea entered her mind. She would show him how wrong he was. He would play her little mind games.

Leven pierced his gaze with her own, lips curving upwards into a decadent smirk. He would watch as her eyes shifted from that disturbingly white shade into a deep brown, how the pale skin became rich with color and how she was suddenly no longer smaller but exactly his same height. He would stand face to face against an exact copy of himself, and hear his own voice.

"But I do know what you are."

Then her leg came up, knee aimed at the center of his stomach. If either luck or a mistake from him smiled upon her, perhaps that hit would be enough to see her dagger freed from his grip. If not...well, she would have to get creative.

Aymeric Rouche · Jan 27, 2021

The entertainment value was still there, but Aym found himself growing increasingly frustrated with the creature’s speed. It was a slippery one for sure, and he found himself growling under his breath when the falchion again hit nothing but air. By that same token, the hunter wasn’t exactly a slouch when it came to agility either. He reacted quickly when he saw a pale hand reaching out to grasp him, yet his retaliatory swing of the dagger served only to ward the creature away for a moment. It was just so quick.

It was still weird to hear the creature speak as if it were a person, more so given the cadence and the topic matter. From under the hood Aym raised an eyebrow; it sounded almost offended that he’d compared them a moment ago. Well, that was interesting. The monster had an ego, that trait could always be exploited. ”You’re right, I’m much better looking, stronger too.” the hunter remarked callously, resuming a defense stance just in case he struck a nerve that easily.

His enthusiasm had remained high throughout this exchange, but began the wane a bit when the creature inexplicably started to shift their form. Aym took a step back when he found himself staring at his own dashingly good looks; although, he had to wonder if his nose really looked that big up close. “Yes, handsome. We’ve been over this.” the hunter replied flatly, more irritated that he was about to be essentially butchering himself. However, it would make for a hilarious story if he had his own head mounted on the wall back home.

Sadly, he made the mistake of thinking the creature would move about his pace, given it now wore his form, and it cost him. The knee sent Aym reeling until his back rebounded off a small tree behind him; even then, his feet stayed more or less planted, just a little shaken. To his credit further, he’d tightened his grip on the weapons when the blow landed, and thus had them up while trying to steady himself. “whew That’s the spirit. For a freak, you weren’t exactly fighting like you meant it earlier. About time.” he mused, rapidly raising himself up to his normal height.

Second wind secured, Aym launched himself at the creature wearing his face, kicking up a shower of dead leaves in their direction as an opener. He’d lunge with the dagger, only to feint and whip the falchion up and try to sink it into the cheap copy’s thigh. Limiting their mobility seemed like step one on bringing this fight to the proper conclusion. Where the hell were Xobos and Cali?

The High Court of Illyria · Jan 28, 2021

W O O K I E

Tags:

Leven Jeyd |

Aymeric Rouche

There was a low, menacing growl of a laugh that came from the depths of the forest. While

Leven Jeyd and

Aymeric Rouche ha

d been skirmishing against one another, there had been something moving amongst the brush around them. Of course it would be difficult for even the most trained to detect the movement. Torok had been born in the wilds of Kashyyyk and learned them as well as he learned his claws and fangs as a young beast. In the thick of Garde Noire's woods? He was at home. He was free. The beast found a strong tree, planting his claws in it and slowly climbing up the base of the trunk. Just on the other side of the tree he could hear the scuffle coming from the Illyrians.

It took him little time to scale the large oak and in the next moment his mad-brown eyes found a nice, sturdy branch. He ripped his claw from the base of the tree, planting it in the branch and hanging from the tree.

Hungry eyes saw his prey down in the area below.

The bowcaster that was on his back was his sole memento from his homeworld. He'd never cared for using blaster rounds as Jedi and Sith who wielded lightsabers loved to deflect the bolts back at you, however Illyria was not famously known for their Force Users, so Torok had settled on the devastating weapon. He pulled it from his back and brought the large weapon up with a single tensed arm. Matted dark-grey fur flowed as he worked to keep a single hand upon the branch he hung from.

