Private Hakuna Matata (What a Wonderful Phrase!)

[Jonyna Si]

​

New Cov. To many, an alien world with little rhyme or reason to it's geography, unending jungles wrapping around the planet.

To Jonyna Si, it felt like home.

She had been told a new jedi would be meeting her at the temple, though they weren't a member of the NJO. Thusly, they didn't have the coordinates to the temple, hidden away in the jungle. No matter, Jonyna said she would meet them. The jungle was her domain, just as the savannah and forest was. The sound of claws gripping into wet bark echoed through the understory as she made her way through the forest, effortlessly navigating from branch to branch as she skated across them, as if she was some sort of Tarzan of New Cov.

Who was this jedi who had contacted her? He had been quite vague on his own description, just what ship he was coming on. Normally, that would be cause for alarm, but his credentials were all in order.

Now she waited. The landing zone was clear, and she wanted some answers. Perched on a high branch, she climbed her way up to the emergant layer, watching the sky for any ship that approached...

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

​

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

The wandering Cathar Knight had begun a journey. There was a movement afoot among Jedi, as scattered as they were, to gather again. New enclaves had been built, and ancient ones given new life. Taam had desired to visit them all and ensure a relationship with them. He had been to Jakku, delivering a recruit to begin training as a padawan. His goal was to visit Prime and the First Temple, but on the way was another long-lost place being rebuilt by the Masters Noble. New Cov.

As his ship descended to the landing pad, Taam could see in the distance the mountain into which the Temple was built, between him and that mountain was a dense jungle. He could have landed at the Temple, but the Cathar hunter in him desired a bit of adventure. So he planned to trek through the forest to the Temple. To aid in his trip, he needed someone who knew the way. That's where Jonyna Si came in.

While he had never met the Knight, he knew her from reputation, and that she was a Cathar. When Taam heard that she was on New Cov, he saw an opportunity to meet her. He had no doubt she could navigate the jungle.

The Pride lighted upon the remote landing pad. After the landing cycle was complete, Taam dressed and prepped a light pack for his short stay. Then he strolled out onto the pad. The tree line surrounding the duracrete landing slab was thick with foliage and the sound of wildlife. His nostrils flared as he took in the rich scents, and amber eyes narrowed to see if his guide lingered in the shadows. He swore he caught a whiff of a familiar smell, of Cathar, yet, not exactly.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

<Catharese> "Basic"

The moment he exited his ship, Jonyna had to take pause. She could smell it, see it, sense it. A cathar jedi. Another of her kind.

A dumb smirk crawled across her face, the thought of another. While he wasn't a Denik, that didn't matter. Just the thought of another Cathar jedi, one of her own, standing in front of her. Her mind thought back to what Kahlil said, of seperating herself from her culture, and in a moment, she mentally shoved that into a drawer and locked it away. No, this was an important moment for the knight. For the woman. She took a moment to adjust her pants, pulling them up just enough to reveal her tattoos, before trapeezing her way back to the understory of the jungle. She wanted to meet this other Cathar, face to face

<Hey!> She called out, the snarl of her voice showing her native tongue. <You ever been to the homeworld?!> She spoke as she slid down a branch, before backflipping midair, only to land right in front of him. In that moment, she realized.

He was taller than her. Her tail twirled, a slight blush showing through her thin facial fur. "Oh, uh...hi." She offered a dumb smile, and a rigid handshake as her posture went from loose, to incredibly inflexible in a matter of moments.

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

​

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

He halted when he heard the familiar sound of his own language call from the trees. Then the foliage in the trees before him shuddered and a figure burst forth, landing in front of him after an impressive backflip that seemed as natural as walking. She was the first Cathar Jedi he had met beside himself. She was certainly not a disappointment.

<Yes, I have been there, but it has been a long time.> He answered in Catharese. When she stood to full height, the Cathar woman could almost look him in the eyes. "Knight Si?" Tigris asked, knowing full well it could be no other. He noted the the stripes, the tattoos, the solid but agile frame of her body. What he didn't expect was that she was Denik. Jonyna Si was an excellent example of their kind.

Jonyna suddened stiffened and greeted him in a more formal manner. He shook her hand firmly. <Please, we don't need to be formal. How often do you meet another one of the Kind?> Tigris clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Just don't ask me to fly through the trees. I can climb them, but I am not Denik." He grinned.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna couldn't help but snicker. Funny guy. <Fair. I'll try and stay low, but we'll need to be careful. New Cov jungles have a reputation for danger for a reason.> It felt...strange to be using her native tongue for once. Freeing, in a way. <So...what's bringing you out to these parts? Joining the NJO? I'd love another Cathar around the temple on Coruscant.>

Immediately after he took her hand for the shake, she noted his strength. Humans always seemed to be weaker in comparison, so to have someone of her own species match her, it felt familiar in a way she couldn't place.

