Enemy Mine

[Ayda Elisantra]

It were difficult at first to feel and not touch her...

Ayda had never gone this far in reaching out to one still bound to their temple. But she were trying nevertheless, knowing quite well that it could change the dynamics between Skye and herself. Ayda, as spiritually able to disconnect from her temple, coveted her life like any living being. It had been a struggle for her to come into life and would be just as difficult in letting go of it, despite coming into conscious as to the thereafter...knowing what existed when life itself expired.

She were nothing more at first than an insignificant moth so to say, fluttering about the halo of the other girl whom were fast asleep. As she neared closer, her gentle and caressing light, like tentacles, were searching for an open window or doorway by which she could be invited in.
And to her delight,Ayda not only found Skye to let her in, but the girl had actually embraced her into her realm...her unconsciousness, for at this point, Ayda was without real form, but pure light extending from her spirit consciousness entering the young woman's dream scape.

Skye had indeed taken the initiative on her own to get hold of her present dream state, manipulating it's natural flow, to adhere to her will. Ayda hadn't expected for her to do so...not on first contact.
The woman, despite her fear opposing to expose her vulnerability, had opened the invite nevertheless for Ayda to coax the woman's subconscious to accept her as part of her forming dream.

And once she started to enter and meld within Skye's dream, she felt like despairing if she could. But she could only see and observe Skye for now. A lot of Ayda's human emotions and hangups were only mere shadows to her, as they weren't as pressing as they were in real life, but were still recognizable and understood.
And she observed the woman building her security, around her comfort familiarities. She observed Skye enveloping her, bringing her into her dream, while at the same time building armaments around herself.

As thus, Ayda was realizing Skye was still a frightened young spirit. It were fears what drove Skye. And to Ayda's sadness that had broken through the veil of shadows, she observed that Skye preferred to hide her true self. Hide behind a comfort that appeared to be rendered in a form of a mask. She didn't know the true reason as to the mask, not knowing if it were something Skye had brought over from real life or that it only existed in her dreams.

Ayda wanted to draw closer to her, but knew it would not bear any fruit, for the woman's reaction were going to be to back away. And if that fear became overwhelming, then Skye could frighten herself frighten to awaken.
Ayda could see Skye were already struggling with the fact that she found herself somehow unable to really move in the present state of what was like the 'Witching Hour' phenomenon. And Ayda were aware that it may well be her presence in the girl's subconscious that was causing this, for this was a first for Ayda too.
Skye was in a semi state of conscious and unconscious with her dream mirroring over reality.
It was a fine line that could be severed easily and Ayda didn't wish it. As thus, she didn't influence the forming dream,only letting it envelope her also.
As thus she remained there as Skye formed her into a more recognizable form... a reflection of her life form. It were easier to see spirits in that manner, if one were a spirit too. Only that Skye was able to do it semi conscious on her own. This flowed smoothly as it were Skye's creation...

Her eyes took to the sound of the water... the beach formed around her, and the sea lapped close to her. Ayda turned to see the foam crest, however small it were, on the gentle waves acting in a manner that she had earlier. The sea would gently approach, barely touch, then recede. It continually did this in the same familiar rhythmic patter she had done to calm Skye enough to be let in. This was another revelation Ayda suddenly were graced with. As such she emitted a warm glow, like that of a soft purr. There seemed no end to discovering how everthing was connected in the universe.
She smiled, for she too loved the sea. As the dream kept forming and expanding, Ayda remained where she was, barely moving so as not to trigger the other woman's fear again.
The dream became clearer and clearer with every heartbeat. And Skye seemed less and less fearful as to how it were unfolding for it was after all, Skye's creation...her dominion here.

Ayda took note of the girl's growing confusion as to her nakedness as she were taking full form in view of Skye. It weren't as an eye opener as it would have been in real life, but the remnants of reality were still there for Skye was not in her pure spirit form, but in her dream. And as thus, had all her emotions in reserve...influencing her like they did in real life.
Ayda thought it best to feel, meld with the sea...it's lapping gentleness and serenity. She slowly and naturally slipped herself in the sea. She had only moved less than an arms length toward the sea, but was immersed up to her shoulders. The dream expanded the scene and it appeared now that she was a few meters away, justifying the dept. But Skye's envision of her was not more than a meter away.

Ayda was now neither smiling or speaking, just reflecting the same curiosity back that Skye had of he in the water, for she were now part of the gentle sea. It were almost paradise... the warm sunlight...the perfect harmony between her and sea... and the two of them just observing the other.
It seemed they were connecting and the young woman's fears were being put aside. The real girl whom were Skye was starting to take steps toward her, as her fear of Ayda were dissipating.
Skye's mask too seemed not to be so pronounced as it was before...fading away like her heavy dark battle dress softening up to a more flowing--

"NO!..." Ayda's form suddenly rose from the sea with the dream suddenly darkening.
Skye too receded back in a shock of fear as Ayda had disrupted the serenity with her cry.
...and all around now seemed to be crumbling before-

"SKYE!!!..." Ayda's form too went dark, disappearing before the dream itself collapsed into murky darkness, but her scream continued to sound out Skye's name.

______________ ~ ~ ~ _____________​

The creature burst through the swamp clearing, trashing about and heading toward the two. Ayda was already fully awake and was scream shouting at the top of her voice..." SKYE!!..." for the woman to awaken.

Ayda rolled out of the creature's path just in time, as it had made a bee-line almost toward her for one of the rotting carcasses. It then grabbed hold of it in it's long reptilian jaws, and trashed it about, breaking it apart somewhat. It was hungry and had chosen the rotting corpse as an easy meal.
Ayda was able to scramble like a frightened animal, closer to Skye, for the young woman was the one bearing weapons.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye stumbled back as she was suddenly startled by the screams. The sea suddenly darkened, just like everything else did. The masked woman stepped back in fear before everything fell apart into darkness.

Out of the darkness the swamp suddenly appeared again, the transition so fluid neither of them seemed to be or to have been a dream, even though one was.

