Oh, I told you it was dangerous here…

[Corvus Raaf]

The air was thin and sharp on this world. It had taken Corvus almost a full day to get used to it. Now she enjoyed the bite of fresh, cold air in his lungs.

She was high in the mountains, on one of a cluster of planets that were known for their spectacular, remote beauty. Her mission was simply to survive. She had brought no more than her survival pack and her saber. Another Jedi had left a trail for her to follow to a transport. The trail eventually led over snow, high cliffs, and huge sheets of rock, so it was not easy to follow.

It was a fellow master’s idea. He’d turned up one morning with a schedule. "It's time for some amusement," he’d said.

Amusement, she’d thought?

Only an hour later she had found herself on a transport headed here. A Jedi pilot dropped her off on a high, windy plain. The brief explained that she would be testing her survival and tracking skills, while also seeing some of the most astonishing scenery in the galaxy. She had felt cold and hungry and doubtful at the time. But for the past ten days, she had enjoyed herself thoroughly.

She sat on a flat rock overlooking the valley below. It was mid-morning, and the sun had already warmed the rock underneath her. She pressed her bare hands against it. Below her she could see a sea of bright yellow wildflowers in a mountain meadow. The sky here was very blue. At night it turned purple. During one storm, it had streaked yellow and green. She had never seen such deep, clear colours in the atmosphere. There were no cities, no industry or transports to give off emissions to cloud the pure air.

She remembered the brief. ‘Sometimes the way will be confused, but allow yourself the time to understand yourself. Take yourself out of your life if you must.’

She abruptly stood, her concentration clear. Something was tracking her. Animals. No doubt tracking her for food. She’d read of fierce beasts that live in the high country. They are not large - they travel on all fours, and come up to your knees, but they are very dangerous. It is said that if you are close enough to hear their cry, you are already dead.

Despite the bright sun, she shivered. It had been a hard winter here. It was better to avoid them.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka had come to the planet for a retreat, a simple break from training, stress and the ways and life of a Sith. As much as Xavka enjoyed the life of a Sith, one where his more feral and instinctive side could be let lose from the hardened chains that Xavka had once had to bind that part of himself in, he still could feel the heavy weight of stress when it came to be too much for him to bear. So, whenever he felt close to snapping, to losing control of himself, Xavka always found it beneficial for him to find a way to relax. Usually, he would do so by spending time with his Mate, curled up with her in their bed, his larger frame dwarfing her much smaller and lithe form as he wrapped himself around her. However, Nyte was currently deployed on a mission for the Assassins and would be unavailable to him for the next few weeks. So, Xavka had found a deserted planet, one where no other beings of sentient life dwelled, and secluded himself there, cur off from the Sith.

It had been a peaceful week. When he had arrived, Xavka had immediately and easily built a simple shelter suspended within the canopy of a forest. All the shelter was was a wooden floor made out of branches wedged between trunks of trees with a few leaves woven a few feet above the base. At night, Xavka could relax his six foot frame and stare up with is lone eye at the heavens above, observing the shades of purple that would stretch across the night sky. Everyday, Xavka would descend from the tree tops and launch himself into his work out, straining his muscles until they burnt with a pleasant ache. From there he would go onto a run to cool down, dressed in full gear, launching himself from tree trunk to tree trunk - his claws biting into the wood, before spending time sprinting across the ground before returning back to the trees. On his runs, Xavka would enjoy the peaceful and beautiful sights that he always came across. From there, after returning to his base, Xavka would either devote his time to dancing the ritualistic dances that he had been taught on Iridonia when he had been a young kep or playing his violin, sending the weaving and dipping chords across the nature covered land.

On that day, Xavka had woken early, earlier than usual, as something stirred at the corner of his senses, both the ones given to him through the Force and his natural born ones, but he had dismissed it as his danger sense was not responding. Descending from the trees, his claws scampering over the tree trunk as he slid down to the ground. He had gone onto his exercises, refusing to change from his schedule of relaxation. As always, he had gone onto a run, and it was then that his day diverted from what it should have been.

Coming to a stop, his cloak billowing around him, Xavka dropped to the ground silently, approaching the sight that had grabbed his attention with soft strides. Crouching, Xavka ran his fingers on his biological arm through the small pile of ash that was encompassed by small rocks. The obvious signs of a fire, a controlled and monitored one at that. For a few beats of his dual hearts, Xavka debated with himself on what action he should take, before, with a grunt, pushing himself to his feet and beginning to sweep his single, burnt orange eye across the ground. His experience from hunts he had taken part in back on Iridonia before he had been captured and taken to the slave pits of Nar Shaddaa helped Xavka soon pick up the signs of a trail.

A vicious smirk pulled at Xavka scarred lips, pulling at them and exposing the sharpened teeth that he possessed - stained with blood from his meals of raw meat that he had enjoyed. Launching himself forwards, black cloak flowing behind him, Xavka headed after the trail. His blood sang within his veins as his hearts sped up in anticipation. At long last, after so many years, a true hunt was beginning once again. As he ran, Xavka's presence within the Force disappeared, his Presence reducing to almost nothing through the technique commonly known as Art of the Small before being hidden within the background feeling and flows of the Force that was tired to the nature covered planet. Xavka darted forwards with feral glee, a predator hunting prey once more.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]
OOC Note: Hope that this post isn't too bad.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Spoiler

It's awesome

She slung her survival pack over her shoulder and began to walk. She spent the next hour hiking over sheer rock, which led her to forest trails. The trail left by the Jedi was difficult to follow, but with eyes sharpened by the Force she was able to pick up the minute differences in soil, leaves, and snow that indicated a presence had passed. She was able to move quickly and hoped she was putting kilometers between herself and the pack.

Suddenly she stopped.The trail now forked into two paths. She studied the area, then traveled a short distance up each path, looking for clues.

Usually, she found a clue as to which path to take. This time, she returned to the fork without a clear idea of which way to go. A probe or tracking droid would have been helpful, but this exercise was designed to teach her how to survive without them.

"A real challenge," she said, out loud. "I'll just have to pick a path and then travel back if it is the wrong one."

She stared at the two paths. Neither gave her an overwhelming feeling. She chose the right, which rose steeply up a rocky hill. Perhaps the plan was for for her to work a little harder.

She walked for an hour without picking up any further clues. Finally, she stopped.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]