In Faith we Rise, In Doubt we Crumble(Seraphina Shel'Tah)

[Varus Shatterstar]

In Faith we Rise, In Doubt we Crumble​

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Phindar​

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The landing was rough, but they'd survived after all. He had, however, put a little too much trust in the almost ancient freighter they'd managed to get off of Dorin in, but at least it had gotten them this far. They had only had about a third of the way to go until they reached Ossus when one of their engines failed and steered them severely off course. It was a dangerous decision to make, but one that they hadn't had any choice but to make when escaping the overrun planet of Dorin.

Varus couldn't have possibly known how much father they could have gone, but he was absolutely certain that Phindar was the only planet within reach of the breaking down ship. The tropical, well forested planet was home to few, though most were criminals and thugs. Fortunately, when they crash landed on the dangerous planet, they were considerably far away from any civilized surface city. In fact, they were in the middle of nowhere, and as Varus forced open the warped hangar door with his shoulder he stepped out into smoke and mist, sapphire eyes raising up to the trees above them as he realized one incredibly important thing. The wilderness was their greatest threat now.

As he stepped down into the moist grass, Varus walked along a small stream, his mind slowly opening itself to the force around him so that he could better utilize his senses if necessary. He could tell that the overall balance of the planet was indifferent. It did not answer to darkness, nor did it adhere to the light. It was truly a neutral planet with untapped force energy emanating from every tiny reptile, animal, every plant and bug. Even the wind and the water breathed a refreshing consistence of the Force, which Varus might have been able to enjoy much more if he weren't thinking about Seraphina and the confrontation that he was a party to only a few hours prior.

He turned, icey eyes glancing back at the ship as he looked over his shoulder, and stopped in his tracks. He waited for what might be his newest enemy to walk down that ramp so that he could confront her, though he wasn't sure quite how it would go, or exactly what he would say... or do...

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The impact of the landing was anything but soft and comfy. In fact, the violent shaking of the ship's landing gear and nose dragging along the bed of the forested area they dropped into was more than enough to give someone a splitting headache and a feeling of unease. Sera wasn't a pilot by any stretch of the imagination, and to pretend otherwise would likely result in someone getting shot out of the airlock or something else equally terrible.

The entire trip back thus far had been in silence. The two packs had been stored away, and once the ship had taken off and Varus no longer needed her for anything in the cockpit, the Cambrian had spent the rest of the time secluded in her room attempting to meditate, if for no other reason than to force away her feelings and anxiety for whatever would be coming her way very shortly. The item that Venefica gave to her was well meant, she didn't wish harm to come of Sera, but at the same time the Twi'lek couldn't bring herself to use it on another friend or Jedi, even if it meant the consequences for her were exile or being cut off from the Force entirely.

After the violent shaking and skidding across the ground came to a halt, the knight stood up, gathered both of the packs, and slung one over her back as she carried the other in her right hand toward the boarding ramp. She had assumed Varus had already departed, though whether or not he had waited for her was another story. He may very well simply leave her here to fend for herself. Granted, that wouldn't be the worst fate he could possibly force onto to her.

And so she made her way out of the ship and on to the soft grassy ground, a light breeze passing through between the trees. She noticed Varus standing just ahead in the clearing, looking back toward the ship. He was either waiting for her, or waiting for her. Closing her eyes she puffed a sigh, trying to push the anxiety out of her chest as she headed toward him, extending her hand out to offer him one of the packs. Her voice was soft and quiet as she spoke to him.

"Here, we may as well take these with us. I'm not familiar with this place, and I'd rather keep them in sight than leave them on the ship."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus turned away from Sera as she approached him, his disappointment almost radiating off of his body. When she reached out to hand him one of the packs containing a few of the holocrons, he did not respond. He was too deep in thought for the time being, and his frustrations with his fellow Jedi were boiling dangerously close to the surface. Instead, Varus turned away from her and walked back to the ship, kneeling down and crawling beneath the half buried freighter which was only propped up on a pair of landing gear that were still in tact.

