Private Tribal Hunt

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna once again brought her padawans to her homeworld. Cathar had been a regular location for the trio, but this time Jonyna didn't seem as jovial to be there. She had been quiet the whole trip back to the planet that shared the name of her species, mulling over what was to come.

Today, she offered her padawans something that could be, to a traditional jedi such as Giran, would be a betrayal of the old jedi code.

Today, her padawans would be considered part of her family, should they succeed. But first...​

---

As they landed, Jonyna cleared her throat. She'd have been vague about why they were heading back to Cathar up until this point, but now she made their mission clear. " Ko Vuto , Rayia Asai , today we'll be dealing with a bit of...an infestation. My planet has a species, Kiltik, that my people consider pests. I've gotten reports from the elders that a hive of them are growing to the point of unsustainability, and while they are native to the planet, the kiltiks have a problem in that once a hive grows large enough, it starts cannibalizing the local ecosystem. It'll be our job to deal with that. Kiltik should be dealt with easy enough with a lightsaber or a blaster, you'll just need to keep on guard. They're big, they're mean, and there's a lot of them."

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | @Rayia​

Ko had been wondering why his master had seemed a little bit more uncharacteristically serious on their trip. Especially since it was Cathar, her homeworld. But once they landed she explained it to him and Rayia. An infestation of sorts, the population of Kiltik has gone out of control. The Kel Dor let out a heavy sigh and nodded. “I understand Master Si, we will aid you.”

Although Ko didn’t know of the cultural significance of native ritualistic blood hunts of the creatures, nor would he really care too much about it. They threatened the local ecology they infested which was reason enough for the outdoorsmen padawan wanting to aid Jonyna and the people of Cathar. Because of this he did not see this as a betrayal of his values. He understood the necessity for natural balance more than most. Even though they were just insects doing what was normal for them.

He’s dealt with infestations and blights before but not against something as directly menacing as Kiltiks. Part of him just worried that he may fail miserably as he did on Hetzal Prime when he lost his sight while trying to stop a group of Drengir before they got out of hand. He told himself that if the infestation there wasn’t quelled that he would go back and personally weed them out of the planet and its moons.

Grabbing the newest weapon in his arsenal, the cane sword made by Jonyna, Ko was ready to go along with his Master and Rayia to bring the Kiltik population under control. At least to something more manageable for the local citizens to handle on their own. “This will also be some of the first action I’ve gotten since losing my eyes. I won’t let you down Master Si.”

Regrettably Ko hasn’t spoken much to Jonyna about the troubles his face lately. Which had begun to make him feel like a hypocrite considering what he’s suggested to Braze in the past. But he’s also very thankful that Jonyna hasn’t really pried into how he’s been feeling as well. ​

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia was thrilled to be back on Cathar. It was indeed becoming a regular location for the trio and Rayia had begun to think of the forested and savannahed world as a home away from Weik. True, she had been a bit overwhelmed by the sensations within the City Tree of Ran Dom Kuun the first time that she had arrived on the planet. But, having visited several times now, she was acclimating to Jonyna's home planet. Plus the dense flora and vivid energy of the wilderness was not nearly as stifling or nose-stinging as some of the more urban planets she had visited. She had even on occasion dreamed of life on the planet, and ultimately decided that if she was ever to choose a second world-mother, she would have chosen Cathar.

She could hardly hide the anxious twitches of her tail as it became clear to her that this trip wasn't entirely going to be like the others that they had previously gone on. The general sullen brooding of Jonyna filled her frame, transferring even to the slight motions she made that Rayia's tail could detect. Rayia had been about to probe Jonyna about the trepidation she had instinctually recognized when her mentor saw fit to breach the topic. Rayia sat back on her haunches and dropped onto the metal floor to listen, wrapping her arms around her knees as she glanced up at Jonyna.

When the situation was revealed, Rayia's only response was to tilt her head curiously. Far from a traditional jedi, she much like Ko understood that occasionally death was needed as part of a cycle. It would be impossible for her people to survive otherwise. They had built their very society around the intrinsic desire to hunt; to find nobility and veneration in the efforts of the hunter and sacrifice of the prey. But there was an inescapable fact. 'Death is ever present in our ceremonies. To be respected lest she go mad...' Rayia thought and focused her golden, slitted eyes on Jonyna.

