An Unwanted Partnership

[Bred]

Location: Dxun, Lost
Time: Early Morning

"Great, absolutely great!" Bred said sarcastically as he began to lose altitude. Of course it was his fault that he didn't check the systems on his ship. Soon there was nothing else he could do but brace for impact.

A large crash could be heard as the ship ran through the dirt, narrowly missing trees and sliding into a small clearing. Bred pushed open the cockpit, letting out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't very injured, a few scrapes and bruises. The teen climbed out of the Starfighter and groaned.

Dangerous. A dangerous place, that's what Dxun was. Yet here Bred was, about to trudge through a forest on a mission to find some lost tomb. There were a bunch of problems in his way though. For one, he crash landed, and there were a bunch of dangerous Creatures, not to mention he was lost. Well at least he'd be able to use his anger to his advantage while facing off against some of those creatures.

Bred ran a hand through his hair as he kicked the wreck of a Starfighter. Just his luck now he had to find a ship on top of everything else.

He crouched down as he gathered his bag. Bred reached out with the force, hopefully there was another person somewhere close by. He smiled basking in the warmth of the sun for a second. Maybe he'd give himself a bit of a breather first.

"I can't see how this can get worse."
[member="Kal'n Drasco"]

 

[Kal'n Drasco]

[member="Bred"]

He trudged along as best as he could, attempting to make as little noise as possible. It had been three days already, three days of walking east. Already soaked in sweat he paused briefly to drink some water from the simple canteen at his side. He took a moment to reflect on the extremely bad luck that had gotten him in his current position. But, was it really bad luck? Or, simply poor decision making? Kal'n liked to believe the first.

Landing on the planet hadn't been an issue, making his way to one of the caves where he had hoped to find a rare crystal hadn't proven too much of a challenge after that. It was when the three Maalrass had came out of hiding and attacked the young Jedi. Kal'n had done his homework before coming to this planet, he knew some of what beasts were native here and so he knew that three Maalrass were too much for him to defeat.

He had been forced to run and even then he had only managed to get away by the skin of his teeth or rather, the teeth of a Zakkeg. The Zakkeg, Kal'n assumed had been hunting him or the Maalrass. In the confusion that followed Kal'n ran away for all he was worth, using every bit of the Force that he could and zipping east, into the wild. He had never looked back to see if he was being followed.

But now on day three of wandering this jungle he wasn't really sure where he was headed, simply east, keeping a small river to his right most of the time. He knew civilizations often chose rivers to grow by and he also knew that predators hunted the same area, so he moved carefully having modifed his simple robes with foilage. He had rubbed dirt all over himself as well, he had wanted to hide the smell as best as he could.

He thought about his small one man ship and how it had gotten utterly destroyed by the Zakkeg. He sighed. Where in the universe was he supposed to find a ship now? He clicked his tongue against the top of his teeth, tightened the straps on his pack and moved forward, trying to find the trail of least resistance. It was in that early morning he heard... something..his eyes went to the sky, he saw a ship passing quickly overhead. Too quickly.

It's crashlanding. He thought and moved a little faster, though still carefully. About two minutes later he heard the impact of something large, he knew the ship had struck ground. He took a moment to press hiimself against a tree as all sorts of creatures came running away from the sound. That would scare things off for a little bit, he hoped.

After a minute he was on the move again, this time a little bit faster. First, he had to make sure that the person was safe and second see if perhaps they had a way off this moon that he hadn't figured out yet. Moving at a jog now he came bursting from the jungle into the clearing, the grounded ship laid out before him and ... a person, yes a person gathering their things.

"Hey!" He shouted, then as an after thought he covered his mouth. Big things would likely be on their way before too long. "Hey..." He said again, a yelled whisper. He came forward then, waving his arms. "Get out of the clearing. It's not safe here." He said in the same voice, speed walking towards the young man.

 

[Bred]

Bred looked up to the sky. He had to find out which way the tomb would be in. But how. He sighed, Bred was woefully unprepared, no maps, little to no research, and a bit of rations. Out of nowhere he heard a voice calling out to him. "Huh...not safe in the clearing? Well of course it isn't, I'm here." He said with a cocky smile. The teen looked over to the man who seemed to be some sort of survivalist. Yet there was no doubt, his robes were that of a Jedi. Frowning for a second, Bred shook his head.

"Look, you've obviously lost your mind...there's nothing I can't handle." Bred said as he began to turn and walk away from the man, as soon as he did, a roar along with rustling could be heard.

Bred froze for a second. Turning back to the man. "Uh actually...I think I'll follow you for now..." the Teen said as he ran over to the man. The fact that he was a Jedi would have to wait, maybe he could get the man to help him find the tomb.

"We'll talk more as soon as we're clear of the threat." Bred said as he made his way into the forest. Waiting for the man to lead the way.

