Lessons Learned From The Mist-Walkers

[Kay-Larr]

Kay looked up to [member="Ghorua the Shark"] as soon as he let go of her hand. The emotions that were running through him were raw. The Elders watched with the same curiosity, although Kay's eyes showed concern for him as well. And since his hands were tightly balled into fists, she placed her hand on his forearm. "Being afraid, even of yourself, doesn't make you weak. You are far stronger than you realize. I'm afraid of things too, like of people learning my secret of Force sensitivity, and of running into the Sith Lord that murdered my husband, and of Commenor getting attacked and occupied by a terrible tyrant. Yet...people still see me as a strong and brave person, no matter if I believe them or not. Fear is normal and it keeps us in check. The trick is to not give into it all the time. And the only way to get a better handle on something is to practice. I know of a perfect place for that."

The Elders just observed the exchange before speaking up. "Before facing the" "Obsicorians, you must" "face yourself. Overcome" "your fear and" "you'll be able" "to stop them."

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua's fists didn't lighten their death grip on the air as Kay rested her hand on his arm. The emotions within him were indeed raw, dangerous, brimming with dark energy. The fact that he was so transparent in this encounter startled him. He supposed with Kay there, one of the only people in this galaxy he trusted implicitly, and with his rage being brought to light, he had nothing to hide. He was an open book, and he didn't know how to feel about it.

He looked down to the Lady once again as she spoke, studying her face. He had always viewed the President as a strong individual, making up for what she lacks in physical strength with heart and tenacity. It takes a lot of mojo to bite a Herglic, after all. It hadn't occurred to him that she goes through a similar situation to him.

Ghorua looked back up to the Elders, studying each of them just as they studied him. Obviously Force-sensitives. The fact that Kay spoke out loud about her own Force-adeptness meant they knew about it. Ghorua had learned plenty about them, even from this little encounter. Their cryptic messages, their telepathy... Ghorua was used to dealing in logic, and facts, with the occasional Forcie throwing their weight around. He had never experienced anything quite so mystical.

"To beat them, I have to overcome my fear of myself?" Ghorua looked down to his body, to the massive muscles stretching his tuxedo. "If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty scary." Ghorua found a soft chuckle. "But if you know a place to help, I'd be willing to try anything."

Ghorua relaxed his fists, letting them hang at his sides limply. He grinned, surprising himself. Finally, there was a lead. Something to go off of, something to do. Ghorua had let his fear ferment for too long.

Perhaps he had finally found an escape.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay found herself laughing a little when [member="Ghorua the Shark"] laughed at his own little joke. He was scary, especially to his targets. Bones at his side also added more to the fear factor. She wondered if she would be able to befriend his pet too. Well, one thing at a time.

"We will conduct" "more research while" "you are gone."

"Thank you very much. And good luck with your research." Kay bowed her head. The Elders dipped their heads as well before looking to Ghorua. After a moment, they bowed their heads to him as well, and then faded out.

Kay looked to Ghorua and grinned. "I think they like you. Come on, we're not far off from where you can practice." She took hold of his arm and led him out of the throne room of sorts, and into the temple. Although instead of taking him out the way that they came, she led him over to the right. After passing through another large hallway with rising columns they approached a set of huge double doors. Kay gestured for him to help her to open it. After he had done so and their eyes had adjusted to the bright outdoor light, the arena appeared before them.

((Sorry for the delay. Family emergency took me from home))

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

As Kay and the Elders said their parting thoughts, Ghorua wondered if he could use them to track down his future bounties. It would pay to have an omniscient cadre of old people on his side. But Ghorua knew they would never help him for something as self-serving as that. The only way, Ghorua figured, they would ever help him was if it meant something. Something personal to him.

Then they nodded to him as they faded out of existence. That surprised him a little. He nodded to Kay as she remarked on the exchange, giving only a few mute words. "Yeah, well, you know me. Great at first impressions."

