wip
Sticking this here because why not:
Lions to be sorted
- Mara
- Snek boi
MYO#120- raffle striped
#N197A- raffle tan/grey
#N197C- Raffle tan
- Avira Chaaya
Halloween #1 - Pumpkin
Halloween #12 - Viola
Minilion
Halloween #36 - Skull
Tales of the Cosmos | VOK stories
Forum rules
Please only post your own original work, do not post poetry or stories which were written by someone else.
Please only post your own original work, do not post poetry or stories which were written by someone else.
11 posts
• Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Tales of the Cosmos | VOK stories
by Spotted.Newt » Fri May 22, 2020 8:55 am
Last edited by Spotted.Newt on Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:29 pm, edited 9 times in total.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
S1 - Treasure Hunt - Finding a Home
by Spotted.Newt » Fri May 22, 2020 9:19 am
Tulca-Noen stood on a hill, looking out at the ruined lands down below. Scorched grasses and charred stumps, land blackened by fire, stretched out as far as the eye could see. In some places, smoke still drifted up towards the sky. The air carried the stench of smoke and death.
This was all that remained of the place that Tulca-Noen had called home for as long as she could remember. She had lived here, trained here, laughed here and cried here. This valley was where she had been born, where she had grown into the lioness she was today. Many times she had wandered, exploring the surrounding lands and going on missions, but at the end of the day she always returned here to patch up her wounds and shake off the dust and go on to train another day. She could picture it in her mind. The healer's hut and the hunters' dens, the sparring fields and the meditation rocks. The sacred places where the Force was particularly strong, enough to converse with the Masters who had passed.
But it was all gone now. Everything. Huts burned and pillars smashed.
Tulca-Noen bowed her head, mourning the loss of the land and those who lived in it. When the Dark King had attacked they were not prepared. He came in the night, killing the guards silently, and then lit the grass on fire. The Pride of the Order had scrambled from their dens, grabbing their lightsabers, rushing out to meet the enemy. But he had come ready, bringing with him all of his best warriors. One by one the Jedi fell before their foes while around them the land burned. When it became clear that they could not win, the few still standing scattered, streaking off into the night. The Dark King sent scouts after them, determined to destroy the Jedi entirely.
Tulca-Noen barely survived, saved only by her speed and skill. She was one of the strongest and most talented Jedi in the Order. She had been trained by the Grand Master himself, and it showed.
There was no Order now though, and as far as Tulca-Noen knew she might have been the only survivor of the attack. This was not the only group of Jedi, there were small pockets elsewhere, but this had been the largest and most prestigious. It was THE Order, the group to which all other Jedi look for guidance and inspiration. It was where all Jedi start their training before being sent out to posts around the planet. The Grand Master was the single highest ranking Jedi in existence. When people spoke of the Jedi Order, they referred to all the Jedi in existence, with the Pride of the Order at its heart. Except that now the heart had been destroyed, leaving all who remained as shipwrecked individuals.
Tulca-Noen had a choice to make now. She could seek out one of the small satellite groups and join them. Or, she could find a new land, a land that would be safe from the Dark King, and she could rebuild. She could seek out any Jedi still alive and bring them to the land. She could find Force-sensitive young lions and bring them to the safe haven before the Dark King's scouts could find and kill them. Like a phoenix, the Order could rise again.
The lioness knew what she had to do. She could feel the tug in the Force. When she had been paired with the Grand Master as his padawan, both of them had been surprised, but they trusted in the Force. Throughout their time together as Master and Padawan he had often mused that she was destined for something great, that the way the Force flowed around her whispered of a bigger plan. A great privilege and a great responsibility and a great burden.
This, now, was that. It would be her responsibility to build a new Order, her privilege to lead them, and her burden to bear.
Tulca-Noen cast one last glance over the charred land, then turned and climbed down the hill in the other direction. A vision had come to her last night of a cave. She wasn't sure exactly what the cave was, but she knew she needed to find it if she wanted to find the land the Force had in store for the rebuilding of the Order.
This was all that remained of the place that Tulca-Noen had called home for as long as she could remember. She had lived here, trained here, laughed here and cried here. This valley was where she had been born, where she had grown into the lioness she was today. Many times she had wandered, exploring the surrounding lands and going on missions, but at the end of the day she always returned here to patch up her wounds and shake off the dust and go on to train another day. She could picture it in her mind. The healer's hut and the hunters' dens, the sparring fields and the meditation rocks. The sacred places where the Force was particularly strong, enough to converse with the Masters who had passed.
But it was all gone now. Everything. Huts burned and pillars smashed.
Tulca-Noen bowed her head, mourning the loss of the land and those who lived in it. When the Dark King had attacked they were not prepared. He came in the night, killing the guards silently, and then lit the grass on fire. The Pride of the Order had scrambled from their dens, grabbing their lightsabers, rushing out to meet the enemy. But he had come ready, bringing with him all of his best warriors. One by one the Jedi fell before their foes while around them the land burned. When it became clear that they could not win, the few still standing scattered, streaking off into the night. The Dark King sent scouts after them, determined to destroy the Jedi entirely.
Tulca-Noen barely survived, saved only by her speed and skill. She was one of the strongest and most talented Jedi in the Order. She had been trained by the Grand Master himself, and it showed.
There was no Order now though, and as far as Tulca-Noen knew she might have been the only survivor of the attack. This was not the only group of Jedi, there were small pockets elsewhere, but this had been the largest and most prestigious. It was THE Order, the group to which all other Jedi look for guidance and inspiration. It was where all Jedi start their training before being sent out to posts around the planet. The Grand Master was the single highest ranking Jedi in existence. When people spoke of the Jedi Order, they referred to all the Jedi in existence, with the Pride of the Order at its heart. Except that now the heart had been destroyed, leaving all who remained as shipwrecked individuals.
Tulca-Noen had a choice to make now. She could seek out one of the small satellite groups and join them. Or, she could find a new land, a land that would be safe from the Dark King, and she could rebuild. She could seek out any Jedi still alive and bring them to the land. She could find Force-sensitive young lions and bring them to the safe haven before the Dark King's scouts could find and kill them. Like a phoenix, the Order could rise again.
The lioness knew what she had to do. She could feel the tug in the Force. When she had been paired with the Grand Master as his padawan, both of them had been surprised, but they trusted in the Force. Throughout their time together as Master and Padawan he had often mused that she was destined for something great, that the way the Force flowed around her whispered of a bigger plan. A great privilege and a great responsibility and a great burden.
This, now, was that. It would be her responsibility to build a new Order, her privilege to lead them, and her burden to bear.
Tulca-Noen cast one last glance over the charred land, then turned and climbed down the hill in the other direction. A vision had come to her last night of a cave. She wasn't sure exactly what the cave was, but she knew she needed to find it if she wanted to find the land the Force had in store for the rebuilding of the Order.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
S1 - Treasure Hunt | Return to an Old Land
by Spotted.Newt » Fri May 22, 2020 10:14 am
Pairing Saber Art
"Master, where are we going?"
"We are going to visit the land I grew up in. The home of the Pride of the Order."
Acacia frowned. "But, didn't that get destroyed?"
"It did, and the pride was killed. But land heals with time, and it has been a while since I was last there. I have not been back since the day I left it behind to find our current home."
"Then why do we have to go back?"
"To see what we can find," Tulca-Noen replied.
"Is there something important there?" Acacia didn't see why they would bother with an old barren land that had been burned years ago.
"I am certain there is, though I am not sure you will be as interested in the ruins as I," Tulca-Noen said, a bit of amusement in her tone. "Though the land burned and was probably looted, I am hoping to find some relics that were important to the pride and to the Jedi Order as a whole. There are some things we can build ourselves, and others that would be better recovered. Many of the most important relics were very old, kept in the Order for hundreds of years. Not all of them can be easily replaced by something newer."
"What are you hoping to find?"
"There are a few things," Tulca-Noen said, "But the most important is the Pairing Saber. It is a tool that is used to determine pairings of Masters and Padawans. It is made of a unique metal stronger than any I have found since, forged by a master smith, and it was built by the first Grand Master. Inside is a unique crystal, one that cannot be found on this planet. It is much like our lightsaber crystals, but even more in tune with the Force and far more powerful. If I were to make a new Pairing Saber I would have to travel the galaxy in search of a new crystal, and then I would have to find a master smith to forge the pieces of the hilt. Accomplishing either of those things is near impossible, let alone both. It is far more likely that we can find the Pairing Saber that already exists." The Jedi sighed. "I should have looked for it the day I left, when the ruins were still smoking. Who knows if it is still there, or if it has been taken by a scavenger."
"We'll find it, Master," Acacia said, eyes bright with enthusiasm.
Tulca-Noen smiled. "I believe we will. Now come, it is time to go."
The pair of lions made their way to the caves, the entry and exit point of the land that the new Order called home. Beautiful carvings surrounded the mouth of the cave, and they glowed warmly in greeting as the two Jedi approached. It was still a mystery who had carved the symbols, but Tulca-Noen suspected it was a mystery that would never be solved, and she was ok with that.
"Eyes closed, Acacia," the Master Jedi reminded as they stepped into the cave.
"Yes, Master, I remember."
"Very good." Tulca-Noen closed her eyes too.
They reached out into the Force, feeling it resonate with the crystal veins in the walls of the tunnel. In the mind's eye, Acacia saw the grey stone melt into a glowing blue tunnel. Tulca-Noen told her it looked much like hyperspace, though Acacia had never seen hyperspace herself. The Force whispered all around them, the energy thick like a cloud and singing of things Acacia couldn't decipher. After just a few moments, the glow faded to darkness again, and the whispers quieted.
Acacia opened her eyes. They were standing in the mouth of the cave on the other end of the passage.
"Come, my young Padawan, we have far to go," Tulca-Noen said, stepping out of the cave and starting on the path away from the mountain.
"How far?" Acacia asked, "How long will it take to reach your old land?"
"Long enough," Tulca-Noen replied, "Two months walk, give or take. It is quite far. That is why I have not gone looking sooner. I had other things to attend to that I could not excuse myself from for a four month round trip." The lioness looked over at her padawan with a playful smile. "Things like keeping you out of trouble."
"Hey! I only get into a little trouble, and I always get myself out."
"With my help, usually."
Acacia huffed, wrinkling her nose in mild annoyance. "Only sometimes."
"Hmm," Tulca-Noen hummed noncommittally, a warm sparkle in her eyes.
Over the course of the next two months, the pair made their way through forests and plains, crossing many lands Acacia had never visited before. The padawan had no idea where they were going, but she could tell the Tulca-Noen could see the path as clearly as she would have if it were laid out in front of them. Every day was a learning opportunity, as they always were with a Master like Tulca-Noen. She taught Acacia how to track prey through various kinds of terrain in all sorts of weather. She showed her new plants and animals that the young lioness had never seen before. They practiced lightsaber combat in tall grass, and in mud, and in the shallows of a watering hole. They mapped the stars together as they lay under the night sky, and Tulca-Noen told Acacia stories of worlds beyond this one, out there in the great expanse of space.
Right around the two month mark they came to some grassy hills. Tulca-Noen paused for a moment, then led the way up one of the hills.
"We are here," the older lioness murmured.
The pair stood on the top of the hill. Stretching out below them was a lush green land, a great valley full of grasses and flowering plants. Zebras wandered through it, munching on the grass while gazelles leapt about. A watering hole lay at the far side, and a small herd of elephants stood by it.
"It's beautiful," Acacia said, watching a zebra foal race another.
"It is." Tulca-Noen could still see the images of the charred, smoking land that had been here when she last stood on this hill. There was something peaceful about seeing how the land had recovered, what new life it housed. There were still stone ruins scattered throughout the valley, permanently darkened, the only signs that this had once been something else. "Alright, let's have a look around. Go, explore the valley. If you see anything interesting, call me."
"Yes, Master." Acacia dashed down the hill, laughing as some birds took flight.
Tulca-Noen smiled at her padawan's antics. It was good for the girl to have some fun. As for her, she moved more slowly, walking the paths that her paws still knew. This was the place where the smith had lived, and over here the house of the healer. This spot had once been a sparring ring, and these ruins a house of meditation. She felt an ache in her chest as she remembered the way her home had been, pictured younglings running through the streets, pictured two Knights conversing over lunch, pictured messenger hawks landing on their posts. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss it. But that time had come and gone, and the land served a new purpose now.
The lioness made her way to the ruins of the old temple. If the Pairing Saber was anywhere, it would be there. She stopped where the front steps had once been, now just cracked weathered stones. Fragments of the pillars lay all around. Though dirt and grass covered many sections of stone, there was plenty still exposed. This had been a grand building, and the ruins of it covered a large area.
