Private You Can Never Go Home Again

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Oh, gross!"

Amani's voice cut through the quiet. Kass froze, embarrassment leaving her stunned. “Asleep?” she hissed through grit teeth. “She was asleep?! Oh, Force, it’s like Ukatis all over again!”

Pulling away from her, Oukranos kept his head lowered. At first she thought he too was ashamed, but no. He was laughing. “Do you feel any better, at least?”

Kass scowled at him. They hadn’t gotten very far before they were interrupted—he still had his pants on—which was probably for the best. She didn’t think she could face the Chief Healer if she had seen more than that. Brief as it was, it had taken her mind off things temporarily. “...I guess,” she finally admitted, grumbling under her breath, “Though I’d feel a lot better if Amani had woken up afterwards…” She trailed off, hearing voices from inside the tent.

The As-Aki stared at Amani uncomprehendingly, then shrugged. “I’m in a lot of pain,” he answered, rubbing his forehead. “I remember a fight breaking out before I got grabbed and squished by one of your friends...” He seemed to come to a slow realization. "That Human out there—he's the one who nearly killed me, isn't he?"

"I'm Amani. I'm the one who healed you. It wasn't looking too good there for a while."

“Emrys Baros. Thanks for the healing.” The As-Aki produced a tiny knife and with one quick motion cut a strip of canvas from the tent, which he then tied around his torso to hold together his torn clothing. “Now please don’t tell me I need an operation or a week of bed rest, because I have places to be, people to see, things to do—and not much time. Whole clan's counting on me.”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Anywhere in particular, or…?" Amani tried to look closer, though it was difficult given the darkness and how small the As-Aki was. She looked back towards the tent flap as he pieced together what happened, "Seems that way. Sorry."

The As-Aki introduced himself as Emrys, and Amani dipped her head. Emrys tore off a part of the tent canvas, to which she opened her mouth in protest, only to hold her tongue. Too late. "You were in pretty bad shape. What are you doing for your clan?" Amani asked, "We're here to help. We might be able to offer something."

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Anywhere in particular, or…?"

"Everywhere."

"Seems that way. Sorry."

Emrys shot a glare Oukranos' way... but couldn't seem to muster up the effort to sustain his anger, instead focusing on repairing his clothes. A good sign, given recent events.

The Cthyllas made their way over to the tent. "Is he all right?" Kass asked Amani first before turning her attention to Emrys. "Do you remember us?"

"Kind of. Kassandra and Kranos?" The As-Aki straightened as if trying to make himself look taller, for all the good it did. "Why'd you try to kill me?"

"I didn't," Oukranos replied. "It was an accident. You are very fragile."

"You were in pretty bad shape. What are you doing for your clan?"

"We're going to war against the Songwings. I'm clan chief as long as Great-Grandma Rani is missing." He tied his lightsaber to his belt. "She disappeared. Didn't even bring her weapon. A lot of people think she went out into the forest to die. She was pretty old..."

Perhaps Rani's disappearance was connected to the mysterious force influencing them? Kass grew more excited, her tentacles whipping back and forth, but she didn't say anything yet.

"We're here to help. We might be able to offer something."

"Like what?" Emrys asked sharply. "It's not like we can wield your weapons. What are you going to do, use the Force?"

"Emrys, what do you know about the Precepts?" Kass suddenly asked.

"Invisible beings that feed on people's emotions and influence their perspective?" The As-Aki shrugged. "They're storybook monsters used to frighten children."

"Did your great-grandmother ever tell you stories about the Precepts?"

"Sure. She told me lots of stories. What does this have to do with anything?"

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Right. I can try to ease some of the pain, but unless we get you to an actual medical facility at some point, it's gonna be hard to fix." Soon, the Cthyllas came over to the tent, all of them mutually agreeing to not say anything about what may or may not have taken place just a few minutes prior. Amani shrugged, "As all right as can be, given the circumstances."

Emrys had a vague recollection of who the Cthyllas were, but couldn't quite seem to understand the altercation, "You did also cut off his finger," Amani pointed out Oukranos' hand, and Emrys' lack of innocence. He did still understand what got them into this situation in the first place; The conflict with the Songwings, and the disappearance of his great-grandmother. Kass brought up the Precepts, and Amani continued, "They're real, Emrys. And we think they're the ones fomenting this conflict between you, the Songwings, and just about anyone else in the area."