With a quick hauum through his blowhole, he followed Kay back into the ruins, and to another set of doors. With a smirk, Ghorua placed his hands on either side, and pushed. WIthout much trouble, they swung open, the outside light almost blinding the Herglic. Once he had blinked away his surprise, he saw the extent of the colosseum before him. A few emotions rushed through his head at once, namely excitement first, then fear, then apprehension, then hope. He looked down to Kay, all of these emotions present on his face. "So, do I just go down there? Punch an Acklay or two?"

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay laughed a little. "Not quite. We need to trigger your frenzy and help you work through it in a way so that you can have control over it, instead of it having control over you. And you don't have to worry about breaking things. That's what this place was built for."

She led him through the almost maze-like structure of the arena, until they were near the centre of it. Kay placed her hands on her hips as she casually looked around before setting her eyes upon [member="Ghorua the Shark"] . "Alright. This should be as good of a spot as any. Time to get started. Now what kinds of things besides fear causes you to lose yourself?" She already knew that the Mist-Walkers or Obsicorians gave him terror. But there had to be more than that. She just needed to learn of what they were.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua frowned when Kay said that they needed to trigger his Frenzy. Believe it or not, Ghorua had done that very thing once before, made himself go into the rage. Well, he didn't do it himself, but he let an ally of his do it. He hadn't had the courage to trigger it on his own. But it seemed he would have to, to stop being afraid of it. Of being afraid of himself.

They walked into the center of the arena, and Ghorua looked between the pillars, most of which were only as tall as he was. He felt dirty, sharing the secret of his anger with someone. If the information got out, it would spell the Shark's downfall. He tried to keep his tone light as he responded, slow to give away the information.

"Ah, well... There is one thing. The smell of blood." Just saying the word brought back countless times he had witnessed the substance, and had to bite back his Blood Frenzy. Under Bespin, blood had been smeared along the walls. Ghorua had almost gone insane then.

"You're gonna make me cut myself, aren't ya?" Ghorua's eyes shook, deep anticipation and fear flooding his system.

You're fine, Balin. This'll help.

"I can do it, I swear. So... once I go into the Frenzy, what then? I might... might rip you apart, if I do." He felt guilty, even though he hadn't laid a hand on her yet. The idea of being able to hurt those around him terrified him deeply. He had too much power, and far too little control of it.

But the Elders had thought differently. Maybe the Shark had better control than he realized.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Blood. That should have been obvious. But on the mining platform he seemed to be okay, for the most part. But maybe he was struggling. The look in his eyes at getting cut worried her a little. She had no intention of hurting him. "You don't need to cut yourself. I'll do it on myself. But don't worry, I'm a healer, remember? And I can run fast. This arena gives me plenty of places to slip from your grasp."

She dropped her hands from her hips as she looked up to [member="Ghorua the Shark"] , holding his gaze with her own, wanting to give him more courage so that he wouldn't doubt himself so much. "You may think that you lose yourself completely, but you don't. I know that you'll find that balance. If you didn't have it, then you would never come back from your frenzy. Yet you do. It's only temporary because you make it so.....Now, there must be a word or name that gives you such a good emotion, that I can call out if ever I feel too overwhelmed. Or...would you rather that I just try to stun you instead?" Both were viable options in her mind.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua felt extremely uncomfortable with letting Lady Kay be the bait to his inner beast. He would probably kill her in three seconds flat. He could see it already; his body, out of his control, dashing forward, maw open to bite her in twain...

Have some faith. If she thinks she can get away, she probably can.

Ghorua sighed again, crossing his arms defensively. "Alright, fine." He tried to think of a word, a phrase, anything that would incite any emotion to the surface strong enough to overcome his Frenzy. He brought up nothing. That concerned him slightly. "Stun me if it gets too hot for you to handle. But however you stun me, make sure to do it a lot. This body of mine can take quite a bit." Ghorua frowned. If he had brought his stun grenades, he could have given them to her. Perhaps that would have been enough to stop him. To be fair, there was no way he was bringing explosives into Kay's home, so he stopped his musing.