He removed one of the panels to the bottom of the ship's inner workings and was not surprised to be engulfed in a hot stream, though it wasn't too hot to stand. He set the panel aside and reached into the ship, examining the cooling coils for a moment and finding them absolutely fried beyond repair. He then looked over the engine a bit, afraid to touch it for the heat that radiated off of the metal. It had been warped from overheating during their trip and was practically useless now. The ship hadn't been in any condition to fly to begin with, and so he and Sera had been lucky to get as far as they had, but now it would never be airborne again.

Pulling himself out from beneath the ship, Varus sighed and laid there for a moment, both hands coming up to cover his face as he tried to think of what to do. His thumbs gently pressed against his temples as he laid there thinking, but nothing came to mind. All he could think of was getting off that rock and getting the truth out of Seraphina. He hated liars, and he didn't want to hate her. He didn't know how else to feel, though, knowing the implications of betrayal laid heavily on the woman at the moment.

Pushing up off the ground, Varus turned and faced away from the ship, leaning on it for a moment as his fists tightened in his continued frustration. The next second was very unlike Varus, though, as he pushed off the ship and spun towards it. With his violent, torquing motion he threw his fist at the metal broadside of the downed freighter and put about a six inch dent in its side. He then stepped back for a moment, his knuckles throbbing from the blow, one even cracked and stinging now. He stared at the dent for a few seconds before all of a sudden he reached up with his left hand and placed it flat against the ship and began to rain down shot after shot with his right fist in the same spot, over and over, a red smear beginning to form on the scuffed up outer hull of the ship. The dent only sank deeper and deeper until the metal finally snapped, cracking and splitting open as Varus continued swinging wildly.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The extended arm would drop down to her side as Varus simply ignored her, instead choosing to wander back toward the ship and attempt to play mechanic. Did he know what he was even doing? Or was it simply just an act of stalling for the mean time while he contemplated what he planned to do with her now that they were both alone, secluded on a planet she was unfamiliar with, and without any clear sign of rescue. She stood where she was, looking on from the distance as he fiddled about for a few minutes. The look of disappointment upon his face would indicate that the ship was going nowhere. I'm no pilot or mechanic, but even I knew this ship was going nowhere. She would speak not a word. What could she say? She could just blurt something out that she hadn't done anything wrong, really. Ok, so she had befriended a Sith, a Sith Lady at that. But there was a great deal of long standing history behind that. HIstory that would take time to explain. Time that Varus didn't seem to want to have for her right now.

Sera was aware of how bad things looked right then, and she understood how he would see things, but until he was calm enough to discuss it, there was hardly anything she could do. Forcing him to listen likely wouldn't result in much progress. Her eyes would widen nervously as he created a crater in the hull of the vessel, a dozen or so heavy impacts, one after the other, relentlessly damaging the already irreparable vessel. This was the point in which her overall anxiety, fear, and nervousness would skyrocket. She had been worried before about what he was capable of, and what he may do, but now she was in fact, afraid of him.

Her voice was only a whisper, but she was certain he would hear her over his blind rage. "Varus....I'm sorry." Her hand would release the pack she was carrying, while the other reached toward her pair of lightsabers. Without a word she would take them into her hand and place them on to the moist grass aside the pack. Finally, she would twist her arm back, sliding either shoulder out of the pack resting on her back, and gently place that aside the lightsabers, and the other holocrons.

Without another word she would turn back and away from him, walking slowly toward the edge of the clearing, her eyes slowly welling as small tears between the green irises began to flow slowly down her pinkish cheeks. She would take up a sitting position underneath one of the large trees a bit away, lowering her head between her folded knees, the stream of water now gliding down like a tiny river along her face.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus finally stopped, his hand shaking for a moment as his nerves reacted to the relentless beating of the ship. He reached down and cradles his hand for a moment, tightening it into a fist and feeling the bones shifting in his knuckles. He grimaced, but he forced his bones back into place so that it wouldn't heal incorrectly, but he left his small cuts alone. He let it bleed because he didn't care. He was too angry and uncertain of Sera and even himself now. He'd lost control, and as he stopped and reached out to the ship with both hands he leaned into it, letting his head hang for a few moments as he tried to think.

