Private Finding the Balance

[Aryn Teth]

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Asha Hex​

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Dagobah.​

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This wretched marsh, teeming with life - yet strangely empty. When last he had been here, the swamps ran with blood, the air was filled not with the croaking and chattering of animals, but blaster fire and repulsor engines. It was here that he had first learned to feel hatred, to loathe the Mandalorians after their betrayal of his people. It was here he had led his people to victory against an Empire. It was here he had become the breaker of ships, a man now long dead.​

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And yet, for all its differences, for all the silence, it seemed nigh on the same. He supposed perhaps it was difficult for such a place to change, while the rest of the galaxy changed, empires and republics rose and fell and wars were fought and lost, this swamp remained the same. It was a stoic picture in a galaxy of instability, strangely beautiful for all its horrible discomfort. But he had not come to be comfortable, were that what he had sought he would have rather lingered in the fringes of the galaxy, walking the veil between realms and drifting through dreams.​

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Yet the dead man had returned, and he had come to this place of all the worlds in the galaxy in search of something. Yet he struggled to determine what he expected to find here. Time had passed enough that the remnants of his war were all but swept away, reclaimed by the world that lived on. As the hooded man stood on a rock over a large pool, he sighed - doubtless, he had wasted his own time on nothing but reminiscence.​

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Perhaps not, though.​

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The subtle shift in the air was his first indication, the ripple that ran over the water. Were it not for the subtle feeling in the air, he might have been too slow - leaping into the air as the massive head of a beast burst forth from the water to snap at his rock. The unarmed man landed a short ways away on dry ground, scoffing as he shook his head and watched the immense form of this marsh predator draw itself from the water on six legs, a wide mouth arrayed with sharp teeth hungry for fresh prey.​

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At least this would not be as boring as he had first expected.​

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[Asha Sar'andor]

Dagobah.

Force, Asha hadn't been here since she was a mere child at the beck and call of her Father. Back then he'd made a point to bring her to each of the worlds which held great significance in the past insofar as the Force was concerned, a pilgrimage across the stars. It had been a harrowing experience, in truth, Jericho had entered into a cave and exited a little different, and he refused to let her follow his footsteps and enter for herself.

Nevermind the fact that the swamp was filled with so many predators. It had been an experience, but even now it felt like three lifetimes ago. A dream of a dream as opposed to a memory inherent.

As much as the woman loved the wilds, swamps were another beast all together. They were smelly and acidic and you had to watch every single step you took for fear of losing a boot to the watery marshes. Luckily for her she was sure her boots were securely in place. Even so, ruined by the muck.

Still she'd found herself with quite a lot to ponder on as of late. The return of Rhia had been an unexpected but most welcome development. Then there had been Arekk... And the Cathar. So many memories from the past, so many mistakes brought to the surface. She'd been a little different in the aftermath, hadn't quite felt like herself. Since leaving Lasan she hadn't even returned to Tribunal yet. Hadn't sent word to Cotan Sar'andor or shown her face in the rest of the Galaxy.

No, she'd come here instead. Somewhere quiet, out of the way, a place she could sit and reconcile with her thoughts. How could she return to Cotan and reveal all that had happened if she didn't fully understand it for herself? The girl knew she had to be more open with him, he'd asked her time and time again not to bottle things up.

She considered this the first step toward that. Understand for oneself, so she could better explain it to him.

Little was she expecting to feel a disturbance in the Force not too far from her location. A spike of danger manifesting itself within her core. She hurried, fleet on foot, toward whatever or whomever had caused it, her own needs quite simply shelved for the time being.

Aryn Teth

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Asha Hex​

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While Aryn's attention was largely upon the beast that had chosen to try its hand at a quick meal, there was something at the edge of his periphery that he had not expected. Dagobah was a world teeming with life, it practically overflowed with the living force in a way that made sensing others nearly impossible. That of course meant the presence that had touched the edge of his periphery was not far away - in fact, he seemed to feel as though it were drawing closer.​

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Whether it was an unexpected ally or yet another ambush, the dark-clad man could not tell, but he supposed it was only a matter of time before he would find out. And besides, his attention was better spent on the problem in front of him, rather than the one on the horizon.​

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The beast lunged for him again, all teeth and a snapping jaw. It tried to catch the man in a furious bite but once more he leapt over it, agility enhanced by the force he drew on from the world around him. Once he had been careful in such a thing, to draw only from the light. Now, he held no such inhibitions.​