Then he fired. Three crimson bolts flew through the air, aimed for

Aymeric Rouche and

Leven Jeyd . The bowcaster sent the crimson lights flying without hesitation, aimed to cut the Illyrians down as they fought one another. He let out a loud roar as the bolts flew towards his enemies.

< "Die! Illyrians!" >

~~~

In Garde Noire's prized mine of Alpha 13, the efforts of

Cali Ziiva and

Xobos Yakieer were beginning to yield some fruits. While most of the miners outside of the mine had escaped the explosion with little to no injury, there were still those inside to be accounted for. Legget Guidry was quick to take the side of the Sieur when she arrived, speaking in a calm but hurried tone as she asked her questions. "'least twenty m'lady. We were surveyin' the tunnels for the operation tomorrow when we ran into...into..." He threw his hands down, clenching his fists tight as it began to make a bit of sense. "These metal cannisters, like fuel cells, they were down the main tunnel, a few hundred meters down the path. They had some o' them datapads rigged up on em. Some kind of detonator I think. I tapped one real good with my shin and when I did they started blinkin'." He explained to Xobos and Cali.

While Legget spoke, there was a flood of miners from a nearby mine rushing forward with shovels and pales of water, hoping to douse the fire that was beginning to spread to a nearby hill of trees.

Legget was prepared to step forward, aiding in the efforts that Cali was putting forth to douse the fire, however the Pink Zeltron's fire suppressant was working wonders, smothering the fire that had grown at the mouth of the mine, in only a few moments most of the flames settled and died out into nothing more than a few rogue embers. With the smoking mouth of the tunnel ahead, Legget looked to Xobos. "M'lady. Let me an' the boys go in? No need for you and your lass to go into the mines, could be more bombs an' Garde Noire can't lose ya."

Xobos Yakieer · Jan 28, 2021

Location: Garde Noire, Outside Mine Alpha 13
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: |

Leven Jeyd | @The High Court of Illyira |

As intimidatingly big, yet not intimidatingly named droid stepped forward and began to douse the fire in front of the group, xobos could not help but think just how much things could gotten worse had it not been for the pink woman by her side. Not just garde and the general town’s wellbeing…but herself. How Xobos might’ve changed had she not had her guiding rock in the form of a Zeltron by her side. Her gaze slowly moved from the fire to Cali, mind racing at the possibilities of where her life would’ve gone had it just been the voices in her head along with her master guiding her. Perhaps she might’ve still ended up right here, but for Xobos…she didn’t believe that was true.

She’d remind herself to make sure Cali knew just how she appreciated her once this was all handled and over.

Legget’s voice pulled her attention from her partner to where he stood by her side, eventually turning to look deeper into the mine. A pained expression began to twist onto her face at the idea that there would be still so many people deeper in the mine, and the loss of life could still be so devastating to the town. At least now they somewhat knew how everything had kicked off, and that it most certainly had not been some sort of accident. “So we’re faced with yet another attack that will leave some of us dead. We’ve surely made someone mad enough to do this again…I want to find out exactly who.”

It was in that moment her mark began to pulse, prompting Xobos to furrow her brow and swiftly turn to look toward the forest. Over the crackling fire and screams and shouts of the miners attempting to come together, it was hard to hear if anything was coming from the dark trees in front of them. But just barely, for a moment, Xobos thought she could’ve heard the firing of a blaster, and the clashing of blades.

A need to investigate began to grow in her chest, yet there was still a situation to finish here. As many of those within the caves that could be saved should be, and Xobos couldn’t just leave with the situation unresolved. Even as a large number of miners began to gather, all ready and rearing to head inside, she didn’t make a move toward the forest, instead allowing her gaze to once again find the Zeltron, knowing she too probably had heard and felt the disturbance in the woods through the force.