Seated at the entryway, Tulca-Noen closed her eyes and meditated for a while. She reached out into the Force, searching for any Force-sensitive objects that would resonate with her call. After a little while a few objects responded, much to her pleasant surprise. Pushing further, she searched for the one that she was looking for. It had a unique signature with the Force.
There. She could feel it, buried beneath some large stone blocks.
The Jedi reached out with the Force, intending to move the blocks so she could retrieve the artifact underneath. But they didn't budge. That was odd.
Together, the Pairing Saber whispered.
Hmm, alright then. If that's what the Pairing Saber wanted, that is what she would do. "Acacia! Come here please."
The padawan trotted over. "Yes Master? What is it? Did you find the Pairing Saber?"
"I did. Now come, sit beside me, help me move these blocks."
"But they aren't that big, you've moved bigger rocks before. Why do you need my help?"
"Because the Pairing Saber wants us to do it together. That is the only way it will let itself be uncovered."
"Oh. Well, ok." Acacia sat down beside the older lioness and closed her eyes too.
Together, they reached out into the Force, finding the rocks and lifting them, carefully setting them aside.
"Alright," Tulca-Noen opened her eyes, "that is all of them."
Acacia hopped to her feet. "Then let's go look for it!"
"I already know where it is," Tulca-Noen laughed, "reach out into the Force. Do you feel it? Do you feel the way the crystal sings, the way the Force flows through it in a unique pattern?"
"Yeah," the padawan said, "yeah I do. It's different than the way my lightsaber crystal feels. It's stronger, more... colorful, if that makes sense."
"Yes, exactly. That is its Force signature. Now that you know how it feels, remember, so that you can always recognize it."
"Like how we can recognize each other."
"Precisely."
"Now can I go find it?"
Tulca-Noen smiled. "Let us go find it together."
Led by the Force, the two made their way through the ruins, stepping over and around many stones and pieces of stones. Acacia tried to imagine what this building had looked like, but she had never seen large buildings of stone, so she didn't really have anything to go off of. Oh well.
Tulca-Noen stopped by a section of dirt, the spot that they had removed the rocks from. Gently, she dug into the earth, scooping it away. Acacia helped, and in a moment they had uncovered a large box. They levitated it out of the ground and set it atop a flat stone.
The Jedi Master reached into the Force and undid the latch, then opened the cover. Inside sat the Pairing Saber, with the faintly glowing crystal at its heart. It looked as new as always, not a scratch or piece of dirt on it anywhere.
"Wow," Acacia said. "That thing looks super cool."
"It is pretty interesting," Tulca-Noen said fondly, remembering when she had sat by it all those years ago.
"How does it work?"
"When the time comes for younglings to become padawans, a Pairing Ceremony is held. It takes place in the temple, and the Pairing Saber is placed at the center of the floor. The hopeful younglings come and sit around it. All the Knights and Masters who wish to take on a padawan learner come and take a seat around the saber as well. At the top of the circle sits the Grand Master, who leads them all in meditation for quite some time. They search the will of the Force, and the Force searches them and their hearts and minds and wills. The crystal hears these things, and when the answers are known to it, it ignites several blades of different colors. Those who sit at the ends of the matching blades are the pair that the Force has chosen."
"Neat," Acacia said. "Is that how you were paired with your Master? Did you have a Pairing Ceremony?"
"Yes, I did. My pairing came as quite a surprise to everyone. Usually, the Grand Master does not take a padawan. But it was the will of the Force, and you cannot argue with that. I am lucky to have been taught by such a great Jedi Master."
"Like I'm lucky to have you!" The girl beamed.
Tulca-Noen laughed. "I do try to teach you well. Now come, let us see what else we can find here."
"Master, where are we going?"
"We are going to visit the land I grew up in. The home of the Pride of the Order."
Acacia frowned. "But, didn't that get destroyed?"
"It did, and the pride was killed. But land heals with time, and it has been a while since I was last there. I have not been back since the day I left it behind to find our current home."
"Then why do we have to go back?"
"To see what we can find," Tulca-Noen replied.
"Is there something important there?" Acacia didn't see why they would bother with an old barren land that had been burned years ago.
"I am certain there is, though I am not sure you will be as interested in the ruins as I," Tulca-Noen said, a bit of amusement in her tone. "Though the land burned and was probably looted, I am hoping to find some relics that were important to the pride and to the Jedi Order as a whole. There are some things we can build ourselves, and others that would be better recovered. Many of the most important relics were very old, kept in the Order for hundreds of years. Not all of them can be easily replaced by something newer."
"What are you hoping to find?"
"There are a few things," Tulca-Noen said, "But the most important is the Pairing Saber. It is a tool that is used to determine pairings of Masters and Padawans. It is made of a unique metal stronger than any I have found since, forged by a master smith, and it was built by the first Grand Master. Inside is a unique crystal, one that cannot be found on this planet. It is much like our lightsaber crystals, but even more in tune with the Force and far more powerful. If I were to make a new Pairing Saber I would have to travel the galaxy in search of a new crystal, and then I would have to find a master smith to forge the pieces of the hilt. Accomplishing either of those things is near impossible, let alone both. It is far more likely that we can find the Pairing Saber that already exists." The Jedi sighed. "I should have looked for it the day I left, when the ruins were still smoking. Who knows if it is still there, or if it has been taken by a scavenger."
"We'll find it, Master," Acacia said, eyes bright with enthusiasm.
Tulca-Noen smiled. "I believe we will. Now come, it is time to go."
The pair of lions made their way to the caves, the entry and exit point of the land that the new Order called home. Beautiful carvings surrounded the mouth of the cave, and they glowed warmly in greeting as the two Jedi approached. It was still a mystery who had carved the symbols, but Tulca-Noen suspected it was a mystery that would never be solved, and she was ok with that.
[500/500]
"Eyes closed, Acacia," the Master Jedi reminded as they stepped into the cave.
"Yes, Master, I remember."
"Very good." Tulca-Noen closed her eyes too.
They reached out into the Force, feeling it resonate with the crystal veins in the walls of the tunnel. In the mind's eye, Acacia saw the grey stone melt into a glowing blue tunnel. Tulca-Noen told her it looked much like hyperspace, though Acacia had never seen hyperspace herself. The Force whispered all around them, the energy thick like a cloud and singing of things Acacia couldn't decipher. After just a few moments, the glow faded to darkness again, and the whispers quieted.
Acacia opened her eyes. They were standing in the mouth of the cave on the other end of the passage.
"Come, my young Padawan, we have far to go," Tulca-Noen said, stepping out of the cave and starting on the path away from the mountain.
"How far?" Acacia asked, "How long will it take to reach your old land?"
"Long enough," Tulca-Noen replied, "Two months walk, give or take. It is quite far. That is why I have not gone looking sooner. I had other things to attend to that I could not excuse myself from for a four month round trip." The lioness looked over at her padawan with a playful smile. "Things like keeping you out of trouble."
"Hey! I only get into a little trouble, and I always get myself out."
"With my help, usually."
Acacia huffed, wrinkling her nose in mild annoyance. "Only sometimes."
"Hmm," Tulca-Noen hummed noncommittally, a warm sparkle in her eyes.
Over the course of the next two months, the pair made their way through forests and plains, crossing many lands Acacia had never visited before. The padawan had no idea where they were going, but she could tell the Tulca-Noen could see the path as clearly as she would have if it were laid out in front of them. Every day was a learning opportunity, as they always were with a Master like Tulca-Noen. She taught Acacia how to track prey through various kinds of terrain in all sorts of weather. She showed her new plants and animals that the young lioness had never seen before. They practiced lightsaber combat in tall grass, and in mud, and in the shallows of a watering hole. They mapped the stars together as they lay under the night sky, and Tulca-Noen told Acacia stories of worlds beyond this one, out there in the great expanse of space.
Right around the two month mark they came to some grassy hills. Tulca-Noen paused for a moment, then led the way up one of the hills.
"We are here," the older lioness murmured.
The pair stood on the top of the hill. Stretching out below them was a lush green land, a great valley full of grasses and flowering plants. Zebras wandered through it, munching on the grass while gazelles leapt about. A watering hole lay at the far side, and a small herd of elephants stood by it.
[508/500]
"It's beautiful," Acacia said, watching a zebra foal race another.
"It is." Tulca-Noen could still see the images of the charred, smoking land that had been here when she last stood on this hill. There was something peaceful about seeing how the land had recovered, what new life it housed. There were still stone ruins scattered throughout the valley, permanently darkened, the only signs that this had once been something else. "Alright, let's have a look around. Go, explore the valley. If you see anything interesting, call me."
"Yes, Master." Acacia dashed down the hill, laughing as some birds took flight.
Tulca-Noen smiled at her padawan's antics. It was good for the girl to have some fun. As for her, she moved more slowly, walking the paths that her paws still knew. This was the place where the smith had lived, and over here the house of the healer. This spot had once been a sparring ring, and these ruins a house of meditation. She felt an ache in her chest as she remembered the way her home had been, pictured younglings running through the streets, pictured two Knights conversing over lunch, pictured messenger hawks landing on their posts. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss it. But that time had come and gone, and the land served a new purpose now.
The lioness made her way to the ruins of the old temple. If the Pairing Saber was anywhere, it would be there. She stopped where the front steps had once been, now just cracked weathered stones. Fragments of the pillars lay all around. Though dirt and grass covered many sections of stone, there was plenty still exposed. This had been a grand building, and the ruins of it covered a large area.
Seated at the entryway, Tulca-Noen closed her eyes and meditated for a while. She reached out into the Force, searching for any Force-sensitive objects that would resonate with her call. After a little while a few objects responded, much to her pleasant surprise. Pushing further, she searched for the one that she was looking for. It had a unique signature with the Force.
There. She could feel it, buried beneath some large stone blocks.
The Jedi reached out with the Force, intending to move the blocks so she could retrieve the artifact underneath. But they didn't budge. That was odd.
Together, the Pairing Saber whispered.
Hmm, alright then. If that's what the Pairing Saber wanted, that is what she would do. "Acacia! Come here please."
The padawan trotted over. "Yes Master? What is it? Did you find the Pairing Saber?"
"I did. Now come, sit beside me, help me move these blocks."
"But they aren't that big, you've moved bigger rocks before. Why do you need my help?"
"Because the Pairing Saber wants us to do it together. That is the only way it will let itself be uncovered."
"Oh. Well, ok." Acacia sat down beside the older lioness and closed her eyes too.
[501/500]
Together, they reached out into the Force, finding the rocks and lifting them, carefully setting them aside.
"Alright," Tulca-Noen opened her eyes, "that is all of them."
Acacia hopped to her feet. "Then let's go look for it!"
"I already know where it is," Tulca-Noen laughed, "reach out into the Force. Do you feel it? Do you feel the way the crystal sings, the way the Force flows through it in a unique pattern?"
"Yeah," the padawan said, "yeah I do. It's different than the way my lightsaber crystal feels. It's stronger, more... colorful, if that makes sense."
"Yes, exactly. That is its Force signature. Now that you know how it feels, remember, so that you can always recognize it."
"Like how we can recognize each other."
"Precisely."
"Now can I go find it?"
Tulca-Noen smiled. "Let us go find it together."
Led by the Force, the two made their way through the ruins, stepping over and around many stones and pieces of stones. Acacia tried to imagine what this building had looked like, but she had never seen large buildings of stone, so she didn't really have anything to go off of. Oh well.
Tulca-Noen stopped by a section of dirt, the spot that they had removed the rocks from. Gently, she dug into the earth, scooping it away. Acacia helped, and in a moment they had uncovered a large box. They levitated it out of the ground and set it atop a flat stone.
The Jedi Master reached into the Force and undid the latch, then opened the cover. Inside sat the Pairing Saber, with the faintly glowing crystal at its heart. It looked as new as always, not a scratch or piece of dirt on it anywhere.
"Wow," Acacia said. "That thing looks super cool."
"It is pretty interesting," Tulca-Noen said fondly, remembering when she had sat by it all those years ago.
"How does it work?"
"When the time comes for younglings to become padawans, a Pairing Ceremony is held. It takes place in the temple, and the Pairing Saber is placed at the center of the floor. The hopeful younglings come and sit around it. All the Knights and Masters who wish to take on a padawan learner come and take a seat around the saber as well. At the top of the circle sits the Grand Master, who leads them all in meditation for quite some time. They search the will of the Force, and the Force searches them and their hearts and minds and wills. The crystal hears these things, and when the answers are known to it, it ignites several blades of different colors. Those who sit at the ends of the matching blades are the pair that the Force has chosen."
