Of Beasts and Reverie [Vas'ka]

[Lief]

The vessel had flown down through the Gricho Sector from Generis, having made a similar venture just days prior -- only in the opposite direction. Sometimes, it truly did feel as though space was one giant loop and people such as Jyn were stuck within their own minuscule version. She often ran along the same lines, following similar routes but to achieve different ends. Well, the young girl was in fact headed back to Teth - like there was any change there! - to meet back up with Teio, but indoing so she had almost passed up an invaluable experience.

Yavin IV was a spectacular moon... It had been the site of so much history, an extremely large amount of conflict, and was even the origin of the terms "BBY" and "ABY", on account of the wars which culminated in and around the celestial body. But it was for a much humbler reason that Jyn was attracted to the jungle world. Lost deep within, and far from the eyes of random tourists, lay the Lost City of the Jedi; once the home of terraforming Jedi who sought to restore the world to its prime, now abandoned following their successful endeavors. There was much and more to be learned within the crumbling walls of the city that nature had reclaimed.

But Jyn was not privy to the location of the City. And thus she required a lot of research, in the same way she had to find information on the Je'daii. Knowing that hard work paid off, if given enough time, Jyn did not shy away from the prospect. Instead she welcomed the opportunity to explore the world, especially given the fact that she had a ship and supplies which meant she would not be stranded this time! Jungles were often harsh on the young girl, after all.

Landing in a clearing, and instructing the droid pilot to remain in place, Jyn began to venture onward through the Jungle, having no real idea of just where it was she was headed. Yavin IV was full of ruins and bunkers, perhaps she would run into something which would assist. If all else failed, her datapad would redirect her back to her ship, no harm done. There was a lot of the moon to scour and explore... And thankfully, the day was still extremely young.

[member='Vas'ka Janik']

 

[Vas'ka Janik]

Perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good.

There was too much going on, both within and around his person, to consequently calm his thoughts, as the instructors were so keen on having the padawans do. The library proved too tempting, what with all of the ancient texts to be found and answers to be sought within their pages, and the training hall - while a favorite of his - wasn't somewhere that most could simply sit and focus on clearing their minds. Sometimes it was maddening, the hustle and bustle of Academy life, the sensing of all of those people in the building and how they interacted with the Force... It was all to varying degrees, of course, but the point remained - the Academy was a source of constant action, and sometimes a being just needed peace and quiet.

This was the reason why he was wandering on the grounds outside of the Jedi Academy. Vas'ka had no plans to flee, nor to cause problems with the Mandalorians - he knew that tensions were high between the two groups residing on this planet, and that the Mandalorians were so sensitive to what the Jedi did on their planet. The potential for a reprimand was probably high, as the owners of Yavin would most likely view his leaving of the grounds as some kind of espionage.

Sometimes, his wardrobe preference paid off. This just happened to be one of those times.

Aside from the occasional creak of his leather shoes or the soft clink of metal coming from the lightsaber hilts attached to his belt, the padawan made nary a noise as he wandered through the forest. He kept his weight distributed evenly between steps, keeping a bit of bend in his knees to make his footfalls quieter. He tried to keep his mind open, to sense anything in the Force that would mean a person was nearby, but the clutter in his mind proved too much to continue trying. He didn't like the feeling of walking into a situation blind, but Vas also knew that he would be able to think his way out of most anything that was thrown at him.

Minutes passed easily as he continued his journey outward, continuing in a single direction away from the Academy. The serenity of the hike was almost surreal; it was hard to believe that such places still existed in the galaxy what with all of the life that lived within it. His eyes drank in the greenery that surrounded him, enough foliage and cloud cover that he could take off the sunglasses he wore. While they saved his eyes from being in pain, he disliked that they took most of the color out of the world. Tucking them carefully into the neck of his shirt, he ran his fingers across the trunk of a large tree and reveled in the sensation of the rough bark beneath his fingertips.

Yes, this place would do quite nicely.

He settled himself with his back to the immense tree, the hood still drawn over his face in order to protect against any wayward rays that could penetrate the dense roof of leaves above his head. He could sense the turmoil within his mind begin to regress, closing his eyes to further pull back from the world and focus his energies on untangling the knot within his mind. A deep breath in, imagining a warmth at the feet that were settled beneath his person as he rested back on his heels. A breath out, and that warmth moved steadily up his legs. His muscles relaxed visibly as he released tension he didn't know he carried, the worry lines etched into his forehead melting away with each breath he took.


[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

The foliage was dense considering how little light was reaching the undergrowth due to the vast expanse of leaves overhead. Grateful for the cover from the heat of the sun, yet somewhat frustrated by the lack of time-telling capabilities where the sun's journey across the sky was concerned, she trudged on through the jungle. For whatever reason, there was a severe lack of fauna wandering along the same path, despite the fact that Jyn's journey was extremely quiet even with fallen leaves and branches to account for. Truly, the distant sound of cascading water more than made up for anything she could have caused. Which begged the question, where was everything? Yavin IV had life, of that Jyn was certain...

So it was that when Jyn's empathic senses peaked as a scattered mind entered her reaches, a frown of confusion made its way upon her lips. Strange, usually an animal only expressed primitive emotions or even just adrenaline... But this was different. It was disarray, unordered, almost chaotic. Definitely the traits of a sentient being, regardless of how some tried to keep inner peace. Such was the human condition, after all.

