Populate The Great Hunt || SO Populate of Seswenna

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Deep Core
Stewjon
Tags: Lysander von Ascania | Varin Mortifer | Naniti | Ghruna
Wearing
Wielding: Zhaboka, Vibroblade, Length of Fibrocord
​

The trap was closing, their snare tightened and the members of their hunting party gave it everything they had.

Hearts pounding in rhythm with his booted feet, Naamino vaulted over a fallen tree to keep a direct line on the wounded prey. Lysander's shot was true but not enough to take down the creature entirely. It veered, looking as if it might bolt again for cover when suddenly the very ground erupted before it. That slowed Naami in his trajectory, though he'd seen stranger and knew he had to keep his head in the hunt.

Icy eyes flicked to consider Naniti where she seemed to be calling upon the Force and Naami picked back up on his pace. Soon, Varin used his superior might to bear down on the creature and very nearly had the kill. The zabrak was taught that one must be decisive if the kill was within your grasp on a hunt. Reaching for his blade, Naami came level to the struggling cerynth and his friend that was in the middle of overpowering in.

With a silent prayer to the spirit of the land, Naami gripped the creature's other antler and made a brutal cut across its throat. Panting from exertion, now splattered in blood, the zabrak helped his friend lower the dying beast down to the ground. Soon he'd offer the length of fibrocord so they could tie their kill to a big branch and carry it back to camp, but for the time being he merely wanted to catch his breath and gaze meditatively upon the fruits of their labor.

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Varin Mortifer Naniti Naamino Zuukamano Ghruna
​

Rolling his weight back, Lysander stepped down from the uneven slope. When his boots found purchase, it was by instinct. He could feel gravity tugging at him as he descended, bow in hand, one hand brushing along the bark as he passed.

Even from afar, it was impressive to see the giant Zabrak move with such explosiveness. For all his little brother's ferocity, there was still control. He was still moving when the ground answered. Their plan was tightening.

Lysander crossed the opening as the scene unfolded in front of him. Varin's blade drove deep, and a desperate wail tore through the clearing for all to hear. He only registered the sound, nothing more.

His eyes narrowed as he caught Naamino's prayer, one that would earn no response from him. Ritual had its place, something he had grown to believe over many years. But so did endings. When the blade was drawn, he chose to observe the Cerynth's face. Eyes filled with fear, a mouth opened to breathe air it would never keep. The throat was opened under another blade.

The kill felt like a problem solved, the same way countless other deaths had with the Covenant recently. Jedi, soldiers, whoever was unfortunate enough to cross his path. And the forest would not stir anything deeper, no communion with other life. Even the Togruta gave a variable that could be acknowledge, by eliminating a path the creature believed to be open.

If the hunt was meant to teach him connection, patience, or something else, then the lesson was far colder. Pieces of whatever humanity he once possessed did not know how to answer moments like this. He noted the absence and moved on.

He slung the bow across his shoulder and took up the fibrocord. Dropping to a single knee, he pulled the front legs together and tied a knot.

 

[Naniti]

The violet Togruta stood at the edge of the forest as Varin launched himself from above and Naamino darted out toward their prey to fell it. Lysander strode up after he'd dismounted and sought to aid the pair. She watched them for a moment before her eyes looked at the mess of an earthen wall she'd caused to erupt. Then her attention swung out to the woods. Three was already a crowd around the buck and they could handle a fell beast; which left her a moment to feel the realm about them for threats. They might not be the only hunters nearby.

Naniti's brow drew lower as her eyes brightened for a second.

"Lysander," she called sharply, but in a quiet voice half a second before she bolted.

There wasn't a single wound hidden in the brush, but there were subtle differences in how they rippled through the Force. Other Cerynth didn't concern her. They had what they needed far as she knew. And while others that prowled the land weren't part of her party, it never hurt to investigate.