He was tired of lies and he was tired of misdirection. He couldn't help feeling lied to when something so important had never made it out of Sera's lips, knowing that one day they might come across that insane woman that she appeared to be close with in some regard. She was, like most Sith, a loose cannon and quick to violence, and he'd felt truly alone in that Temple when he realized just what was happening. He was prepared to defend himself against the Sith Whelp, Sera and her so called friend if he had to, but even in all of his knowledge of the force and all of his training, he wasn't sure that he would live through that day. His precautions with the holocrons were warranted, however, and that very encounter had only reinforced the care that he had taken, though he hadn't expected to have to worry about Sera betraying him.

There was something within him that told him that she wasn't like the Sith they had just faced off against, but to be so close to one as to call them friend... it was too much for the young Knight. It was a sobering thing to have to stomach, and he truthfully wanted to trust her. He needed to. He didn't want to hold doubt for the woman while examining the way he felt about her. She had a way of making him care for her, infuriating him and confusing him all at the same time that few other woman had been able to master in his life, and he was well aware that this was perhaps the last way that he should have been feeling for a fellow Knight.

Turning away from the ship Varus glanced around the clearing and saw no one, though her essence was an unmistakable one. He waited for a moment before he followed off after her force signature, feeling that she was pained to some degree. She wasn't far, and when he found her there he could almost taste the salt of the tears that were streaming down her face, and though he wanted to console her, tell her it was okay, even hold her, he didn't. He stopped about ten feet behind her and raised his beaten and bruised hand to a tree next to him and forced out his words as he said, "Tell me... Right now."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The rustling of the leaves underneath footsteps, and the moist grass giving way under boots made Varus' presence known to Sera as her head remained tucked between her knees, hands wrapped around her legs. As he drew closer and closer she would attempt to steady her breathing so that he at least wouldn't hear her. The entire trip had been a disaster, and she was hoping that at any moment she would wake from some kind of twisted dream. She had become prone to those as of late, but deep down she knew this time was for real. That there was no waking up to escape this reality. She was in it for the long haul, unless Varus took his aggression out on her, in which case she really had no intent to defend herself any more.

His words were short and stern, and while the Twi'lek knew what he wanted her to tell him, how the Sith and her shared history, she hadn't the slightest idea in how to answer the implied question sufficiently to appease his displeasure with her, nor his distrust. She would twist her head a few times against her upper arms to clear away the tears from her swollen eyes before glancing up at him with only the side of her face, covering the rest, including her mouth, with her arm. "I don't know what to say Varus. You think I sold you out? The Order? What is it you want from me? A confession?"

The Cambrian leaned her head back against the bark of the tree, wiping her eyes again with the tips of her fingers as she waited for him to drill her on what he wanted, how terrible she was, how disappointed he was, how she was aiding the enemy, and a dozen more impulsive accusations that she would have to answer to and for.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus narrowed his eyes at the pink skinned Twi'Lek in frustration as he realized she was being indirect and putting him off. He clutched the tree tightly with his hand, his patience already so dangerously thin that he felt as though he could lose control again if she pushed him. "You know damn well what I want to know, Sera.", he said forcefully as he stared the woman down, knowing that she was hurting every moment that they spent in that awkward, unforgiving confrontation. In that moment he knew that she was hurting, and perhaps he was too, but he had to know the truth. He had to know that the Order was safe. He had to know that Sera wasn't perhaps the most cunning double agent in the Galaxy.

There wasn't anything more than he wanted to know or that she needed to admit to him. He just needed to know that Sera was truthfully his ally... his friend. He had to know that despite her relationship with a Sith, she was still serving and protecting the weak and the helpless. He needed to know that she was with him, and no one else.

"I want to know...", he said in more of a whisper this time. "I need to know..."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera slowly stood from where she had been sitting, sliding her back against the tree as she raised her body up before getting close to Varus, though kept her eyes on the ground. Her left hand would slowly rub her forehead as she thought about what to say, how to word it, and the manner in which she addressed the issue.

"Ok...You want to know how I know her name? How I know her? Why she didn't attack us? Why she hesitated and agreed to leave? Because...We're friends."

The girl winced as she said it, bracing herself for an onslaught of harsh words. There was so much she would need to explain with regard to those last two words. That explanation would take a bit of time, and she would need him to be calm to listen to her. Her friendship was not out of malice or deceit, but he would certainly see it that way. "This started when I was a Padawan. It has been a long time, Varus." Probably not the best way to start the story, but it was too late to recall her words. Deeper into the hole she would dig herself. She was incredibly nervous and afraid of how he had exerted his frustration earlier that she was fumbling with her words unwillingly. "It was because of Manaan..."