[member="Kal'n Drasco"]

 

[Kal'n Drasco]

No no no no. Kal'n was saying to himself as he came running up to Bred. It looked like he was just about to scold the young man when his train of thought was suddenly shattered, broken by an ear shattering roar that demanded immediate attention. Kal'ns head whipped towards the direction of the sound. Had he been followed? No. That wasn't likely. More like the creature had been hunting, all his prey had taken off running and now it came to see what had intruded in on its hunt.

He forced his attention back to Bred, looking the young man over carefully. He didn't seem to carry much, nothing that seemed like that it would help them in their immediate and dire situation. "Alright, look. Whichever creature this is, it likely hunts by smell and you..." He'd gesture towards Bred. "... you don't smell like anything else here. It'll track you, find you and eat you." He forced a smile and knelt down to the ground.

"But don't worry, I won't let that happen." He stood up, a ball of mud in his hands. It probably didn't escape Bred that Kal'n was filthy, covered in mud and twigs and all sorts of things from the natural world. Kal'n gave a smile and moved to stick the mud ball in Breds hands. "Spread this all over yourself. Then lets make for the tree line, across the way. You're not injured are you?"

He could hear the creature lumbering forward, moving at a fast past, trees and branches snapped and broken as it moved. They didn't have much time. "If we can't get away, I'll lead it off and circle around. Stay as close to the river as you can and move east with it." He looked back, not really giving much of a chance before trying to lead the young man. "We have to hurry."

[member="Bred"]

 

[Bred]

Bred was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the Jedi speak again. The creature that roared hunted by smell and according to the man, he didn't smell like anything else around Dxun. Bred cocked his head as the ball of mud was shoved into his hand. He nearly dropped it.

"uh...I dont-" He was cut off by the sound of the creature moving closer. Without hesitation he spread the mud over his face and over any open skin. The man said they'd have to hurry and Bred nodded.

He followed the man without a second thought, there was no way he was going to get eaten. He chuckled as he remembered the Jedi saying he wasn't going to let Bred get eaten. Typical Jedi thing to do.

"So how long have you been here?" Bred asked as he kept up with the man, looking over his shoulder every so often. Bred had to divide his attention, one eye on the man and another eye on his surroundings.



[member="Kal'n Drasco"]

 

[Kal'n Drasco]

[member="Bred"]

Seemingly satisfied that Bred was taking this seriously by rubbing the mud on himself Kal'n broke into a fast jog, his eyes searching for the best place to penetrate the thick foliage of the jungle. He had briefly entertained the idea of staying closer to the river, it would be easier for them to run but he reasoned that it would also be easier for them to be caught. Reaching out with his own senses he found a spot and with the delicate hand of telekinesis spread the leaves and limbs of trees before him. "Three days now." He said in a whispered response.

There was a loud roar from behind him then, deafingly loud. Directly after it the snapping of trees became louder and the ground shook. Kal'n was too afraid to look, fear instinctivley gripped his heart. The beast, whatever it was, had stepped into the clearing. "Run!" He said again and leaped into the opening he created, landing lightly aided by the Force on a branch. He would turn to face Bred, offering help with an outstretched hand, assuming the young man would need it.

Kal'ns mouth went dry, his eyes locked onto what he had feared. A Zakkeg, a beast over 4 meters long from snout to tail and with armor so thick he wasn't sure his lightsaber could even pierce it. Its armored tail went left and right, smashing trees on either side of it. The creature let out a huff of breath and Kal'n knew that it was breathing in deeply, probably trying to find their scent...or any scent. He reasoned that it hadn't found them yet because it hadn't charged them yet.

If Bred had made his way into the tree Kal'n would let the foliage slowly close, blocking off their line of sight. They were off the ground now, but only by a few feet. He wasn't sure it would be enough, but he did't dare move, not yet. His eyes looked to Bred, clearly ready to take any opinions on the matter.

 

[Bred]

Three days? Wow a trooper. Bred smiled, a bit surprised at how quickly the Jedi thought on his feet. He was drawn out of his thoughts when more loud rumbles were felt. The sound of trees falling as the creature gained ground. Of course Bred didn't look back. The Jedi had made an opening in the foliage which he quickly jumped through and offered help to Bred.

The teen looked over his shoulder, weighing his options. Within the second he disregarded the hand that was outstretched and deftly jumped through the opening, landing on the branch next to the Jedi. He watched as the hole slowly closed, his grey eyes turning it's gaze onto the Jedi.

He decided being with the Jedi would increase his chances of survival. He weighed his options of what to do next. The teen crouched down. "I could always just burn the forest down...all it would take is one spark." Bred suggested, the whole idea of starting a forest fire made him smile a childish smile. He would reach out to the Force and begin to heat air particles around his hand causing a flame to flicker to life. He looked at it for a second then extinguished the small flame. Looking back up to the Jedi he would let out a sigh.

"But if you'd like a more passive approach then I suggest we get higher up." Bred offered as he used the Force to jump up to another tree branch higher up on another tree.

"Let's gain some breathing room. Lead the way to the river..." the teen said.

[member="Kal'n Drasco"]