The first thing she saw was some kind of creature feasting upon a cadaver and the second thing she saw was Ayda, who came crawling towards Skye in what was probably fear.
"The fu-", Skye mumbled as she quickly pushed herself from a lying position up so she was sitting on her ass. Blame the adrenaline or blame the odd dream-connection thing she just experienced, fact is she wasn't tired or dazed at all, instead, she was able to think perfectly clear. She quickly ran her eyes over the entire camp, confirming this creature to be alone- for so far as Skye could see.
"Chit!", she then exclaimed as she quickly searched for her blaster. Once she had located it, she crawled to get it before she stood up. Before she did anything else however, she quickly stepped back towards Ayda, gently but quickly grabbing her hand, pulling her up from the ground. "Come one. Get behind me", she told the younger woman. She refused to let go of the woman as she slowly walked back about ten metres, keeping her eyes fixated on the creature and keeping Ayda's hand in her own and the blaster in the other. When they had reached a relatively safe distance, the creature seemed to have almost finished with the body. It was only then that Skye realised she was till holding Ayda hand even though they had already stopped moving for a good couple of seconds. She quickly let the woman's hand go. "Sorry", she muttered under her breath, feeling like she should be apologizing but not wanting to.
Skye raised her blaster and aimed it at the creature, not sure whether to fire or not.

Just when she seemed to have decided, she heard footsteps behind her. Obviously Ayda was still behind her, behind the footsteps were just a little bit too far away to originate from the woman. Skye quickly turned around only to find Bones creeping up on them with his weapon raised.
Slightly relieved to see his face, but also slightly creeped out by the yellow glint in his eyes, she hissed back at him, "Shhh! What do we do?"
When the man only twitched in response, Skye quickly pulled Ayda a bit closer to her, having the feeling she had seen that look before. "Bones?", she asked.
"We're lost, Skye", he simply replied. "But I can protect you. By staying here we will suffer immensely-"
"Which is why we are seeking a way out, but right now there a fething monster right there", she hissed back.
"I can help you, and her. I can shield you both. He promised us. We won't suffer if we follow him. His way out", Bones responded. The more he talked the more it seemed like he was just ranting and not even noticing or hearing anything Skye was saying. The dark haired woman slowly placed her finger on the trigger of her blaster. She hadn't aimed it at Bones, but she could do it quick enough should it be necessary. She nodded, "Then helps us get rid of this thing"
"No, I will help you with other means. I shall release you, and her"
The man slowly placed his finger on the trigger of his own blaster as Skye could feel a certain darkness grow around her.
Out of pure instincts the woman then jerked her gun upwards and fired at the last member of her squad still live. Bones, who had slower reactions as a result of whatever was happening to him, only managed to fire once, merely hitting Skye's blaster causing her to drop it, before he himself got hit in the chest. He let out a soft grunt as he immediately sunk through his knees and unto the ground. Skye, now without her own blaster as it seemed to have been damaged severely by Bones', stood there and could do nothing but stare as she saw the life ebt out of the last of her team.
She killed him and she just stood there, almost not aware to the fact that behind her the creature had let out a horrible screech in response to the gunfire.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

The sound of human flesh being chomped on was horrific...that and the now open carcass of rotting flesh..

Ayda upchucked bile from her now empty stomach as Skye pulled her along, clearing their open encampment. She knew it were just proteins and elements. It were no longer a viable temple. Still, it sickened her to have caught a glimpse of it being devoured, along with the putrid odor of decaying flesh which now permeated the air even more.
And unknowingly, she held fast to her captor, for Ayda were of human flesh herself...and her life were as precious to her as it was anyone's.

It were for the most part still hours to go before dawn and although her night vision was acute, Dagobah at night was even more lethal to defenseless life forms lost in her swamps.
Skye took to releasing her hand and readying her blaster should the creature or others like it come for them. But as Ayda recalled the moment she became aware of her surroundings, it had made a straight line for one of the dead men...most likely had been attracted to the smell, as the creature seemed to just devour torn pieces without chewing. Seemed the creature preferred rotting flesh, over livelier tougher muscle tissue...

"Uhg..." She did her best to breathe through her mouth, avoiding the stench.
"Gh....ckawgk...ugh...." She went through the motion of convulsion, but there was nothing to regurgitate but some thick slime.
"Spew..spew..." Still, in her fright, she took comfort between one of the gnarly tree and the woman with the blaster. For the most part, Ayda was defenseless. She had never the desire to learn how to defend herself, except to run and avoid confrontations. She were not trained in the use of her human abilities with the strong connection to the force. She were only aware of her ability to detach...aid those lost and guide them to the light...home.
It were her nature to nurture..as thus, she took up the calling of healer..doctoring the sick and helpless.
She herself had been nurtured by others in an orphanage and as a result...mimicked those who influenced her as a child.

She didn't reply to the woman's apology, for she didn't know why Skye had done so. It weren't the woman's fault that the creature had come. In retrospect, Ayda realized maybe it was her own, for she had detached and were in the woman's dream...not being fully aware of the immediate surroundings. It was Ayda who then felt at fault. But she curbed the notion of apologizing to Skye, for she were still her captor and the training Ayda were given of surviving as a captor was not to direct any more blame to one self.

"Gasp..".. She looked over to the woman's companion who was now making his way toward them from the deeper part of the swamp.
Ayda looked over to Skye..to the creature still feasting on the dead and back to the man, Bones. Only the man wasn't really there anymore...not all of him. Ayda could sense less of his true self..like it were...feasted upon.
It were something which she never encountered before...the soul had been picked upon.
She simply stared at the man, fear slowly creeping across her flesh like tiny tentacles trying to dig themselves deep within her.

She weren't so much listening to what this sad creature was saying, as she was trying to ration as to how his soul had deteriorated in just a matter of hours. Bones had not been stained, like the two of the three men who had first attacked them. It had potential..like that of his companion Skye.
"Akkk!" She cowered as she had not expected the woman to shoot him...and at the same time have the man's blaster bolt wiz by her to strike the woman.