Sera looked up into Varus' eyes for a moment before lowering them again. "I should have told you, I just couldn't risk it. I'm sorry."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus let out a deep, long sigh as he glanced down at Sera. Every word she said frustrated him further, but he tried to keep a level head in the moment because he knew that lashing out or yelling wouldn't solve anything. He could feel her heart beating through the force, and it was rapping at a faster pace than it should have been. She was nervous in his presence and being so close to him like she was, which was understandable considering how angry he'd been earlier. He'd been a loose cannon in the past, and he thought that he was past all of that, but there was something about Sera that pushed him past a limit he didn't know he'd had.

"You mean during the war on Manaan.", Varus said, still watching her with a sculpted look of stone on his face, ice cold blue eyes staring through to her soul as he asked himself inwardly if what she was saying was true. He couldn't entirely tell, but he was a rather good judge of character. He'd met many people during his days on Corsucant before he'd been found by Kian, and he'd shared many drinks with countless different faces. Many of those faces shared the same tells, like someone trying to bluff a hand of Sabacc. She didn't appear to be lying, from what he could see, but he knew she was more cunning than most. She was careful and calculated when necessary, meaning she was much more than a pretty face and a body that she knew how to move. She was a part of a race that, as far as their women were concerned, were thought next to perfect. They were desired by many and used to attention, which meant they knew exactly how to play a man...

With the utmost care, Varus continued to suppress his frustrations so that he could give Sera the benefit of the doubt, but it wasn't easy. He wasn't certain that she was who she was saying she was anymore, and he hated doubting her. It bothered him that he couldn't fully trust the woman when he wanted to so badly. He cared for her more than he rightly should have, and he wished to dissolve his doubts, but he wasn't the one that was going to be able to do that. She had to do that.

"Are you telling me that while Manaan was being overrun by Sith... you made a friend?", he asked her as he looked down at the grass at their feet. "How am I supposed to feel about that?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The twin Lekku shifted slightly along her back, the sting of his words felt like a jab at her honor. It wasn't as simple or straightforward as he was making it out to be. Manaan was one of the worst experiences she'd ever lived through, certainly so as a Padawan. Recalling the memory was unsettling, and made her shiver a bit with the passing of a small breeze through the trees. She could practically feel Varus' dissatisfaction with what she was telling him, but there was little she could do besides continue recalling the history. Even if he wouldn't believe her, there was nothing she could do. If he wanted the truth from her he would get it, she just wanted this conversation to end as soon as possible, and for him to do whatever it was he was going to do to her, so that she could either move on from this or simply end it all.

"No. You weren't there, it wasn't like that. I caught her sneaking about after killing a few Republic soldiers. We exchanged words, and when it was clear neither of us would give in to the other we fought. A few cuts and bruises later and she managed to get the upper hand and destroyed one of my sabers. Then an explosion happened and the building collapsed, I got caught in the explosion, and as I laid there on the ground, beaten and hurt, one of her allies managed to find us and was ready to kill me. She killed him, Varus. She killed him to save me. Not only that, but she helped me get out of that collapsed building and we both went separate ways."

With a swipe of her hand she wiped away the last small stream from her cheek and finished her story. "We've seen each other many times since then, and developed a bond. She is different than the others. I know how hard that must be to hear, but it's true. They're not all blood thirsty monsters. And she's never made an attempt to coerce me into joining the Sith. We understand one another, and the implications we face by having this friendship."

Sliding back down she would sit again against the tree and sigh, her arms folded as her head turned to look up towards Varus. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. But what was I supposed to say?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Anything..."

He'd said only the one thing in response to her last question, frustration still soaking that one, blatant answer to her question. He didn't know what else to say, but he knew that to tell him nothing at all was a betrayal in and of itself, whether or not he said anything else at all. Despite that, he wanted to say something else. So much more, in fact, but he didn't know how to say it. It felt like a friend who'd talked behind his back or a girlfriend who'd gone to have a drink with someone else without telling him. He'd felt mislead and as if she didn't trust him, which for reasons he couldn't determine hurt him in a way more than it should have.