"I believe you mentioned them to be when you spoke of your responsibilities to your tribe as shaman. I would like to ask you further about these Kill-tiks." Rayia began, stumbling slightly over the species' name. She drew inference from the descriptions of the hives that these Kill-tiks were insects of some kind. "When you say that they cannibalize the ecosystem, how precisely do they do this? How are we to stop them? Are they sentient? Should we expect them to be carrying tools?" Rayia asked, shooting off the series of questions as she thought of them. 'Believe it or not, hunting is more about knowing your prey,' Rayia thought. The more details she had, the easier it would be.

Hearing Ko admit that he was to face the first action since he lost his eyes, Rayia opened her mouth and then shut it just as quickly. She had been about to voice that she would help him. But remembering her earlier slip up with her wording, she amended what she had been about to utter. "I will be there with you, Ko. We shall keep aware of each other." Rayia had her own anxieities about the coming mission. Her hand crept instinctively to a red cloth bundle strapped to the normal pouch she wore round her waist. It was going to be the first time that she had actually used her newly designed light-fang in combat. She hoped that she had assembled it well, and that it wouldn't spontaneously combust. '...or explode, ...shatter into a million pieces, ...shock me...'

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"They eat." Jonyna answered simply. "They're massive bugs that eat everything around them until they can't find anything more in range of their hive, then they die of starvation. No, they're just massive bugs, no tools, no sentience. Just bugs. This hive is a bit too close to the jungle for our liking. If a the kiltiks were to ever get inside the Heart of Cathar's forest floor, they'd wipe it out. Normally they're pretty in unison with the ecosystem, it's only when these super-hives get going that they get like this."

The explanation seemed adequate for Jonyna. For her, this was part of her culture. Kiltiks on this level getting close to the Equatorial Ring would spell disaster for the planet. It didn't help that hives like this would spring up across the planet now that the damn bugs were hunted as trophies by offworld hunters.

She looked to Ko, sparring a thought for the boy. She'd grown to love the boy like a son, but she couldn't help that he was a warrior now. A jedi. "We'll have your back." She reassured, smiling to the padawan.

---

Once they landed, Jonyna seemed to head not for the forest floor, but led them back to her small home. Before they were to leave, Jonyna needed to follow her tribe's traditions. This was a Blood Hunt, and thus her people's ways would be followed to the letter.

Leading them inside, across a large wooden table was a small collection of bowls with small amounts of pigment in them. "Cover yourself padawans, in the blood of the tree." She offered, taking a bit of green pigment and painting the fur of her face lightly. "Today, we hunt. In the ways of the Cathar, and of Sylvar."

Tag: Ko Vuto Rayia Asai

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia perked up as she heard Jonyna's explanation that they were in fact massive bugs. Weik had its own fair share of dangerous insects, and so Rayia was hardly surprised that the same could be said of Cathar. At the very least, it sounded like they would not be facing anything beyond particularly dangerous fauna. Sentience could make even the most unassuming organisms that much more dangerous. But these Killtiks would have predisposed instincts guiding their actions. And that meant that they could be semi-predictable if one took care to carefully observe them.

"I wonder why they spiral out of control then. Perhaps in need of a growing territory due to the increased size of their hives?" Rayia wondered, as she attempted to understand her prey. "And you say that they are drawing closer to the jungle? Do they live within the broader plains I saw? It seems like they wouldn't have enough resources to grow as large as they supposedly do." Rayia murmured. Having been somewhat familiar with savannah life as a result of her upbringing on Weik, Rayia knew about the careful management required for the flourishment of her tribe. She then refocused her attention on Jonyna as she said that the two of them would watch Ko's back. Rayia nodded affirmatively, tail bristling as she felt the lurching descent of the ship through the atmosphere of Jonyna's home planet.