Ayda had dropped to a kneeling fetus position, elbows up, forearms covering her face. But only the double blasts were all and she peered from behind her arms. The woman was still standing there looking at the man, who had dropped to his knees, and was quickly expiring.
it were then that the true extent of the man's spirit showed how it had regressed.
It were unrecoverable to only wisp away with the slight movement of air...it was spent beyond anything she had ever encountered before. And it were not of the life the man had chosen, but of something which had feasted on his very soul while the man was alive.

Her eyes bugged out, like a frightened animal in the presence of a predator.
Ayda scrambled up to her feet and made a run for it. It weren't to get away from the woman, but from something she had no idea what it was that devoured souls. She hadn't felt it's presence or lack of it, like an empty void, that could not be seen but could devour one's own soul.
This was beyond her scope, for she were still young and had not learned , nor had complete knowledge of her own self and that of the force which drove her.

She ran.. tripping and falling.. getting up and scampering to her feet...over roots, through thickets and puddles, she ran...
She couldn't run fast enough, nor far enough for she were truly spooked, frightened and perhaps being chased by the very soul eating creature that had devoured the man Bones's own soul.

"Eeeek!.." Something had grabbed her foot and she slammed face down in the mud and roots. In her panic, Ayda trashed about, getting her feet entangled even more so in the thickets and roots.

"Eeeek..." Her screams were one that was caught and soon to be feasted upon. Oh how she coveted her flesh...her soul. she didn't want her life and spirit to end here..not on this hell that was Dagobah. And the more she panicked in her struggle to get free of what had ensnared her, the more she became entangled.
And she struggled and struggled till her body were spent. her temple had little strength left to fight and she could feel it collapse under her. With that, she closed her eyes, waiting for whatever had entrapped her to end her short life...as she lay there entangled in the thickets...whimpering like a child.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye wasn't granted the luxury of catching her thoughts after she was forced to shoot Bones. Before the body had even dropped on the ground motionless Ayda suddenly made a break for it. As a result of Skye being caught off guard, the younger woman had already made quite the distance before Skye realised what happened.
Just before Skye wanted to chase after the woman, the creature did. It seemed to have been one step ahead.
"You stupid...", Skye snarled silently, thinking to herself how in the world she was going to handle this. Where she had previously aimed to avoid the creature, Ayda had now completely thrown that option out of the window. That was, if Skye was going to try and save her.
After all, it was Ayda who made all of this mess by screaming and running away. The captive had shown her untrustworthy nature and made a run for it.
Skye should just leave Ayda to fend for herself, just like the woman probably deserved.

Or at least that thought had briefly passed through Skye mind as she picked up Bones' blaster. Even though her own mind gave her hundreds of reasons to leave Ayda behind, one of them being that she probably didn't even have a ship of her own after all, Skye still already knew what she was going to do. Or attempt to do anyway.

Her reason, which kept telling her to leave, was outmatched by her feelings and instinct. She could run away now, only to be alone in this swamp and die a few hours later. If there was even the slightest possibility of Ayda having a way out of here, Skye would take it. She had to.
Besides that, there was something else, another reason why Skye felt compelled to help Ayda, yet she didn't understand what it was.

As she attached the blaster to her outfit she opened a small compartment on the back of it and reached inside. When her hand moved back out of the compartment it held a dark somewhat metallic mask. She took hold of it with both her hands, inspecting it before whispering, "You better work"
She then hastily put the mask on, securing it on her head. At first she saw almost nothing, the world being even darker through the mask than it was normally at night, but then it switched on with a small buzz. Suddenly everything looked normal again, apart from everything being slightly more visible and white.
But then she saw a glimpse of the creature rushing from the carcass over to the fleeing woman in the distance, which confirmed it worked. The creature was bright red and orange, perfectly visible due to the contrast with the rest of the world being dark.
Or mostly dark, through her mask Skye also noticed quite a lot more small creatures near her than she had seen with her own eyes, which sent a shiver down her spine.

Then she quickly aimed her blaster towards the creature's general direction before she unleashed a valley of shots. The red bolts flew through the air, most of them hitting nothing but trees, but a few actually hit their target. Nothing lethal of course, but enough to have the creature turn around with a sickening screech, now focusing its attention on Skye.
The woman crouched and kept her blaster trained at the fast closing creature whilst hoping she had given Ayda time to at least reach some form of safety.
Skye fired a few more shots at the creature who came rushing towards her with its head forward, but they dealt no damage whatsoever. "Thick skin, eh?", Skye whispered, slightly afraid about the fact that she didn't know how to defeat this thing.

But then, by pure luck, and with the help of her mask and therefore indirectly by help of the old man, she noticed something. When the creature jumped onto the side of a tree, and started jumping between them, supposedly to make it harder for Skye to hit it, it made a mistake. By making these evasive maneuvers it also showed Skye its tail, which was glowing a very intense red compared to the orange glow originating from the head.
Not needing a second to think about what she saw, Skye immediately tried to aim for the tail, shooting twice but to no avail, both shots just missing their target. The creature was now no more than 30 meters away from Skye and was still jumping towards her. Just before it reached her however, it needed to make a slightly bigger jump as the trees were further apart from eachother. And that was just what Skye needed; a slightly bigger window to hit her target. She pulled the trigger, a bright red bolt shot out from her blaster and hit the creature straight in its tail in mid air. It let out a deafening screech of pain and lost its balance, smacking into the next tree face first. It quickly stood up again and then immediately scrambled and rushed away, seeking safety.