"You're being manipulated. You and your people are playing into their hands."

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Emrys scowled at the notion of being taken to a medical facility, but didn’t say anything. The arrival of the Cthyllas more or less changed the subject anyway.

Oukranos held up his bandaged hand like he had forgotten that his pinky was now missing. The As-Aki glanced at the injury, then quickly looked away, his brow furrowing. One could practically see the wheels turning in his little head. “You mean we’ve been killing each other all because some invisible beings were hungry for our pain and hate?”

“It would seem so,” Kass said sadly. “Even we haven’t been immune to their effects. But now that we know what’s happening, we can fight back against their influence.”

“How do you fight an enemy you can’t see—that doesn’t even have a body?”

Kass pondered the question. “We would have to be able to detect their presence,” she said. “Based on what we’ve seen so far, I think amplifying strong emotions helps to hide them. It’s harder to maintain awareness of the Force when your sight is clouded by such overwhelming feelings. If we can fight through their influence, we should be able to detect them. Then maybe we could lure them into a trap?”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani nodded along as the others spoke, then admitted, "My knowledge of these creatures is still somewhat lacking. Can they be harmed by physical attacks, or only the Force?" She looked to the Cthyllas, "And what sort of trap might they actually fall for?"

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

“Only the Force.” This time it was Oukranos who answered, drawing upon what he had read on the Holonet about the Precepts. “They’re particularly vulnerable to voids—they can’t survive in them. But pure applications of the Force can also harm them.”

“‘Pure’?” Kass echoed questioningly.

“What the Jedi manuals called Force Light,” he explained. “Or any other form of pure energy, really. Strong, intense emotions would be a good lure—they’d find it hard to resist a bountiful meal.”

It was then that Emrys made a suggestion which seemed obvious after it was spoken: “What if we were to starve them out? No emotions, no feelings whatsoever.”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"I could help with that," Amani raised a hand at the mention of Force Light. She had used it before, and become rather capable with it.

“What if we were to starve them out? No emotions, no feelings whatsoever.”

"How would you suggest we go about that?" She asked. It seemed plausible in theory. Practice however? "More so, how would we get everyone else around to do the same? Is there anything stopping them from just finding a meal elsewhere?"

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Emrys seemed to realize how impractical his suggestion was not long after he uttered it. “Forget it,” he muttered with a shrug.

“Trying to control the emotions of a crowd would be too difficult,” Kass agreed. “I suppose the only question is, are our own emotions strong enough to attract them?”

“They influenced you only a little while ago,” Oukranos said, looking knowingly at his wife. “Feeding off of even one person’s emotions must be worthwhile to them.”

Kass hesitated. The intense pain and anguish she had felt earlier wasn’t something she ever wanted to experience again, even temporarily. But if it helped them defeat the Precepts, perhaps it wasn’t too high of a price to pay. “I can be the bait,” she finally said.

“We’re all bait, if you think about it,” her husband remarked. “We might have different feelings, but each of us feels deeply.”

“Yeah yeah, real deep,” Emrys muttered. “How do we make our emotions strong enough?”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Perhaps Force-sensitive emotions are more appetizing to them," Amani commented; Given the link between the Force and emotion, it seemed natural. Kass was quick to offer herself as the sacrificial lamb, but really all of them had the potential to be staked out by the Precepts, as Oukranos pointed out.

"It's hard to force strong emotion. So what's the easiest to manufacture?" Amani mused, "Love? Digust? Embarrassment?"

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"It's hard to force strong emotion. So what's the easiest to manufacture? Love? Disgust? Embarrassment?"

“I suppose it depends on the circumstances,” Kass said. She was thinking of the fear she had felt earlier. Perhaps she could tap into that. “We should probably target the ones who feed off of negative emotions.”

“Just don’t suggest an orgy,” Emrys muttered.

Kass looked horrified. “Really?!”

“I was joking!”

“Don't even joke about that!”

Seeing that his attempt at lightening the mood had not been well-received, Emrys only grew more annoyed. “Trust me, the mere thought of making love to you probably generates enough disgust to attract a dozen Precepts.”

“Shut up,” Oukranos suddenly snapped. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

"Or what? You'll squash me like a bug again?"

