The Beasts of Agamar

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark's Retreat, A Few Miles From The Jedi Academy, Yavin IV
Late Afternoon

Mark busied himself making the small house that he'd found and now used look presentable and preparing the living part of his collections for his short trip to Agamar. He provided them extra food in their timed food dispensers for when he was gone. He started a fire in the fireplace so that [member="Uri Aureleos"] would know he was in the right place when he arrived.
Mark had invited Uri to come to his small wooden house that he'd found and adopted for his many collections and studies after he'd agreed to be Mark's guide on Agamar. Having been born and partially raised there, he would be able to help Mark find his way around and show him the ways of the small, backwater planet. Mark would visit the famed University of Agamar to check out their archeological and xenopaleontological departments, and then would go out fossil hunting in the Brinka forests nearby.
"Uri should be here soon." he thought.

 

[Uri Aureleos]

As if a mind reader, Uri knocked on the door. He hoped he had the right place. Agreeing to be a guide wasn't something he did too often, but he was specifically asked for since he was a native of the planet. He wasn't exactly sure what his job would in tell. If the man expected a deep historical account of the planet and all of it's features then he would be sorely mistake. Uri was raised on Agamar yes. Whether he was born there or not he didn't know. He grew up tucked away in the monastery however. He went to Big City maybe once or twice? Not the ideal tour guide but at least Uri knew the fauna. Mark would be safe in Uri's care to say the least. As for the rest, Uri wouldn't mention it unless asked. He very much wanted to see his homeworld again. His heart waivered when it came to seeing his monastery as well. On Attahox, he swore he would never call himself a monk again. He wondered if he should really return to see the monks. How could he go to Agamar and not see them however?

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

As if on cue, Mark heard a knock on the door. Accidentally dropping the leather fedora he'd been hanging up on a rack, Mark ran to answer the door.
[member="Uri Aureleos"], golden hair and all, stood waiting.
"Hello!" said Mark. "Glad to see you were able to find me. Sorry its a bit out of the way. I guess that's kind of how I like it, though its a bit annoying to get to the academy a few miles off on some days. I swear, one of these days, I'm going to clear a trail around here. Anyways, please step inside. I'm just about ready to leave."
With that, Mark picked up the dropped fedora and placed it onto a table. He grabbed the bag he'd packed, a light one as he didn't need too much and the trip shouldn't take too long.
"So," he said, "is everything going well with you, training and whatnot?

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri wondered if people noticed his golden skin or if they just looked over it. 19 years of jaundice? No one seemed to react to it however. If it weren't for the academics at the University of Agamar, he wouldn't have even know that he was a Hrakian. He might have just been a golden human. The glowing trick turned heads, but he didn't use it all that often. Drawing attention to himself wasn't really something that Uri liked to do.

He was oddly surprised at the human in front of him. Uri was simply told someone needed a guide to and on Agamar. Uri expected to be chauffeuring an older gentleman with white hair and the works. Mark was a boy to say the least. Uri didn't think of it in a derogatory way however. He wasn't one to judge. He still considered himself a boy at times. Most of the time when mentioning Agamar, most twist their faces at Uri even if they don't realize it. He guessed the expected to see him in an Agamarian straw hat without shoes or a shirt. Nope. Though he did plan to get a straw hat for himself on this trip. It would come in handy for the searing heat of some planets.

Uri did as he was asked stepping just inside the door. Not venturing too deep into the cluttered hut. Uri was quite excited to get a move on so he didn't want to make himself at home so to speak. "Training is training," Uri shrugged and smiled in Mark's direction. "The pilot is waiting for us, so as soon as you're ready, we can be on our way. I'm not a pilot myself... I also have a surprise for you on the ship. Well not for you, but still a small... not so small... preview of what you will see on Agamar."

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Hmm.. Small, but not actually? I'll be excited to see what that means."
Mark replied.
"I think I'm ready. I would fly us there myself, but you can hardly fit one person, let alone a small, but not actually small surprise in an Actis class Interceptor." He said, grabbing a small pack with everything he'd need for the next two days.
They exited the shack, moving onto the small game trail that Mark followed to get to the temple where their pilot would be waiting.
"I've heard a bit about Agamar. Not a lot about the people, but Agamar was one of the main places I studied extinct species for. It's a nice planet. Most people seem to think about it negatively, but I like it, at least from what I've heard and read about it."
[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri followed Mark along the game trail looking around and admiring the scenery, "It's not a bad planet to grow up on. Most people think I'm an illiterate farmer or rancher when I mention it. I can't tell you if they are illiterate but there are a lot of farmers on the planet. I don't know much about the University... The monks found them to be too nosy to tell the truth."