“Can you control Goliath remotely? Or do you need to be here to give him orders?” She asked, her body obviously itching to head into the forest. If Cali could control the robot remotely, the pair would head into the darkness together to confront whatever was inside. But if she couldn’t….Xobos would stay with her, trust that the apprentices could handle whatever they were being faced with, and instead help get the rest of the people inside outside. At least that was her plan. It would take one or two well placed words from Cali to change her mind, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave her partner alone when who knows how close whatever set the mine ablaze truly was.

Cali Ziiva · Jan 28, 2021

Cali watched as Goliath went to work. Her bright and wide eyes didn't fixate on any one point though. They roamed all about the area near the mine entrance, and they off to the side or beyond. She wanted to be sure the mess didn't show signs of popping out of some other hole in the ground, or some evil doer got upset at what they were doing. Seemed like she hadn't even needed to point out the trees were on fire before some miners hopped to it, which was pretty neat.

She dabbed a bit at her face with a heavy breath after a short while though. Environmental shields didn't negate all the heat, and they were pretty close to a big fire. Thankfully not close enough to worry about getting flame kissed. Just because she was a Zeltron didn't mean Cali needed any literal flames in her life.

Once the fires simmered down, the pink woman plopped down on the side of Goliath and watched as Xobos and Legget joined her. As usual, Cali smiled despite still feeling flush from the heat.

Xobos had a curious question when they arrived though. Drew a blank blink from the Pink One. "Goliath? I can control him over a link, sure. Actually, he's quite independent, I just can't let him roam around town." He was kind of big and imposing. People got all weird around something twice as tall as them with heavy repeaters for arms. Couldn't exactly send him out on chores. Well, except patrol. Now that was one way to keep bandits at a fair distance from the town wasn't it?

"Why? You want him to check out the woods?" Cause the droid wasn't folding itself down to fit inside the mine. He could stand guard though.

Tag:

The High Court of Illyria |

Leven Jeyd
Equipment: Lightsaber, Focusing Lens Modulator (Variant R), Tools, Military Droid with chemical pack, ropes, wires, and some spare mining parts.

Leven Jeyd · Jan 29, 2021

Location: Garde Noir, Woods surrounding Mine Alpha 13.
Equipment: Daggers, rage.
Wearing: XxX.
Tagging:

It was almost endearing.

He thought he was pretty. The poor soul. Well, if things went her way she would grant a merciful end to this delusion momentarily. Although perhaps he did not deserve swiftness. Perhaps she should have her fun. Her ego, as he had well identified, was indeed too big. Much too big for It to even care about the hunter's opinion of Its godly self. No, it was not calling her ugly or weak or worse than him that had angered her. It was the mere fact that this insignificant human believed his views mattered. He was nothing. Just another inert body on this stagnant universe.

The darkness that shrouded her grew more turbulent, swirling around the changeling with a thirst that demanded being quenched. It made her focus, it drew her mind into that space filled with patience and creativity. The corner of her mind that housed the most terrible of things. The ones Leven herself would call her sweetest of thoughts.

A deep satisfaction ravaged through her as she felt how her knee connected the hit to its mark. It was only sullied by the fact that her knife still remained within the hand that was not her own. A noise akin to a growl came from the Jester, the now dark brown eyes burning with a controlled rage. For how long that rage would be controlled there was no way of knowing. It was unpredictability made flesh.

Then she heard that word.

FREAK.

There was a moment of silence, of stillness. And then the low, ominous rumbling of chuckling that soon turned into laughter. It was just so terribly funny. So perfectly hilarious. Her stance remained the same, knife reversed in a defensive grip and five sharp claws decorating her free hand for offense; but she could not contain the delighted cackling. It stopped all of a sudden, leaving behind a wild looking gaze and a smirk.

"Yes, I am a freak." She loved that word, and wore it as her very own crown. It had been gifted to her by a very special man, when she was just a baby. A man she would never forget. The very first she ever killed.

Her opponent then rushed at her, and Leven let him come closer. They needed to continue their deadly dance. The changeling was ready to respond to his attack - until that feeling she loathed crawled down her back. A warning. The Force was being pesky again, but Leven now knew better than to ignore it. Trusting the guidance of the darkness she projected, the Jester disengaged her attention from the young man she had just impersonated and instead turned her gaze to the trees with furious haste.