"Neat," Acacia said. "Is that how you were paired with your Master? Did you have a Pairing Ceremony?"
"Yes, I did. My pairing came as quite a surprise to everyone. Usually, the Grand Master does not take a padawan. But it was the will of the Force, and you cannot argue with that. I am lucky to have been taught by such a great Jedi Master."
"Like I'm lucky to have you!" The girl beamed.
Tulca-Noen laughed. "I do try to teach you well. Now come, let us see what else we can find here."
[555/500]
Last edited by Spotted.Newt on Sat May 23, 2020 2:36 am, edited 4 times in total.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
May E5 - Candles
by Spotted.Newt » Sat May 23, 2020 2:07 am
It was with some degree of mild regret that Tulca-Noen decided to leave her padawan behind for this particular mission. It was not that she felt the girl lacked strength or energy or eagerness for learning. Acacia embodied all those things, the marks of a bright you Jedi in training. No, it was not a fault in the young one's character, or that Tulca-Noen didn't think she could handle this mission, it was that the older Jedi didn't want her to have to handle it just yet. A maternal desire to protect the girl from the horrors of the world. Maybe the Master was going a bit soft. She knew that Acacia would have to see the world as it was eventually. But for now, maybe selfishly, she wanted those bright shining eyes to continue to glow, unburdened by the dark truths of the world. The day was coming when those eyes would be ever so slightly dimmed by experience, by seeing the cruelty that some lions carry, and though Tulca-Noen knew that was inevitable as the girl got older and wiser, that innocence must eventually be replaced by maturity, the Master was not looking forward to the day when the childlike spark dimmed.
So, Tulca-Noen said a brief farewell to her apprentice, tasking her with studies and practice and with helping to build the new Jedi Temple. Acacia protested being left behind, wanting to follow her master wherever she went, but a stern look from the older Jedi quieted the younger.
"I will bring you next time," Tulca-Noen promised, both to the padawan and to herself.
Coddling will not help her become a Jedi. And yet, when she watched the orange teen bound over to the builders, Tulca-Noen smiled softly and found that she did not regret her choice. Coddling wouldn't do in the long run, but just this once she would indulge it.
Turning, the Jedi Master made her way to the Caves, stepping through the cool mouth of stone and into the humming tunnel within. Closing her eyes, she reached out into the Force, activating the veins of crystals than threaded through the walls. Time and space melted away for a moment, replaced with the warm embrace of the Force and the thrum of hyperspace. The lioness emerged on the other side, straightened her shoulders, and set out with brisk purpose and grim determination.
She could feel the tiny flicker in the Force, a young life in tune with its song. Though the Force flows through every living thing, it collects in bright pools in certain beings, those which are Force-sensitive. The extra attention creates a unique signature, the being's life-force glowing brightly in the universal tapestry.
Where are you, little one, Tulca-Noen probed the Force, sinking deeply into it, immersing herself in its eddies and currents. It directed her steps, leading her towards the tiny flame. As the Grand Master of the new Order, it was her responsibility to seek out Force-sensitive children, to offer them a place in the the Order. This task was especially important now, with the pawns of the Dark King spreading through lands like an oil spill, infecting every region. They would also be looking for Force-sensitive children, to either train them into merciless machines or to kill them before they could grow up to be threats to the Dark King. Tulca-Noen was racing against an army as she searched for the tiny candle.
It was not the first time she had gone looking, and it would not be the last. Each time she set out it was with the knowledge that she might not be successful in her task. Too many times she had arrived just a hair too late, to find sobbing parents or ruined towns. Too many times she had held a tiny body in her paws as it drew its last breath at far too young an age.
That was why she didn't want Acacia to come. More often than not, Tulca-Noen failed to find the infants before the Dark King's scouts did. Acacia didn't need to see this kind of death and destruction yet.
Tulca-Noen was drawing close now. She could feel it. But she also felt something else, dark stains in the tapestry. Her heart sunk as she realized she was too late again, the Scouts were here already. But she pushed that feeling away, steeling her resolve. The cub was alive, and she had a chance to save it. No, cubs plural. She could sense one other tiny candle.
And there they were. Through the trees of the forest she was walking in, she saw three scouts. Two carried cubs by their scruffs, one walked with sharp eyes scanning their surroundings.
Tulca-Noen calculated her next move. She could sense the fear radiating from the cubs. It permeated the Force so strongly that it nearly hid the other presences. She needed to take out the scouts without hurting the cubs.
Reaching into the Living Force, Tulca-Nown called vines to leap up and entangle the first scout. He roared in surprise and fury, struggling against the bindings, and subsequently dropping the cub. Before the other two scouts could react, Tulca-Noen had leapt from her hiding place, knocking the second scout to the ground with a snarl. He was unconscious before he could react.
Then, she whirled to face the third scout, the one still holding a cub.
"Drop him," Tulca-Noen snarled, baring her fangs.
"Jedi scum," He snarled back around a mouthful of scruff. He eyed her, no doubt calculating his chances in a fight, and then looked to his restrained and unconscious partners. He bit down a little harder on the cub's scruff, causing it to yelp in pain.
"Drop. Him." The Jedi Master took a step forward, tail lashing.
The scout laughed. "As you wish."
He turned his head and flung the cub as hard as he could.
Eyes wide, Tulca-Noen leapt after it, using the Force to catch the cub before it could crash into a tree trunk. She did, barely, and heaved a sigh of relief as she lowered it gently to the ground.
The scout took her distraction as an opportunity and attacked, slamming the Jedi to the ground. He snarled, and she snarled back, and a short scuffle later she stood again as the victor, panting.
"It's alright, little one," she called to the frightened cub that had hidden himself away in the underbrush. "You're safe now. I will protect you."
The trembling cub crawled out of hiding, looking at her with bright, terrified eyes. It looked at the still body of the scout, then up at her, and mewled in the tiny voice of a young child.
"It's ok," she soothed again. "Let's find your friend now, and then I will take you both somewhere safe."
"You will do no such thing."
Tulca-Noen spun around. The scout she had captured in vines had broken free, and now he stood, seething. In the air between them hovered the second cub, writhing as it was held there by the scout's use of the Force.
"A life for a life," the scout snarled, "that's only fair, don't you think?"
The cub squeaked as the Force tightened around it, constricting it's airway.
"Let him go," Tulca-Noen growled.
"Nah," the scout replied, tightening his grip.
Tulca-Noen knew if she were to take a step forward, the scout would just finish the job. Her only hope was a quick jab with the Force. With a quick, fluid movement, she had sent a large branch hurtling at the scout, effectively knocking him unconscious.
The cub fell, released from the Force-choke hold, and Tulca-Noen caught him.
But it was too late. The breath was gone from his tiny body, the young candle snubbed out.
The Jedi Master bowed her head and closed her eyes, sorrow rolling off of her in waves. I'm so sorry, little one.
A sad mew from beside her had her opening her eyes again. She looked over to the first cub, too young to understand what had happened here.
Tulca-Noen inhaled deeply and then exhaled, releasing her sorrow into the Force along with her breath. She couldn't save one cub, but she could save the one beside her.
Gently, she picked it up, and began the long trek back home.
So, Tulca-Noen said a brief farewell to her apprentice, tasking her with studies and practice and with helping to build the new Jedi Temple. Acacia protested being left behind, wanting to follow her master wherever she went, but a stern look from the older Jedi quieted the younger.
"I will bring you next time," Tulca-Noen promised, both to the padawan and to herself.
Coddling will not help her become a Jedi. And yet, when she watched the orange teen bound over to the builders, Tulca-Noen smiled softly and found that she did not regret her choice. Coddling wouldn't do in the long run, but just this once she would indulge it.
Turning, the Jedi Master made her way to the Caves, stepping through the cool mouth of stone and into the humming tunnel within. Closing her eyes, she reached out into the Force, activating the veins of crystals than threaded through the walls. Time and space melted away for a moment, replaced with the warm embrace of the Force and the thrum of hyperspace. The lioness emerged on the other side, straightened her shoulders, and set out with brisk purpose and grim determination.
She could feel the tiny flicker in the Force, a young life in tune with its song. Though the Force flows through every living thing, it collects in bright pools in certain beings, those which are Force-sensitive. The extra attention creates a unique signature, the being's life-force glowing brightly in the universal tapestry.
Where are you, little one, Tulca-Noen probed the Force, sinking deeply into it, immersing herself in its eddies and currents. It directed her steps, leading her towards the tiny flame. As the Grand Master of the new Order, it was her responsibility to seek out Force-sensitive children, to offer them a place in the the Order. This task was especially important now, with the pawns of the Dark King spreading through lands like an oil spill, infecting every region. They would also be looking for Force-sensitive children, to either train them into merciless machines or to kill them before they could grow up to be threats to the Dark King. Tulca-Noen was racing against an army as she searched for the tiny candle.
It was not the first time she had gone looking, and it would not be the last. Each time she set out it was with the knowledge that she might not be successful in her task. Too many times she had arrived just a hair too late, to find sobbing parents or ruined towns. Too many times she had held a tiny body in her paws as it drew its last breath at far too young an age.
That was why she didn't want Acacia to come. More often than not, Tulca-Noen failed to find the infants before the Dark King's scouts did. Acacia didn't need to see this kind of death and destruction yet.
Tulca-Noen was drawing close now. She could feel it. But she also felt something else, dark stains in the tapestry. Her heart sunk as she realized she was too late again, the Scouts were here already. But she pushed that feeling away, steeling her resolve. The cub was alive, and she had a chance to save it. No, cubs plural. She could sense one other tiny candle.
And there they were. Through the trees of the forest she was walking in, she saw three scouts. Two carried cubs by their scruffs, one walked with sharp eyes scanning their surroundings.
Tulca-Noen calculated her next move. She could sense the fear radiating from the cubs. It permeated the Force so strongly that it nearly hid the other presences. She needed to take out the scouts without hurting the cubs.
Reaching into the Living Force, Tulca-Nown called vines to leap up and entangle the first scout. He roared in surprise and fury, struggling against the bindings, and subsequently dropping the cub. Before the other two scouts could react, Tulca-Noen had leapt from her hiding place, knocking the second scout to the ground with a snarl. He was unconscious before he could react.
Then, she whirled to face the third scout, the one still holding a cub.
"Drop him," Tulca-Noen snarled, baring her fangs.
"Jedi scum," He snarled back around a mouthful of scruff. He eyed her, no doubt calculating his chances in a fight, and then looked to his restrained and unconscious partners. He bit down a little harder on the cub's scruff, causing it to yelp in pain.
"Drop. Him." The Jedi Master took a step forward, tail lashing.
The scout laughed. "As you wish."
He turned his head and flung the cub as hard as he could.
Eyes wide, Tulca-Noen leapt after it, using the Force to catch the cub before it could crash into a tree trunk. She did, barely, and heaved a sigh of relief as she lowered it gently to the ground.
The scout took her distraction as an opportunity and attacked, slamming the Jedi to the ground. He snarled, and she snarled back, and a short scuffle later she stood again as the victor, panting.
"It's alright, little one," she called to the frightened cub that had hidden himself away in the underbrush. "You're safe now. I will protect you."
The trembling cub crawled out of hiding, looking at her with bright, terrified eyes. It looked at the still body of the scout, then up at her, and mewled in the tiny voice of a young child.
"It's ok," she soothed again. "Let's find your friend now, and then I will take you both somewhere safe."
"You will do no such thing."
Tulca-Noen spun around. The scout she had captured in vines had broken free, and now he stood, seething. In the air between them hovered the second cub, writhing as it was held there by the scout's use of the Force.
"A life for a life," the scout snarled, "that's only fair, don't you think?"
The cub squeaked as the Force tightened around it, constricting it's airway.
"Let him go," Tulca-Noen growled.
"Nah," the scout replied, tightening his grip.
Tulca-Noen knew if she were to take a step forward, the scout would just finish the job. Her only hope was a quick jab with the Force. With a quick, fluid movement, she had sent a large branch hurtling at the scout, effectively knocking him unconscious.
The cub fell, released from the Force-choke hold, and Tulca-Noen caught him.
But it was too late. The breath was gone from his tiny body, the young candle snubbed out.
The Jedi Master bowed her head and closed her eyes, sorrow rolling off of her in waves. I'm so sorry, little one.
A sad mew from beside her had her opening her eyes again. She looked over to the first cub, too young to understand what had happened here.
Tulca-Noen inhaled deeply and then exhaled, releasing her sorrow into the Force along with her breath. She couldn't save one cub, but she could save the one beside her.