When they had finally landed, Rayia was a little surprised when they did not appear to have travelled directly towards the pressured location, but rather to Ran Dom Kuun. She quirked an eyebrow as she saw that Jonyna was leading them back towards her house. But then the thought struck her. She knew that these ceremonies were especially important as coming of age rituals with regards to Jonyna's tribe. The selection of who was ready to undertake them she had seen burdening Jonyna with duty and honors. The thought that Jonyna might be proffering the ritual to her caused her heart to slowly creep up her throat.

Rayia, divested for the moment of one home, was being offered a place within another. She nearly wept as she approached the so called blood of the tree and dipped one clawed finger within. Cool and silty to the touch, the green pigment slowly dripped off Rayia's finger as she drew it to her face. '...And Illuna.' Rayia thought, as she began to trace a series of arching lines over her face. The pattern was both familiar and foreign, as Rayia blended the reverence of the Weikian Felacatian's goddess of the hunt, with the Cathar ritual and reverence of Sylvar. Two arching lines parallel to her brows were joined by skyward reaching "branches". A crescent moon set on its bow was drawn between them facing upwards.

"How does one hunt in your ways?" Rayia asked, when she had finished. "Is there more that we will need?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | Rayia Asai

Ko listened more to what Rayia and Jonyna said about the situation they were finding themselves a part of. He had imagined that the Kiltik weren’t sentient. Otherwise this wasn’t just an infestation. More like the conflicts back on Dac between the Quarren and Mon Calamari.

Then he heard the two of them mention that they would have his back. Warming his heart some. He didn’t doubt that they would. However, a small part of him felt a bit of shame. If he hadn’t been scarred the way he was, and was more capable it wouldn’t be an issue worth mentioning. “Thanks, you two…”

Grabbing his long cane sword he rested it on his shoulder as he walked with the two feline women. Recognizing that they were going to his Master’s humble estate within the large tree. Although he could no longer see the tree that he’d become familiar with, there was a new found magnificence he felt being around it now. It radiated life unlike anything he could compare it to.

Once inside he listened to his Master’s words. Who had set some bowls with some sort of paint-like substance for them to use. “The blood of the tree” is how Jonyna described it. Perhaps it was its sap? Wordlessly he would follow his fellow Padawan’s lead. He didn’t know what colors were available to use, so relied on his intuition to pick.

Dipping three of his claws into blue pigment he thought for a moment on what kind of pattern to mark himself with before gently dragging his three long nails diagonally across his face. Leaving behind three slender claw marks like that of a cathar. Then made some simplistic swirling patterns across his goggles and mask. The patterns represent some reverence to his homeworld and the ancient wind spirits of myth.

“That’s a good question. Are there any specific customs or taboos when hunting that we should be knowledgeable about?” Ko reiterated what Rayia said. Wanting to make sure he did things right. ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"Work as a team. You are a hunting party, not a hunter. But..." She frowned. Normally, it was a hunter's duty to find their own kill. Bring back the shell of a Kiltik they took down themselves. "You'll be expected to take down one yourself. Ko included."

It was her job as the sage to keep them safe. No matter what, she'd fulfil that duty. But it would be up to them to take down a bug themselves.

"We're to take no armor. No weapons but the ones you can carry in hand" She instructed, painting up and down her body. The swirls marking her as sage, and now her people's savior. Today was a blood hunt. A chance to purge themselves of darkness. Of anger.

The war was coming. She had to make sure they were ready.

Tag: Ko Vuto Rayia Asai

 

[Rayia Asai]

Ko Vuto Jonyna Si

---

Rayia nodded to the instruction that they were to work together. It had honestly been what she had been expecting. She had been trained to take a role as part of a hunting party all her life, and unless the Cathar had hunted much differently than the Feral Queen's tribe, she hadn't imagined that they would allow applicants taking the rite of passage to endanger themselves on their own. Rayia did tilt her head at the expectation that they each take down at least one Kill-tik by themselves however. She supposed it did make sense as a test. These bugs, according to Jonyna's description were massive and were hardly likely going to be easy prey. Hence the challenge. Rayia refrained from glancing at Ko when Jonyna clarified that he too would be required to take down a Kill-tik himself. She had some worries about whether or not her fellow padawan was recovered enough to actually manage such a thing but she wouldn't dare mention them for fear or embarrassing Ko. 'And besides, he seems to be well enough to wield that cane of his,' she thought, glancing at the way he deftly carried the cane over his shoulder or the ease with which he had marked himself with a series of three diagonal claw marks of blue pigment.