Immersed as they were in their little spat, the three of them failed to notice the familiar dark presence materializing nearby. The Precepts had returned yet again.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani sighed, and her expression flattened. The joke did not seem to land on any of the Jedi. Still, things got worse when Emrys took it personally and made a comment at Kass' expense. Naturally, Oukranos stepped up to defend his wife. And naturally, Emrys shot back again. "Oh please," Amani said, trying to act the mediator, "Knock it off. This isn't helping anyone." They all got caught up in the argument, unaware of that the squabbling was fulfilling their goal.

"We need to be together on this. Think rationa-" Amani paused, nearly smacking herself for what she was saying. This was working. She sensed the presence encroaching on them, and turned to face it. Letting the others keep arguing for a few seconds longer to continue luring the Precepts.

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

“It was an accident,” Oukranos growled. “Besides, you attacked me!”

“Oh, the great and powerful Master Jedi lost a finger!” Emrys mocked. “Aren’t you guys out there getting your arms and legs cut off all the time anyway?”

While the two continued to argue back and forth, Kass withered. She wanted to say or do something to stop the fight, yet all she could was sit there tearfully, like a little girl wounded by the barbs of a childhood bully. The Precepts' influence, she figured. It was as if her consciousness had detached from her body, remaining aware that the overwhelming emotions she was experiencing were irrational and without reasonable cause, and yet she was unable to stop herself from feeling that way.

She saw Amani get up and leave the tent. Somehow she mustered up the will to follow her, leaving the men to their quarrel as she slithered out into the darkness.

The forest was alive with animal noise and suffocating heat, the humidity cloying and clinging. It was nothing like it had been before, when she and Oukranos had talked and made out. She felt as if a million eyes were watching her from the shadows between the trees, a hideous monster reflected in each of their gazes. Kass wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball of misery, shutting them all out. Somehow, she didn’t. She could sense the same hungry presence from before, now a yawning chasm of emptiness, a black hole waiting to swallow them up.

“Amani, can you see it?” she tried to shout over all the noise, but it came out as more of a whimper. “Can you kill it?”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

The surroundings woods seem to amplify in every facet. Loud, hot, alive. But the energy wasn't exuberant, it was threatening. Heavy. Like they were being hunted by something that they couldn't see. Amani felt it draining at her spirit. Irrational dread replacing her vitality. Amani fought the instinctual desire to run in her legs, squinting at the darkness as if it would reveal the form of the Precepts.

"…I don't know," Amani answered, raising her hand. She channeled the Light, which began as little more than a mote in her palm, before coalescing into rays of pure white that pierced through the veil.

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

There was no certainty that they would prevail, but they had to try. Kass watched as Amani sparked the Light in the palm of her hand, witnessing as it grew from a faint glow to a magnificent radiance.

The great void suddenly shrank, shying away from it. But the Light was unstoppable, piercing the dark maw. The jaws snapped shut in retreat.

Kass felt her mind begin to clear. But they couldn’t allow the Precept to flee. She added her own power to Amani’s, causing the Light to grow in strength. Distantly she became aware of Oukranos and Emrys’ presences beside her, each joining the fight.

The Light had grown so bright by then that she had to close her eyes lest she go blind. But she could sense the Precept struggling, could feel it tearing apart, each piece fading away until at last, there was nothing.

“Did we really…?” Emrys’ voice broke the silence. The sounds of the jungle returned all at once, and everything was alive and at peace. As it should have been.

Kass slowly opened each of her eyes and looked around, not searching the darkness but gazing at each of her companions. She smiled. "We did it." They had vanquished the evil force manipulating them and the villagers. Now it was time to make peace and rebuild.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

With the combined light of Amani, Kass, Oukranos, and Emrys, the Precepts stood no match. It overwhelmed their dark hunger, starving them out until they were no more. There was a lull, in which their presence seemed absent, but no one dared to pull away from the Light. Then Emrys spoke, and they all began to look around and find the Precepts truly were gone.

"We did," Amani affirmed with a bob of her head and a relieved smile. She looked around, back towards her tent and supplies, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to get out of here." The healer walked over and began to gather her things, "So, let's head back and wrap this up, yeah?"

Kassogtha Cthylla​