Gently, she picked it up, and began the long trek back home.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
Aurora & Citali (renamed Nexus & Borealis)
by Spotted.Newt » Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:34 am
Aurora Aqualite was a unique being. She was one of those blessed with the ability to travel between worlds and realms, time and space. She was also ancient, being a couple hundred years old, more if you counted all the time she spent in other realms where she did not seem to age. And yet, she felt young. She held the wisdom of many lifetimes in her gaze, but she had the energy of someone much younger. She had long ago mastered the art of the beautiful dance that is emotion. She did not repress her feelings, the way some orders of Jedi had taught throughout the ages. Instead, she caught each one like a butterfly, gently cupping it in her paws, admiring its beauty and function, and examining its source. In this way she learned more about herself, and more about those around her.
There was a feeling though that she did not recognize. A butterfly with blazing colors that seemed to shift like a sunset, growing bright and then dim and then bright again. It's wings were shapely and large, different than the soft lines of joy or the jagged edges of sorrow. Aurora caught it, gently cupping it in her paws. It had appeared many moons ago, growing slowly. She had watched it grow from mere affection and care, both things she was well familiar with. But it had grown into something different, something more. Something more intense, or maybe not more intense, but intense in a different way. It was sweet, but Aurora could tell by looking at it that it also held the threat of great pain.
Aurora examined this butterfly often, learning every inch of it, every shift in its shape and colors. It soon became familiar, yet at the same time just as wondrous and mystical as it had been when she first took note of it.
"What are you doing, my love?"
Aurora opened her eyes, coming out of her deep meditative trance. "I was meditating, and pondering the depth and shape of love."
Citali smiled at her. This was the one who had caused that butterfly to appear, the one that had called up that feeling that Aurora recognized as love. He was like her, a walker of time and space and dimensions. It was rare that two find each other, rarer still that they fall in love.
Yet here they were, Aurora and Citali. Two beings uniquely blessed by the Force, in so many ways.
"It is magnificent, isn't it?"
"It is."
"It is nothing like some beings say," Citali commented, sitting down beside her. "It is not something to sweep you away, senseless."
"No," Aurora agreed, "though I could see how it might, if you were to let it. But it is so much more wonderful to see it, to cultivate it, than to let it simply run wild and do what it wants with you and your emotions."
"I never expected to find it, or for it to find me," Citali admitted. "The life of a time walker is a lonely one, and something that cannot be shared, unless the Force decrees it."
"Then we are blessed indeed."
"We are."
(532/500)
Scene 2
Time marched on, but time is not linear for everyone. For two beings, uniquely crafted by the Force, time was but a shapeless sea, as expansive as a thousand universes. There are laws to time travel, laws that protect all of the beings who are not gifted with the ability to swim through the sea but instead are at its mercy, little boats tossed upon the waves.
One of the unique side effects of being Time Walker is that for them, they have infinite time on their hands. They are not a boat on the sea, they are dolphins in its midst, diving and dancing wherever they chose. They are not bound by its linear laws. They can step outside of the threads of time at any point, and reenter exactly where they left, leaving other beings completely oblivious to their absence, even if that absence lasted a hundred years. For some, such power is disconcerting, leaving the time traveler without a sense of belonging and sometimes even without a sense of reality.
Not so for these two.
Nexus and Borealis had found a home within the infinite reality. Their home was within the comfort of the Force, and within the comfort of each other. No matter where each went, they knew that they could return to one another among the planes between time. And whenever they did, they swapped stories of their adventures, starting with the greeting of "how long were you gone?" This simple question could just as easily be answered with "a few hours" or "a few years."
Since meeting each other, the two had started taking more frequent breaks from the worlds and times they visited. Since they could enter and exit a timeline at any point, they made a habit of at least meeting every couple of 'days.' They could excuse themselves to the restroom, exit the timeline, spend some time together in a plane outside of time (or simply in another timeline), and re-enter the timeline at the moment they had left.
It was a strange way of life, but it worked for them. They were happy with their roles in the universe, and happy in their love for each other.
Things grew more complicated when they decided to have children. The Force whispered that the children would be beings as mystical as their parents, able to hop through time and space on a whim. It also warned that most of the children would not remain by their parents sides for long, and that they may disappear into the infinite abyss of space and never return. Such is the life of a Time Walker. Nexus and Borealis each had left average lives in order to follow the special roles they had been given by the Force. It could be a lonely life, and it would have been, had they not found each other.
So, they accepted the many truths and unknowns that would come with starting a family. This, they realized, was one area in which even they were bound by linear laws of time. Their children grew and aged, and eventually, some said farewell. They would live a thousand lifetimes, just like their parents.
[531/500]
Scene 3
Nexus and Borealis had been unusually blessed by the Force. First their abilities, and their tasks. Then with each other, with the gift of love. And then, they had been blessed with children. A large litter of eight cubs, all healthy, with coats that sparkled with a thousand stars and eyes that would hold a thousand lifetimes.
Most had left. They had grown quickly, and the Force led them off to their own lives, their own adventures, their own tasks. Nexus and Borealis bid them farewell, the Force whispering the sad truth that the pair would never see most of their children again, not until they all joined the Force at the end of their respective journeys. It is always hard to say goodbye to a loved one, but especially so to one's own children. And yet, it was the will of the Force, and they all knew that the Force would guide and provide, and that death is not the end but simply a passing from this life to becoming one with the Force. So, while they were sad to see their children go, Nexus and Borealis were not overly sorrowful. Every being has their own journey.
Two children stayed. Two girls, who grew up into strong Time Walkers. The dinners for two became dinners for four on some nights, though the girls did not visit as often as Nexus and Borealis visited each other. They cherished both these times equally, the times where it was just the two lovers as well as the times when it was the small family. Both were blessings.
And then the Force moved again, whispering. Promises of another litter, a few more children. The warnings were the same as before. Most would leave, never to be seen again. But one would stay. Their family dinners of four would become family dinners of five.
"What do you think of it?" Nexus asked Borealis one day, as the pair watched a sunset together. A date.
"What do I think of what?"
"Another litter."
"I think we are extremely blessed," Borealis said, leaning in to nuzzle his mate. "We have each other, and we have our beautiful children, and we are about to have more."
Nexus leaned against him as well, and they twisted their tails together, like a couple holding hands. "We are indeed. I wonder, sometimes, why the Force has chosen us."
"I do as well," Borealis admitted, "But I think it had our lives planned before we even existed. Your name is Nexus, and that is what you are, what you were destined for. A connection between places and times and people, and also a centerpiece. You were born to bring people together. Your skills in diplomacy were foreseen by the Force, and it tasked you with using those skills across all of space and time."
"And you are a light," Nexus said, "a hope, and a piece of beauty, shining in dark places. Reminding people that there is good in the world, and there is beauty, and there are things to look forward to."
They sat in content silence for a moment, simply resting in each other's company.
"And what of our children, I wonder," Nexus said, "Our purposes are clear to us and to each other, but I cannot see what they are destined for."
"Neither can I," Borealis admitted, "I suppose that is something we will just have to wait and see."
[572/500]
There was a feeling though that she did not recognize. A butterfly with blazing colors that seemed to shift like a sunset, growing bright and then dim and then bright again. It's wings were shapely and large, different than the soft lines of joy or the jagged edges of sorrow. Aurora caught it, gently cupping it in her paws. It had appeared many moons ago, growing slowly. She had watched it grow from mere affection and care, both things she was well familiar with. But it had grown into something different, something more. Something more intense, or maybe not more intense, but intense in a different way. It was sweet, but Aurora could tell by looking at it that it also held the threat of great pain.
Aurora examined this butterfly often, learning every inch of it, every shift in its shape and colors. It soon became familiar, yet at the same time just as wondrous and mystical as it had been when she first took note of it.
"What are you doing, my love?"
Aurora opened her eyes, coming out of her deep meditative trance. "I was meditating, and pondering the depth and shape of love."
Citali smiled at her. This was the one who had caused that butterfly to appear, the one that had called up that feeling that Aurora recognized as love. He was like her, a walker of time and space and dimensions. It was rare that two find each other, rarer still that they fall in love.
Yet here they were, Aurora and Citali. Two beings uniquely blessed by the Force, in so many ways.
"It is magnificent, isn't it?"
"It is."
"It is nothing like some beings say," Citali commented, sitting down beside her. "It is not something to sweep you away, senseless."
"No," Aurora agreed, "though I could see how it might, if you were to let it. But it is so much more wonderful to see it, to cultivate it, than to let it simply run wild and do what it wants with you and your emotions."
"I never expected to find it, or for it to find me," Citali admitted. "The life of a time walker is a lonely one, and something that cannot be shared, unless the Force decrees it."
"Then we are blessed indeed."
"We are."
(532/500)
Scene 2
Time marched on, but time is not linear for everyone. For two beings, uniquely crafted by the Force, time was but a shapeless sea, as expansive as a thousand universes. There are laws to time travel, laws that protect all of the beings who are not gifted with the ability to swim through the sea but instead are at its mercy, little boats tossed upon the waves.
One of the unique side effects of being Time Walker is that for them, they have infinite time on their hands. They are not a boat on the sea, they are dolphins in its midst, diving and dancing wherever they chose. They are not bound by its linear laws. They can step outside of the threads of time at any point, and reenter exactly where they left, leaving other beings completely oblivious to their absence, even if that absence lasted a hundred years. For some, such power is disconcerting, leaving the time traveler without a sense of belonging and sometimes even without a sense of reality.
Not so for these two.
Nexus and Borealis had found a home within the infinite reality. Their home was within the comfort of the Force, and within the comfort of each other. No matter where each went, they knew that they could return to one another among the planes between time. And whenever they did, they swapped stories of their adventures, starting with the greeting of "how long were you gone?" This simple question could just as easily be answered with "a few hours" or "a few years."
Since meeting each other, the two had started taking more frequent breaks from the worlds and times they visited. Since they could enter and exit a timeline at any point, they made a habit of at least meeting every couple of 'days.' They could excuse themselves to the restroom, exit the timeline, spend some time together in a plane outside of time (or simply in another timeline), and re-enter the timeline at the moment they had left.
It was a strange way of life, but it worked for them. They were happy with their roles in the universe, and happy in their love for each other.
Things grew more complicated when they decided to have children. The Force whispered that the children would be beings as mystical as their parents, able to hop through time and space on a whim. It also warned that most of the children would not remain by their parents sides for long, and that they may disappear into the infinite abyss of space and never return. Such is the life of a Time Walker. Nexus and Borealis each had left average lives in order to follow the special roles they had been given by the Force. It could be a lonely life, and it would have been, had they not found each other.
So, they accepted the many truths and unknowns that would come with starting a family. This, they realized, was one area in which even they were bound by linear laws of time. Their children grew and aged, and eventually, some said farewell. They would live a thousand lifetimes, just like their parents.
[531/500]
Scene 3
Nexus and Borealis had been unusually blessed by the Force. First their abilities, and their tasks. Then with each other, with the gift of love. And then, they had been blessed with children. A large litter of eight cubs, all healthy, with coats that sparkled with a thousand stars and eyes that would hold a thousand lifetimes.
Most had left. They had grown quickly, and the Force led them off to their own lives, their own adventures, their own tasks. Nexus and Borealis bid them farewell, the Force whispering the sad truth that the pair would never see most of their children again, not until they all joined the Force at the end of their respective journeys. It is always hard to say goodbye to a loved one, but especially so to one's own children. And yet, it was the will of the Force, and they all knew that the Force would guide and provide, and that death is not the end but simply a passing from this life to becoming one with the Force. So, while they were sad to see their children go, Nexus and Borealis were not overly sorrowful. Every being has their own journey.
Two children stayed. Two girls, who grew up into strong Time Walkers. The dinners for two became dinners for four on some nights, though the girls did not visit as often as Nexus and Borealis visited each other. They cherished both these times equally, the times where it was just the two lovers as well as the times when it was the small family. Both were blessings.
And then the Force moved again, whispering. Promises of another litter, a few more children. The warnings were the same as before. Most would leave, never to be seen again. But one would stay. Their family dinners of four would become family dinners of five.
"What do you think of it?" Nexus asked Borealis one day, as the pair watched a sunset together. A date.
"What do I think of what?"
"Another litter."
"I think we are extremely blessed," Borealis said, leaning in to nuzzle his mate. "We have each other, and we have our beautiful children, and we are about to have more."
Nexus leaned against him as well, and they twisted their tails together, like a couple holding hands. "We are indeed. I wonder, sometimes, why the Force has chosen us."