Skye, slightly hyperventilating, let out a nervous chuckle when she saw the creature run off. "Oh thank the Force. Oh thanks..."
She took a few seconds to calm herself even though she knew she was already out of time. "I can do this", she told herself as she started to jog in the direction Ayda had run off to not so long ago. She'd rather sprint after the woman, but if Skye fell or was caught by surpise, there'd be no-one to help her, so she decided to move a bit slower and more careful instead.

~~~~~~~~~

Not much longer than a few minutes later Skye froze when she heard whimpering. "Ayda?", Skye half-whispered while she slowly looked around. When she received no response she started to slowly walk in the direction of the sounds.

It was her mask that luckily warned her in time, preventing both her doom and Ayda's. According to the masks lenses, a few meters in front of Skye the normal roots and twigs which made up most of the swamp's ground seemed to have been replaced by something which looked like the same roots and dead twigs, but was anything but dead and something entirely else. It emitted a bright orange glow and Skye immediately stopped because of it, just in time as one of the roots suddenly lashed out at her, missing her by a hair.
Whatever it was, it was a clever creature, perfectly blending in with the rest of the swamp and waiting for unsuspecting prey. Unfortunately for it however, over time due to what probably was a lack of natural enemies and the way it didn't fight but simply surprised its prey, it didn't seem to have any way of properly defending itself. This was proven when Skye followed the orange roots back to the red thick center, a plant of some sorts, and simply shot it, instantly killing it.
Not too long later Skye heard a deep female gasp and instantly rushed in its direction. There she found Ayda struggling to get out of the now dead and movable roots. Skye was secretly extremely relieved to see Ayda alive, even though she was also furious and disappointed that Ayda had just run off, abandoning Skye and putting them both in such a dangerous situation. Beneath her mask, Skye's face had no clue as to what emotion to express.

As Skye reached down to help the woman get out, she saw something red shoot through the trees, all the way back at where she had defeated the creature, that rusher thing. Even though it was far away and Skye couldn't properly see it, she knew it was the creature she had scared off earlier. Chit. No doubt he hadn't given up on his meal yet.

Luckily it didn't seem to knew where the women where, yet.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

She had run, but not from Skye.

Ayda was defenseless here in the deep swamps of Degobah. She had come planet side as part of a Gallactic Alliance search and rescue team, who in her mind had been well armed and no doubt had much experience on Dagobah already. At least that had been her initial understanding, before tragedy hit her portion of a split team hours into the mission.
Then mortality hit.

Now less than 36 hours later, she had come to experience all of the struggle of mankind and of his fragility. And it were now apparent that physical life, wasn't the only thing which could expire....there was the spirit, which she had believed could only expire under the dominion of the living flesh, as to how it experienced life. But no more. Here on Dagobah, there was something which devoured even the spirit of man...and she were fearful of it.

She had certainly run...but of fear for her own spirit...more so than her life. And although just moments before Ayda had seeked the protection of her captor when a creature had come to claim the dead, she ran for no one could help in saving her spirit, should the same creature who devoured Bone's, would come to feast on hers.
Ayda was a frightened and helpless child who had at this moment succumbed to panic by way of fear.
And she had trashed and struggled against that which had ensnared her like a prey to the extent of exhaustion. One in such a state as she, would stop their struggle and accept their destiny. But not her. Not as long as she had breath...as long as she still had some motor skills...she continued to struggle. And thus she were found, nearly spent of any strength trying to undo herself from the entanglements of what once had ensnared her. But a moment ago, it were alive. Now from the hand of her captor Skye it were nothing more than mere thickets. But Ayda was too exhausted to completely free herself and was found floundering and completely all out of breath...not to mention drenched in a mixture of swamp muck and perspiration.

The woman whom Ayda could now see as Skye, bore a mask. At first glimpse, Ayda had let out a slight gasp, for in her fear, she had thought Skye to be the soul eater. But that were from her orbs that she saw the figure of the masked figure over her. Skye's spirit was still the same... Same and unchanged. It had not been touched or gnawed at like her now dead companion.

Ayda didn't utter a word as the woman came to help her out of the tangle. It was an odd sight to come upon, for Ayda had come to cling on the woman, as she were being freed of the dead roots and thickets. She held on to her captor till she were completely free, then laid on the wet ground on her back.
Ayda was only alerted to the same creature that had raided the camp when Skye took to spotting it.
"Oh better...it's only him again..." She strarngely uttered, somehow not as concerned as she had been earlier of it. Not that she didn't fear bodily harm, but there was something else in this swamp more sinister than a flesh eater.

"Bones... he was gone..." She managed to huff out.
"He....he was gone...." She managed to say, before she were were hushed by Skye.

Ayda nodded, doing her best to catch her breath without making too much a commotion about it. She then warily looked around her and slowly managed to get somewhat on her feet...or rather, on her knees. Keeping as low to the ground as possible she extended out her feelings to make out where the flesh eating creature was. Ayda could hear the flesh eater jumping from tree to tree in a somewhat circular fashion. It were trying to find them...hunt for them. Odd it didn't smell them, or her..for she herself certainly could. But the creature only desired rotten flesh to eat. It's keen sense of smell was for decaying flesh and not so much for living flesh. Although it could certainly kill them now and then wait for them to ripen sweet to devour later.

And sure enough, it had even forego Bones, who had just been slain by Skye. His body had yet to start decomposing for the creature to take notice of it. But it knew they were out there...most likely figuring on three, as it had not seen the man fall.
Ayda was just coming around to her senses again when the flesh eater jumped up on top of the tree they were hiding under. Ayda held her breath, as the creature was heard moving about overhead. It were trying to look as to where they may have go off to, not realizing they were just underneath him. Then the tree shook as it jumped from it to another. It repeated what he most likely did when on top of their tree and then once more jumped to another. This went on a while and as the creature was circling around and around, it eventually got further and further away. It came to a point where it couldn't be heard anymore.

Ayda was breathing much better and had overcome her panic. Still she wasn't in a good place whatsoever. She reached over with her hand and touched the other woman's calf.
"M...me." Ayda said, after getting her hand get kicked away.

Her eyes were met with that of the mask's. But she could see her spirit behind that and it were not looking too kindly on her. At first Ayda didn't understand. Not until she remembered their roles. Captor and prisoner. She had run.
Ayda slowly looked away without another word. The woman didn't understand as to the real reason. And it wasn't to run away from her at all. Ayda had encountered something she could not understand or had known to exist. She were still discovering who and what she was in relation to the force around her. She was untaught and had just followed her natural intuition/instinct. She knew no other way to be. And she certainly didn't wish to be a dark-sider, as she knew them to be.

"Thanks for finding me..."

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye let out an inaudible sigh when she noticed that the creature had left, possibly in pursuit of something else. This would give her some time and room. Room to have a good word with this untrustworthy lying traitorous wretch of a woman.
She stood up as she turned towards the girl who too had stood up after having noticed they were no longer in immediately danger, as far as they were aware at least. Skye, who now slowly let her anger towards Ayda overcome her survival instincts, stepped towards the younger girl. She kept her mask on, as it looked sort of menacing and that might help her.
The mask would also notify Ayda (if she paid attention) of the fact that she was walking across a very thin line. Where she had earlier almost earned Skye's trust and perhaps more, now she would receive nothing like that.
"Apologizing isn't going to just make things all rainbows and sunshine again", she spat at the girl from under her mask as she now stood directly in front of her. "I made the effort to protect YOU. And in return, the moment I turn my back on you, you try to run. While I'm trying to protect you- protect us- you just run off! I should've let you die down there...", she spat at the girl with intense anger.
Skye was extremely mad at Ayda, yes, furious even, but it wasn't hatred, no. Something inside her blocked it from going that far, for now.
"But I didn't. I didn't let you die. I saved you. But don't think I did it for you, because YOU don't mean a THING to me!", she almost shouted in an attempt to make it sound extra angry- and real. She lightly pushed Ayda back. While Skye spoke the words she knew, albeit unconsciously, that it wasn't true. The girl did... have a strange impact on her.