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He landed behind the creature and held a hand up, feeling the force around him as he took hold of a tree branch that hung over the beast, crushing the wood where it linked to the trunk, letting it tumble down and crash upon the creature as it roared in pain and frustration. It didn't seem too daunted by the injury, only perhaps seeming more angered than it was injured as hit flicked a long tail, striking the human as he staggered and fell back into a roll, chuckling.​

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Unarmed as he was, this was sure to be an enjoyable workout.​

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[Asha Sar'andor]

Though the ground was treacherous as ever, Asha was able to make quick work of covering it when push came to shove. The Force was her ally, after all, and though it had been quite some time since she'd done as Jericho had always preferred and practiced some of her less-familiar forms, the whimsical nature of Ataru was not lost upon her. Leaping here and there with the Force, her feet barely touched the marshy soil below, preferring instead to push off from the various trees which took root in such a place.

Probably for the best, too, when she noticed the cause of all the ruckus. A creature half submerged within the acrid waters, snapping and lunging for a man who seemed decidedly unarmed. More of the beasts likely lurked here and there across the planet. Yes, Asha was grateful indeed that she'd avoided wading.

Lightsaber hung from one side of her belt, blaster filled with stun rounds on the other, yet in that moment she reached for neither. Simple minded creatures, predators or not, they could easily be dissuaded with other means if one knew how, and had the desire to leave them unharmed. Acting on instinct, animalistic whims, was not a death sentence, after all.

Then again, very few things would be in the eyes of she. For a moment the sight of the fallen Cathar flashed before her eyes, and she fumbled at the last hurdle, sliding down the trunk of the tree as opposed to pushing off it. It was an unceremonious tumble to the wet earth below. Asha inhaled, tried to quieten her mind once more, and righted herself. Covered in swamp muck, the stench of it unfathomable, she turned and glanced at man and beast.

He, at least, seemed to be having a wail of a time.

Asha did not know this man, she was unsure of passing along a weapon would be wise - after all, what if he turned it on her? - so for now she kept the blaster where it lay and focused her attentions on the beast. Summoning up the Force within her, she flowed it freely from herself and into the air between them, hoping first and foremost that she might garner its attention and distract it from the man on the ground.

Aryn Teth

 

[Aryn Teth]

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Asha Hex​

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Aryn had been preparing for another strike, watching the beast as it readied himself to descend upon him once more. Yet, as he saw the beast draw its attention elsewhere, the dead man's gaze shifted and settled upon the newcomer. His gaze narrowed, feeling the force as it flowed from her and into the beast, calming it.​

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At the very least it served a reasonable distraction, the beast's gaze diverted and granting him the opportunity that he might have needed to end things quickly.​

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Holding a hand out, Aryn called upon the force, and that lingering connection to the Nether. He felt as energy began to flow and surge into his palm, and from it began to grow a long haft of pure shadow. The darkness that surged from him formed into the visage of a spear, inky wisps of shadow drifting from it as he let it form into a solid thing.​

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Closing his fingers around it, he took a half-step forward, focused intently upon the beast as he hurled it forward, watching the energy surged forward and into a spot below the creature's neck. The cry that escaped it was visceral, lines of darkness surging up its neck and down into its chest as the efforts she had made to calm it were no doubt driven from its mind and replaced by fury and agony. It thrashed and rolled, and as the colour drained from its body, it fell still.​

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Straightening, the dark-haired man let a smile cross his face, before turning to settle his gaze upon the newcomer who had granted him a welcome distraction. "It's not a common thing to stumble across a stranger here, of all places."​

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[Asha Sar'andor]

She had not been expecting what came next.

The beast was calming, turning from its former quarry toward her, and the Force flowed readily between them. It seemed as though she could convince it to leave, an understanding forming between them. I know this is your nature, she seemed to hint, But he's not for eating...

And it listened, insofar as it could, and it began to settle, ready and willing to return to its swampy waters. It could have worked, could have been settled then without bloodshed.

She'd been too focused on the threat of the beast to even presume that the man would stand in defiance of that decision. Asha felt the Force brewing just a moment too late to stop it, her senses flaring as the spear of pure energy plunged itself into the creature's scaly neck. It thrashed and writhed in pain, and then it slumped and began to sink back to the wastes it had been borne from.

Immediately, she rounded on him.

"It didn't have to die" she stated, tone somewhat incredulous, "it was just acting as nature bade it." The man looked relatively uninjured, maybe a cut or two here from all the diving around he'd had to do, so at least it wasn't all bad news, but even so... "I had it calmed."

Aryn Teth