"You can't just say nothing...", Varus said as he closed the distance between them and knelt down in front of her. He reached up and rested the palms of either of his hands on the tops of her knees so that she would look him in his eyes when he finished what else he need to say. "...Whatever can happen, will happen. Especially when you're hiding or lying about something.", he said to her, not wanting to frighten her or hurt her feelings, but wishing to truly hold her attention so that she understood what he was trying to say.

"You say you've seen her more than once since that day on Manaan. You were fighting on the surface, and I was hundreds of feet beneath the surface as a foolish young Padawan fighting two Sith I had no business fighting. I'll see them both again one day, but if I don't I'll still remember them. I'll still share truth with those around me and among our order about that day... because I know that friend or foe, everything comes back around in this life.", he said, realizing how sappy some of what he'd said had sounded, but he didn't much care at that moment, mostly because what he'd said was true.

"You can't hide from the truth. It can only hurt you the longer you manage to evade it, and when it catches up finally... there will be consequences much worse than if you'd faced that truth from the start."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's eyes slowly raised to meet Varus' as he rested his hands atop her knees. Her bright green eyes shifted back and forth between his own, listening to him as she tried to maintain focus on what he was saying to her. The ocean of guilt felt like it was crushing her. She hadn't wanted to lie or hide anything, it was just a complicated arrangement. However in the temple she felt that he had lost all faith in her, and that was what hurt the most.

"There was just...Never a good time to bring it up. And I was afraid of how it would be looked at and scrutinized." She took in a deep breath and sighed it away. "I didn't want to hurt anyone, or hide anything. But you need to believe me that I wouldn't have allowed them to take the holocrons or harm you. I could feel how angry you were with me back there and it honestly frightened me more than anything else."

Looking down at his hands she noticed the substantial damage he had done to himself during the rage induced fit. Somewhat relieved that he had chosen to take that aggression out on the ship rather than her face, she slid her hand underneath his and lifted it gently, turning it a few different directions to see the full extent. Reaching down she tore a small band off of the bottom of her coat dress and began to wrap his hand tightly, but carefully. Once finished, she looked up toward the sky. "The sun is passing behind the trees. It's going to be dark soon."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus watched the woman carefully as her delicate little hands wrapped his own, bloodied and scarred one. He appreciated the gesture, but even then he looked at her and felt the uncertainty in his mind that he was beginning to see as misplaced. He was letting his heart trust her, despite his instincts, knowing that his heart and his brain had both been wrong on more than one occasion that resembled this one. The fact was, he couldn't entirely trust her or call her for a betrayer. He couldn't read her as well as he'd wanted to, which frustrating beyond words and kept her true motives a mystery beyond what she told him they were. He just hoped that she, of all Jedi, couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

Casting his blue eyes to the sky above them he noted the dimming light and sighed that moment, realizing that they weren't going anywhere any time soon and that they'd need to get to work if they were going to make it through the night comfortably. "I know this sounds a little ridiculous, but unless you've got a bunch of food stowed away in a backpack then we're going to have to start hunting while we still have light.", he said, glancing back down at Sera. "That ship had been there for years. It's been picked clean of anything it had long ago by native creatures of Dorin. So... if you don't want to do the dirty work then I suppose you could get started on a fire."

Pushed up from his kneeling position, Varus finally released the tops of her knees and stood upright, staring down at her as he pulled a long, sharp piece of steel about a foot long with a leather wrapped handle. It was a hunting knife of some kind, which he always kept on him just in case he got himself into a situation where a saber wouldn't do him much good. "Too much light from a lightsaber would give me away.", Varus said, noting the confused look on Sera's face as he took it in his right hand, the back of the blade running along next to his forearm.

"So is that a deal then?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Finishing the task she lighted patted his hand to make sure it was secure before giving the other knight a soft, half smile. Sera's eyes followed Varus' as he looked up to see the skyline dimming, and then back down to meet his again while he proposed a solution. She could tell from his tone of voice that he still felt uneasy around her, as if his emotions were conflicted or clouded, though she couldn't think of anything more to say that might relax his nerves. She shook her head at the mention of food, pointing back toward the ground where her sabers lay next to the packs. "I haven't got anything but the holocrons over there."