"I do as well," Borealis admitted, "But I think it had our lives planned before we even existed. Your name is Nexus, and that is what you are, what you were destined for. A connection between places and times and people, and also a centerpiece. You were born to bring people together. Your skills in diplomacy were foreseen by the Force, and it tasked you with using those skills across all of space and time."
"And you are a light," Nexus said, "a hope, and a piece of beauty, shining in dark places. Reminding people that there is good in the world, and there is beauty, and there are things to look forward to."
They sat in content silence for a moment, simply resting in each other's company.
"And what of our children, I wonder," Nexus said, "Our purposes are clear to us and to each other, but I cannot see what they are destined for."
"Neither can I," Borealis admitted, "I suppose that is something we will just have to wait and see."
[572/500]
Last edited by Spotted.Newt on Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:12 am, edited 5 times in total.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
S2 - Aputi's Cowardice (8 points, S2 x4)
by Spotted.Newt » Mon Jul 27, 2020 9:55 am
The day of any young Jedi's knighting is one that they will always remember. It is a turning point in their life, it is the day the go from student to full fledged Jedi. No longer under their Master's guidance, they go out on their own, having learned all they can from their teacher. And, it due time, they can take on a Padawan Learner of their own. But for one lion, the day of his knighting is a turning point for a different reason. It is the day of his greatest regret, and it weighs on him day and night. The memory is fresh, like the snow he was once named after. That day marks his great cowardice, and he has been trying to redeem himself ever since.
The day came when Aputi had completed his Jedi training and was ready to be knighted. He had passed every test with flying colors. He stood before the Council of his pride, a small collection of just four Jedi Masters. Out here, in the frigid mountains, there were few lions at all, let alone force-sensitive ones. They had all worked together to train him, just as they worked together to train every young force-sensitive lion that was born into the pride. There were too few Jedi here for them to follow the traditions of the larger groups.
The Grand Master stepped forward. A pale golden lioness, the swiftest member of the pride and strongest in the Force. She smiled at Aputi, pride shining in her eyes, and read to him the oath of the Jedi of this pride. He recited the words after her, swearing to serve the pride and all beings. To defend the defenseless, and to help those in need.To fight for the good of the world.
When he had finished reciting the oath, the Grand Master ignited her light saber, holding it over his shoulder. She would use it to cut the Padawan Braid from his mane, and then she would 'tap' each of his shoulders, and he would be a Knight.
A great disturbance rang out through the Force, causing all the Jedi to freeze. And then they were under attack.
Aputi snarled in pain as claws dug into his shoulder, red blood spilling over his white fur. He fought off the other lion, but the fact that he had been caught off guard had cost him. His shoulder throbbed as he stood. As he looked around at the swarm of enemies, fear filled him, chilling him more than the cold of the mountains ever had. There was no way the Jedi would win this fight.
Aputi should have raced down to the camp to help defend the pride, as he had just sworn to do for the rest of his life. But he didn't. In that moment, his fear overcame him, and he fled. He dodged the leaping lions that were running to attack his home, he plowed through snowbanks and leapt over ice-covered rocks. Down he ran, down the mountain, in the opposite direction of the camp he had always called home. The cold air stung his eyes, but he didn't notice, too consumed by fear and panic and the need to flee.
[538/500]
When the adrenaline wore off some time later, guilt set in. Aputi fell to his knees in the snow, closing his eyes. His shoulder throbbed and he was dizzy from blood loss, but even that pain couldn't drown out the fact that he had just broken his oath and betrayed both the Jedi Order and his pride. His home, his family, his friends, everyone he had ever known. He had abandoned them to save himself.
Coward. The word settled over him like a thick layer of snow.
The Force whispered, and Aputi wearily lifted his head. Before him stood a snow leopard with bright green eyes. A lightsaber hung at her hip.
"Who are you, Padawan?" She asked.
Aputi shook his head. "I am not worthy of that title. Nor even of my own name."
Silence stretched between them. The fog in Aputi's mind thickened, and he found his eyelids drooping.
"You look much like a Clone Trooper," she commented.
Aputi had no idea what that was.
She reached out a paw, though did not touch him. Aputi felt the pain in his shoulder lessen, and some energy return to his body.
"Come, Trooper," she said, "Follow me."
And he did.
He followed her for weeks, across lands he had never wandered. They spoke very little for most of that time, but as Aputi slowly warmed up to the snow leopard, he shared a bit about where he had come from. He told her of his little Jedi Order, and she told him of the new one she was building. The old Grand Order had been wiped out, she told him. Burned to the ground by the Dark King and his minions. When she described them, Aputi realized that those were the beings who had come and attacked his pride too.
"You're lucky to be alive," Tulca-Noen commented.
Aputi shook his head. "No." Finally, he told her what had happened. Told her how he had fled in the pride's greatest moment of need.
"I am no Jedi," Aputi said, firmly, sadly. He paused in his walking. His padawan braid still swung behind his ear, he realized. He had forgotten it was there in the uprooting of his life. The lion sat down and reached up with his front paws.
The snow leopard paused too, turning back to watch him. She said nothing as he fingered the tie at the end of the braid, and then undid it. Slowly, he untwisted the three strands that intertwined to form the braid, removing colorful beads of clay as he made his way upwards. Each bead marked an important point in his journey as a Padawan Learner. They marked times of great courage, or patience, or cleverness. Times when he had overcome challenges.
When the last bead had been removed, and the strands hung among the rest of his growing mane, he held them out to Tulca-Noen. "Here," he said, "I don't deserve to have these."
Wordlessly, the snow leopard took them, and tucked them into a pouch.
[504/500]
They continued on. Aputi found that he didn't really feel all that better now that he had undone his padawan braid, but he told himself that it was better this way.
They arrived at a cave, and Tulca-Noen explained how it was a passageway through the Force itself. It was the doorway to the territory of the new Grand Order.
Aputi paused. "I'm not sure I should come with you," he said, "seeing as I am not a Jedi."
The snow leopard raised an eyebrow. "Then where will you go?"
"I'm not sure. Somewhere."
She shook her head. "I will not leave a padawan to wander about, homeless," she said.
Aputi opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't a padawan anymore, but she cut him off. "Nor a once-padawan. The Force brought me to you. It has never led me astray. You will come, and you will call this land home as I do. You do not have to be a Jedi."
Aputi sighed. "Alright."
They walked through the tunnel together, and it deposited them on the other side. As they walked out of the cave, Aputi marveled at the lush green land that lay before them. "It's beautiful."
Tulca-Noen smiled. "It is. It is a gift of the Force. Come, let us go down to the village."
Aputi found himself feeling anxious as he followed the Jedi Master to the village. She had been the only being he had interacted with in weeks, since the death of his pride and the day of his cowardice. He wasn't sure he was ready to face other lions again. It would remind him of his home, wouldn't it?
An orange blur bounded through the grass towards the pair. "Master!" It called out a joyously.
Aputi blinked in surprise as an orange lion with white markings skidded to a stop in front of the pair. She looked curiously at Aputi, but most of her attention was on the snow leopard. "I felt in the Force that you'd returned."
"And here I am, Padawan mine," the snow leopard said. The smile on her face was softer, different than any expression Aputi had seen so far. She hadn't told him she had a padawan.
"Who're you?" The orange lion turned her attention to Aputi.
"I," he paused. He realized he hadn't spoken his true name at all since the incident. Tulca-Noen had called him Trooper, and he had responded to it as if it were his name. "I'm Trooper."
"Well, welcome! I'm Acacia, Acacia Kado. You're gonna love it here, everyone does. This is the best place for Jedi in the whole world! The whole galaxy, even."
"I'm not-" but the orange lion was already bounding away, babbling about letting someone know that there was a new arrival. Trooper sighed.
"Full of energy, that one," Tulca-Noen said fondly. "Come, Trooper. Let's find a den for you."
He followed the snow leopard once more. Through the trees and beyond to the clearing where the village sat.
[501/500]
Trooper eventually settled in well. He got to know the Jedi that lived here. There were knights just a bit older than him, and padawans just a bit younger. He introduced himself as Trooper to all of them, and that became his name, as familiar as the one he once had. Slowly, as he opened up, they all learned his story. And they all accepted it, and him. He was given no rank within the Order, since he didn't consider himself a Jedi. But the padawans and young knights convinced him to spar with them anyways, and Tulca-Noen and the other Masters would convince him to meditate with them every now and then, and somehow he found himself learning and staying in shape and eventually even going on missions. In everything he did, he tried to prove his worth, to prove his bravery and strength to make up for what had happened on his Knighting Day.
And slowly, he began to heal. The guilt that weighed on him lessened over time. He still did not call himself a Jedi, as that was a title to be earned, but at some point he stopped jumping to correct people when they accidentally referred to him as one. Tulca-Noen taught him some new meditation exercises, especially when he started having nightmares. At some point, he realized that the Masters were meditating with him on a rotating schedule, and that he was meditating with one of them every day. They tactfully lead him through exercises to accept and release his feelings of guilt and shame, and over time those exercises made a difference. He stopped wincing at the mention of snow or of the Dark King, and he stopped feeling badly when he saw Masters and their Padawans. Together, the masters of this order walked him through mind-healing. And he was grateful for it.
Trooper knew it would take a long, long time for him to fully overcome his guilt and shame. But he was on the right path.
"Do you think someday you'll be a Jedi again?" His friend, Lutfi, asked him one day as the two of them and another friend, Ellis, sat by a lake.
"I don't know," Trooper admitted. "At first, I was sure I never would. I didn't even want to hold a lightsaber. But now, I don't know. I do all the same things that Jedi do, I just don't call myself a Jedi. And, I think I'm kind of ok with that. I go on missions, and people mistake me for a Jedi, and I'm ok with that too. I'm just... Existing, I guess. I don't feel like I need to be a Jedi, but I'm not entirely opposed to being one either, if that makes sense."
"It does," Lutfi said. "Take your time. I don't think anything would change either way. The only real difference is that you can't go on Jedi-specific missions. But you have plenty of your own, and sometimes it seems that not being a Jedi is an advantage. You're unique. Your own person."
Trooper hummed in agreement.
[515/500]
The day came when Aputi had completed his Jedi training and was ready to be knighted. He had passed every test with flying colors. He stood before the Council of his pride, a small collection of just four Jedi Masters. Out here, in the frigid mountains, there were few lions at all, let alone force-sensitive ones. They had all worked together to train him, just as they worked together to train every young force-sensitive lion that was born into the pride. There were too few Jedi here for them to follow the traditions of the larger groups.
The Grand Master stepped forward. A pale golden lioness, the swiftest member of the pride and strongest in the Force. She smiled at Aputi, pride shining in her eyes, and read to him the oath of the Jedi of this pride. He recited the words after her, swearing to serve the pride and all beings. To defend the defenseless, and to help those in need.To fight for the good of the world.
When he had finished reciting the oath, the Grand Master ignited her light saber, holding it over his shoulder. She would use it to cut the Padawan Braid from his mane, and then she would 'tap' each of his shoulders, and he would be a Knight.
A great disturbance rang out through the Force, causing all the Jedi to freeze. And then they were under attack.
Aputi snarled in pain as claws dug into his shoulder, red blood spilling over his white fur. He fought off the other lion, but the fact that he had been caught off guard had cost him. His shoulder throbbed as he stood. As he looked around at the swarm of enemies, fear filled him, chilling him more than the cold of the mountains ever had. There was no way the Jedi would win this fight.
Aputi should have raced down to the camp to help defend the pride, as he had just sworn to do for the rest of his life. But he didn't. In that moment, his fear overcame him, and he fled. He dodged the leaping lions that were running to attack his home, he plowed through snowbanks and leapt over ice-covered rocks. Down he ran, down the mountain, in the opposite direction of the camp he had always called home. The cold air stung his eyes, but he didn't notice, too consumed by fear and panic and the need to flee.
[538/500]
When the adrenaline wore off some time later, guilt set in. Aputi fell to his knees in the snow, closing his eyes. His shoulder throbbed and he was dizzy from blood loss, but even that pain couldn't drown out the fact that he had just broken his oath and betrayed both the Jedi Order and his pride. His home, his family, his friends, everyone he had ever known. He had abandoned them to save himself.
Coward. The word settled over him like a thick layer of snow.
The Force whispered, and Aputi wearily lifted his head. Before him stood a snow leopard with bright green eyes. A lightsaber hung at her hip.
"Who are you, Padawan?" She asked.
Aputi shook his head. "I am not worthy of that title. Nor even of my own name."
Silence stretched between them. The fog in Aputi's mind thickened, and he found his eyelids drooping.
"You look much like a Clone Trooper," she commented.