"No armor...huh?" Rayia remarked, hearing the other stipulations for the blood hunt. She swallowed, suddenly feeling her throat parched and her lips cracked and dry. Though perhaps not from the fear that one might normally expect when they were about to face monstrous insects that devoured everything in their path. No, this fear came from deep inside. Just a little, burning smidgen of shame that had over time been buried within her. No armor meant that Rayia would need to lose her leather jerkin and cloak. And that meant that all of her scars were on display.

Rayia slowly removed the heavy leather jerkin and vibrant red cloak from her shoulders. Then she unstrapped her leather vambraces and shin coverings, tossing them onto the growing pile in front of her. As she stood there in her woven tunic with her arms wrapped round herself, the others would be able to see a multitude of clawings, burns, and even some fine, thin lines like webwork that had to have been done with a scalpel. Though old, the marks had not faded with the passing of time. They laced up her skin, reaching even her neck. In what was becoming a habit, Rayia had started tracing the cool, engraved pattern on the hilt of her saber with a thumb. Seeking some sort of comfort in the familiar pattern of depressed ridges.

She scooped some pigment into the clawed fingers of her other hand and started to trace lines across her body as best she could. "How will we be getting there? Will we be walking?" She prompted, hoping to distract from herself and back onto their goal.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | Rayia Asai

The rules of engagement didn’t really worry Ko all that much. He had faith that he could manage to take down one of the deadly oversized bugs on his own. Although they way his Master said “Ko Included” made him feel like she didn’t quite feel as hopeful. Which did hurt his heart a little. But he kept his lips sealed.

The other rules, no armor and no extra weapons seemed straight forwards enough. The Kel Dor largely subscribed to the idea that armor for a Jedi was largely unnecessary beyond appearance. The Force was as much a Jedi’s armor as their weapon, and mentor.

Ko sensed a measure of unease from his fellow Padawan as she removed her jerkin. She seemed to harbor feelings of guilt. He imagined it was something to do with her body. But Ko was unable to see just what that was. His Force Sight is not quite focused enough yet to see her burns and scars of old wounds.

“That’s a good question. I imagine since we’re here at your home, that this particular infestation is not very far away.” The idea made sense to Ko. Given the seeming seriousness Jonyna treated this threat with. Or his assumption was completely wrong and was on the other side of the planet’s equatorial rainforests.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"It'll be a bit of a trek. 3 miles to the south, if my math is correct." It usually wasn't. She was terrible at math. She looked to Rayia Asai , looking with a bit of empathy in her eyes. "We all have scars. You'd wince at the ones under my fur. No need to feel ashamed of marks of experience. You both ready then?"

Tag: Ko Vuto

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia batted an attentive ear to the information that there would be quite a distance to cover. Based on Jonyna's wording, she also surmised that they would be walking. A faint trickle of anticipation rolled over her. She hadn't been to the plains yet, and of all the places on Cathar, it reminded her the most of home. She'd always planned to travel out there as soon as she had landed on the planet. To feel the warmth of the sun on her fur and the dancing, rippling stalks of the grasses tickling her as she lay down in them and let herself simply be. To let sweet, cruel memories sweep her back to her life on Weik. Before she had grown up. Before it had all become so... complicated. 'I can almost imagine the suns dripping out of the sky, and splaying across the rillow wands. Probably the closest I'll get to watching their dance for a while.' Rayia thought.