Naniti slipped through the woods with an uncanny sense of direction around the towering trunks and the low lying foliage. Whether Lysander would follow or not, she didn't stop until she slid into view of the fallen. The others might not have felt it since Ghruna hadn't been screaming in the face of death or enraged at the universe for her potentially fatal problems. She probably wouldn't have either, but then her hands and thoughts hadn't been occupied with the Cerynth they'd dropped.

Blue eyes snapped to the side before the Togruta began to slowly stalk toward the fallen woman. A threat didn't seem to be lurking nearby in the Force, but something had wounded Ghruna. Didn't hurt to make sure it wasn't some sort of assassin lying in wait. "Are you still breathing?" she asked with a quick peek up into the trees to make sure the threat wasn't hidden above.

Ghruna | Lysander von Ascania | Naamino Zuukamano | Varin Mortifer

 

[Ghruna]

GHRUNA

Blue eyes snapped to the side before the Togruta began to slowly stalk toward the fallen woman. A threat didn't seem to be lurking nearby in the Force, but something had wounded Ghruna. Didn't hurt to make sure it wasn't some sort of assassin lying in wait. "Are you still breathing?" she asked with a quick peek up into the trees to make sure the threat wasn't hidden above.

Naamino Zuukamano Lysander von Ascania Varin Mortifer


Ghruna’s chest rose. Barely.

Her breath hitched as Naniti came into view, the movement sending a sharp lance of pain through her ribs. She did not try to sit up. She knew better. Every shallow inhale felt like fire through her lungs.

Her eyes shifted toward the Togruta, unfocused at first, then fixing with stubborn clarity.

"Yes," she managed. "Unfortunately."

Her jaw tightened. One hand twitched against the dirt, fingers curling and uncurling. She swallowed, the motion drawing another low grunt from her.

She did not know this species. Her people had been isolated for so long, they had left their home world only knowing of humans and massassi sith.

"Second beast," she added after a moment. "Charged me."

Her gaze flicked briefly to the trees, then back to Naniti. No fear there. Just irritation and something heavier beneath it. She was angry. Angry, but also feeling sorry for herself.

"I ran ahead," she said.

She stared up at the canopy above them, teeth clenched as another breath shuddered in and out.

"I will be fine," she lied.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin watched as the final blow was struck. A quick clean cut to the throat from Naami. Relatively painless and merciful. As any hunter would do it. Varin watched the life leave its eyes as his grip loosened from its body. Slowly his hand began to pet the beast as it lay dying.

“Shh..shhh.”

He began to speak with it, soft enough to nearly be a whisper.

“Return to the earth.”

Finally, its last breath exhaled deeply from its lungs. Varin confirmed the creature had passed before finally pulling his knife out of the Cerynth’s shoulder. He dipped his finger in the wound to collect some of it’s blood and gently pressed it to his cheek, lightly smearing it to the side. Varin stood for a moment to admire the creature as they began to string it up for transport. He did not help much with prepping it, he was too distracted with the flow of early memories of hunting at home.

“Lysander…”

Varin’s head turned towards Naniti, the tunnel vision finally faded. He finally noticed the earthen wall she had created. Before he could ask her about it she had already headed onto another trail. Varin followed without hesitation. No one in his hunting party goes anywhere alone.

He followed until the scent of spilled blood hit his nostrils again causing them to flair. That is when he saw the other Cerynth and a lone spear.

He walked towards it and quietly picked it up, admiring its craft. His eyes fell towards Naniti and then to Ghruna. He quickly stood up and walked over to her.

“You will be fine, once we help you out of here.”

He reached into his side pouch for a small bacta injector.

“This may not heal you fully but it will ease the pain.”

He held his hand out to her, offering the injector as he laid the spear beside her.

“You have a hunt to celebrate, and you will not be celebrating it here in the cold dirt.”

Ghruna | Naniti | Lysander von Ascania | Naamino Zuukamano​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

His sight tracked her even when she put herself at His back, the sensation of His gaze never diminishing. He didn't even need to turn His head to let her know He was still watching her. Lightning dance in the space between each finger as He flexed His left hand, as if testing the muscle and ligaments along each digit.