Aputi had no idea what that was.
She reached out a paw, though did not touch him. Aputi felt the pain in his shoulder lessen, and some energy return to his body.
"Come, Trooper," she said, "Follow me."
And he did.
He followed her for weeks, across lands he had never wandered. They spoke very little for most of that time, but as Aputi slowly warmed up to the snow leopard, he shared a bit about where he had come from. He told her of his little Jedi Order, and she told him of the new one she was building. The old Grand Order had been wiped out, she told him. Burned to the ground by the Dark King and his minions. When she described them, Aputi realized that those were the beings who had come and attacked his pride too.
"You're lucky to be alive," Tulca-Noen commented.
Aputi shook his head. "No." Finally, he told her what had happened. Told her how he had fled in the pride's greatest moment of need.
"I am no Jedi," Aputi said, firmly, sadly. He paused in his walking. His padawan braid still swung behind his ear, he realized. He had forgotten it was there in the uprooting of his life. The lion sat down and reached up with his front paws.
The snow leopard paused too, turning back to watch him. She said nothing as he fingered the tie at the end of the braid, and then undid it. Slowly, he untwisted the three strands that intertwined to form the braid, removing colorful beads of clay as he made his way upwards. Each bead marked an important point in his journey as a Padawan Learner. They marked times of great courage, or patience, or cleverness. Times when he had overcome challenges.
When the last bead had been removed, and the strands hung among the rest of his growing mane, he held them out to Tulca-Noen. "Here," he said, "I don't deserve to have these."
Wordlessly, the snow leopard took them, and tucked them into a pouch.
[504/500]
They continued on. Aputi found that he didn't really feel all that better now that he had undone his padawan braid, but he told himself that it was better this way.
They arrived at a cave, and Tulca-Noen explained how it was a passageway through the Force itself. It was the doorway to the territory of the new Grand Order.
Aputi paused. "I'm not sure I should come with you," he said, "seeing as I am not a Jedi."
The snow leopard raised an eyebrow. "Then where will you go?"
"I'm not sure. Somewhere."
She shook her head. "I will not leave a padawan to wander about, homeless," she said.
Aputi opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't a padawan anymore, but she cut him off. "Nor a once-padawan. The Force brought me to you. It has never led me astray. You will come, and you will call this land home as I do. You do not have to be a Jedi."
Aputi sighed. "Alright."
They walked through the tunnel together, and it deposited them on the other side. As they walked out of the cave, Aputi marveled at the lush green land that lay before them. "It's beautiful."
Tulca-Noen smiled. "It is. It is a gift of the Force. Come, let us go down to the village."
Aputi found himself feeling anxious as he followed the Jedi Master to the village. She had been the only being he had interacted with in weeks, since the death of his pride and the day of his cowardice. He wasn't sure he was ready to face other lions again. It would remind him of his home, wouldn't it?
An orange blur bounded through the grass towards the pair. "Master!" It called out a joyously.
Aputi blinked in surprise as an orange lion with white markings skidded to a stop in front of the pair. She looked curiously at Aputi, but most of her attention was on the snow leopard. "I felt in the Force that you'd returned."
"And here I am, Padawan mine," the snow leopard said. The smile on her face was softer, different than any expression Aputi had seen so far. She hadn't told him she had a padawan.
"Who're you?" The orange lion turned her attention to Aputi.
"I," he paused. He realized he hadn't spoken his true name at all since the incident. Tulca-Noen had called him Trooper, and he had responded to it as if it were his name. "I'm Trooper."
"Well, welcome! I'm Acacia, Acacia Kado. You're gonna love it here, everyone does. This is the best place for Jedi in the whole world! The whole galaxy, even."
"I'm not-" but the orange lion was already bounding away, babbling about letting someone know that there was a new arrival. Trooper sighed.
"Full of energy, that one," Tulca-Noen said fondly. "Come, Trooper. Let's find a den for you."
He followed the snow leopard once more. Through the trees and beyond to the clearing where the village sat.
[501/500]
Trooper eventually settled in well. He got to know the Jedi that lived here. There were knights just a bit older than him, and padawans just a bit younger. He introduced himself as Trooper to all of them, and that became his name, as familiar as the one he once had. Slowly, as he opened up, they all learned his story. And they all accepted it, and him. He was given no rank within the Order, since he didn't consider himself a Jedi. But the padawans and young knights convinced him to spar with them anyways, and Tulca-Noen and the other Masters would convince him to meditate with them every now and then, and somehow he found himself learning and staying in shape and eventually even going on missions. In everything he did, he tried to prove his worth, to prove his bravery and strength to make up for what had happened on his Knighting Day.
And slowly, he began to heal. The guilt that weighed on him lessened over time. He still did not call himself a Jedi, as that was a title to be earned, but at some point he stopped jumping to correct people when they accidentally referred to him as one. Tulca-Noen taught him some new meditation exercises, especially when he started having nightmares. At some point, he realized that the Masters were meditating with him on a rotating schedule, and that he was meditating with one of them every day. They tactfully lead him through exercises to accept and release his feelings of guilt and shame, and over time those exercises made a difference. He stopped wincing at the mention of snow or of the Dark King, and he stopped feeling badly when he saw Masters and their Padawans. Together, the masters of this order walked him through mind-healing. And he was grateful for it.
Trooper knew it would take a long, long time for him to fully overcome his guilt and shame. But he was on the right path.
"Do you think someday you'll be a Jedi again?" His friend, Lutfi, asked him one day as the two of them and another friend, Ellis, sat by a lake.
"I don't know," Trooper admitted. "At first, I was sure I never would. I didn't even want to hold a lightsaber. But now, I don't know. I do all the same things that Jedi do, I just don't call myself a Jedi. And, I think I'm kind of ok with that. I go on missions, and people mistake me for a Jedi, and I'm ok with that too. I'm just... Existing, I guess. I don't feel like I need to be a Jedi, but I'm not entirely opposed to being one either, if that makes sense."
"It does," Lutfi said. "Take your time. I don't think anything would change either way. The only real difference is that you can't go on Jedi-specific missions. But you have plenty of your own, and sometimes it seems that not being a Jedi is an advantage. You're unique. Your own person."
Trooper hummed in agreement.
[515/500]
Last edited by Spotted.Newt on Mon Jul 27, 2020 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
S17 - Trooper - unfinished
by Spotted.Newt » Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:43 am
Trooper's biggest insecurity is that he will always be a coward. Both that people will think he is one, and that he will actually be one. He ran away from battle on what should have been one of the most important days of his life, during a ceremony that was supposed to be a testament to his bravery and skill. He feels like that one moment defines him, and he is worried it always will. It doesn't matter that no one actually thinks of him as a coward, that's the way he thinks of himself.
To cope with this, Trooper tries to prove himself in everything he does. He always tries to be the best and push himself to and beyond his limit. He works harder than any other lion, and is quick to offer to put himself in danger to protect others, as if these things will make up for that one moment when he didn't.
[157/250]
To cope with this, Trooper tries to prove himself in everything he does. He always tries to be the best and push himself to and beyond his limit. He works harder than any other lion, and is quick to offer to put himself in danger to protect others, as if these things will make up for that one moment when he didn't.
[157/250]
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
S1 - Finding Calian (x4, 8 pts)
by Spotted.Newt » Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:46 am
"Sienna?"
The girl in question stood at a holo-table, pouring over a star chart. There were custom lines and notations added in, bright red scribbles across the blue planets. Some planets had been crossed off, others circled, others marked with question marks or brief blurbs. Hyperspace lanes were marked too, as well as points where pirates were known to pull ships out of hyperspace. Everything down to the very last asteroid was labeled.
"It's been three months," Sienna whispered. She wasn't seeing the charts anymore. She was just kind of staring blankly at the hologram, and at one little point in space. A little ship, with a thick red circle around it. [Last known location.]
Trooper sighed, and walked across the room to stand beside the girl. She was only a few years younger than he was, but with the dark circles under her eyes combined with that despairing look on her face she appeared much older. "We'll find him," Trooper said. The promise sounded a bit hollow even to his ears - they had been searching for months, and hadn't found a trace of Calian. Every lead turned out to be nothing, every planet, moon, and ship empty.
Sienna slammed her fists on the edge of the holo-table. "It's been THREE MONTHS Trooper. THREE. We have searched, and searched, and searched some more. We've hacked every database, scoured every smuggler's corner. We've questioned every ally. We've questioned hutts and pirates. And we've found nothing. No trace of him, or of her." Sienna spat the last word with so much venom that Trooper flinched. Her referred to the sith who had captured Calian.
"I know," Trooper said softly, "But we'll keep looking. The galaxy is a big place. There are databases we haven't hacked, and smuggler's corners we haven't scoured, and plenty of people we haven't questioned. We'll keep looking."
Sienna turned around, and then sank down to the floor, sitting with her back against the holo-table. Trooper sat down beside her.
"For how long?" The girl asked, quietly. "How long will we keep looking for for Master Azimuth pulls the plug? How long till she says we've looked long enough, that we'll never find him, that he's probably..." she didn't finish the last thought. She leaned her head back to stare absently at the ceiling.
Trooper sighed. "I don't know," he said, "but I imagine that she will let us keep looking for a while yet. And you know he's still alive. Master Azimuth said that you would feel it if he died, even across the expanse of time and space. So, there's a little comfort in that, right?"
Sienna shrugged. "I guess. But, sometimes, I," she paused, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. "I think it would be better if he died. Better than being tortured for months by a sith lord."
"Oh, Sienna," Trooper murmured. His heart broke at the sight of the teen. Calian's capture had struck all of them, the whole order was upset by it, but none more than Calian's padawan. He stretched out an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into the embrace, openly sobbing now.
[525/500]
They sat like that for a while. Trooper held the crying girl, wishing he could offer some kind of comfort or hope. But he couldn't, not really. The situation looked bleak. Calian had been missing for so long. And Sienna spent every minute searching for him. She barely slept, and barely ate. Her friends were worried about her, but none scolded her for her reaction to Calian's disappearance. Any of them would do the same if one of their masters' were captured.
"You need some rest," Trooper finally said when it seemed that Sienna had calmed a bit, sobs turned to sniffles.
She shook her head. "Gotta keep looking." But her words were quiet and a bit slurred from exhaustion.
"You can keep looking in the morning. But you won't be able to notice anything if you're falling asleep on your feet."
The girl nodded, and Trooper helped her to her feet. He kept a steadying arm around her as they headed to the sleeping quarters. She stumbled slightly as they walked, eyes drooping. It seemed that the little breakdown had zapped the last of her energy.
They reached her room, and Trooper pushed the button beside her door. It slid open. Trooper looked around the small space, frowning at the mess he saw. Clothes lay strewn about, ration bar wrappers dotted the floor, and scraps of flimsy with maps and notes were scattered over every surface. Clearly, Sienna was neglecting everything in order to look for Calian.
"We need to clean your room," Trooper commented.
Sienna just hummed sleepily.
The white lion navigated her through the minefield that was her floor and over to her sleeping cot. She practically fell onto it, and Trooper was pretty sure she was asleep before her head even touched her pillow. Sighing, he grabbed a blanket off the floor and spread it over her. "Goodnight, Sienna." Hopefully, she would be too tired to have nightmares.
Turning back to the door, Trooper paused. Then, he quickly gathered all of the dirty clothes that were all over the floor and tossed over the back of her desk chair. He found her laundry basket in a corner (it was overflowing, no surprise there) and dumped all the clothes into it. Then, he picked up all of the food wrappers and stuck them in her overflowing trash bin. He didn't dare touch her maps and notes - if there was some sort of system to the chaos, he didn't want to mess that up.
Laundry basket in one arm and trash bin in the other, Trooper exited the room, casting one last glance at Sienna. She seemed to be sleeping soundly. Good.
The lion humanoid made his way to the laundry room. It was late, or rather, early, but he wasn't tired. Besides, Sienna needed clean clothes more than he needed rest. She was the one doing most of the work. So, he loaded her clothes into the washer, set it, and then took the trash out to the waste bins. It was the least he could do to help.
[512/500]
When Sienna awoke the next morning, she found her room tidied, and a basket of clean folded laundry waiting outside her door. She smiled gratefully. Trooper was a good friend, and she was lucky to have such friends to support her right now.
The next day was a shift change. The Council had worked out a rotating schedule for the Jedi Knights and Masters to help search for Calian. They couldn't have the whole order looking all the time, despite Sienna's first insistence. Instead, every three weeks a Jedi would come to join Sienna and relieve the one who had been there before. Tulca-Noen had wanted Sienna to trade off every three weeks too, but the girl had adamantly refused to do anything other than search for her master. So, Sienna always stayed.