Looking around at the surroundings there didn't seem to be much in the way of shelter, lest they kept to the ship's wreckage for the night. Sera wasn't too keen on sleeping on the ground of an unfamiliar planet littered with an unknown variety of beasts. "I can make a fire, sure. I will see about getting something out of the ship to cook on, or in, while you go." As he pushed away and stood up she noted the peculiar looking knife. "I see. Just...Be careful. We don't know what's out here, or who is out here. That crash wouldn't have been quiet. I will make the fire a little further away, rather than draw all the attention to the wreck."

Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, they would have an hour, maybe two before they were engulfed in darkness. It would help to know if there was anything in the immediate surroundings they could use as shelter, rather than the ship, just in case prying eyes caught sight of it go down earlier. If not, the ship would have to do for the night. "I will start the fire and take a look around here, see if there's anywhere we can sleep that is safe. If not, I'd recommend we head back to the ship. I'm not about to become dinner for something else out here."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

When Varus had set off he'd been looking over his shoulder at Sera, a confident nod to the woman as he disappeared into the treeline. He'd chosen not to say another word to the woman, knowing that she'd manage on her own until he returned. She was smart, and she knew what she needed to do in preparation for their unfortunate circumstances. They'd have to make the best of it, and that's what Varus was intending to do for the both of them. That was going to take some careful steps, however, considering that though they had made it off Dorin, they were clearly not out of the woods just yet.

It was well after dark before he returned, but he returned as he said he would, and with a prize draped across his right shoulder. The creature dangled there across his right arm, his right hand tightly gripping it by the scruff of it's neck as he emerged from the darkness and made it into the small clearing around the ship. It was a creature about five feet in length called a Mastiff Phalone. It was big chested and muscular, but from the looks of it the creature wasn't fully developed. In fact, it must have only been just over a year old considering the fact that it only weighed about half that of an adult of it's kind. A rather perfect kill for Varus and Sera, considering that the meat would be much more tender and they wouldn't need as much for their stay. Varus might have been a hunter and a mechanic by trade, but he'd only picked up the things he'd learned from a simple man named Jarrek who had only basic knowledge to impart on him as a younger man. Most of his tricks he'd learned himself from an interestingly unfortunate life as a younger man who was now putting to use these tricks based on necessity.

"Sera...", Varus whispered to the nothingness around the ship as he listened and looked around the treeline for a glowing light that would be a fire yet found. He could feel the trickle of still warm blood running down his bare arm, his upper body sore and his eyes growing tired. He needed to find her soon so that he could prepare them their food, and then their next concern would be where they would take shelter for the night.

He knew a bit about Phindar just from what he'd read during his time on Ossus in the beginning. At first, you couldn't pull him out of the archives, but then, after about a year of establishing himself as a workaholic and gym rat, you'd almost never find him there. He'd traded knowledge for strength, though he'd retained his intelligence by resorting to holocrons in privacy when his body would go no further for his personal training. He'd learned a lot about the planet, but specifically he was aware that as a tropical planet it was no stranger to moisture. Moisture that quickly and easily would gather and form clouds that, as often as there was peace and quiet, would also let go of it's bounty and allow the skies to cry long and hard. Unfortunately for them, the skies looked as if they were not long for a good cry.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera was far from an outdoorsy girl. She told Varus that she would take care of the fire while he went and did the actual work. Come on Sera, it's a fire. It's not science. As he left the clearing to go off and kill something that hopefully wouldn't taste like ground up worms she wandered back towards the ship, climbing into the wreckage to have a look around. Making it to the small storage containers she found there was little she could use in the way of cooking supplies, but managed to at least find some long steel rods that should at the very least be able to skewer a carcass. She found a few slabs of durasteel that could pass for a makeshift oven she would attempt to drag them out, though they proved to be a bit too heavy for her smaller frame to lift.

Instead of wasting unnecessary energy struggling with the durasteel she simply lifted the durasteel with her mind, proving to be far lighter than using her physical muscles she manipulated the slabs outside and into a pile further off in the forest, out of sight of the wreckage. Once she had assembled the pieces into the design she was looking for she turned back and retrieved the packs. Looking down at them and her sabers for a few moments, she sighed once before slinging one over her shoulders, the other into her hand, and gripping the pair of blades in her left.