"I agree," rumbled the Dark Lord, still not turning to face her. "I do not believe that you actually cared about any of them. Malum Marr, the Chiss woman, the children... Always a means to an end, that is what you were taught. By Anaya Fen, Jared Ovmar, and Myself. It is the way of our Creed, the quintessential truth of the Shadow." He angled His head slightly, just enough so that she could see a quarter of His right eye as His pupil moved to hone in on her; burning bright with the Dark Side's infinite rage.

"But she did. Revna Marr cared a great deal. Did you enjoy her expression?" He chuckled, dark and mocking; but altogether artificial, insincere. "I am eager to see what vengeance comes about, however impotent it will be."

A blade struck from the darkness around Lina, one wrought not of crimson plasma but of smoke and umbral steel. Slender fingers deftly grasped it's handle, connecting to an overtly feminine silhouette amidst the shadow. Though the composition of its form was indistinct, the smile it wore stretched unnaturally from ear to ear; a cheshire grin with far too many teeth. A pair of eyes, smoldering like hot coals, peered out from the otherwise featureless, grinning facade.

Their face then shifted like wet clay, morphing between a dozen myriad expressions; some familiar, others brazenly foreign to the senses. Finally, it settled on something resembling murderous glee, the whole face rotating as if anchored on a fixed plane as the shadow's body articulated the wrong way, now standing at an upside down angle.

"Ananta, please entertain our guest."

Lina Ovmar ​

 

[Darth Strosius]

​

Tags: Madrona A’Mia
--------------------------------------------

For His part, Darth Strosius only slightly flinched back at the abrupt and sudden rise of the Neti. He didn't offer any resistance to her grip on His shoulders, knowing that it would be futile, and followed her urging to return His gaze to the lake. The water rippled and seemed to be reacting in some manner but He didn't see what it was that she was so intent on staring at, though if He had to guess it was likely whatever was causing such ripples in the first place.

He reluctantly joined A'Mia by the shoreline and tried to stand up a bit straighter to peer into the lake directly in an attempt to gauge what might dwell within, pausing when she pointed at something across the waterline instead. The masked man raised an eyebrow at the sight of the strange botanical being which crept from the water onto the shore across the way, something vaguely feline in shape and a fair bit larger than He would have preferred it to be.

It almost reminded Him of the Neti herself in terms of appearance, albeit much less magnificent and certainly not comely at all. Still it was an interesting creature to be sure and based on the datapad ripe for note taking already in her grasp she must have agreed with that sentiment as well. Darth Strosius blinked at the sudden turnabout of Lady Madrona and cocked His head back to regard her as she spoke, just barely missing how the little spirits scurried off and out of sight. "A shrine to a what?"

Her explanation was as quick as He'd come to expect from her but with such experience came the necessary preparation for discerning it. Even if it still didn't really make all that much sense to Him in the end. Apparently these ruins had birthed, or conjured or whatever the proper term would be, those diminutive pale creatures from before as well as the feline floral amalgamation due to being given some form of "sacrifice" as it were. Rather than ask for any clarification that He doubted she would give in any meaningful sense He simply nodded when she glanced His way.

That the ruins could seemingly craft some creature based on the offering provided to it was quite the revelation, one that spawned far more questions than it answered. He idly wondered if it would produce something akin to His clone offspring if He allowed some of His blood to fall into it. "It is quite the discovery yes, boundless potential indeed." That was something that He could understand at least. The masked man folded His hands behind His back as He approached the ruins again with a much more critical eye.

Perhaps in A'Mia's cataloguing and research He could glean some insights which would help in His own projects, having a reliable method of creating "guardians" certainly sounded very useful. Provided that it was as reliable and effective as it seemed. "Although I find myself with one question." With several actually, but only one that was relevant enough to be worth voicing at the moment. "Exactly how does this structure convert any such offerings into a being? Even turning leaves into those...little things is a remarkable feat I'd think."

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Tags: Darth Carnifex​

Steel collided with plasma in a shower of sparks, as Lina adjusted her attention to the new threat, twisted and wrong, the leering smile that split its face had an edge of insanity to it that reminded her of her mother in a way that made her skin crawl. She couldn't discern if this thing had been summoned so he could walk away, or if he simply wanted to field test a new creation. Or perhaps test her.

What she did know, is that she could not afford to waste unnecessary energy on something when she needed to be fighting him. Here in the middle of the forest, with no witnesses but them, with no opportunity for collateral to be taken bar the forest itself. She would never get a better chance. It had to be now.

She let out a breath, let go of the hold she had wound so tightly on keeping her form together ever since she had escaped the clutches of the nether and she split in two. Stepping towards him she left a shadow of herself in her wake, who wielded shadows in place of sabers while she advanced on the Dark Lord himself.

Body and spirit no long moved as one, but instead as two entities bound by the same mind, the same fury.

"I'm done playing games."

The Kinisirsa that had been waiting patiently moved without a word from her, following her intent as the fell upon the hounds her had brought with him.

"Revna will take her own vengeance when she is ready. I have yet to take mine."

 

[Ghruna]

Varin Mortifer Naniti

Ghruna’s eyes tracked the spear when Varin set it beside her. Relief flickered there before she masked it, fingers curling weakly around the haft. It was enough feeling sorry for herself. She wasn't dying here.

She listened while he spoke. Did not interrupt. Each breath still hurt, but the pain had sharpened into something she could endure rather than drown in.

When he offered the injector, she hesitated only a moment before taking it. Her grip was firm.

"Pain is fine," she said, voice low and rough. "Reminds me not to be so slow."

She drew a slow breath through clenched teeth, then glanced up at him. There was no shame in her expression. Only frustration, turned inward.

She coughed. That hurt. It hurt a lot. I She pressed the injector to her side without ceremony and exhaled hard.

"I killed mine," she added. Not boasting. A statement of fact.

Her jaw tightened as she shifted just enough to test her body, a quiet hiss escaping her despite herself.

"I should not have chased alone."

" But I will walk out."

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx | TAG: Skadi Lightbane | Warpriest Prime​

Aerik slowed when Skadi's pace changed, not enough to stop the hunt, just enough to fall into her rhythm. The forest shifted around them as she settled into it. She moved cleanly. Quiet without forcing it. He took note and kept moving.

Her focus locked ahead and he followed her line of sight. The glimmer of hide. A branch that failed to settle. He caught it a moment after she did. That told him what he needed to know.

Her hand signs came. He did not answer immediately.

Aerik dropped into a crouch and pressed his palm into the soil. Damp. Soft. Recently disturbed farther downslope. His gaze traced the slope, then the edge of the ravine she had marked. Young Cerynth would run when pressed. Water would dull scent. The terrain favored control if they waited.

One hand lifted. Wait.

He shifted closer to Skadi with careful steps. The words stayed low and measured.

"You're right about the ravine. They'll bolt for it if we rush."

His fingers angled toward a dense patch of brush closer than the ridge she indicated.

"But not yet. They're still watching. Push now and they scatter again."

His attention returned to the ground where the trail bent before straightening.

"One mistake. Then we move."

A sharp snap carried ahead. One of the younger animals stepped wrong. Tension rippled through the herd but held.

Aerik eased his weight back and met Skadi's eyes.

"When it breaks, take the high ground. I'll pressure from below and turn them toward the creek. No sound until they run."

He straightened slowly and began moving again, pace reduced, presence softened, letting the forest believe the pressure had eased.

"They're close. Stay ready."

He did not look anywhere else. The trail held his focus. The slope ahead mattered. The moment would come when the herd chose wrong, and he intended to be there when it did.

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti Varin Mortifer Naamino Zuukamano Ghruna
​

A final exhale arrived when the beast's weight shifted. Given how close Lysander was, he noticed it forced from the muscle. Just air leaving where it no longer belonged. A clean kill that was irreversible. There was not much else to register. Varin's ritual was noted with the same detachment he afforded Naamino's prayer earlier.

Blood darkened the ground beneath the Cerynth. With the fibrocord he moved to pull the hind legs together, thick with muscle even in death. He looped it several times before tightening it. That was when he heard Naniti.

With the cord secured and the task complete, there wasn't any reason to hesitate. Shifting back onto his feet, Lysander turned. She wouldn't have called him without reason. He followed the line she cut through the trees.

The rhythm of the hunt faded. He slowed without fully stopping, senses sharpening, gaze sweeping through the trees. He reached outward with the Force, finally, and it answered only in quieter currents. No distortion.. no malice. There was only an echo of pain.

Ghruna soon came into view against the forest floor. He recognized her from the beginning, when the Covenant had still felt closer, when she'd issued a challenge in a temple. The memory was set aside. Even as a follower of the Dark, time had a way of compressing some things. Naniti was clearly split between the girl and the canopy. The way she held space without announcing it.. that was enough to earn a silent nod of approval. So he let her keep that role, and angled himself outward, tracking their surroundings.. ensuring nothing followed them in.

“We’ll move you once the pain’s under control. No one’s leaving you here.”

 

[Naniti]

Naniti's eyes dropped to the woman at her response. Unfortunately? Well, that could be corrected if it was genuinely a problem.

"I thought about doing the same." Seemed their prey was a little tougher than they looked -- and they didn't look terribly weak. Good thing she'd worked with a group even if it had been awkward.

Odd Varin had joined them. True, the quarry was dead, but what if someone... Naamino was strong, but there was always the possibility of something being stronger. Something Ghruna had just experienced the hard way. They should return to him soon.

"Use the spear to support your weight before the boys think to carry you," the Togruta quipped after Lysander tried to be reassuring. Ghruna didn't sound overly pleased to be seen injured let alone to be it. Woman likely would try to stab anyone that thought to touch her. No good deed went unpunished between Sith.

"One of us should stay with her while the rest return to help with the body." Naniti looked at Ghruna. "You may walk your way out of here, but nothing says others cannot walk near you." One of the beasts might come back. Or another kind of beast. Or a hunter that saw an opportunity. Whatever the case, she wasn't in a position to leverage her full strength.

Lysander von Ascania | Varin Mortifer | Naamino Zuukamano | Ghruna

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"You struggle in vain," pronounced the Dark Lord of the Sith, "That which you desperately yearn for will forever elude you."

The two shadows danced, pirouetting through the forest air like acrobats entwined in a synchronized performance. Each meeting flashed with struck metal, the sound ringing out in irregular chimes. In concert, the beasts they had both brought snarled and hissed as claws and teeth flashed with their own animalistic glamor. All the while, the Dark Lord remained fixed to where He stood; watching Lina draw near with a reproachful gaze.

His lightsaber lashed out, slashing at her chest and limbs in a sequence of exploratory strikes. All the while, His power sought to envelope her, probing for weakness all along her body. This was how she knew the Dark Lord fought, an expert swordsman who continuously used the Force to examine His foes. If given the chance, He'd take any opportunity to unbalance or disarm her, ruthless pursuing any exploit He deemed beneficial to Himself and detrimental to her.

This time, however, it was not the mock duels they'd waged when she was still beneath His yoke. He came at her like a real opponent, and if she were to slacken in any regard.

He'd take His pound of flesh from her.

Lina Ovmar ​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

The still forest erupted in noise, the clash of shadow and steal rang out like birdsong and the snarls yelps filled the void between, bring life back to what had been deathly silent moments before. But for Lina it was nothing but a whisper, for all her focus shifted to him, to the hum of his saber as it cut through the air towards her, her own flicking up to meet it and cast it aside, she felt the pressure of him in the force around her, seeking to find cracks in her defence as she retaliated, her own blades moving in a blur seeking to find her own.

But these were not just her blades.

Lina didn't fight with her training and experience alone, within the sabers what little essence remained of her mother stirred, the eagerness for the fight, the love for the kill dancing at the edges of her mind. Lina opened herself to it, letting the darkness flow through her as her form shifted, flowing more like a deadly dance as her speed shifted, becoming faster, matching his pace with ease.

"Your underestimation of me, will be your downfall." she hissed.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Ghruna]

Naamino Zuukamano Naniti Lysander von Ascania Varin Mortifer

“We’ll move you once the pain’s under control. No one’s leaving you here.”

"Use the spear to support your weight before the boys think to carry you," the Togruta quipped after Lysander tried to be reassuring. "You may walk your way out of here, but nothing says others cannot walk near you."

"I am not so stupid that I would refuse help if I could not stand!" she snapped.

She was mostly lying. She was actually so stubborn that she would have done. She would have barked and gnashed her teeth and then sat here suffering.

Stupid, she told herself.

She stubbornly drew the spear closer and set it upright on the haft. Blood had made it slick. Ghruna dug her heels into the dirt and - clinging to the spear - was able to push herself to her feet with her back to the tree.

The pain was distinctly not under control. Her tail flicked aggressively, but she made it.

"One of you..." she hissed between breaths, "...can offer me support."

She waved her left hand, looking for a shoulder to support herself.

One of them was also about to find out that even a teenage maldrani was heavy.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Nothing about you is underestimated. All is proceeding as expected."

His movements were virtually autonomous, His blade moving swiftly to block and strike with freakish speed. Every time she moved to retaliate, His saber was already there to meet her, set in motion in the seconds before the decision had fully entered her mind. At every junction He dictated the pace and tempo of the fight, accelerating and decelerating at will. Throughout it all, His eyes never once ceased their relentless stare, boring into Lina with sharp, invasive intensity.

But at some point...

The Dark Lord closed his eyes.

The world did not vanish as darkness claimed His vision. It sharpened.

Every intention reached Him before motion. Every strike announced itself as pressure in the Force, a ripple already resolved. Her breath. Her heartbeat. The minute tightening of muscle before commitment, each rang louder than any blade. His hands moved without consultation, guided by certainty rather than reaction.

He struck forward and forced her blade into a hard lock against His own, sparks screaming as plasma ground against plasma.

"How long," He rumbled, eyes still closed, "do you intend to continue this farce, Lina?"

Lina Ovmar ​

 

[Lina Ovmar]

He had a way of getting under her skin, of uttering words that served only to unhinge her rage no matter how carefully she tempered it. Her lips pulled back in a snarl. Proceeding as expected? Fuck him. She was not a pawn in whatever game he was playing, she chose her own fate, her own path. Everywhere her saber moved she was there, his eyes boring into her like he was reading her very soul.

Then he had the audacity to close his eyes and whatever control she thought she had unfurled, rage filled every strike, bleeding into the shadows around them curling around tree trunks that groaned and cracked under the pressure. Whatever the cost, she would have her quart of blood. She just needed to find her way in, her way past his impossible defences.

Red illuminated every line of her face, twisted with fury as he locked their blades, the crackling inaudible over the rumble of his question. "Do illuminate me as to what farce you are referring to." she spat in response, battling to hold his blade in place.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin looked at the kill Ghruna had made then back at her. He heard her voice, knew what she said. But it was not an invitation, it was her way of requesting help. He was the biggest of the trio that came to her aid so he walked up beside her, placing her arm over his shoulders.

“It was a good hunt, Ghruna. A quick clean kill.”

He looked at the duo behind him.

“Please make sure her kill makes it back to camp.”

He didn’t doubt they would, but him saying it was more for Ghruna’s sake. To know that her trophy was not left behind to be forgotten.

He spoke to her as he helped her step over brush. The weight of her body was certainly heavier than he was used to, but it was a new challenge he accepted. Moving at her pace, not rushing and not slowing, he let her lead.

He would not sully her moment.

“Head high. Spilling some of your own blood.”

He took a breath before continuing.

“It's considered good luck in my home. Sacrificing some of yourself in thanks to a kill that offered itself up to you. It makes the success all the more sweeter.”

He helped her towards the outer edge of the camp.

“And you are still on your feet. No beast can take that from you, so don’t let it.”