Sienna stood now on the landing platform, watching a ship descend. It landed, and when the ramp lowered out stepped Avetis, bag in hand. The blue Nautolan smiled at Sienna and Trooper in greeting.
"Bye, Trooper," Sienna said as the lion humanoid readied his bag. "Thank you." She moved forward to hug him goodbye.
"No problem," He said, returning the hug. "I'm glad I could help."
Sienna let go, and they each stepped back. Trooper picked up his bag. "May the Force be with you both," he said. And then, he turned and walked up the ramp into the shuttle.
Sienna and Avetis watched it fly away. "Well, I'll show you to your room now," Sienna said. "You can settle in, and then I'll brief you after lunch."
"Sounds like a plan," the Nautolan said.
The afternoon was spent catching Avetis up to speed. Luckily, there wasn't too much to catch him up on, since Sienna had sent a briefing packet ahead of time and the Knight had read everything quite thoroughly. He asked questions and proposed ideas, and Sienna was glad to have a fresh pair of eyes. Though it was sometimes frustrating to have to go over everything again every three weeks with someone new, it was also nice to have the fresh ideas. There were things she missed now, things she overlooked after staring at the same maps and data for too long.
A week later, they got a ping. A freighter moving through a hyperspace lane. The ping disappeared as quickly as it had shown up, and had Avetis not been running calculations at a desk next to the holotable he wouldn't have seen in. Dropping what he was doing, he jammed some numbers into the computer and brought up the point where the ping had originated from. It might be nothing. It could just be a regular old group of pirates. But it could also be something.
Avetis plotted out the lane, and all of the systems it moved through. He dug through the computer's history, to see if there had been any other split-second pings like this one. If someone wasn't sitting next to the computer, they wouldn't have seen it, and wouldn't know to look for it.
[507/500]
There. One other ping, 4 weeks ago. It had happened during the change of shifts, so it was no wonder no one had seen it. Avetis plotted that course, holding his breath, hardly daring to hope. Two red lines slashed across the screen.
"Sienna!" Avetis yelled into his communicator, trying not to sound too excited, "I think I have something!"
Moments later the teen came running into the room. She skidded to a stop in front of the holo-table, eyes wide as she looked at the two intersecting red lines.
"He's there," Sienna said. Hope bubbled up within her. The paths of the freighters crossed, intersecting in supposedly empty space. But there could easily be a base of some kind located there.
"Maybe," Avetis said, "don't get your hopes up yet. It could just be a coincidence, the freighters might have stopped anywhere along the paths. Or they could be average smugglers. We don't know that it's them."
"He's there," Sienna insisted, "I can feel it. Let's go."
"Hold on, we need a plan first," Avetis said, "And we need to tell the Council."
Sienna tried not to let her irritation show. She wanted to go now. She wanted to rescue Calian from the hands of the Sith, where he had been stuck for so long. She wanted her master back. But Avetis was right. "Fine. You do that. I'm gonna get a ship ready."
Ten minutes later found Sienna and Avetis standing in front of the holo-table, with projections of the Council around it as well. It was a bit of an interesting sight, since Sienna and Avetis were in their bipedal forms while the Council stood in their lion forms.
"We think we have a lead," Avetis said. He zoomed in on the two hyper-space lanes, and on the point where they intersect.
"That could be anything," Nexus commented.
"It's not. It's Calian," Sienna stated firmly.
Tulca-Noen frowned slightly. "Do not be so certain, Padawan Retrograde. We know how much you want to find him, but do not allow your enthusiasm to cloud your judgement. A clear head is what will help him, not recklessness."
"Whatever it is, it's the best lead we've had in a while," Avetis said. "The pings were there for less than a second, and impossible to find on any other records. The only reason I was able to recover them is because I was able to recover the footage from the security cameras in this room. In the maps, it is as if they didn't exist. There is no record of a ping. That means that there is some kind of program to erase them from any monitors that might pick up on them, regardless of where those monitors are. Someone does not want anyone to know that they are moving through these lanes. The question is why. The lanes aren't illegal, and they're frequently used, so a regular ping wouldn't arouse any suspicion. And there are few places with programs to monitor the activity of hyperspace lanes. Actually, I think monitoring them is slightly illegal."
[514/500] (points claimed to this point)
The girl in question stood at a holo-table, pouring over a star chart. There were custom lines and notations added in, bright red scribbles across the blue planets. Some planets had been crossed off, others circled, others marked with question marks or brief blurbs. Hyperspace lanes were marked too, as well as points where pirates were known to pull ships out of hyperspace. Everything down to the very last asteroid was labeled.
"It's been three months," Sienna whispered. She wasn't seeing the charts anymore. She was just kind of staring blankly at the hologram, and at one little point in space. A little ship, with a thick red circle around it. [Last known location.]
Trooper sighed, and walked across the room to stand beside the girl. She was only a few years younger than he was, but with the dark circles under her eyes combined with that despairing look on her face she appeared much older. "We'll find him," Trooper said. The promise sounded a bit hollow even to his ears - they had been searching for months, and hadn't found a trace of Calian. Every lead turned out to be nothing, every planet, moon, and ship empty.
Sienna slammed her fists on the edge of the holo-table. "It's been THREE MONTHS Trooper. THREE. We have searched, and searched, and searched some more. We've hacked every database, scoured every smuggler's corner. We've questioned every ally. We've questioned hutts and pirates. And we've found nothing. No trace of him, or of her." Sienna spat the last word with so much venom that Trooper flinched. Her referred to the sith who had captured Calian.
"I know," Trooper said softly, "But we'll keep looking. The galaxy is a big place. There are databases we haven't hacked, and smuggler's corners we haven't scoured, and plenty of people we haven't questioned. We'll keep looking."
Sienna turned around, and then sank down to the floor, sitting with her back against the holo-table. Trooper sat down beside her.
"For how long?" The girl asked, quietly. "How long will we keep looking for for Master Azimuth pulls the plug? How long till she says we've looked long enough, that we'll never find him, that he's probably..." she didn't finish the last thought. She leaned her head back to stare absently at the ceiling.
Trooper sighed. "I don't know," he said, "but I imagine that she will let us keep looking for a while yet. And you know he's still alive. Master Azimuth said that you would feel it if he died, even across the expanse of time and space. So, there's a little comfort in that, right?"
Sienna shrugged. "I guess. But, sometimes, I," she paused, tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. "I think it would be better if he died. Better than being tortured for months by a sith lord."
"Oh, Sienna," Trooper murmured. His heart broke at the sight of the teen. Calian's capture had struck all of them, the whole order was upset by it, but none more than Calian's padawan. He stretched out an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into the embrace, openly sobbing now.
[525/500]
They sat like that for a while. Trooper held the crying girl, wishing he could offer some kind of comfort or hope. But he couldn't, not really. The situation looked bleak. Calian had been missing for so long. And Sienna spent every minute searching for him. She barely slept, and barely ate. Her friends were worried about her, but none scolded her for her reaction to Calian's disappearance. Any of them would do the same if one of their masters' were captured.
"You need some rest," Trooper finally said when it seemed that Sienna had calmed a bit, sobs turned to sniffles.
She shook her head. "Gotta keep looking." But her words were quiet and a bit slurred from exhaustion.
"You can keep looking in the morning. But you won't be able to notice anything if you're falling asleep on your feet."
The girl nodded, and Trooper helped her to her feet. He kept a steadying arm around her as they headed to the sleeping quarters. She stumbled slightly as they walked, eyes drooping. It seemed that the little breakdown had zapped the last of her energy.
They reached her room, and Trooper pushed the button beside her door. It slid open. Trooper looked around the small space, frowning at the mess he saw. Clothes lay strewn about, ration bar wrappers dotted the floor, and scraps of flimsy with maps and notes were scattered over every surface. Clearly, Sienna was neglecting everything in order to look for Calian.
"We need to clean your room," Trooper commented.
Sienna just hummed sleepily.
The white lion navigated her through the minefield that was her floor and over to her sleeping cot. She practically fell onto it, and Trooper was pretty sure she was asleep before her head even touched her pillow. Sighing, he grabbed a blanket off the floor and spread it over her. "Goodnight, Sienna." Hopefully, she would be too tired to have nightmares.
Turning back to the door, Trooper paused. Then, he quickly gathered all of the dirty clothes that were all over the floor and tossed over the back of her desk chair. He found her laundry basket in a corner (it was overflowing, no surprise there) and dumped all the clothes into it. Then, he picked up all of the food wrappers and stuck them in her overflowing trash bin. He didn't dare touch her maps and notes - if there was some sort of system to the chaos, he didn't want to mess that up.
Laundry basket in one arm and trash bin in the other, Trooper exited the room, casting one last glance at Sienna. She seemed to be sleeping soundly. Good.
The lion humanoid made his way to the laundry room. It was late, or rather, early, but he wasn't tired. Besides, Sienna needed clean clothes more than he needed rest. She was the one doing most of the work. So, he loaded her clothes into the washer, set it, and then took the trash out to the waste bins. It was the least he could do to help.
[512/500]
When Sienna awoke the next morning, she found her room tidied, and a basket of clean folded laundry waiting outside her door. She smiled gratefully. Trooper was a good friend, and she was lucky to have such friends to support her right now.
The next day was a shift change. The Council had worked out a rotating schedule for the Jedi Knights and Masters to help search for Calian. They couldn't have the whole order looking all the time, despite Sienna's first insistence. Instead, every three weeks a Jedi would come to join Sienna and relieve the one who had been there before. Tulca-Noen had wanted Sienna to trade off every three weeks too, but the girl had adamantly refused to do anything other than search for her master. So, Sienna always stayed.
Sienna stood now on the landing platform, watching a ship descend. It landed, and when the ramp lowered out stepped Avetis, bag in hand. The blue Nautolan smiled at Sienna and Trooper in greeting.
"Bye, Trooper," Sienna said as the lion humanoid readied his bag. "Thank you." She moved forward to hug him goodbye.
"No problem," He said, returning the hug. "I'm glad I could help."
Sienna let go, and they each stepped back. Trooper picked up his bag. "May the Force be with you both," he said. And then, he turned and walked up the ramp into the shuttle.
Sienna and Avetis watched it fly away. "Well, I'll show you to your room now," Sienna said. "You can settle in, and then I'll brief you after lunch."
"Sounds like a plan," the Nautolan said.
The afternoon was spent catching Avetis up to speed. Luckily, there wasn't too much to catch him up on, since Sienna had sent a briefing packet ahead of time and the Knight had read everything quite thoroughly. He asked questions and proposed ideas, and Sienna was glad to have a fresh pair of eyes. Though it was sometimes frustrating to have to go over everything again every three weeks with someone new, it was also nice to have the fresh ideas. There were things she missed now, things she overlooked after staring at the same maps and data for too long.
A week later, they got a ping. A freighter moving through a hyperspace lane. The ping disappeared as quickly as it had shown up, and had Avetis not been running calculations at a desk next to the holotable he wouldn't have seen in. Dropping what he was doing, he jammed some numbers into the computer and brought up the point where the ping had originated from. It might be nothing. It could just be a regular old group of pirates. But it could also be something.
Avetis plotted out the lane, and all of the systems it moved through. He dug through the computer's history, to see if there had been any other split-second pings like this one. If someone wasn't sitting next to the computer, they wouldn't have seen it, and wouldn't know to look for it.
[507/500]
There. One other ping, 4 weeks ago. It had happened during the change of shifts, so it was no wonder no one had seen it. Avetis plotted that course, holding his breath, hardly daring to hope. Two red lines slashed across the screen.
"Sienna!" Avetis yelled into his communicator, trying not to sound too excited, "I think I have something!"
Moments later the teen came running into the room. She skidded to a stop in front of the holo-table, eyes wide as she looked at the two intersecting red lines.
"He's there," Sienna said. Hope bubbled up within her. The paths of the freighters crossed, intersecting in supposedly empty space. But there could easily be a base of some kind located there.
"Maybe," Avetis said, "don't get your hopes up yet. It could just be a coincidence, the freighters might have stopped anywhere along the paths. Or they could be average smugglers. We don't know that it's them."
"He's there," Sienna insisted, "I can feel it. Let's go."
"Hold on, we need a plan first," Avetis said, "And we need to tell the Council."
Sienna tried not to let her irritation show. She wanted to go now. She wanted to rescue Calian from the hands of the Sith, where he had been stuck for so long. She wanted her master back. But Avetis was right. "Fine. You do that. I'm gonna get a ship ready."
