Heir to the Throne
Approximately six months ago...
“Your final test, my precious girl,” Avarisa explained as she stared at him. He was chained to the post, her two ysalamar pets around him negating his Force. Her own was slowly fading as she stepped towards him. “What test?” She asked her almost immediately. He’d been here for a couple of weeks now. Sometimes, she cared but sometimes, with Avarisa around, she almost didn’t recognize him. But watching him chained and powerless, concern built inside her. Avarisa reached a dagger towards her. "End him,” her command was simple and clear. “Why?” Katrine couldn’t help but wonder.
The ancient woman looked at her intently. “We have surpassed such questions. Obey me. It is your ascension. Your training must move on to the next level.” Her hand moved, urging Katrine to take the dagger. “What does this ascend me to? How does killing him help me progress?” Avarisa sighed and approached the boy, tilting her head again. “You have feelings for this boy. By ending his life, you overcome such pesky childish things. Such was my right of passage, as will yours be.” Her hand reached to the back, offering her the dagger again without saying a word. Looking up at him, she hardly noticed when Avarisa moved away from them and she approached, cutting the distance between them. They had met on Dathomir, she didn’t know who he was but her so many questions taught her they were family. Half and many generations apart but a part of his blood was hers. Satara was their common connection. Still, it was who he was that had made her trust him.
Aston had taught her how to heal, he had done his first pinky promise with her, and he had told her he was a Jedi because he chose to be. He chose a lot of things except the fact that he was not Nono’s son. Which she had found odd but now it was okay. Somethings happened for a reason, no? So was this happening for a reason? Avarisa claimed so. She had feelings for him and in order to break free, she had to kill him. Avarisa had done the same once. But staring into his eyes then, Katrine couldn’t help but remember Mother hadn’t killed Father, Father made Mother a Lupine like himself. Nona refused anyone else because of Nono. Hawks bonded for life which was a rare and proud trait for their family. They loved with their whole hearts and built families. And yet Avarisa believed killing someone you cared for was a rite of passage. "Kill him,” the spirit commanded, growing impatient. And yet, Katrine kept staring into his eyes.
She owed him one, Katrine remembered then. Aston taught her how to heal. And even though he claimed she didn’t owe him something, she did. So what would that make her if she took his life now? She owed him. I owe you, in her mind she told herself. I owe you, her mind kept repeating. Then without her realizing, her mouth moved soundlessly to form those same words: I. Owe. You.
A few weeks prior...
Avarisa's teachings had taken their toll on Katrine. Even now as she sat in the grass, looking up at the moon, her mind was near blank. She was growing hungry, she would have to hunt soon. She'd like that, the purple haired lupine was sure. Avarisa preferred her hunting and killing, keeping on an all meat diet. This planet was didn't offer much of anything though, it had been abandoned for so long, nothing grew here anymore. Not as far as Katrine knew. Her finger pulled at the grass, inspecting it. She was hungry, it looked green. And yet, the sight of it made her turn her stomach and drop it. "You're hungry, you should eat," Avarisa's voice reached her ears before she had even seen her, the ancient woman coming to sit beside her. When Katrine looked at her, the spirit's expression seemed soft, as if she was going to touch her. She couldn't though so that was out of the question. She missed that, she realized, being able to hug someone. She missed her parents deep down, she missed her pack. She missed being able to run with them for the good of the run not just because her stomach was grumbling. Those thoughts were deep. On the top, there was hunger.
So, when Avarisa had told her to eat, she stood, beginning to remove all her clothes, dropping them to the side before she had began to change, her human body morphing, her bone cracking and shaping into the animal that she was underneath. It had taken her a couple of minutes to transform, with only a few years shy of her next stage of development. As a wolf, Katrine roared at the moon above her, feeling a sense of freedom. Whatever Avarisa's gain was in wanting her to change and hunt but once her fur was white, her sapphire blue eyes looking out into the wilderness and her nostrils already taking in the heighten smells, there was a sense of freedom. It was in that freedom that Katrine broke into a run, smelling her next pray in the distance, her feet coming into a full gallop as she sought out her dinner. The prey wasn't far so it heard her, breaking into a run as well. Soon, she was chasing her victim, jumping over her obstacles and letting out roars as she moved, not holding back at her. The animal came into her sights, a magnificant creature, its heartbeat increased as she was aware of her predator. And when given the chance of achieving higher ground, Katrine took it, jumping down at the prey and holding it down, biting into her.
[member="Aston Jacobs"]