He looked her in the eye as he talked, no flinching of the eyes, no sudden twitches. He was being genuinely honest with her. From one hunter to another.

Ghruna | Lysander von Ascania | Naniti | Naamino Zuukamano​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti Varin Mortifer Ghruna Naamino Zuukamano
​

Lysander offered a barely there nod to Varin’s words and nothing more; his attention followed the path his co-apprentice took, the weight of Ghruna steady at his side. There wasn’t any need for commentary or reason to intervene. And with that understanding settled, whatever urgency once carried in the forest ebbed away.

Moving toward the buck came after that in an unhurried motion. Crouching beside it, fingers found the fibrocord. Luckily, there was still enough left. Just as earlier, the cord went around the forelegs first, bringing them together. The line was looped once.. twice. The angle suited him; so, he tightened the line and tested the resistance with a thumb. It held.

.. and he adjusted it anyway.

Had it not been Ghruna’s kill, it may have been tempting to quarter it right there; practical and efficient. Or probably just a nice thought before the physical labor began, even if laziness had never really been his problem. But it felt right to make sure it went back whole, for her sake if no one else’s. Lysander did at least acknowledge that allowing it to bleed a little longer would mean less weight.

Adrenaline faded from his system.

Slowly, his gaze drifted toward Naniti

“If we roll it onto its flank first.. the antlers won’t fight us the whole way back.” There was warmth in his tone; maybe he simply liked the idea of tackling a small problem with her at his side.

Returning to the cord, he drew out another length, threading it back through the knot and leaving slack. A loop was formed, just enough to place across a shoulder. No guarantee it wouldn’t bite..

The excess was offered to the Togruta. "In case the back half gets stubborn."

All he needed was her hands for the roll, and awareness for the path ahead.

The smallest smile appeared. “If it starts to argue, we can always carry it by hand too. Whatever works best for you.”

Plenty of ways to make it work.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

"Genus Loci, Spirit of the Land— almost like a physical deity of sorts. Not as grand in scale as say, the legends of primordial beings, but more tied to a specific area and given life through some tether to the land it inhabits."

The woman happily rattled off in clarification, still rapidly taking notes even as she continued her explanation.

"The difference we see here is in the overall use of energies. You see? One is a static bond, a Genus Loci is created once and then sustained via whatever first initiated its birth. It only ceases to exist when slain or the tether weakens over the passage of time, where change to the environment that birthed it is no longer suitable. But this…"

Her rapid tapping slowed, blue-green eyes widening as she gazed upon the ruins and carvings once more. There was a moment of sheer reverence that passed across her face. It was unusual to see her emote in more depth than just airy peppiness or serene blankness, but the awe that was plain upon her face might have been one of the most earnest expressions Alisteri had yet seen her with.

"This is something else entirely," A'Mia turned to look up at him, the wonder still there plain as day.

"It appears whoever crafted this has mastered something akin to Sith alchemy but it might well pre-date that. Transmutation with enough parameters so as not to degrade over time but flexible enough to allow for a range of offers and intentions to interact with it."

Sudden, her visage darkened somewhat as a covetous urge overcame her. A'Mia stood, stowing the datapad and unleashing two of her Sithspawn from their spheres. The writhing creatures took up what remained of the small island, awaiting their master's orders. First though, the neti looked sidelong at her companion.

"This discovery, it's our little secret yes?"

There was mischief, as if they were sharing in a guilty pleasure together, but also something dark and deep, something ancient that sought to cling like gnarled roots.

"I'm not certain how the inhabitants or caretakers of this planet might feel about me taking such a treasure… but I don't intend to find out. You'll be the first to receive a new model of course, once I get the mechanics and sorcery sorted out," she gave an elegant little bow to him, the gesture looked downright impish with her half smile, rolled sleeves and somewhat hiked up skirt.

"Deal?" A'Mia offered a hand to shake.

The Sithspawn were already clearing dirt and debris off the altar, as if they had the intention to tear it from the earth.

Darth Strosius​