"I saved you", she continued," I saved you because I need you. Or your ship. That's right, I said it, I need your help. I'm not afraid of saying it- and do you know why? It's because you're going to help me anyway. I heard you gasp, I saw you run!", she told the woman, emphazing 'run' as she was clearly somehow deeply hurt by the fact Ayda had ran. "You fear death. You don't want to die, you even said it yourself, no? Well, then I advise you to start leading me towards you vessel, or else... Or else..." She looked down for a second, catching her breath, before she looked up again in such a way it made the mask shine with horror. "Or else I will shoot both your legs and leave you here, screaming in pain- and by doing so, rallying all the horrible and monstrous creatures to you, ensuring your fate will be even worse than death."

It was not hard to see everything haf started to wear Skye down rather swiftly. Too much had happened. Too many had been killed. She was tired. And now Ayda, who even though she officially was her enemy was also the only person still with her in this hellhole, had attempted to leave Skye behind... It was all too much for the still masked woman.
She stood mere centimetres away from Ayda with her mask staring at the younger girls frightened eyes. Then she violently turned around and stepper away with a sigh, half consisting out of anger and half out of hopelessness. She felt alone. She wás alone. Alone in a place with new ways to die behind every tree.
She was alone, alone with an untrustworthy woman behind her, who would possibly run away again within minutes...or maybe she'd attempt to stab Skye in the back? Who knew?

She just stood there with her back turned towards the woman, waiting for her to respond.
She expected Ayda to give in, to tell Skye that she was right. The masked woman was so hurt by the woman's actions that her own uncertainty fueled her negative thoughts about Ayda.
Perhaps Ayda would do well trying to calm Skye, show her that she was wrong. Perhaps it was too late for that, perhaps Skye was already too far gone into distrusting Ayda.
Who knew?

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

She breathed a sigh of relief when the creature was beyond sensing, before turning to her savior.

Only that she was met with quite an angry Skye...or at least the angry person behind the mask. Yes, she had run, but not from her, nor the creature. It wasn't something she wanted to explain to the woman. But nevertheless, the woman..her captor again was reminding her of why she were still alive.
Ayda couldn't rightly defend her actions, as in fact, they were as the woman implied...cowardly.

Ayda took the hit, without resistance. She had no means of defending herself anyway. She never had the need to learn how to fight, for she were always able to avoid such confrontations...even sometimes knowing as to how to diffuse situations from escalating. And being shoved by Skye and not rebuffing a single word thrown at her...it seemed to do just that. It let the woman's anger expire.
But not once did she look up at Skye while she were under the mask. For she understood the purposes of masks...it obscured the individual...detached them from humanity...and in the manner Skye were using it on her; to evoke fear and uncertainty as to the value of her life.

But the spirit behind were conflicted. At least it were what she could make of it.
Still, her only means of having the woman take a step back from her verbal assault was to just take it and bare through it.
But the part of leading her to the transport: this she could not do. It would mean confrontations. Confrontations like the one that left these two in the predicament they were in. Bones, the woman's companion was another matter altogether. THAT was what had caused Ayda to panic, not the creature.

Sure, she had at first scrambled away from it once it broke into camp. But she had also inadvertently in her effort to connect with Skye, put the woman in a somewhat deep REM. A state between reality and dream. Under normal circumstances, it could have played out to a mutual understanding.
But here on this morbid planet, it well could have spelled disaster. This was no place to dream. It was bad enough to live.

"Sigh.." She knelt down, hands on her lap when the woman finally turned from her.

"I don't wish you any harm...and I won't run away again..." She said, in a low voice, head down.

She knew the woman could hear her. Why then the mask? Ayda had removed quite a few bits and pieces of similar equipment from fallen soldiers. And all of them had some kind of circuitry and enhancements like HUD and the like. Unfortunately, when some of these devices were directly hit by blaster fire or explosions, bits of the visors or masks in some cases were embedded in flesh and bone.
Ayda figured the woman needed her mask in the same fashion troopers used it, in the near pitch black of Dagobah's night.

But the night was nearing it end; as what little sunlight got through the dense cloud atmosphere and swamp was slowly lightening their surroundings. Ayda was certain the woman's mask was also relaying that info. maybe, just maybe, the woman wouldn't need to wear it much longer, as it did detach Skye somewhat. Ayda could feel it. Skye felt more herself behind it.

"...but I think we lost everything...rations....my medical pack..."


------------------ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -----------------

She was on her hands and knees, feeling about the muck for anything salvageable. But all she had recovered so far was some sealed gauze, two still sealed MRE's and a blaster clip. All of which she had to hand over to the woman.

"I can't find ..feel anything more in this..." Ayda pleaded, as the woman stood guard over her and what had become of their former encampment.
Seemed the creature and what had followed, had trashed the camp beyond reckoning... not only spewing the pieces of uneaten cascaras, but just everything the creatures sampled as possible edibles..their packs. Everything torn to shreds and covered in muck and blood.

"Uhg.." Ayda nearly vomited as she dropped what was part of a man's femur she had picked up, back into the muck.

But her captor pressed her on, to keep looking...to keep feeling around for more items. Their lives depended on them, and with what little they had, there wasn't going to be enough for two.... or so the woman kept reminding Ayda.

But after more searching and all that she could surface were some sealed sox (man size), and a spare rifle scope, the woman barked her to get up and take lead, for she wanted Ayda in her sights. They were on the move now, and Skye didn't tell her prisoner anything, for Ayda had not divulged where her transport ship was, nor answer Skye if there were other Alliance scum planet side besides the dead ones.
At this point, Ayda looked a mess...muck, goo and mud mixed blood stains, from the sloppy mess the creatures had made of the dead and everything else.
And Ayda was also told that she now smelled rightly like her Alliance friends...Skye's enemies.

This was certainly a low point in their relationship, for Skye was now put in a more desperate situation. First, Ayda would not give her the coordinates and direction as to her transporter whereabouts.
Second, Ayda wasn't divulging as to how many other Alliance personnel from her transport were possibly out there.
Third, there was not enough rations or fresh water on hand for one to survive a few days, if indeed rationed.
So it left Ayda with no particular use to her captor than someone expendable to possibly shoot in the knees, to take as bait, if some large predatory beast suddenly took to stalking them.

...as Skye had let her know a few times already.

 

[Skye Achlys]

"Halt". Skye's voice sounded dangerous and commanding. When the girl had come to a stop, Skye kept walking until she stood directly behind Ayda.
"Turn around", she commanded. The younger girl obeyed without question and when Ayda turned around she found herself staring at the omnious mask which was so close to her own face. Skye looked slightly downwards and straight at Ayda. "What is your plan here? Tell me. Are you waiting to be rescued by some beautiful hero? A Jedi, perhaps? Oh," although the woman spoke in a calm and serious manner, a hint of both anger and sarcasm could be heard," perhaps you're just waiting for the right time to run off again?" Before the girl could even think of replying, Skye grabbed the woman by the throat with her left hand. She held it in a way so that it didn't hurt Ayda as long as she didn't try to move. "You. You think us to be pure evil. But no, you're wrong. You're just as bad- probably even worse! You're nothing but a bunch of uncontrolled stray murderers!", Skye spat at her. "You scream, you scream for your life," she continued as she slightly tightened her grip," yet you refuse to do as I say. I WILL end you." She tilted her head slightly. "The location of your ship. Give it to me", she commanded in that dark tone. When she received no reply, she placed her right hand on the side of Ayda's head. "You won't tell me? That's a shame. Guess you would rather die here. Your body, your very soul will be eaten in this place. Nothing will remain. Not even a single memory of your existence. No-one will remember you. You are and you will be nothing", she told the girl. After pausing for a bit, she continued," But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You don't have to tell me where your ship is if you don't want to", she said as she tilted her head again. "You can just keep those pretty lips pressed against each other, I will get what I need anyway. You don't want to tell me? Then I'll just rip the information out of your head!", she told her with a louder voice. She then let her hand run down Ayda cheek. "Out of your head", she repeated with a whispering voice.
Then Skye's eyes finally locked with Ayda's. Where the younger girl was staring into the dead eyes of the mask, Skye was staring into the living and frightened eyes of Ayda. As Skye looked into Ayda's eyes an unexplainable feeling or something overwhelmed her, causing her grip to weaken around the girl before she completely pulled both of her hand back. Confused Skye stepped back without saying anything. Only after a good few seconds of silence she managed to blurt out, "What are you looking at? Get moving!"
The younger girl quickly obeyed after shortly but curiously observing her captors strange behaviour.

