Bloom
Violet Charr had begun to suspect that the man in Iziz who assured her the trail was perfectly safe possessed a very different understanding of the word safe than she did. In fairness, he had warned her about the wildlife, and Violet could hardly blame him for her decision to venture farther into the wilderness than she had originally intended. What had begun as a simple opportunity to see something of Onderon beyond its city had gradually become several hours of wandering beneath an enormous green canopy, following one interesting sight after another until the distant sounds of civilization had disappeared entirely. She had known she was going farther than planned. She simply had not considered that a problem until now.
There was so much life here. That had been the first thing Violet noticed after leaving Iziz behind, and even now, with considerably more immediate concerns demanding her attention, she could feel it surrounding her through the Force. Small creatures moved beneath the tangled roots and fallen leaves. Winged animals called through branches high overhead, while insects produced a constant chorus among vegetation so dense that Violet could not begin to identify everything hidden within it. Kesh had no shortage of wilderness, but this was unfamiliar, and after spending so much of her life on one world, there was something almost intoxicating about discovering how differently life had developed somewhere else.
Unfortunately, one particularly large example of Onderonian life was currently occupying the clearing ahead of her.
Violet stood remarkably still as her violet eyes traveled upward, taking in the creature from where its powerful limbs met the earth to the massive wings folded against its body. One hand remained near the lightsaber concealed beneath her jacket without actually touching it, while the other rested loosely at her side. She had seen a drexl before. Or rather, she had seen images of drexl before, which Violet was rapidly discovering was not remotely the same experience. A picture on a datapad had done a remarkably poor job communicating exactly how enormous the creatures were.
It had also failed to adequately emphasize the teeth.
"Oh."
The quiet word slipped from her lips before she could stop it, although the drexl seemed unimpressed by her observation. Violet watched as its head shifted toward her, and something in its posture changed enough that instinct warned her against making any sudden movements. Instead, she carefully extended her awareness through the Force, touching the life around her without attempting to impose herself upon it. She could feel the creature more distinctly now. There was aggression there, certainly, but also agitation and something deeper that she could not immediately identify. Violet took one slow step backward, hoping distance might communicate an intention to leave more effectively than anything else she could offer.
The creature's head snapped toward her.
Violet stopped.
For several seconds neither of them moved, and somewhere in the back of her mind came the memory of lessons learned long before she had ever imagined standing in an Onderonian jungle. Her father had taught her to observe before acting, because fear encouraged haste and haste had a way of turning manageable situations into disasters. There was no reason this had to become a fight simply because she had stumbled into the wrong place. The drexl was an animal in its own territory, and Violet was the stranger who had wandered into it without knowing enough about the wilderness around her.
"I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I was leaving?"
The low rumble that rolled from the creature answered that question well enough, and Violet's fingers finally closed around her lightsaber. The warning came through the Force an instant before the drexl surged forward, giving her just enough time to throw herself sideways as enormous jaws snapped shut where she had been standing. She hit the ground hard against one shoulder but allowed her momentum to carry her through the fall, rolling back onto one knee as leaves and damp soil scattered around her. The yellow blade of her lightsaber sprang to life in her hand, its glow cutting through the shadows beneath the canopy while Violet turned toward the beast, expecting its size to make recovering from the missed attack cumbersome.
It did not.
The drexl twisted around with startling speed, bringing itself back toward her almost immediately. Violet rose smoothly and brought her lightsaber into a defensive position, though she made no attempt to close the distance between them. She had no desire to kill an animal simply because she had wandered into its territory, but neither compassion nor curiosity required her to allow herself to be eaten.
"You're fast." Violet regarded it for another moment before the creature growled again. "Yes, I noticed."
Another surge of warning passed through her senses, and Violet moved with it, trusting the Force rather than waiting for her eyes to confirm the danger. She sprang backward as the creature lunged, allowing the Force to carry her several meters above the ground until her boots struck the broad trunk of a tree. She pushed away immediately, twisting in the air before landing farther across the clearing while the drexl barreled through the place she had occupied moments earlier. One of its wings struck the surrounding branches with enough force to crack wood and send leaves cascading down around them.
Violet's expression tightened as something finally became clear within the tangled emotions she sensed from the creature. The aggression was still there, fierce enough to dominate almost everything else, but beneath it was something sharper. Something she recognized now that she knew what she was looking for.
Pain.
Her lightsaber lowered slightly as Violet concentrated upon that sensation. It changed the encounter considerably. The creature was not merely territorial or hungry. Something was wrong with it, and the realization immediately complicated what would otherwise have been a relatively straightforward decision about defending herself.