Ghorua prepared himself, sitting cross-legged on the ground, almost eye-level with the President. He calmed himself, meditating. One might find it weird that a non-Forcie like Ghorua would meditate, but the Shark found it relaxing, and mind-sharpening. His eyes closed, and he retreated within himself, preparing for the worst.

"I... I'm sorry. For what I might do." That's all he could say, before opening his eyes, scared but determined.

"Do it."​

​

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had no doubt that [member="Ghorua the Shark"] would need at least a few stun bolts from her blaster in order to get knocked out of his frenzy. She smiled as he agreed and watched him as he sat and calmed himself. His words of apology already showed the doubt he was carrying within and the fear in his eyes confirmed it. Yet that glimmer of determination brought her hope. She stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug. "It may take us a few tries or more, but you'll get there, I know you will. Trust yourself, as you trust me."

She let him go and stepped back, glancing about as she checked on the direction of the wind. "I'm going to give myself a head start. Wait here." Kay turned and headed up wind, moving in between the pillars. As she did so, she pulled out her commlink. "Einon, this is Kay. I'm in the old Twin Canyon arena. Send a medical team here with bacta gel and other supplies, plus a few guards with blaster rifles set to stun. I'm training Ghorua, so tell them not to be alarmed."


She pocketed her commlink and stopped when she figured that she was far enough. Kay then turned around and pulled a small dagger from her boot. Most people would cut themselves on the palm of her hand, but that was too sensitive of an area, and if she needed to climb or anything, not having the use of a hand could cause her to lose the first round. So she brought up her arm and made a two inch cut on the top of her forearm, gritting her teeth while she did so. The blood appeared almost instantly and she let some of it pool on her skin before she smeared some of it onto one of the pillars, making sure that it was upwind of Ghorua so that the smell would be carried down to him.

It was showtime. Kay replaced her dagger and then took off in a run in a different direction, trying to keep her footfalls as silent as possible as she then hid behind one of the pillars. After crouching down, she focused her energy on her cut, manipulating the blood cells into forming a scab. It was by no means a full heal, but she wasn't sure of how much time that she had. No doubt she would hear him coming at any moment.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua accepted the hug warmly, using it to comfort him before experiencing what was to come. Then his jitters set in again, and he felt the Frenzy stirring, even before Kay cut her hand. Even the anticipation of blood set him on edge.

Ghorua watched, balling his fists, as Kay cut her own arm for him, possibly sacrificing herself for him to get over the fear of his own body. Every time the Shark met with the Lady, she seemed to surprise him with a new act of kind selflessness. Hopefully, this wouldn't be her last.

The irony scent of blood hit his palate, enveloping his senses. It wasn't much, definitely not enough to catapult him into his usual anger. The plan was to make himself go into the Frenzy, though. That meant he had to go searching for it.

With a scared gulp, Ghorua traveled into his own mind, navigating through the maze of thoughts and mannerisms. Eventually, he found what he was searching for, a massive fluctuation of Darkness. Ghorua's mind hesitated at going any further. Then he remembered what had to be done, steeled himself, and dived into the nexus.

The beast that was Ghorua opened his large, black eyes, pupils widened to enormous proportions. His entire body tensed, his sharp teeth snapping at the air. The Shark stood quickly, a blur of dark movement. He ripped his suitcoat off, tossing the useless piece of clothing to the side. Somewhere in his mind, the rational side of Ghorua protested. He had liked that coat.

The monster took in deep breath through his blowhole, scenting the air. A few seconds of this went by, testing the water. Suddenly, the giant Herglic's head snapped in his former friend's direction. The Shark's mouth curled into a sadistic smile, and he let out a roar.

The sound was ear-battering, fear-inspiring, much more monster than man. It was a tortured, primal, enraged thundering of pure anger and hunger. It wanted blood. And it appeared to have found some.

Kay wouldn't so much hear him coming as feel it. Each step rattled the pebbles on the ground, the footsteps increasingly getting faster and faster. Ghorua snarled briefly, and rammed his shoulder into a pillar. The stone construction crumbled under the unbridled power of the Shark.

He was getting closer, and closer. Soon, he would be upon her.

- [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Her eyes snapped back into focus as soon as the roar began. It echoed off the arena's walls and stone pillars. Kay's heart skipped a beat as she got to her feet, fear sending a chill down her spine. For a moment she thought that she had made a mistake. Maybe she should have waited until help arrived. But no. Help was coming and it wouldn't be long. She just had to last until then.

The ground started to tremble as [member="Ghorua the Shark"] ran in her direction. She had thought that leaving her blood in one spot and running in a different direction would have drawn him away from her. But that didn't work. He was heading straight for her.

The crash of the stone pillar as Ghorua barrelled through it was enough to get her moving again. Kay weaved her way in and out of them, the pillars being a hindrance to the Herglic, due to his size, but they were perfect for her. It allowed her the ability to move faster.

Out past the pillars and at the edge of the arena lay the covered stairwell leading up to the viewing seats. It would be a tight squeeze for him and only if he went on all fours like his pet Bones, would he be able to manage. Kay ran straight inside and headed up about thirty steps before she stopped and turned around to catch her breath. She was in the middle, leaning against the wall and looking to either side of the stairwell, breathing heavily. This was a good place as any to try to reach her friend and help him out of his Darkness.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

The Shark charged through pillars of stone, growling, the deep sound like shifting earth. Ghorua was, by all outward appearances, gone. All that was left of the polite, jolly giant was the giant part.

Ghorua pushed yet another obstruction out of his way, sending the stone collapsing to the side. He shouldered two more out of the way recklessly, straining to get to his prey. Eventually, he made it past these barriers, and to a set of stairs. The Shark tasted the air, realizing his target had escaped up them. Or, so she had thought. The primitive mind of Ghorua surmised that the only way to her was straight ahead.

Ghorua rocketed into the stairway, down on all fours, crashing against walls and steps, in a manic attempt to get to Lady Kay. Rock cracked under the pressure, and he began to make his way up the stairs, faster than one might assume.

Deep in the recesses of his own mind, Ghorua's consciousness waited, dreading every moment of what was happening. His mind felt scattered, weak. He dimly realized what the Frenzy was doing, but couldn't wrestle back control.

Not yet.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay heard [member="Ghorua the Shark"] coming before she saw him, only because she was looking the wrong way. And he was moving much faster than she had anticipated. She bolted up the steps, and hightailed it to the next set of stairs. These ones were the same, covered, though instead of going up to the next level, they went down. She hurried down them, again starting to lose her breath. More than likely she was going to get to her breaking point before he was, and there was no telling how soon help would arrive.

Instead of stopping halfway through, Kay just carried on running. She tripped on a crack in one of the steps and stumbled down the rest of the way, nearly falling over. Up ahead she saw an opened iron gate securing what could be a storage room or old prisoner's box, she wasn't sure. But it looked secure. So she ran over to it, ever conscious of hearing Ghorua's snarling and heavy footfalls. After passing through the gate, she closed it shut. Seeing inside, Kay discovered that it was a storage room, but of old bones, people and creatures that had long since fought battles and died. She picked up a thigh bone from some type of animal and fit it into the handles of the gate, securing it.

Out of breath, she grabbed another thigh bone and backed out of reach. Now she had to wait and try to get through to her friend.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua continued forward like an unstoppable train of motion, angrily slamming into the sides of the stairs recklessly. He followed the scent trail of the Lady, into another set of stairs, stumbling slightly as they angled down.

Eventually, the stairs ended, and the room hollowed out. Ghorua stood quickly, snuffing at the air. His deep black eyes zeroed in on a metal gate, behind of which Kay stood apprehensively. The Shark could smell the blood that had once been in this room, and the long-dead marrow in the bones.

Ghorua began to approach, and suddenly stopped in his tracks. He smiled savagely, and roared again, lines of spit rolling between his teeth.

If there were a time to talk, now would be it. The bars most likely wouldn't hold Ghorua out for long.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay watched as [member="Ghorua the Shark"] approached, tightening her grip on the bone. But instead of him just charging at the gate, he stopped and roared. It caused her to jump in spite of herself, the sound booming and reverberating around them.

She swallowed down her fear and then spoke, not in a pleading way, but more so a happier tone. "That's great, Ghorua! You did it! Now come on back, gain control again. You know that you can do it, just push like you did through those stairs. You've done it many times before and this is no different. Just come back to me, Ghorua."

And now she waited, offering no further help. He had to do it on his own. Still she kept herself out of reach, ready in case he attacked.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua cocked his head at Kay's words, no semblance of life in his deep eyes. Suddenly, one hand shot out, grasping the bars. With a single pull, the grate came free, breaking apart in the Herglic's mitts. He stepped into the small space awkwardly, squaring off against the Lady.

Ghorua seemed to growl, the words lost on the mindless beast. Suddenly, he surged forward, going into a shoulder charge, much too fast.

It wasn't enough. The large Herglic's scattered mind could barely perceive the outside world, his entire existence reduced to impule emotions and an unquenchable hunger. He wanted food. He wanted the kill. He wanted to rip the kind woman in front of him limb from limb.

And he was terrified for if he did.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well that gate didn't last very long. Kay jumped as [member="Ghorua the Shark"] ripped the gate off it's hinges with one meaty hand. She stepped back a bit as he walked inside, swallowing down a lump in her throat. His eyes, they showed nothing, no hint of her friend at all. Didn't he hear her?

Kay didn't want to hurt him, didn't think that it would have the right affect. Hurting him could just make him angry. But right now she had to defend herself. She waited until the last moment of his charge and then stepped to the side, swinging the thigh bone like a baseball bat against Ghorua's leg.

"Snap out of it!! I am not your prey!!"

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua couldn't have stopped himself if he tried.

Both mentally and physically, that was.

The Shark crashed into the wall Kay had just jumped from, growling as the structure fractured under his weight. He would feel that later, to be sure. Then he felt a bump against his knee.

The bone had the same effect as if one had swung a baseball bat at an elephant's leg.

Ghorua turned, teeth sliding from his lips coldly, no sentience in his eyes.

Instead of charging again, the beast that was Ghorua swung his fists in wide arcs, each punch powerful enough to do a lot of damage. They were slow, and unrefined, given his current state, but still terrifying.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay now had a slight advantage. [member="Ghorua the Shark"] was no longer blocking her escape through the door. As he turned towards her and began punching, it took one hit to shatter the bone to pieces. The others she ducked and dodged, each move calculated to bring her closer to the door.

When it was near enough, she turned and ran through it, knowing full well that he would charge after her. Up the stairs she ran, her breathing starting to get laboured again. Her commlink then came to life. "Madam President, we're here. Where are you?"

"In the north-east stairwell. When I come out, start shooting at Ghorua. Make sure that it's only stun. It'll take a lot, but keep at it till he's down."

"Copy that."

Kay looked down the stairwell and waited. She wasn't quite sure if her friend had some tricks up his sleeves.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

In the clutches of the Blood Frenzy, there were no tricks.

There was only track down, attack, eat, repeat.

The reason Ghorua never let his Blood Frenzy take control was rather simple. The Shark prided himself on his mind, something cultivated in the body of a brute, something no one ever expected out of the strong Hunter. It was his ace in the hole. It was his safe haven. It was why he was so successful as a Bounty Hunter.

His Frenzy stripped him of his mind.

The Shark grinned as his fist shattered bone, then roared as he realized it wasn't a bone of Lady Kay. He swung a few more times, but the uneducated swipes were easily dodged. As the Lady escaped, Ghorua charged after, having to slow down to duck under an arch.

The Shark sniffed deeply, scenting Kay, and a few alien scents. The stone corridors whistled with wind, the air carrying with it the distinct scents of various guards, and the tibanna in their blasters. Ghorua roared again, and charged up the stairwell, seeming not to care about the new revelation.

His prey was escaping. That was unacceptable.

- [member="Lady Kay"] -