Returning to the durasteel she activated a single saber and cut a small circular hole in the back of the durasteel to assist in venting the smoke. It was then time to attempt to make a fire. She gathered some kindling from some nearby twigs and branches and stuffed them into the small steel frame and began the task of igniting the wood. Several minutes of relentless fidgeting and she finally managed to spark a flame enough to catch on the wood and start a small flame. It would likely take 10-15 minutes before it became a constant, full fledged fire, but she was somewhat proud of herself. The Twi'lek stacked the two packs atop one another and set her weapons aside, still unsure as to whether Varus would feel uneasy with her carrying them for the time being.

Waiting there by the warmth, her green eyes glittered in the darkness that surrounded the fire pit, with small cracks and pops giving the flames personality, she heard Varus whisper her name from beyond her sight. She replied back quietly. "Varus, follow my voice, I'm to the east of the wreckage."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Turning and glancing across the nose of the ship, which was almost entirely buried, Varus followed the sound of Sera's soft voice. She was right in what she'd told him, that she was east of the wreckage. At least, from what he could tell she was right about the direction that she seemed to be in, though all he'd need was the sound of her voice, all things considered. That's why he didn't hesitate after having heard her. He new exactly what direction she was in and now it was all just a matter of following her voice to it's source.

Breaking back into the treeline, Varus walked away from the ship for about fifty yards before he found the young, pink Twi'Lek again. That moment was a good one, seeing her again and seeing just how much she prepared given the simple task of making a fire. She'd gone above and beyond his request for her aid in preparing for him to bring back something to eat, and that was something he respect and appreciated greatly. So much so, in fact, that he smiled at her, which wasn't very common for Varus. He smiled at her and nodded his head while saying, "Thank you, Sera. You've outdone yourself."

Stopping next to the young woman, Varus gently pulled the freshly slain Mastiff Phalone over his shoulder, dropping it to the jungle floor beneath them. When he did he wasted no time in gathering the rope out of his pack and unraveling it before tying up the beast by it's back legs and stringing it up over a tree. He then pulled his knife from it's holster and plunged it into the creature's chest, cutting a line from between it's left, across it's stomach and across it's chest, making sure not to strike any organs as he did. The mess would be the least of their discomfort if he'd have struck the stomach or something worse, and he was intending to spare Seraphina foul smells and stomach churning sights as much as he could.

Without hesitation, Varus pulled off his flight jacket and black tank before he went any further, knowing it was going to get a little messy. He bundled up those clothes and proceeded bare chested, knowing he'd be easier to wash than anything he was wearing. After that, Varus began to peel back the skin from the opening he'd cut on the underside of the birdlike carnivore until it was bare of fur or feathers. He then sawed off inedible portions of the body until it was completed aside from the last, most unpleasant part of the whole process.

"I Wouldn't blame you if you looked away.", Varus said, a moment before he turned and reached into the creature with both hands and began to dress it. He cut at it's throat and at it's hind end beneath it's bone structure and in no time everything came tumbling out of it and onto the ground. He then picked reached into his pack and grabbed a folded up cloth, laid it out and pulled the organs into it, wrapped it up and carried it off, deeper into the woods and dumped it into a stream, where he washed off his blood soaked arms and rang out the cloth before he returned to Sera and displayed an indifferent, almost displeased look as he said, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that part.", with a gulp, taking a moment to catch his breath. He then reached up and pulled down the rack of his kill, complete from front to back and ready to be skewered. He untied it and carried it over to Sera, nodding to her as he held it up, waiting for a little assistance.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

As Varus came into view with the beast slung over his back Sera sat up and looked curiously at it. She wasn't sure what exactly it was, but she had faith that he knew what he was doing. At least, he knew more than she did, which was nothing. So in reality it was actually fantastic. If the job had been left to her, they likely would be sleeping with the sound of a hollow stomach. His praise lifted her spirit a bit from the funk she had been in since Dorin, and that was a much needed change of pace. She smiled, the dim light from the fire glittering lightly off of her teeth and eyes as she looked up at him. Her voice was soft and quiet in her response. "Thank you. You did the hard part really."