~~~~~~~~~

It was luckily day again and as light as the swamp was going to get, however, Skye was still wearing her mask. She'd turned her heat vision off, but still hid behind the face. Skye spent most of her time thinking about the odd feeling which she had felt when she looked into Ayda's eyes. What was it? Where did it come from?
What did it mean?
The more she thought about it, the weirder it became. She had no clue. Then there was this.. odd dream she had. Something was wrong. Something about this girl wasn't right. She had already felt it at the camp but now she was sure. The girl was more than she appeared on the outside. A lot more.

Aftering for a good few hours of walkng in dead silence, Skye thought she saw an odd pile of stone through the trees. "Hey," she called to the woman walking in front of her," this way." They turned to their left so they were moving in the direction of the stones. Not too long later Skye spotted her pile again, yet this time she noticed it wasn't as innocent as she had thought. "Strange. Didn't know people lived here", she muttered to herself as she and Ayda walked up to an old ruin. It seemed to be an entrance to a building which had been completely covered by trees and roots on the outside. It looked old and it gave Skye the feeling that it would collapse even if she breathed against it.
Whatever the ruin was, it could have food or something useful to her. But it could also be a worthless booby trapped death trap. Unfortunately, with her captive still keeping her mouth shut, they didn't really have many options.
"Come on, you lead the way", Skye commanded Ayda. It was obvious Ayda would serve as a test subject to find out if the path inside was safe. Skye impatiently observed the woman from under her mask, unsure whether or not the woman would be willing to go inside.
Not like she had a choice.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

The trek trough the swamp was wearing on both of them, especially Ayda. This was the first time her own mortal life hung in someone's else hand. It mattered little if nothing at all that she were a medical doctor...only that she was a POW because of her affiliation with the Galactic Alliance. Her captor a First order officer of some sort...a Ren army? Ayda hadn't gotten the whole Ren thing that had triggered those FO mercenaries and the woman to come to an explosive end.

"Ugh..." Ayda got up, after again tripping on unseen roots just below the surface of the muck.

She got told again to keep her butt moving...if nothing's broken then keep walking. So it was for what seemed kilometer after kilometers transversing the swamp. But at this exhaust point, it were difficult for Ayda to gauge if they were really doing the distance or just managed a few hundred meters....it was impossible.
maybe the woman had some means of telling how far they've gone. But Ayda thought best not to strike up any conversations, let alone ask for anything.