Her eyes widened as they met the source of this new threat. A pale wookie, with a look as vicious as her own and a bowcaster aimed at her. No, not her - them. She knew her decision to shift her focus away from the human would cost her, and the price soon came. Leven ducked under his feinting hand with the intention of side-stepping him, but this time she was not fast enough. The edge of the falchion kissed her leg, slicing through her clothing and then through her flesh. An animalistic hiss escaped through her lips, but there was no time to dwell on the pain. There wasn't even time to retaliate.

The bolts were fired and as she heard the familiar whistle of the tibanna gas turning into concentrated plasma, all she could do was bite her way through the pain and run for cover, towards the trees. However, an enemy of her enemy could be her friend, and while this wookie had chosen the path of violence, that too could be bent to her favor. Leven drew on the Darkside and commanded the Force to move against the young man, she tried to push him to the ground and hopefully the wookie's aim would do the rest. Leven would not see right away if her attempt had been successful or not, wielding the Force in such ways still did not come naturally to her. But one day it would.

As soon as she had put some tree trunks between her and the wookie, she stopped her moving to finally look at the slash on her thigh. Her native huttese flowed out of her instantly. "E chu ta." It hurt and it bled, staining her clothes with the beautiful red shade of her blood - but she would be fine. She healed quickly, another of the blessings her fluid body granted. The bleeding would stop soon, and so long as she did not put too much strain on that leg the only obstacle would be withstanding the pain. A pain that hindered her and at the same time brought her a twisted kind of motivation.

Without losing more time, she climbed again onto the trees until she reached a good vantage point. She needed to know whether the insolent fiend would still factor in into this fight - then she needed to kill a wookie.

Splendid.

Aymeric Rouche · Feb 4, 2021

Even in the throes of fighting for his life, Aym gleefully reveled in the pause his insults had finally given the creature. Beneath all that bluster, despite attempts to play it off, he got the distinct feeling he'd touched a major nerve. There was some history with that word someone in that undoubtedly twisted, deformed heart. Sadly, he'd have to wait until after he carved the organ out to check.

It was his turn to laugh after his Falchion finally drew first blood; however, the force suddenly screamed across his sense that something was very wrong. The forest seemed to erupt in blaster fire a moment later, understandably drawing his attention to the latest attacker. The woods seemed to have no shortage of hostile monsters tonight! From what he could see, in the brief glow of muzzle flashes, there was a humanoid beast of fantastic proportions, hairy and bellowing something as it kept firing.

Aym turned to seek cover, only to be struck by a wave of telekinetic force and flung back to the ground. “Freak!” he screamed, struggling to be heard over the blaster impacts around him; although, he barely seemed to notice at the moment. Giant monster with a big rifle be damned, he really wanted to skin the cretinous freak alive with a piece of glass right about now. That had been a cheapshot of the highest order! The hunter kept cursing as he rolled away back into cover, several blaster bolts punching wide holes in his fluttering poncho. The garment was still smoldering and letting off noxious fumes by the time he got behind a sturdy tree.

Using the borrowed dagger, Aym traced a line across the most tattered region of his poncho, then angrily snatched the garment off with a single yank. He tossed the ruined material to his left, then watched it get stitched by several more blaster bolts for its trouble. Rolling to the right, the hunter peaked around the tree trunk just long enough to call on the force to steady his aim, then hurled the dagger at the hairy monster’s center mass with all his strength. Not waiting to see if it flew true, Aym ducked back into cover and quickly weighed his options.

Now reduced to just this sword, the hunter figured his odds of survival had gone down a few ticks now that the dagger was gone. However, he suddenly recalled that his blaster was still out there somewhere! At the risk of the skinny creature jumping him at the worst time, Aym closed his eyes and reached out to feel around for his blaster pistol out in the brush. He smiled widely after finding it right quick. Again falling back on the force, he reached out and focused on the discarded weapon and coaxed it into the air. From there, it shot in a straight line right for his open palm.