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

​

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

The grasp of her hand was the firm strength of a Cathar and Taam welcomed it. He could almost feel the prick of claws hidden within her fingertips. Just like his. It was truly a pleasure to meet the Firestarter.

<"I am making it a point to visit the new enclaves."> The male answered as he released her hands. The answer to her question about the NJO was a bit more complicated. <Well, I supposed technically I am NJO. I must still answer to them. I was trained on Coruscant." > He shrugged his broad shoulders, . <"But... I had taken my leave some years ago. I am a friend to all the Orders."> Taam's reply came in the continued snarls and chuffs of their native language. He had become a wanderer after the tragic death of his padawan.

His amber gaze focused past Jonyna to the jungle tree line. Her caution about the peril within the dense foliage only whetted the male Cathar's appetite. The prospect, along with the scent of Jonyna, stirred his primal predatory instinct.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"I've never encountered any other orders." Jonyna shrugged. "Didn't realize there were others...well, that's not true. I met with the leader of a group called the Wilders, but he's kind of a pretentious jerk." Jonyna snickered, before looking back to the jungle. "Let's get going. I've heard the Panthacs like hunting at this time of day." And like that, she scaled up the bark of a nearby tree, before perching on top of a branch, just high enough where he could still see her. "Try and keep up!"

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

​

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

"Well, Orders might be too formal, I mean the various enclaves..." Taam clarified with a shrug. The Jedi had become factionalized to some extent in recent history. But that was the beauty of the Order, it always adapted. His companion's attention had already turned back towards the jungle.

"Panthac? Huh..." Taam perked up at the mention of the ferocious predator. These were indeed dangerous jungles. The male Cathar grinned as Jonyna leaped to the nearest tree and crouched on a low limb. Amber eyes peered up. "Don't worry about me, Knight Si." Taam replied with a wry smile, his adrenaline already spiking with anticipation. He moved into the underbrush beneath the tree, ready to lunge forward and follow his lively guide.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna smirked. Finally, someone who could keep pace with her...

And off she went. Lunging first to a close branch, before sliding across it like it was a skateboard, then backflipping onto another, and another. She went on, keeping this pace through the Understory. It was almost mesmerizing to watch in a way, but suddenly she stopped. Taam could hear it, something large moving through the brush...

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

As soon as the lithe Jonyna leaped from her branch, Taam lunged forward, with his eyes on the terrain ahead and she in his periphery. Her movement was a thing of beauty, just as he had heard of the Denik Cathars. Just a bit behind, Taam moved with great speed through the thick forest, vaulting over mossy rocks, bound off of trunks, swinging by low hanging branches,running along fallen trees. Taam kept the agile Jonyna in his view. And when she stopped, he halted in his tracks.

Amid the cacophony of insects and critters, he heard it too, heavy movement in the underbrush. Taam crouched and crept closer to Jonyna's tree, quietly, his nostrils flaring to catch scent of the unseen creature. His voice low, in the growl of their own tongue. <Can you see what it is? I don't recognize the scent.">

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

<Gharzr.> Jonyna warned. <He's gonna be twice as strong as both of us. You got a lightsaber?>

Slowly, the Denik moved up the branch she was on, a long, colorful, yet spikey tail poking out of the brush just long enough to show a spine on it that was clearly marked to anyone with full color vision...

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

Gharzr. A nasty beast for sure, and a wily predator. From his vantage point on the ground, he could see one, then the second bronze-colored, scaly tails. The twin tails of a gharzr. Taam knew Jonyna was right, the gharzr were huge, powerful and incredibly deadly. He had rested his hand on the hilt of his ryyk blade, but once the hidden creature was identified, his hand slid to the lightsaber dangling from his belt.

<Of course.> He replied under his breath, just below the branch on which his companion was perched. Slowly he moved away from the tree, taking a position at an angle. It would force the creature to chose one target, leaving itself open to the other. He would be the most likely target, though the gharzr were agile enough to reach Jonyna if it desired.

His own powerful legs crouched, his body poised like a coiled spring ready to strike. Surely the thing had made them, gharzr were stealthy hunters. Taam's amber gaze spared peering into the foliage for a moment to dart to Jonyna above, knowing she would be ready as well.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

One would expect Jonyna to pounce down, but that was the predictable move. Instead, she threw herself into the air, waiting for the Gharzr to strike at her, before a burst of flame shot her in an entirely different direction, the Denik bouncing off a tree trunk, before brandishing her main saber, the ruby blade igniting with a snap-hiss that then slashed into the side of the beast as it flailed midair to try and slash at the Denik. It was wounded, but not dead...

Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

The stillness exploded. In the span of a breath it unfolded. Jonyna leaped not down, but up. The beast, poised to strike, launched upward to meet the Denik, but in a burst of flame, she moved. In a blink, Taam sensed the path of the Gharzr, against the trunk of the tree, its fall to the ground. Even as Jonyna's saber pierced it, Taam was suddenly behind the creature with his emerald blade ignited. It hit the ground, growling, shrieking, flailing.

