Survival Training Guide To Veradune

[Decker Willo]

Decker heard a voice in his head again. His Ashlan wolf still around your shoulders. Shelter, right. He headed off to find somewhere to sit. Weary of every tree, in case it suddenly opened up with teeth. Or claws. Or poisonous leaves, or burning sap. Eventually he found one that looked okay, and sat under it. His Ashlan wolf crawled off his neck, down to his lap. Laying there, gazing up at him. "Don't you worry...we will get through this."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

As the sun faded and shadows crept up, night would fall on the forest, shadowing its every corner. With the wide canopy of leaves, even moonlight would have a hard time reaching the forest floor where Willo resided. Slowly, the chitters and caws of animals of Veradune's day died down, disappearing to a new sound altogether. Low moaning howls, and rumbling growls took their place. It was a new sound, quieter, yet filling one's ears. Subtler but all together more terrifying.

Amid the night and terror, Decker would see two familiar golden lights appear before him, no more than a couple inches apart. "Well done. You survived your first day." Stepping out from the shadows, Vulpesen appeared, as impeccably untouched as when his student had last seen him. This was, after all, his home. As he walked forward, Vulpesen allowed his presence in the force to return. "What do you think?"

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Double post...

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo shivered under the night sky. He had nothing to keep warm, except his Ashlan Wolf and it's fur. It remained close. He looked up and upon seeing the two globes he drew the blaster, ready to blast. Till a voice behind the globes spoke. "You almost gave me a blasted heart attack..." He said, chuckling to himself as he sat the blaster down. "Oh, just fine. I mean, I faced a zipher, almost got my chest clawed out and spat on."

He kept quiet for a moment, grinning to himself. "And what about you, mister tall dark and handsome mystery man? Coming out of the dark like that? Just checking on me?"

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I'm sure I could shock you enough to jump start your heart." Vulpesen approached further and leaned up against the tree that Decker had chosen to rest under. "Checking on you. And I figured you could use a few lessons. Remember, this isn't a test. Its a lesson. Your destination is my colleagues. But they are not your goal. Your goal is to learn to connect with the life around you." Crawling from his pocket, Ace moved to sit on his shoulder, his azure fur glowing faintly in the dark.

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo looked up as [member="Vulpesen"] leaned against the tree. For a moment, Decker lifted away. "This...isn't one of those bad trees, right?" he asked, wishing not to be eaten by a plant. For a moment he was hesitant about leaning against it again, just eyeing it over. Then again, why would Vulps lean against it if it were? So he went back to sitting by it.

"I'm touched that you would want to check on me. I was moments from death before...is this how you teach everyone about the Force?" He couldn't help but be a little upset, as well as surprised. Training he did for flying was shooting targets in a training fighter alongside an experienced pilot. Here he was out in the wild. "And how do I connect? I don't...I don't understand the force. How to connect."

 

[Vulpesen]

"If this were a teradin, you'd already be dead." Despite his words, he knew that it was a valid concern. In these woods, death was always a possibility. Around every corner lurked something that would try to destroy you, and many a life had been taken by the teradin trees. "I wouldn't know. I learned what I did out of survival. My master became a sith, and I never took an apprentice, either as a jedi or a sith." As Willo asked about the force, Vulpesen let out a small laugh and looked up, his eyes finding the starts. "Why didn't you ask that before you set off?"

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo had to guess that it would have been that way. This whole forest wanted to feast on him, or trample him, or strangle him...He just did not want to think of all the ways he could die here. And anyway, something else took his interest. Never took on an apprentice? And then, [member="Vulpesen"] laughed at him. "I didn't know what questions to ask...I thought I'd have them answered through this" he admitted, gaze moving to the ground. "So...any hints how far I have?"

 

[Vulpesen]

"And you will. But you need to learn what is and isn't important. Your gun is not important. It is a meager tool, destined to fail you. The force, is what is important." Stretching out his arms, Vulpesen let out a slight groan as he relaxed his muscles. "If you want to find out how far, you'll have to find that yourself. Don't hope for answers to fall into your lap. Seek them. Close your eyes. Block out the world and focus. Reach out. Fel the ebb and flow of the force. Then follow it. Follow it until you find what you are looking for."

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker lifted the blaster in his hands. It was destined to fail...he was not believing that, it saved him. Not for a moment would he believe that this weapon would fail him here. No, he'd keep it on him for a long as possible. He would hold it with him, take down whatever came at him if needed. Decker sat it back down. As [member="Vulpesen"], he thought as if Vulps was telling him to sleep. And it was getting dark. Perhaps that would work for him. "Very well then, I shall close my eyes...you sticking around through the night or..." He could already guess the answer, but it was still nice to ask.

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen narrowed his eyes as Decker looked down at the gun in his hand, sensing at least the vague idea of what he was thinking. "Fourteen times. Fourteen more times it will work. Then it will fail. And no, I won't be staying. And you won't be sleeping yet." To emphasize his words, Vulpesen extended a finger, causing a single small tendril of electricity to pop Decker in the leg. "The force doesn't always come running to you. It must be honed. It must be practiced. Meditate. And and reach out with the force. Find what hunts you. And find what you hunt. Unless, you want to travel through these woods for years, or until something sneaks up on you and rips out your throat."

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo rolled his eyes. Yes, fourteen times. He thought he could probably last for that long. He flinched when [member="Vulpesen"] zapped his leg. "Ow! That was a shocking move you just pulled there...ow" he rubbed the point the electricity hit. So then, no sleep. Instead, meditate. Even in prison he couldn't meditate, he always ended up bouncing a pebble or humming to himself. How was Decker meant to meditate if he couldn't even keep quiet?

"Right...right, reach out. So what, just close my eyes and when it comes to me then I'll know? That how this works?" If it was, he could only hope nothing decided to come out of nowhere and make him it's latest chew toy or the muck between it's toes.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Thinking for a moment, Vulpesen reached out with the force himself. A few moments later and a small lizard would crawl up into his hand, only to be plopped down into Decker's lap. "Focus on the lizard. Closing your eyes will help prevent distractions. But you know the force is there, you can feel it even now. Stop ignoring it and tap into it. And when you tap into it, find the lizard. Focus on it until you've created a connection." How often had Zarro made him do this lesson? Forced him to focus for hours on end on some animal until it was his entire world.

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo jumped a bit as the lizard landed on his lap. He could've used a bit of warning as he is not usually expecting a random animal to land upon his lap. "Um...right." He closed his eyes, and sighed. And then, he tried doing this as much as he could. Trying to sense the creature, and he tried. But he rather pictured the creature before his eyes, he did not exactly sense the creature. The force it gave off, the signature it would give.

And then he just sighed out of frustration. "I see it before my eyes, I see it in my head. But I...I just don't get what you mean. What connection?" And yet he had felt something...Decker just had not thought to extend upon that presence.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Ignore what you see. Ignore how it looks. It exists uniquely in the force. Think of it not as a lizard, but as a life." Slowly, Vulpesen would move to sit before Decker. As much as he wanted this man to get it on his own, he had to accept that not all were born with the innate ability to control their gifts. While he would eventually leave, for now, he remained to aid the man before him. "The force carries that life within itself. Experiences, instincts, thoughts that is you exists within the force. The same is true of the animal in your lap. Stop trying to look at the mundane." Tentatively, Vulpesen reached out with the force. He wouldn't show Decker the answer, but he would at least guide him in the right direction, using his power to expand the presence of the lizard.

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo sat there against the tree. And so, he tried searching out. Eyes closed again. He still could see it before him...but this time, he looked through it. He looked past the vision before his eyes, looking for the feeling from before. He had to look past logic, past what he had physically seen. And there it was? Some kind of presence, feelings of something. Emotions, instinct. He could feel so much with it. "I...I can feel it" he said quietly.

Perhaps he had a lot more to learn...as he began to lift it. Feeling the force, lifting the creature slowly. "I can feel it...I can feel the lizard. It's instinct for survival...so afraid, so small. Always on the run..."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Good... You've taken the first steps on a longer road. You may also start doing this with your bond-mate. And you'll be doing it to ensure that you stay on track within this forest. Your target is north." Rising up, Vulpesen left Decker to his studying, and eventual sleep. Unless the pilot would stop him, the Valde would simply meld back into the shadows, disappearing from sight as he walked between the trees.

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

Decker Willo did not take much notice of [member="Vulpesen"] leaving his side. He soon ended up dropping the lizard into his lap, and then it scurried off quickly. Off and away into the forest, not to be seen against by Decker. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that Vulpesen was gone. "Guess I'm not giving any goodbye..." he muttered to himself. He put his hands behind his head. Something about those eyes just seemed rather intriguing and yet frightening. Perhaps how they appeared before the rest of Vulpesen but for now he cast those thoughts aside. And rested up while thinking over what he had been told to do.

 

[Vulpesen]

Having left, Decker on his own, the man would have a chance to sleep. Veradune, as stated before, was a dangerous place. Danger around every corner, and that danger did not lessen when the sun fell. If anything, it enhanced. But as the night progressed, no harm would come to Decker. This was not a Zorren trial. This was Vulpesen training a person to connect with the force, and while there was a bit of a challenge, it would hardly be fair if a Yularen ripped his throat out in the middle of the night.

[member="Decker Willo"]

 

[Decker Willo]

He woke up in the night. And as he woke up, Decker readied himself to begin moving. He would need some food soon. Would need to find something small, perhaps to hunt. There was in no way he was going for something big. Slowly and quietly he began stalking the brush of the Veradune forest. "Train in the force...it'll be fun...you'll learn more about yourself...yeah, only thing I've learned is I am hating nature" he muttered to himself. "Stick to the skies, I'll be fine up there. No reason to ever touch the ground" he continued muttering to himself. One thing with Decker, he never really did well alone...mentally, at least.

[member="Vulpesen"]