"Oh, what happened to you?"
The drexl answered with a roar powerful enough that Violet felt it in her chest. She stared at it for a moment before releasing a quiet sigh, her gaze remaining fixed upon the creature as it shifted restlessly in front of her. "Of course you're not going to make this easy."
Her yellow blade disappeared as Violet extinguished her lightsaber, though she kept the hilt in her hand. Trying to reach the creature through the Force while simultaneously threatening it with a weapon hardly seemed conducive to calming it, but the decision immediately began to feel questionable when the drexl charged again. Violet planted her feet and brought both hands forward, catching the creature with the Force before it could close the remaining distance between them.
Several tons of furious muscle and bone crashed against her invisible hold, and the impact drove Violet backward despite her preparation. Her boots dug through the damp earth, carving two shallow trenches while she poured more strength into keeping the creature away from her. Loose strands of dark brown hair fell across her face as she fought against its momentum, her concentration fixed not upon crushing or throwing the drexl but simply stopping it. She knew she could strike harder. Her father had never raised her to confuse restraint with helplessness, and if the choice became her life or the creature's, Violet knew which decision she would make. She simply refused to make that decision before it became necessary.
"All right," she managed as another step slid backward beneath her. "you are much heavier than you look."
The drexl suddenly wrenched itself sideways with enough force to disrupt her concentration. Violet's hold slipped, the pressure between them collapsing as the beast staggered free and she was forced back several steps before recovering her balance. Her hand tightened around the lightsaber hilt while she watched the creature regain its footing, aware that her options were becoming considerably narrower with each failed attempt to avoid hurting it.
The drexl turned toward her once again.
Violet slowly drew in a breath and steadied herself, allowing the Force to settle around her rather than reaching for it in panic. She had traveled beyond Kesh because she wanted to experience the galaxy her father had spent so many years telling her about. She wanted to meet its people, see its worlds, and understand all the strange and wonderful things that had existed beyond the horizon she had known for most of her life.
Apparently, nobody had thought to mention how frequently those strange and wonderful things might attempt to eat her.
"This isn't quite what I had in mind."
The drexl lowered itself to charge, and this time Violet ignited her lightsaber before it moved. Yellow light spilled across her face as she shifted her footing and prepared herself for the attack. She still had no intention of killing it if another option remained, but as the enormous creature launched itself toward her once again, Violet was rapidly running out of peaceful alternatives.
Cerrik
There was so much life here. That had been the first thing Violet noticed after leaving Iziz behind, and even now, with considerably more immediate concerns demanding her attention, she could feel it surrounding her through the Force. Small creatures moved beneath the tangled roots and fallen leaves. Winged animals called through branches high overhead, while insects produced a constant chorus among vegetation so dense that Violet could not begin to identify everything hidden within it. Kesh had no shortage of wilderness, but this was unfamiliar, and after spending so much of her life on one world, there was something almost intoxicating about discovering how differently life had developed somewhere else.
Unfortunately, one particularly large example of Onderonian life was currently occupying the clearing ahead of her.
Violet stood remarkably still as her violet eyes traveled upward, taking in the creature from where its powerful limbs met the earth to the massive wings folded against its body. One hand remained near the lightsaber concealed beneath her jacket without actually touching it, while the other rested loosely at her side. She had seen a drexl before. Or rather, she had seen images of drexl before, which Violet was rapidly discovering was not remotely the same experience. A picture on a datapad had done a remarkably poor job communicating exactly how enormous the creatures were.
It had also failed to adequately emphasize the teeth.
"Oh."
The quiet word slipped from her lips before she could stop it, although the drexl seemed unimpressed by her observation. Violet watched as its head shifted toward her, and something in its posture changed enough that instinct warned her against making any sudden movements. Instead, she carefully extended her awareness through the Force, touching the life around her without attempting to impose herself upon it. She could feel the creature more distinctly now. There was aggression there, certainly, but also agitation and something deeper that she could not immediately identify. Violet took one slow step backward, hoping distance might communicate an intention to leave more effectively than anything else she could offer.
The creature's head snapped toward her.
Violet stopped.
For several seconds neither of them moved, and somewhere in the back of her mind came the memory of lessons learned long before she had ever imagined standing in an Onderonian jungle. Her father had taught her to observe before acting, because fear encouraged haste and haste had a way of turning manageable situations into disasters. There was no reason this had to become a fight simply because she had stumbled into the wrong place. The drexl was an animal in its own territory, and Violet was the stranger who had wandered into it without knowing enough about the wilderness around her.
"I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said I was leaving?"
The low rumble that rolled from the creature answered that question well enough, and Violet's fingers finally closed around her lightsaber. The warning came through the Force an instant before the drexl surged forward, giving her just enough time to throw herself sideways as enormous jaws snapped shut where she had been standing. She hit the ground hard against one shoulder but allowed her momentum to carry her through the fall, rolling back onto one knee as leaves and damp soil scattered around her. The yellow blade of her lightsaber sprang to life in her hand, its glow cutting through the shadows beneath the canopy while Violet turned toward the beast, expecting its size to make recovering from the missed attack cumbersome.
It did not.
The drexl twisted around with startling speed, bringing itself back toward her almost immediately. Violet rose smoothly and brought her lightsaber into a defensive position, though she made no attempt to close the distance between them. She had no desire to kill an animal simply because she had wandered into its territory, but neither compassion nor curiosity required her to allow herself to be eaten.
"You're fast." Violet regarded it for another moment before the creature growled again. "Yes, I noticed."
Another surge of warning passed through her senses, and Violet moved with it, trusting the Force rather than waiting for her eyes to confirm the danger. She sprang backward as the creature lunged, allowing the Force to carry her several meters above the ground until her boots struck the broad trunk of a tree. She pushed away immediately, twisting in the air before landing farther across the clearing while the drexl barreled through the place she had occupied moments earlier. One of its wings struck the surrounding branches with enough force to crack wood and send leaves cascading down around them.
Violet's expression tightened as something finally became clear within the tangled emotions she sensed from the creature. The aggression was still there, fierce enough to dominate almost everything else, but beneath it was something sharper. Something she recognized now that she knew what she was looking for.
Pain.
Her lightsaber lowered slightly as Violet concentrated upon that sensation. It changed the encounter considerably. The creature was not merely territorial or hungry. Something was wrong with it, and the realization immediately complicated what would otherwise have been a relatively straightforward decision about defending herself.
"Oh, what happened to you?"
The drexl answered with a roar powerful enough that Violet felt it in her chest. She stared at it for a moment before releasing a quiet sigh, her gaze remaining fixed upon the creature as it shifted restlessly in front of her. "Of course you're not going to make this easy."
Her yellow blade disappeared as Violet extinguished her lightsaber, though she kept the hilt in her hand. Trying to reach the creature through the Force while simultaneously threatening it with a weapon hardly seemed conducive to calming it, but the decision immediately began to feel questionable when the drexl charged again. Violet planted her feet and brought both hands forward, catching the creature with the Force before it could close the remaining distance between them.
Several tons of furious muscle and bone crashed against her invisible hold, and the impact drove Violet backward despite her preparation. Her boots dug through the damp earth, carving two shallow trenches while she poured more strength into keeping the creature away from her. Loose strands of dark brown hair fell across her face as she fought against its momentum, her concentration fixed not upon crushing or throwing the drexl but simply stopping it. She knew she could strike harder. Her father had never raised her to confuse restraint with helplessness, and if the choice became her life or the creature's, Violet knew which decision she would make. She simply refused to make that decision before it became necessary.
"All right," she managed as another step slid backward beneath her. "you are much heavier than you look."
The drexl suddenly wrenched itself sideways with enough force to disrupt her concentration. Violet's hold slipped, the pressure between them collapsing as the beast staggered free and she was forced back several steps before recovering her balance. Her hand tightened around the lightsaber hilt while she watched the creature regain its footing, aware that her options were becoming considerably narrower with each failed attempt to avoid hurting it.
The drexl turned toward her once again.
Violet slowly drew in a breath and steadied herself, allowing the Force to settle around her rather than reaching for it in panic. She had traveled beyond Kesh because she wanted to experience the galaxy her father had spent so many years telling her about. She wanted to meet its people, see its worlds, and understand all the strange and wonderful things that had existed beyond the horizon she had known for most of her life.
Apparently, nobody had thought to mention how frequently those strange and wonderful things might attempt to eat her.
"This isn't quite what I had in mind."
The drexl lowered itself to charge, and this time Violet ignited her lightsaber before it moved. Yellow light spilled across her face as she shifted her footing and prepared herself for the attack. She still had no intention of killing it if another option remained, but as the enormous creature launched itself toward her once again, Violet was rapidly running out of peaceful alternatives.
Cerrik