It landed in his waiting hand, but barrel first instead of grip first like he'd intended…

He’d have to work on that.

Xobos Yakieer · Feb 7, 2021

Location: Garde Noire, Outside Mine Alpha 13
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: |

Leven Jeyd | @The High Court of Illyira |

It wasn’t the answer she had been hoping for. And in all honesty, she doubted that goliath could really enter into the mines by himself anyway. They would have to stay here, and Xobos would have to trust that Aym and Leven could handle themselves against whatever they were facing in those dark woods. She had trained one of them well, and the other one understood how to survive, and might even have better survival instincts than the changeling. Still, there was just a deep, dark feeling coming from those woods, and Xobos was being called to head to them as quickly as possible.

But as her gaze found the fire once more, the reality of the situation truly set in for the apprentice turned Sieur. These were her people that were suffering, and the pair in the woods could handle themselves. She needed to trust that, and to stay in her role, fix what was happening here. There was a chance to save more than a few lives, and to figure out what exactly had happened here. If she left, that could change swiftly.

If Goliath couldn’t go into the mines, then there was little that it could do anymore here. Maybe it would be better served helping the apprentices out in the woods. “Actually..yes.” She started, pulling her gaze from the smoking entrance to the pink cutie by her side. “Send him. Details to protect Leven and Aymeric, and subdue whatever threat they both face. If it can’t,” a pause, long enough to look over to the massive robot. There couldn’t be much that it couldn’t do. Though Xobos didn’t exactly know what she was asking cali to send Golith into, and there was always a chance it couldn’t handle it. “Get the apprentices out and get them here. I will deal with it at that point.”

For now, she looked back to the mine, and swiftly back to Legget soon after. “Any miner following me in there needs to have protective suits on. We’re going to clear the front atrium, and hopefully from there establish a foothold to fight the rest of the fire. It might event take a few days to fully put this thing out, but we need a foothold within the mine if we are going to seriously try and fight this thing.” Xobos started to take a step forward, only to stop and pivot, looking back to where the pink woman stood.

“I could use your expertise inside, unless you think you can offer more out here. Either way, I need your help here, Cali.” The smile from Xobos was a genuine one. Filled with exhaustion, there was a glimmer of hope that they could make it out of the mess that they had been faced with.

Cali Ziiva · Feb 9, 2021

Cali stared at Xobos with wide eyes and a smile, though it wasn't the same sort of wild abandon smile usually seen. People were in danger and had already died. Serious business required focus. "I'm coming with you, Xo," the pink woman declared.

She turned and bound up Goliath's side to pull out a long canister. A grunt or two later and it slid free. It swiftly ended up on the ground with Cali's head flung back to peer at those nearby. "We can take this with us. Seems like this stuff worked out here."

After dismounting the droid, her fingers then went to work pulling on a pair of goggles. A tap to the side brought up a miniature heads up display. "Right. I'll try and keep a look out for weak supports. Legget," the Zeltron turned her head to look over at the local lead, "any men not working on the fire should brace the entrance. Won't do us any good if it collapses before we return."

"Goliath," Cali turned about to address the droid next, "I need you in the woods." She pointed in the general direction of 'trouble' to give it a direction to follow. "You know Aym? Protect Aym. Oh, and Jester too. Don't look at me like that, I don't know when Jester came back either. If necessary, cover them or get them back here, 'kay?" Now, Goliath was a big bot and could handle itself just fine, but that didn't mean Cali wasn't a little worried. This whole thing was too coordinated, which meant the big guy was in as much danger as Xobos' apprentices and Cali's cuties. Probably more since Aym and Jester could conjure the Force. Though Goliath's guns shouldn't be discounted either.

"Alright, Xo. Let's get in there and save some miners!" Now Cali grinned ear-to-ear with her hands on her hips. Time to get to work saving the galaxy, one person at a time.

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Leven Jeyd |