You dead yet, Ren?!

[Dax Perl]

The Force push jostled the man, stumbling backwards several steps before forging forward again, his own attack an attempting to pull her back. An invisible hand reached out to try and grab her injured ankle before she could turn the corner.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

The end of the backstreets was ahead, opening up into the busier thoroughfare of the slums. She could see the bodies passing by and a smile stretched across her face. She was almost there. Her leg throbbed, her shoulder and ribs were on fire, she could barely breathe, but she was alive and escape was a few meters ahead...

Pressure wrapped around her ankle and pulled, the disciple sent flailing to the ground. Arms hastily thrown in front of her kept her head from slamming into the concrete in front of her. Her shout of pain was interrupted by a sharp Bute to her lip, reopening the earlier wound and filling her mouth with the coppery tang of blood. She lay there for a moment, stunned by the stunning pain of arms scraped up from the impact, a shoulder further ripped out of socket and the sound of her saber handle flying across the ground.

She spat a mouthful of blood onto the sidewalk and scrambled for the blade, unwilling to part with her best weapon. Throwing her hand out, she summoned the hilt, the metal answering her call easily.

Flipping over onto her back, she ignited the blade again ready for the next attack. Authorities be damned, she wasn't going out like some rat on the street.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The fall pf a body told Dax he'd succeeded. But the ignition of the crimson blade told him that all bets were off. Making one more bounding leap forward, Dax thrust both hands out, the air between them suddenly exploding into flame, the fire reaching out towards the woman, a breath of heat chasing her.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

The blinding amount of pain fueled her rage, her determination, and her will to survive. Throwing her hands out in front of her, one holding the saber in a horizontal guard position, for all the good it would do, she summoned the swirling energies around her, demanding it protect her. Her anger, fear, and pain pulled everything into sharp focus, every lock of flame a glowing brand meant to bring her to her knees in submission. But she would not submit. Instead she did exactly as she was taught, demanding the Force obey her will to protect.

The jet of flame slammed into an invisible barrier, splitting into two and varying off, away from the disciple. The heat from the orange and red inferno linked at her skin, further aggravating the wounds and stinging any bare skin.

She grinned wickedly as the power bent to her will, raising her eyes to the man in front of her, eyes turned a sickly yellow-red from harnessing the power of the dark side of the force.

As the flames began to die out, she reversed the energy flowing through her, sending it out, pushing the man back and away. Her labored breathing belied the exhausted state she was in. Her emotions and pain the only thing adding fuel to the force running through her.

Without waiting, she pocketed her hilt, having let the saber's blade die moments before, and scrambled to her feet, sprinting to the end of the alley and the relatively safety of a crowded thoroughfare. Pulling her hood up, over her head, she tugged her cloak tighter around her person, fading into the crowd.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

As Dax let the flames die out he moved forward once moe, chasing after the fleeig Dark Sider, a game he was quickly getting tired of. She disappeared into the crowd and he lost sight of her for a moment. But that didn't mean he couldn't reach oht with the Force. He let the invisble pulls and suggestions attempt to guide him towards the woman. But she seemed to be getting further away...

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She wasn't sure how she was still standing. She could feel the force pull at her, knew he was searching for the wounded girl, but she kept her gait steady and her path winding. She wasn't sure how far she walked to arrive at the docks, just that every muscle in her body screamed in pain. Placing her hand against the wound in her side, she hissed out, the movement sending sharps of pain through her shattered shoulder. Her fingers came away sticky with cauterized blood, the wound itself protesting with a blade of agony through her ribs into her lungs.

She dropped her hand and dragged herself to the waiting transport, to the horrified looks of her pilot and single stormtrooper, this one in civilian clothes. She ignored their stares, not sure if the reaction was due to her injured state, her eyes, or a mixture of both.

"Avalonia, Now." She snapped as they scrambled to prepare for departure. She wouldn't go back to the Bastion like this, not until she'd spent some time at the med centre.

She found a seat somewhere in the back of small transport carrier, collapsing into it, the pressure on her ribs and shoulder almost making her black out. She committed the man's face and voice to memory. She was weaken than him now, he'd exhibited Master level powers and she had been outgunned. But one day, soon, they'd meet again, and she wouldn't be easily defeated.

It was the only flight she found no anxiety in. Her pain demanded too much of her attention.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

I’ve survived on life support
But I’m stronger than I give myself credit for
These conditions only cure
When we prepare ourselves for war