As they reached the ship, Uri noticed his surprise was off the ship and making it's way across towards Uri and Mark. Uri bound in front of Mark separating him from the charging Agamarian beast. A smile stretched across Uri's face as the sight of his excited friend. He hoped that Mark wasn't too afraid of the large beast.

"Mark meet Saga, despite the name HE is 100% Agamarian beast and will act as our mount to the nice walk through the forest. Put your hand up. Don't mind the large horn, he's gentle." Uri rubbed the beast large crest. The horn was how he learned his beloved Saga wasn't a girl like he originally thought. No, Saga was in fact a bull Agamarian beast and Uri spent the first part of his life calling him she and girl.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Oh wow!" Mark said as the Agamarian Beast that Uri had called Saga charged up.
Mark tentatively put his hand up to the creature's head.
"He's beautiful!" He exclaimed. "I've studied them before, but I've never seen one in person before. Oh, and the horn is even cooler in person."
Mark waited until Saga accepted his hand, and gently stroked the creature's frill.
"He's so gentle. How old is he?" Mark asked excitedly.
[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri pat the creature, "He's six almost seven. He'll serve as our ride on Agamar. It might be a small planet but still there's quite a distance to walk on the planet."

Of course they could always rent a speeder or such. That would be an unnecessary purchase however. Saga was perfectly capabable of taking them to and fro. She wouldn't be as fast but then again they wouldn't have time to look and see the planet if they decided on the speeder. Uri himself didn't care for machinery however and as far as Saga was concerned he didn't care for ships either.Uri lead Saga back coaxing and cooing for him to get back on to the ship. After much prodding, Uri finally got him back on the ship.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

After a bit of coaxing to get Saga back on board, the two padawans, the golden boy and the jedi archaeologist, took their seats.
"So, how did you come across him? He's really quite amazing." Mark asked, eager to hear more about Saga.
[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri made sure Saga was fine before giving the ok to the pilot and taking a seat. Uri didn't much like space travel but unfortunately for him this was the only way back to Agamar. He got better with it at least. It no longer completely wrecked his stomach.

Uri smiled at Mark happy about his curiosity for Saga. No one had ever asked him that question before, "When he first hatched he was under weight and got sick. The farmer who owned him ended up leaving him at our monastery. Which that seemed like a common occurrence when someone didn't want something. Just give it to the monks. Anyway other monks didn't think he had much of a chance but I stayed hopeful. I tended to him and nursed him back to health. Until his horn came in I actually thought he was a girl." Uri chuckled then shrugged. He didn't know a lot about Agamarian beasts so it was an honest mistake. One that Saga didn't even notice.

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Yeah, that beautiful horn of his is only present in males." Mark said. "It's actually only a fairly recent occurance geologically. Their ancestors had two brow horns and a bony knub on their snouts. Above the beak. Those ones are extinct now though. It's rumored that some farmers have seen them wandering the Brinka Forests, but that's probably just a rumor. Anyways, that enough of my nerding.
It's sad that they just left him at the monastery to die. I'm glad you were able to nurse him back to health."
[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri smiled at Mark, "We're both very fortunate. About this ancestor... People claim to have seen it even though it is extinct? I spent quite a bit of time in the Binka Forest in my youth and I've never seen such a creature that you described. That would be interesting if it were true. I'm skeptical however. Maybe the monk would know something about them however. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

[member="Mark Sage"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Perhaps while we're there, that'd be a good idea. I have my doubts, but it never hurts to check."
-------
A few hours later, and the two padawans had landed on Agamar, visited the University, and asked around for the best spot to fossil hunt in the Brinka Forest. Many had suggested a certain spot deep in the Brinka Forest. They would have to get Saga to transport them through the thick brush.
Saga was able to crush branches and smash through any barriers in his way with ease, so it took a much shorter time than they had thought to get there.
Mark had soon gotten to work, looking around the creek for anything that would suggest a fossil. He had pulled out several shell fossils when he called to Uri.
"So when we're done here," he said, " we could visit your old monastery on the way back to the transport I you'd like. We should have time enough to get there and to the transport before nightfall."
[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Pausing for a moment to think whether what he was about to ask was appropriate or not as he bent down to pull a beautifully preserved tooth of some sort, then deciding it was ok, Mark asked Uri.
"So... I was just a bit curious Uri, but.. erm, does your skin have a bit of a gold hue to it? Or is that me just being colorblind or something like that?"
Mark had first noticed it at the shack, but had paid no mind to it. But, as time went on, he'd began to notice it more and more until he just couldn't bear not to mention it. It was like someone had tinted Uri's skin a different color, and Mark had never seen anything like it. He wanted to know what made it look that way.
[member="Uri Aureleos"]