Ten minutes later found Sienna and Avetis standing in front of the holo-table, with projections of the Council around it as well. It was a bit of an interesting sight, since Sienna and Avetis were in their bipedal forms while the Council stood in their lion forms.
"We think we have a lead," Avetis said. He zoomed in on the two hyper-space lanes, and on the point where they intersect.
"That could be anything," Nexus commented.
"It's not. It's Calian," Sienna stated firmly.
Tulca-Noen frowned slightly. "Do not be so certain, Padawan Retrograde. We know how much you want to find him, but do not allow your enthusiasm to cloud your judgement. A clear head is what will help him, not recklessness."
"Whatever it is, it's the best lead we've had in a while," Avetis said. "The pings were there for less than a second, and impossible to find on any other records. The only reason I was able to recover them is because I was able to recover the footage from the security cameras in this room. In the maps, it is as if they didn't exist. There is no record of a ping. That means that there is some kind of program to erase them from any monitors that might pick up on them, regardless of where those monitors are. Someone does not want anyone to know that they are moving through these lanes. The question is why. The lanes aren't illegal, and they're frequently used, so a regular ping wouldn't arouse any suspicion. And there are few places with programs to monitor the activity of hyperspace lanes. Actually, I think monitoring them is slightly illegal."
[514/500] (points claimed to this point)
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
Geonosis Arena
by Spotted.Newt » Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:09 am
Acacia tried to rescue Padme in the droid factory, ended up getting captured. So, Tulca-Noen allowed herself to be captured as well, so that she could keep an eye on her padawan. Now, they are being strung up at the posts in the arena, two posts on the other side of Obi-Wan, since Anakin and Padme have already been strung up. Both are in their humanoid forms - Tulca-Noen as an anthro snow leopard, Acacia as a Togruta.
"Master Kenobi," Tulca-Noen dipped her head in greeting as she was led past him and a geonosian began attaching her cuffs to a chain dangling from a post.
"Hello. Sorry, I don't recall your name," Obi-Wan said. To his knowledge, he had never met this Jedi before, but they must have interacted at some point if she knew who he was.
"Master Azimuth," the humanoid snow leopard replied.
"Don't tell me you've come to rescue me as well," He said, half in jest, half seriously.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm sure you have everything under control. I'm here because someone didn't follow orders."
Obi-Wan followed her gaze to a third cart, in which a young Togruta girl stood. The girl winced under the glare of the snow leopard as the cart approached. "Hello, Master."
"Padawan," the snow leopard greeted, her tone cool. "What is the first rule of time travel?"
"Do not meddle," the girl said, as her wrists were raised above her head.
"Sorry, did you say time travel?" Obi-Wan asked.
"And what did you do?" Master Azimuth said, ignoring the other Jedi's question.
"I meddled."
"And now where are we?"
"In an execution arena." The girl looked pretty remorseful.
"Precisely. We are not supposed to be here, Padawan. Do you have any idea what kind of damage our presence here could do? There should be three hungry beasts trying to kill them. Now there will be five."
"Hungry beasts?" Obi-Wan looked mildly alarmed. "Oh, that's just wonderful."
"But Master, there are also now five of us. Doesn't that make it even?"
"No, it does not. One of our beasts could easily kill one of them while one of us is preoccupied. We don't even know if the beasts will be released in the same way."
"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"That is why the First Rule is so important. Every action has a cost, and that cost must be weighed carefully."
"So what do we do now?" The girl asked.
The snow leopard sighed, turning to face forward, straightening herself. The gate were opening, the beasts beginning to walk out, prodded by guards. "We keep the timeline intact."
"How?"
"By making sure these three stay alive." Master Azimuth turned her head the other way, glancing over at the two Jedi and one Senator. Anakin cast her a brief questioning look, probably wondering who she was, but his thoughts were on Padme. "Acacia, you protect the senator. I'll keep an eye on Skywalker. "
"But what about Master Kenobi?"
"I assure you, I can look after myself," Obi-Wan said, tilting his head to the side to face the pair, "As can Anakin. You two should focus on your own safety."
The snow leopard smiled. "If we die here, it is by the hand of our own foolishness. We will not have you dying for that as well."
"So, we leave Master Kenobi on his own?" The togruta asked again.
"Obi-Wan will face trials far more difficult than this and survive. I have great faith in his abilities."
"That's comforting," Obi-Wan muttered sarcastically, turning his attention back to the beasts coming towards them.
"Nevertheless, I will keep an eye on him as well. Are you ready, Padawan?"
"Yes Master."
"Good."
Obi-Wan took a moment to speak to his own padawan.
"Oh, one more thing," Master Azimuth called to the Togruta, "Windu, Secura, Fisto, Ti, Mundi..."
Obi-Wan cast a startled glance at the snow leopard as she began listing off the names of various Knights and Masters, many of whom were on the Council. What did any of them have to do with this? When she finished, the Jedi kept her head turned towards her padawan for a moment, and the girl dipped her head in a nod, before the former turned to face forward. Obi-Wan assumed the woman had given the younger a meaningful look.
"That's it, Master?"
A roar, and then an Asharl Panther was leaping towards the snow leopard anthro. The Jedi leapt up on top of her post, expertly avoiding swiping claws. "Well, we'll see now, won't we? But those ones must have the proper outcome. Understood? Now focus."
"Yes, Master," The girl's response was cutoff by a Bighorn's bellow, and she swung around the post to avoid it's charge, using the chain as momentum.
Obi-Wan had no more time to wonder about time travel or the strange Jedi beside him. His own beast shrieked and hissed at him, jabbing at him with a sharp claw. He ducked, and the blow broke the chain instead, freeing him from his post.
All chaos broke out after that.
----
Tulca-Noen stood on top of her post, ducking out of the way of swiping claws of the panther. Drawing on the Force, she channeled it into the chains at her wrists, using it to explore the locking mechanism. It clicked into place, and then the cuffs fell open, clattering away. "That was easy." She turned then to the panther roaring at her from below. She leapt off the edge of the post, somersaulting in the air and landing with three points of contact on the ground.
The panther roared. And much to its surprise, Tulca-Noen roared back. She did not stand up on two legs again, but instead placed both hands firmly on the ground. Her gaze met that of the panther, her ears pinned back, her lip curled up to reveal her long canines. Her long snow leopard's tail lashed behind her.
"I am not your enemy," the words rumbled to the panther's ears in a frequency too high for humans, and in a language they would not understand.
The panther snarled. "You look like an enemy. And I am hungry."
Then, suddenly, there was no humanoid crouched before him. In its place was a being completely feline. Her fur looked just like his, and she matched him in height and length, though her paws looked strange. She shook her fur, stretched her limbs, and bared her fangs at him again. "Do I look like an enemy now?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm still hungry."
"Then feast on the insects that have starved you. But leave my cub and my friends alone."
He glanced at the strange orange being fighting the Bighorn. He had eaten her kind before. "Your cub?"
"My cub," Her tone was that of a pantheress, defending its child from a the hands of a trapper. It was the voice of one who would fight until her last breath, destroying any who dared to threaten that child.
The panther growled again. "Funny looking cub." But he relented, and turned away, and instead sprang at one of the Geonosian guards.
"Master Kenobi," Tulca-Noen dipped her head in greeting as she was led past him and a geonosian began attaching her cuffs to a chain dangling from a post.
"Hello. Sorry, I don't recall your name," Obi-Wan said. To his knowledge, he had never met this Jedi before, but they must have interacted at some point if she knew who he was.
"Master Azimuth," the humanoid snow leopard replied.
"Don't tell me you've come to rescue me as well," He said, half in jest, half seriously.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm sure you have everything under control. I'm here because someone didn't follow orders."
Obi-Wan followed her gaze to a third cart, in which a young Togruta girl stood. The girl winced under the glare of the snow leopard as the cart approached. "Hello, Master."
"Padawan," the snow leopard greeted, her tone cool. "What is the first rule of time travel?"
"Do not meddle," the girl said, as her wrists were raised above her head.
"Sorry, did you say time travel?" Obi-Wan asked.
"And what did you do?" Master Azimuth said, ignoring the other Jedi's question.
"I meddled."
"And now where are we?"
"In an execution arena." The girl looked pretty remorseful.
"Precisely. We are not supposed to be here, Padawan. Do you have any idea what kind of damage our presence here could do? There should be three hungry beasts trying to kill them. Now there will be five."
"Hungry beasts?" Obi-Wan looked mildly alarmed. "Oh, that's just wonderful."
"But Master, there are also now five of us. Doesn't that make it even?"
"No, it does not. One of our beasts could easily kill one of them while one of us is preoccupied. We don't even know if the beasts will be released in the same way."
"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"That is why the First Rule is so important. Every action has a cost, and that cost must be weighed carefully."
"So what do we do now?" The girl asked.
The snow leopard sighed, turning to face forward, straightening herself. The gate were opening, the beasts beginning to walk out, prodded by guards. "We keep the timeline intact."
"How?"
"By making sure these three stay alive." Master Azimuth turned her head the other way, glancing over at the two Jedi and one Senator. Anakin cast her a brief questioning look, probably wondering who she was, but his thoughts were on Padme. "Acacia, you protect the senator. I'll keep an eye on Skywalker. "
"But what about Master Kenobi?"
"I assure you, I can look after myself," Obi-Wan said, tilting his head to the side to face the pair, "As can Anakin. You two should focus on your own safety."
The snow leopard smiled. "If we die here, it is by the hand of our own foolishness. We will not have you dying for that as well."
"So, we leave Master Kenobi on his own?" The togruta asked again.
"Obi-Wan will face trials far more difficult than this and survive. I have great faith in his abilities."
"That's comforting," Obi-Wan muttered sarcastically, turning his attention back to the beasts coming towards them.
"Nevertheless, I will keep an eye on him as well. Are you ready, Padawan?"
"Yes Master."
"Good."
Obi-Wan took a moment to speak to his own padawan.
"Oh, one more thing," Master Azimuth called to the Togruta, "Windu, Secura, Fisto, Ti, Mundi..."
Obi-Wan cast a startled glance at the snow leopard as she began listing off the names of various Knights and Masters, many of whom were on the Council. What did any of them have to do with this? When she finished, the Jedi kept her head turned towards her padawan for a moment, and the girl dipped her head in a nod, before the former turned to face forward. Obi-Wan assumed the woman had given the younger a meaningful look.
"That's it, Master?"
A roar, and then an Asharl Panther was leaping towards the snow leopard anthro. The Jedi leapt up on top of her post, expertly avoiding swiping claws. "Well, we'll see now, won't we? But those ones must have the proper outcome. Understood? Now focus."
"Yes, Master," The girl's response was cutoff by a Bighorn's bellow, and she swung around the post to avoid it's charge, using the chain as momentum.
Obi-Wan had no more time to wonder about time travel or the strange Jedi beside him. His own beast shrieked and hissed at him, jabbing at him with a sharp claw. He ducked, and the blow broke the chain instead, freeing him from his post.
All chaos broke out after that.
----
Tulca-Noen stood on top of her post, ducking out of the way of swiping claws of the panther. Drawing on the Force, she channeled it into the chains at her wrists, using it to explore the locking mechanism. It clicked into place, and then the cuffs fell open, clattering away. "That was easy." She turned then to the panther roaring at her from below. She leapt off the edge of the post, somersaulting in the air and landing with three points of contact on the ground.
The panther roared. And much to its surprise, Tulca-Noen roared back. She did not stand up on two legs again, but instead placed both hands firmly on the ground. Her gaze met that of the panther, her ears pinned back, her lip curled up to reveal her long canines. Her long snow leopard's tail lashed behind her.
"I am not your enemy," the words rumbled to the panther's ears in a frequency too high for humans, and in a language they would not understand.
The panther snarled. "You look like an enemy. And I am hungry."
Then, suddenly, there was no humanoid crouched before him. In its place was a being completely feline. Her fur looked just like his, and she matched him in height and length, though her paws looked strange. She shook her fur, stretched her limbs, and bared her fangs at him again. "Do I look like an enemy now?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm still hungry."
"Then feast on the insects that have starved you. But leave my cub and my friends alone."
He glanced at the strange orange being fighting the Bighorn. He had eaten her kind before. "Your cub?"
"My cub," Her tone was that of a pantheress, defending its child from a the hands of a trapper. It was the voice of one who would fight until her last breath, destroying any who dared to threaten that child.
The panther growled again. "Funny looking cub." But he relented, and turned away, and instead sprang at one of the Geonosian guards.
-
Spotted.Newt - Posts: 14334
- Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:13 am
- My pets
- My items
- My wishlist
- My gallery
- My scenes
- My dressups
- Trade with me
11 posts
• Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests