Home on the Range

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin said goodnight to Draco and left him to the luxury of her guest room. Hopefully he would get a good rest. Occasionally the Keffi made a strange, shrieking noise in the middle of the night. Their wailing could carry pretty far throughout the valley, even up to the second and third floor of the ranch. The Hapan had gotten used to it, of course. Ear plugs also helped.

The next morning, there was a full breakfast waiting for him courtesy of her Bothan chef. When the Dark Jedi Master came out into the dining room, he would see that she was nearly finished with the holonews and a stimcaf. She had her riding outfit on, which was so easy to move in that it would double as Force-training gear. But if Draco wanted to take his time and eat, she would go out for a morning ride.

“How did you fare in the guest room?” she asked him. Tmoxin had slept through the night with the help of a Morpho Pharmaceuticals sleep aid. She heard nothing and experienced a dreamless slumber.

“And what’s on the agenda for today?”

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The night was easy enough. Long sleep. I had been out like a rock until the sun was already coming up over the horizon and peering through the blinds of the room. The only thing that would have made this night more comfortable was spending it with someone. I did my morning stretches and left the room still wearing the training gear from yesterday. No need to wear anything new for now. "I slept fine. Almost as nice as an Alderaanian bed." I said with a smile and wink sitting down at the table and looking the chef waiting to see what he served this morning. Tmoxin looked like she was raring to get going, but I wasn't sure why or what about.

"Well. Its time we got stuck in some kind of danger. Is there any kind of dangerous predator we can hunt after I finish breakfast?" I asked. I lived on Bothawui, but I didn't spend any time outside of the city where the tower was. There just wasn't any call to spend that time. My time was filled for the most part anyway with brooding, raids, now press conferences. I didn't have a lot of time for reading up on history and local news. The only thing I checked every week like clock word was the stocks and Project Phoenix, ensuring that it was fine and dandy way out on the outer rim above the galactic plane.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Good, the shrieking Keffis didn’t seem to keep Draco up. He looked rested and ready for the day. As he sat down to breakfast, her Bothan chef brought out a tray of scrambled eggs, some kind of thick bread and ganjuko bacon. There was also stimcaf, juice and tea just as a nice hotel would have.

Tmoxin put her datapad down, finished with the Holonet news. She had her servant pour one more cup of stimcaf.

“The two most dangerous predators on Bothawui are the krak'jya which is a large feline-type animal. Or we could go hunting the skar'kla or glitterclaw which is distantly related to the krak’jya but more of an aquatic reptilian species. They are both about the same in terms of strength and speed. I suppose it just depends on if you’d rather go hunting in the plains or if you’d rather go to a swamp. I have Keffis who can traverse any type of terrain.”

She briefly thought of the red lightning from yesterday again.

“Which species sounds more appealing to hunt?”

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Skar'kla. Nothing sounds better than slugging through a swamp hunting a beast down. And I want to see how you handle yourself against something. I kind of want to see if you can drain something like that to death." I said between mouthfuls. She looked eager to be on the move. There was something I was missing. Something out of place or something that needed to be correct. Best to keep an eye on her and see how things develop from a distance than be surprised by something while you were too close to it. The same went for people. Keep them at arms distance.

"Why don't you lead the way." I said, standing from a half eaten plate of food and half empty cup of juice. Tmoxin was probably one of the few people I actually liked, certainly the only one I would be willing to die for. The rest of them I would kill for without much care or coercion, but die for. That was another matter. "I need to keep working on those phantoms anyway. There is a special someone I need to express a point to with those." Some uptight tart needed to be shown there was no running away if I wanted her dead.

"I've never ridden Keffi, so it might be best if you give some instructions real fast."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

"Hopefully I can drain a creature as big as the Skar'kla," mused Tmoxin. One afternoon she was out with some students and teachers on a normal Keffi ride, and a couple of those giant beasts came roaring out of a nearby swamp. Nearly dragged down a twelve-year old on a juvenile Keffi named Shooting Star! This is why I have the parents sign wavers, thought Tmoxin. Nothing happened that day, but the Skar'kla were fierce and dangerous. If she could manage to incapaciate one of them, imagine what she could do to a line of Rebublic soldiers.

"This way, Draco," she said. They took the elevator to the bottom level and walked out to the stables. "Keffi are essentially as intelligent as horses. Their gait is a little different through. It can be quite... bouncy," she said, chuckling. "I have no other way to put it but that. Anyway, there is yours." Tmoxin pointed to a large Keffi stallion. Her own favorite mare was brought around by the same Bothan handlers that were swindling her. The powerful stallion snorted and pawed at the grass, but it didn't look fearful of Draco. It was a sturdy animal and well-trained to handle a larger rider.

The red-haired Hapan stepped into the stirrup and swung herself up on the saddle. "Ready to hunt?" she asked. The Bothan handed her a rifle which she slung over her shoulder.

[member="Draco Vereen"]