There was that 'I'm not talking' kind of response from Ayda every time the woman inquired about the transport that brought her to this hell hole...or if there were more Allied scum that had come down with her. None of this info Ayda could divulge. Not because she was an Allied soldier or supporter and wasn't giving the FO enemy any info..no.
It was for the sole reason as to not getting two volital groups together and causing more lives to be lost. Ayda's main concern besides her own mortality at the moment was the preservation of the life of others...even her captor.
No, she didn't like the woman...but she didn't hate her, nor wanted any harm to come to her. But the woman on the other hand-

Ayda was ordered to stop...and stop she did, putting one hand on a tree to help her remain standing as she caught her breath.
But that breath was soon chocked as the woman gripped her by the throat.
Ayda culdn't do much but wimper...and shed a few precious tears ill afforded to even do in her parched condition. She had no strenght to even try to grasp the woman's hands and take them off her throat.

"P....lz-...." She couldn't even utter a plea.
Ayda couldn't even see her assailant's eyes as she had no other means of communicating than to look at the lifeless expression of the mask.
it all made perfect sense to her. the mask was more than a visor or HUD. It his the person behind it, as if they were beyond reach...beyond the touch of compassion. But Ayda kept staring at it...no through it to the spirit behind it. It didn't want to do this...yet it was doing it. The mask made it easier to do what she were doing to her than without. But the mask couldn't hide the spirit behind it and that was what Ayda was staring at...the woman's soul.
She certainly didn't have the strength to free herself from the woman's choke hold, but she managed to make contact with Skye's spirit. Ayda extended herself, left her mortal body in the hands of the woman, to touch the Skye's very soul. In that moment, there was no reason the woman's mind could adhere to justifying hurting Ayda. Both souls came in contact in their pure form. And in the same sense as when Ayda took the hand of those she helped cross over, their two spirits embraced....took hold of one another's hand...for there was no hate between their spirits.

In an instant and not knowing why, Ayda fell to the ground. The woman had released her.
Ayda remained there, knelt down, catching her breath...and afraid. Afraid of the woman.
Could the woman really draw what she wanted from her, she was fearing Ayda didn't discount that probability. She had seen many strange things both people and aliens could do in manipulation of the force. Her own abilities derived from this phenomenon that bound everyone and everything together in some sort of universal way. What Ayda did or had become, it had slowly and methodically evolved through her childhood and teen years on its own. She knew there was more to it all than what she knew and did. Only she didn't care to expand on it. She had felt a purpose in helping souls cross and that was all she cared for. It had even lead to her seeking to be a healer...a doctor. She had always felt the call to help, not destroy. Evil to her was like the bitter cold...it would send a chill up her spine and it was unwanted.

She remained there on the ground as her captor verbally assaulted her to keep moving. Maybe it was possible of what the woman had been threatening her about. About ripping what she wanted out of Ayda if she didn't do it willingly. And it was working...wearing Ayda' body and will down. But Ayda's will, although pretty battered, was still her pure spirit. And it didn't wish to leave her temple.

"Cough........cough..........cough........." She pulled herself up again and continued her march as the woman ordered. Only now for some reason she wasn't verbally assaulted anymore.
And this went on for awhile...an eternity to Ayda who for the most part didn't know how any of this would come to end. She couldn't think at this time as she did..not rationally. She were moving on the motivation of staying alive for as long as possible.

--------------- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -------------​

​

Ayda hadn't done much at all, but adhere to the woman's commands...this way...that way...over there...
All she did was follow orders. There was no strength to do anything but keep going. as thus, she paid little attention anymore to where they were heading, other than try not to trip as often and land face first in the muck. That was about the extent of her awareness that she could spare.
She was not so hungry as she was parched. And in spite of all that, she needed to relieve her bladder. Only that she were afraid to ask...afraid to ask for anything, as the woman had shown her that she could snuff her out if she wanted to....and at anytime.

So it was that when they came upon what appeared to be some old something or other...Ayda had no interest other than maybe the woman would rest and as thus so would she.
Once more she were told to move. only this time to lead the way into the opening of what could be a tomb?..Ayda looked at it more for she had been instructed to go inside.
It then took on the form of some sort of temple...or so it had to be.
What was she doing just standing there, the woman shouted behind her. Had she not heard her?

"Uhum..." Ayda cowered slightly raising her hand in a defensive manner when the woman approached her. But she wasn't struck, just instructed with a harsher tone to move her legs on inside or they'd be broken.

Ayda moved..approached the old stone entrance. it had much under and overgrowth to a point that it hid it's actual size. seemed Dagobah had swallowed it. But it had been too massive for it to be swallowed whole...so it was being devoured slowly through the millennium.
Ayda entered it, but there was no feeling of fear. It emanated none.
And while it had once more become day on their side of Dagobah, the inside was as pitch as the night had been. It took a little time, but her orbs once more dilated and she could make out the vast elaborate interior. It looked as decrepit inside for a few good meters as it did on the outside. But as she walked in deeper and deeper inside, there was less intrusion by the swamp... coming to a point where there was only moss...light ferns ...vines but none of the swamp trees or the like. Inside, it weren't at all like the outside. Dagobah didn't have dominion this deep inside.

Then she heard it.
Ayda stopped a second, getting her bearing on the direction at which it came from. The woman behind her was a bit farther away than normal. She had put some distance between them since Ayda had entered. And while Ayda was attuning to the source of the sound, Skye was demanding what was the hold up.

"W....water..." Ayda turned to Skye, pointing to where she was hearing drops of water hitting a puddle or something substantially comprising of water....not muck. It sounded like water....
God, she was so thirsty....
She didn't wait for an Ok or permission. Ayda headed toward the sound, deeper in...with the woman shouting for her to stop. But Ayda couldn't stop. She had a thirst that overcame her fear of the woman. if she didn't get water soon, she knew she'd die. and at this moment, water to her was the only life that were given her.


Sure enough, as she got closer, the sound amplified. Rounding a corner, she came upon a large pool of water, with what appeared to be a light drizzle of rain falling upon it. only it was filtered water trickling down from the ceiling on to the pool.
Ayda collapsed into it face first. It was fresh, spring like water...