While Sera was no hunter, she knew what he was doing as he began to tie up the animal and hang it from the tree. This was the part she wasn't entirely keen on. She knew what obviously had to be done if they wished to eat anything, but it didn't make the task at hand any more pleasant. As he dropped his upper clothing to the ground she collected it and rested it in her lap. The sound of the cutting and sawing of bones from flesh was enough to make her stomach feel nauseous.

With the mention of looking away, the Twi'lek was already well ahead of him. She focused her eyesight on anything and everything aside from him and the carcass. The sound of skin and muscle separating, along with the ejection of organs spilling onto the ground was vile. It made her skin shiver as he continued to work to clean the meat. She did not envy him in the slightest. A skill she would never come to grasp, nor did she have the desire to do so. If the situation was different, she would likely have starved until she got off of the planet, or died of starvation.

After he had finished trotting off with the less savory bits to deposit them elsewhere and returned, Sera shook her head. "You can't get used to it? I don't even know how you can stomach it, to be honest." She poked her tongue out slightly and then lifted herself up with a spring from her legs and a push from her hand, and began to help Varus place what would eventually be their meal on to the makeshift skewers and atop the fire. It would take some time, as this was far from the most effective means of cooking, but for tonight it would do. Once all that was left to do was wait and occasionally shift the meat she laid back, resting her head on one of the packs and looked up at the star filled sky and sighed. "Have any ideas of how we're going to get off this rock come tomorrow?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus brushed off his hands and watched as the meat began to smoke, the smell felling the air as it cooked over the makeshift oven, the fire protected and slightly enhanced in effectiveness due to it's surroundings that Sera had put together. He was satisfied with the job they'd done in getting everything prepared for their meal and knew that, though it would take almost an hour to cook all of the meat all the way through, it was going to be a healthy and well rewarding meal to their bodies, most of which they could take with them and eat later on. That, in essence, was it's value, seeing as how well a finely cooked piece of meat would keep for a few days. Especially if they cooked the thinner portions of meat on the ribs well enough to almost burn it and make it something close to a jerky.

"Well...", Varus said as he turned and gently lowered down to a seated position in front of the fire. "...I'm not so sure getting off this rock by tomorrow's even in the cards.", he said, having been racking his brain while he'd hunted over the last hour trying to think of ways to get safely off Phindar and back to Ossus which he was almost certain Kian had already made it to. As he watched the crackling fire begin to lick the raw meat as it cooked, Varus reached out and thrust his large knife down into a log laying next to him before he released it and wrapped either of his arms around the tops of his knees, lacing his fingers together to hold his seated position without too much effort as he sat in thought.

He said nothing for almost a minute before he added to his response to the young, pink woman with him in his more common, docile tone. "The planet is partially civilized and maintains cities and a government, but it's not like Coruscant or Corellia where most of the planet is made of metal and stone. There are still wilds here, as you can see, and it could take us days to get to one of these cities and find a ship to get us back to Ossus...", he said, glancing over to Sera before he finished and said, "Or we could get lucky and find some form of civilization in a day's walk."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera sighed. Varus was right. They had no idea where on Phindar they ever were, let alone the nearest settlement capable of even possessing a starship that could get them back to Ossus. This was going to be quite an excursion. They would have to first navigate to some type of settlement, and either be extremely lucky, or ask for transport or directions to the larger city where they would still need to find some way of either paying for passage, or hitching a ride with someone who would pass through that system. Regardless, the more she thought about it, the more daunting the task became.

Taking her mind off of the future for the time being she watched as the meat began to cook, the sizzling of flesh was beginning to speak to her stomach, and the realization of hunger was finally beginning to settle in. She looked up to the sky again and noticed that the thicker clouds had begun to roll in closer. It wouldn't be long before it began to downpour. The clouds looked to be bringing heavy rain, potentially storm winds and flooding if strong enough.

"We'll need to eat quickly and take shelter some place soon." She motioned upwards with her head. "It doesn't look like the skies are in our favor." She glanced around their surroundings, but it was nothing but darkness engulfing the trees and beyond, with the flames of their fire casting shadows on what was still visible. "I don't suppose you found anything or anywhere we can sleep for the night without getting too drenched?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]