Rayia's lips pursed into a tight line as she noticed Jonyna's observation of her. Perhaps more specifically, her discomfort. Rayia's clawed finger twitched, tapping against her bicep as Rayia continued to cross her arms in front of her. Rayia's eyes grew cloudy, something unknowable slipping into her somber expression. 'It's not the scars I'm running from...' she thought to herself. Mellowed golden eyes glistened softly as she stood up a little straighter, before fluttering closed. Rayia drew in a deep breath and exhaled, slowly letting her arms fall to her sides. "I don't...like people looking at them. They usually don't know what they mean. It brings up bad... memories." She murmured in a soft voice. Shaking herself, Rayia fixated on the south and nodded. "Yes... Yes, I am ready!" She said emphatically, trying to infuse herself with courage she did not feel. Anything to chase away the ghosts that came knocking.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | Rayia Asai​

Three miles give or take on likely undeveloped land without roads. It would certainly be a trek but not one that would be too bad he believed. He’d done plenty of hiking back in the Service Corps, and he’d gotten pretty good at navigating around blind now. Although he took no pleasure in killing, he felt like it would offer some warm familiarity to his time as an outdoorsman and the simpler times of his earlier teens.

He heard Jonyna began to talk about scars which confused him some. Unsure what she meant by that. But rather quickly pieced together it with how Rayia must be feeling. Listening to the response from the other padawan Ko thought for a moment. “Well it’ll only be three of us Rayia, one of which can’t even see them. But I understand.” The Kel Dor lowered his head for a moment before raising his right arm and pulling the sleeve of his robe up to his shoulder. Revealing the numerous, deep claw marks that left scars across his appendage. Having gained them from the battle on Ryloth. Even though he couldn’t see his own old wounds, he knew they were still there. Wanting to show a level of comradery with the two women in regards to their appearance. Considering how uniquely distinct he looked compared to their feline forms.

Ko kept his sleeve rolled up tight, and didn’t say anything else about it. “I’m ready to Master Si.” He finally said, ready and willing to aid not just Jonyna but the local ecology too from an impending yet preventable natural disaster. This wasn’t some great storm, or earthquake that people had no control over. Here and now, they could act as stewards of the natural world.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna smiled, proud of the both of them. "Alright. The Force will guide us all. Now, down the tree." She lead them out, Jonyna not skipping a step as she ran full force towards a branch, then with a flip, sliding down it, then jumping to another branch, then another, and finally leaping to the floor of the forest. She trusted her padawans could follow her, and if they couldn't, she'd come get them.

Maybe she wanted to believe in them. Maybe it was a test. One could never really tell with the Denik sage.

Tag: Rayia Asai Ko Vuto

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia's ears twitched and a small, bittersweet smile crossed her face at Ko's remark. She was surprised that he could find humor in the face of such a horrendous injury. 'It says a lot about him,' she thought. She gently placed a few fingers on the proffered arm that Ko had unveiled. Similarly, she placed soft fingers on Jonyna's shoulder, giving both a light, reassuring squeeze. Scars that deep held meaning, and she was touched by the fact that both her mentor and fellow student had so willingly offered admission of their greatest lessons. "Thank you. I will try... to ignore my discomfort," she whispered quietly, and continued to dab her fingers in the paint. She drew soft, swirling patterns reminiscent of crescent moons across her skin and fur culminating in a connection to the marks on her brow.

And so, Rayia was faced with her first test. 'Getting down from this tree without falling on my face,' Rayia thought. She watched as Jonyna flitted from branch to branch, using the slickness of the bark's moisture to propel her descent. Rayia's gaze drifted from the fading silhouette of her master and back to the ground looming away from her. She swallowed, shirking back from the edge. She hadn't done much tree-surfing, and never anything of this magnitude. The times she had needed to descend it had been just a few branches. A quick zip from here to there to collect something, or travel the short distance from Jonyna's house to the space-port whenever they were to depart on a mission.

Rayia shook her head. "I'll just have to climb down. Slow and steady is fine." She muttered, turning around to face the tree and bracing herself. Digging her claws into the bark, Rayia slowly lowered herself from the branch. Assuming a bunched up position with her forearms against the bark and her clawed feet supporting her weight, Rayia bit her claws into the slick bark before slowly starting to shimmy and slide down the surface until she hit the next branch.

Rayia felt her cheeks burning as two Cathar children skidded past her, laughing as one chased the other through the branches. The smaller one, a girl with startingly green eyes, paused and stared at Rayia as she made her way down the tree. "Is something wrong with her?" She asked her friend, who also stopped to watch Rayia's descent.

"I don't know... Hey miss, do you need help? We can get help!" The other one called, glancing around to see if there were any other adults in the vicinity.

Gritting her teeth, Rayia tried to stop a tinge of her frustration and shame from bleeding into her voice. "No, I'm okay. Don't worry. I'm just taking my time." In her head, the Felacatian could hear a small voice nagging, 'You have kits worried about you. Isn't that...great?'

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | Rayia Asai

Feeling Rayia give Jonyna and him a little squeeze he took in her words. It wasn’t his desire for her to ‘ignore’ how she felt. But more so to understand that she wasn’t entirely alone.

Through The Force Ko watched as their master rushed off to quickly descend the tree in a rather flash and acrobatic massion. Glancing over to Rayia he gave his fellow padawan a slight, nonverbal shrug. Seemed they had to find their way down themselves, and he noticed that Rayia went off to do it in her own way.

Using The Force he located his method, looking upwards he reached out with his free hand, remotely grabbing a long vine from a nearby branch and bringing the end of it towards himself. Grabbing the long, slender vine Ko hopped off the branch. Using a mild amount of Plant Surge to have the vine grow and lower himself down to the ground next to the tree close to Jonyna.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna didn't seem to mind either approach, though she made a mental note to get both of them some climbing lessons, and perhaps a day in the jungle for training. Someday they might need it. But that was for later. For now, they were earning their stripes, and at the end of the day, it didn't matter to her how they got down the tree.

Once they were down, Jonyna smiled to both of them. "Passed your first test. Now we hike."

The next few hours were quiet. Jonyna wasn't saying much, instead leading them through dense savannah. There were no marked paths, as the Cathar seemed content with walking dirt roads formed only from excessive travel, not any form of infrastructure. These were ancestral paths, born out of generations walking them, not of a single one building on top of them. Along the way, Jonyna was happy to inform them of any passing flora or fauna they came across. A massive rihino like creature passed by them, having a pair of antlers like an elk. Jonyna described it as a 'Wark', and assured them that unless provoked, they were harmless. A few minutes later, Jonyna stopped to explain that a set of blooming flowers, bright red in color, were edible and quite tasty, but not to eat the roots, as those will upset your stomach.

Tag: Rayia Asai Ko Vuto

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia tried her best to ignore the stomach lurching drop below her as she continued to work her way down the tree. She kept her gaze focused on the bark ahead of her, studying the sworls and knots as her claws continued to find deep purchase within the hardened wood. The kits that had been watching her with concern had flitted off at her insistence, leaving her alone. Rayia found herself thinking of home in the long stretch of time that passed marked only by the puffs of exerted breaths and the slight scrabble of her claws as the sunk deep into the wood. 'I wonder how my sisters are doing? How mother is doing? Has she chosen someone to succeed her? Is she still hunting for me to keep to the old traditions?' Rayia found herself thinking. She'd been running for so long, she never had the opportunity to really wonder. 'She must have gotten the message on Narsh. It can only be a matter of time before they find me if they're looking,' Rayia thought, frowning. The mix of emotions that surged through her at that simple thought caused her to miss one foothold. Rayia slid down the slick bark, growling as she dug her claws deeper into the wood until she finally slowed to a stop. Her fingers burned with the friction, and Rayia swore she could feel the throbbing of her heart through them as blood rushed to their extremities.

When she finally reunited with Jonyna and Ko at the bottom of the tree, it was revealed that had in fact been their first test. Rayia beamed, feeling proud of herself. Even if she hadn't managed to do it in the Cathar way, she had accomplished it in a way that kept true to the spirit of the ritual. Turning back, Rayia shaded her eyes and glanced up into the foliage. She almost couldn't believe that she'd managed to climb down all that way. "Huh? Wait up!" She called, when she had turned around to find Jonyna already disappearing into the paths in the thick swathes of grass. Having lived on the savannahs of Weik, Rayia knew just how easy it was to get lost within the ever shifting grasses. The wind could stir the stalks and what was once a path would be covered in a camouflage of glistening, sunlit waves. Rayia marveled at the Wark, and the other flora and fauna around her. 'Wait, there is this much more room? Not that the City Trees aren't beautiful. But that seems like a waste.' She thought to herself. Pulling up besides her mentor, she asked. "Jonyna, why don't the Cathar of Cathar make use of these plains? They seem perfectly livable to me. Couldn't a tribe take care of these Kiltiks if necessary, and still call themselves of these beautiful plains?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si | Rayia Asai

After Rayia touched down along with himself and Jonyna, he followed their master into the savannah landscape, Leaving the towering jungle behind. Ko took note of the different and even less developed environment.

He listened to Jonyna’s brief explanations of the flora and fauna they passed by. With his Force Sight he could even observe some of the hidden creatures that were obscured by the tall grass. Like little rodents and reptiles that scuttled around on the ground.

He then heard Rayia’s question about why the Cathar didn’t seem to settle the plains here. Something he didn’t really consider until now. He imagined it had to be for cultural reasons. Traditions gradually shaped by the environment they lived in. Ko wondered if the giant trees were a comforting source of shelter for ancient cathar. Protecting them perhaps from a long extinct predator. Or maybe they the plains had their own sort of reverence, and traditions that wanted to see them undeveloped. To let the natural world march on largely unhindered.

These were all just theories in the mind of the young Kel Dor however, but offered an explanation for why such creatures like the Kiltiks were able to grow into sustainable populations.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"We do." Jonyna answered simply. "But they're more for travel. Cathar long ago lived and played in these plains, but now..." Jonyna paused, looking out on the unending grassland that stretched to the horizon in some places. "Our culture believes in harmony with nature. To find a balance with the trees and the grass. I've seen places like Coruscant where the buildings take over everything. The elders long ago decided we didn't want that. That Cathar weren't meant to live in a place where metal is all one can see. So, we kept the plains as they were. The trees were the home of the Denik, and we stuck to them. The plain still act as our highways, ancestoral paths marked with grass that has been trampled many a time, but..." She looked down, touching the well traveled grass. "We never wish to impede it's growth. To put stone and metal over it. My mom used to tell it that to cover up life as such was an insult to the Force. That life should be able to thrive on it's own, and that places like Coruscant only show the hubris of sentient beings."

Tag: Rayia Asai Ko Vuto

 

[Rayia Asai]

Jonyna Si Ko Vuto

---

Rayia nodded slowly at Jonyna's words. The revelation that Cathar used to live on these plains wasn't all that surprising. 'If I just close my eyes, I think I can see it,' Rayia thought to herself. She could imagine the Cathar people skirting through this endless sea of golden stalks as easily as they did the tree branches. "I think I understand. I too wouldn't want to live in a place like Coruscant where everything is just a collection of empty metal boxes stacked upon each other. It is but a dead shell, and its people hollow for it," Rayia said, pausing by Jonyna's side as she reached down to touch the well-trodden grasses. "My tribe is taught from a young age to be one with plains such as these. How to move without breaking the grass stalks. It sustains us and completes us," she said.

The thought had Rayia feeling rather homesick. It had been a long time since she had returned to Weik, to the savannahs of her birth. She had fled on the night of her twenty third birthday, when she and her sisters had been about to take the trials of succession. The night chill had lingered in the air, as a cool breeze had ruffled her fur. Much of the tribe had been sleeping following the revelry that had taken place the day prior. Rayia had been taught well of the hunt by her mother, for she managed to skirt the patrols unnoticed. 'That or they simply assumed I was under my mother's directive and didn't approach me,' Rayia admitted to herself, knowing the tribe's elder guards were formed of some of the very best trackers, hunters and huntresses from the entire tribe. Members of her mother's personnel that had been loyal to her for years on end. '...Old IuaIua would have sniffed me out in a heartbeat and tracked me down,' Rayia thought, remembering the wizened, yet gentle face of the tribe's eldest ranger.

The thoughts of home did nothing but stoke the feeling of homesickness prompting Rayia to shake her head. She had to focus. From Jonyna's description, this was going to be an arduous task in and of itself. 'It only becomes more so when I need to refrain from shifting before Ko and Jonyna. I cannot afford to let these bugs batter me around,' Rayia thought, only growing more somber as a forlorn thought occurred to her. '...Besides, returning there is not an option, anyhow. And you know the reason why, dummy,' she thought to herself.