Adjusting her path so that she was walking towards this odd phenomenon, Jyn pondered why it was that she thought she had any right to think herself the only being on this planet. After all, was it not renown for its Force User attraction? And did the Mandalorians not own it? Certainly, from orbit it did not seem to have much going for it... But Jyn had been on enough seemingly abandoned planets to realise that such a thought was folly. And being that Jyn had no genuine way of knowing about the Academy which lingered on the surface, her confusion was well grounded one might say.

When the emotional range of whomever it was peaked, Jyn halted for a moment and gauged her surroundings. Little had changed in terms of appearances, yet all the same she was slowly and surely becoming aware of more and more lifeforms in the distance. It was Belkadan all over again, this world most certainly was alive with a sentient presence. How curious. Perhaps she would find more than she initially intended to? Or at least gain information on how to get to the Lost City if nothing else. That was, of course, provided that whomever she had happened upon was welcoming.

Oh, but what if they weren't?

The thought had the young girl suddenly halt in place. There was a very good chance that she was stumbling into yet more Sith. It was not unheard of for rogue factions - those who didn't affiliate with the larger Galactic Powers, to hide out on worlds that others might not think to visit in their every day life. The Sith were no exception, in fact was that not what Kyros and her ilk had done on Teth and Aurum? Perhaps Jyn was about to run back into the very thing she had been avoiding for the majority of her life. Perhaps that would be her inevitable fate.

However, the tables changed quite considerably when a more sporadic set of emotions suddenly ambushed their way through her mind. The sensation was unbearable and left the girl on her knees with her hands pressed to her temple. It had been a while since she felt the pure rage of an animal coursing through her mind like this, not even on Vendaxa had it been so severe. The pain was excruciating, made tenfold by the fact that Jyn's empathy had been on high alert to begin with and thus amplified the sensations.

This would likely not end well...

[member="Vas'ka Janik"]

 

[Vas'ka Janik]

'Breathe in, hold, and breathe out. Listen to the sounds around you, feel the sensations against your skin, discern the scents you take in with each breath.'

They weren't so much words in his head as much as what the body was remembering to do. It was interesting, to be so accustomed to meditation that the body remembered what was supposed to happen. The mind was just along for the ride, and there to reap the benefits of such complete relaxation. Amusement flickered to life as he remembered struggling to grasp the concept of doing nothing, thinking of nothing, as a young boy. It had been a fight between the ceaseless energies of his mind and the will of his instructors. Ultimately, his desire to wield a real lightsaber overcame any trepidation he had - and it was a good thing it had, too.

As a youngster from Nar Shaddaa, was it really so difficult to understand why the child had such difficulties calming his mind and listening to what his surroundings had to say?

Vas'ka ignored the pressure building in his feet, a sign that his weight was beginning to impact the blood flow within his lower appendages, ignoring the fact that he would have pins and needles in his feet when he finally stood. A slight frown turned down the corners of his mouth, the only outward sign that he was experiencing pain at all. 'Pain is a message; you can ignore that message.' Another idiom of sorts from the instructors, and one that the padawan took to heart. There was no other way for him to train for so long and so hard without pause, no other way that he could become so completely focused on a task that his own body demanding sustenance and rest couldn't deter him.

The presence of a malicious personality, however, was another story entirely.

He wasn't sure how he sensed the predator, and nor could he put into words how its presence made him feel. Perhaps it was the Force, or the sensation of eyes on the back of his neck, that pulled Vas back to life with such speed. His eyes snapped open, and he lurched to his feet with one hand on his lightsaber and the other held palm-up in front of his person. As expected, his feet were slow to respond to his demands - something that could very well cost him his life, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the howler that had appeared in front of him. An expletive fell from his lips, anger at himself boiling within his mind for being so careless, and he focused that energy into flames that curled just above his palm.

Snarl met with snarl as Vas faced off with the howler, knowing full well that at any moment the reptilian creature could incapacitate him with a sound for which they were named, and aptly so. His white teeth flashed, waiting with growing intensity for the attack that was going to come - what form it would take, however, was a mystery to him. Deciding to make the first move before the creature could stun him, he gave a wordless cry and waved his flaming hand across his body, sending a thin line of fire towards the creature as he closed the distance between the two.

[member="Jyn Sol"]
[[OoC: Let me know if I need to make any adjustments, okay?]]

 

[Lief]

Jyn saw the Howler moments after sensing its presence. Then she felt the panic of the sentient being and sprung forward from her spot; she shook her head for a moment, lifting one hand as a way to channel the Force through her being. It had been quite some time since she had tried to directly alter another being, much less an animal, so the excursion was almost painful for the girl who had spent so long rejecting the Force. Breathing in she did her best to amplify her usage as she broke into the mind of the creature and contorted it. The pain was borderline unbearable, both for she and it, none of which was purposeful, yet the creature began to lessen in its hostile nature all the same, subdued for the time being.

Panting, the young girl made a further gesture with her hand, sending the reptile scurrying off back where it came from, before dropping down to her knees. She wiped away the perspiration from her brow and peered over at the older male who was luckily unharmed. "Are you okay?" she found herself asking all the same as she pushed up out of the dirt and brushed down her knees to avoid the muck setting.

As her breathing evened out the dizziness she had been experiencing all but disappeared. A half smile appeared on her lips, yet it was snuffed almost immediately as she saw the building protruding through the leaves, taking it at its face value and realising that her fears had been well placed. This was definitely a hive of Force Users, which meant that she had no business being here. Even if they knew the location of the Lost City, it would be foolish of her to ask for directions or aid. So instead she shook her head, laughed ever so slightly in a bitter manner, and turned around, ready to flee.

Jyn was not about to get herself caught up in some unreasonable situation. She didn't even wait to find out anything that the man had to say.

[member="Vas'ka Janik"]