The creatures deadly twin tails whipped about violently. With a lightning dodge and weave, Taam bolted close enough to sever both lethal appendages with his saber, before driving the hot humming blade into the beast's side, drawing it towards him, cleaving open the predator.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

And just like that, in a flash and hum of sabers, the Panthac was dead.

Jonyna took a moment to cling to a tree, her ears listening for anything more, but the jungle once more went quiet, nothing but the ambiance of distant rainfall and creatures communicating in their native tongues echoing through the trees.

"...sounds like we got ourselves dinner then." Jonyna said after letting the silence linger.

Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

Taam stood poised, still in the wide-spread stance he held when he delivered the final blow to the beast. Aside from deactivating his saber, he hand't moved. Likewise he listened for any telltale sign that their quarry was not alone. As his amber gaze lifted to his companion in the tree, it seemed it creature was a loner.

Relaxing, a grin stretched across his muzzle at Jonyna's quip. "Smells like it too." he retorted. There was a faint whiff of burnt meat lifting from the cauterized wounds inflicted by their weapons. His female companion had impressed him, even for a fellow Cathar. He clipped the saber to his belt and inhaled deeply. The encounter had left a tantalizing hum of adrenaline in his system, and his Cathar instincts were primed.

"I'm glad I decided to take the long way to the temple." Taam nodded, his grin remaining. "And it looks like I couldn't have better guide!"

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"No prob. I'm just happy to have someone to talk to." She joked, her own instincts kicking in, as she drew Liz, a katana that Taam could tell was imbued with the force, and used it to start stripping the meat from the beast. Taking a small strip of meat, she scarfed it down without bother, her carnivorous ascestry showing through. <So, uh...you single?>

And there it was. Maybe it was the adrenaline talking, but she couldn't help it. The first Cathar Jedi she'd met since once fleeing Order 66. It had always been a dream of hers to fight alongside one of her own. And now that she had...other dreams started poking around her mind.

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

Taam watched as Jonyna deftly drew a katana (one that sung with the Force) and carved off a hunk of meat, popping the raw flesh into her mouth. Yes! It was like a realization struck him that he was with a fellow Cathar. He need not adhere to the decorum of other beings. Together, Si and he could be what they were at heart. Cathar and predators.

Drawing his rykk blade, Taam stripped back the hide and cut himself a chunk of flesh, tearing into it with his great fangs. He paused only a moment when Jonyna posed her question. He had already wondered the same about her. It was hard to resist the subject, given how they were indulging in such primal instincts of their kind. There was freedom that Taam felt, a freedom that Jonyna provided.

<"I am."> He replied as he paused. <"Its hard to find someone out there that compares to a true Cathar female."> He added, the subtle grin touching his muzzle. <"What about you?">

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

<That's...complicated.> She admitted. Something she didn't like talking about as it brought up old wounds. <I had a boyfriend, but...> She brushed a bit of hair behind her ear, looking a bit sad. <I'm much older than I look. Fought a Dathomirian Witch back about 900 years ago. Back then, I had two boyfriends. It was...kind of a casual thing. we were too busy fighting the Empire to worry about what our plans were after the war. Me, a rogue padawan, and a battle droid.> She chuckled. <The droid was a sweet little thing. He had a broken restraining bolt, and didn't understand all these new emotions he was feeling, especially when I have a bit of a problem flirting with...well, everything I see.> She got quiet for a moment, showing a more vulnerable side to her. <When I came out of the ice, I thought I was alone. Eventually, I found my boyfriend Giran again. But...he's not as...active as I am. He seems happy to just...be in the temple, go back to the old days before the Empire rose. I can't do that. I'm no sage, no mystic. I'm a warrior. A fighter. So...> She let out a cough. <Yeah, I'm single right now.>

Tag: Taam Moghul

 

[Taam Moghul]

Location: New Cov jungle
Wearing: Kroket Combat Outfit
Equipment: Lightsaber, Ryyk Blade, small backpack
Tag: Jonyna Si

Wiping his muzzle with the back of his hand, Taam's amber gaze lifted to Jonyna as she revealed more about herself. He didn't react openly to the mention of his companion being over 900 years old. She was not the only woman he had met recently with a centuries old past. The former assassin he had captured, Tigris, had been a Seyugi Dervish before the Clone Wars, until she was frozen in carbonite.

<"Wow, a droid."> He commented cheekily. He made no comment on the fact that Joynya was an confessing flirt, instead cutting himself another hunk of meat. <"Giran sounds like an astute scholar. It seems like you too have found it a challenge to find someone who can keep up with the... appetites of a Cathar."> Taam was not usually flirty, but to be in the company of such an impressive female Cathar, and with his hunter instincts primed, he found he could not help himself.