 

[Skye Achlys]

"Just stop, damn it!", Skye yelled while she ran from one old stone hallway into the other, chasing the younger girl who seemed to be pulling another one of her increasingly annoying stunts. "Stop now, or I will fething shoot!"
She rounded a corner and was then just able to catch a glimpse of Ayda in the distance. Skye raised her rifle at the woman with her finger already on the trigger. She aligned her sight with the back of the redhead, and took a deep breath.
She stared at the girl run for a few seconds like that, but her finger didn't move and thus the rifle didn't fire. Then the girl disappeared into yet another hallway before Skye sighed and lowered her rifle. She slightly shook her head before she continued to run after the woman.
When Skye too disappeared into the same hallway Ayda had disappeared into, she found herself standing in a larger room, not a hallway like she had expected. Her run had too come to a stop as she saw the younger woman lying in front of her- or floating in front of her, actually. The woman was floating in what appeared to be a pool of water. She looked at the girl with the same sense of hatred and curiousity, but the girl didn't seem to notice her. Instead, she just seemed to be drinking and.. bathing. Sort of anyway. The redhead seemed to be so relieved by her discovery that she paid no attention to Skye at all. Letting things be as they were for now, Skye remained silent as she looked around the room they were in. There were strange carvings on the walls, they were old and hard to see from where Skye was standing, but they appeared to depict multiple human-like creatures in what was probably this room. It was only then that Skye realized the pool of water was not a natural occurrence made by some kind of erosion, no, although the pool wasn't rectangular, it was actually a very complex and impressive symmetrical figure. Skye figured it must've been made by sentient creatures- maybe the ones on the carvings?- because of this.
It took her ears a while before they became aware of the constant dripping sound of a light drizzle of rain falling into the pool. Skye traced it back to the ceiling with her eyes, where she found a part of the ceiling which had been broken. The cleft in the ceiling revealed the end of a dark circular tube with an open ending out of which the drizzle of water fell. "Incredible", Skye whispered to herself, the word still spoken loud enough to gain a slight echo. There was still so much in this room that was there to be discovered or at least questioned, but now Skye's thirst and tiredness overpowered her will. She kneeled down next to the pool, before grabbing a flask and filling it. Once she had filled it she immediately emptied it again in one go. She did this two more times before she filled it up for the last time and sealed it for later. She stood up again as she looked at the girl who seemed to still be enjoying herself, for as much as she could in this situation, in the pool. Skye just watched her for a short while before she broke the silence, "So you ran. Again". Even though the words might make it sound like Skye was accusing Ayda, her tone made it obvious she was not. She might not be exactly trusting of Ayda, but she heard the girl say something resembling 'water' before she ran off. It was likely the girl had no wrong intentions. Not this time at least.
When she saw Ayda's frightened face, obviously unsure what to answer, Skye waved her hand. "Nevermind. It's okay. Just don't do it again, understood?", she told the woman who would then reply by nodding. The masked woman looked around the room once again before she noticed that it was light inside the room. Not that she really hadn't noticed it before, she just hadn't thought about it yet. But it was strange, considering they were quite deep into this structure, so even though it wasn't as light as it was outside, everything was still visible and relatively light. "Lights?", Skye asked as her eyes went around the room, searching for lights but finding none.
The more she looked the stranger this place became, first the water, then the carvings and the pipes- and now the lights. This must've been some kind of grand structure back in its age of glory.
"Come on out," Skye eventually said. "We need to keep going. Every lost second is life threatening in my- our situation."
The younger girl reluctantly swam/waded towards the masked woman. Ayda didn't seem to be willing to leave, but was probably too afraid not to follow orders from the armed Ren. The red haired woman then accidentally splashed some water into Skye's direction, who then immediately took a few steps back. "Did..did you just try to throw water over me?", she asked. The strange thing was though, her voice didn't sound so strict and cold as it had done before. No, in this last sentence, her voice sounded more like a girl speaking to a...friend. Her voice sounded lightly and had an underlying giggle attached to it.
Even though Skye didn't show it on the outside, on the inside she was probably even more surprised by her tone than Ayda was going to be.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

She had paid no mind to anything but her ears and the smell of fresh water.

Ayda submerged her entire face in the cool fresh spring like water. For a second, she nearly took a lungful, as she gulped away by her ravenous thirst for water.
"Gahhhhck...cough...cough..." She came up for air before submerging her head down into the pool again.

"Gurgle gurgle...AHhhhhh...pant pant...cough..cough.." She did this a few time, seemingly out of reflex than planning it. And it had not been planned, but driven by her thirst.

She had lost insight on her captor...had not even paid any heed to her earlier warning when she took to running for the water. At this time, she had all but forgotten it, as it were of instinct her actions. as thus she didn't notice Skye towering over her when she finally slipped altogether into the pool.

Oh how precious water was to life...
Ayda had never loved water so much, nor had the need she had for it at this moment. her body was cut, scratched and bruised and filthy...way filthy than anything she could recall of herself. But the water had made everything so much batter...so much appreciative of life living.

She floated ...suspended in the water as her body shed the filth.
Skye's voice, once again harsh and directive brought her back to present reality. Ayda startled looked up at Sky by the waters edge. Suddenly the memories of her taking off came back quite vividly. This was her second infraction on the matter...and the girl staring down at her had her weapon still in hand.

There was that thought of quickly submerging to avoid the blaster fire..sure. But how long could she hold her breath?
Ayda remained speechless as she threaded water waiting for the outcome of her running off again. But surely the woman should see that she didn't run away....just to the water.

Ayda did finally submerge with Skye standing there. But not to avoid getting shot, but the fact that her captor shook the running off as for what it was...to get to the pool.
Skye wasn't going to hurt her for it...rather seemed to allow her to remain in the water. At least to clean herself up. The muck from the swamp outside the structure easily broke down and got wiped off. Ayda could as well have taken every stitch of clothing off to get herself and her clothes clean, but Skye then called enough. Ayda submerged once more fully clothed and came up quick. Quick enough to get a good splash of the pool water on Skye.

For a moment the girl didn't much like the idea of her splashing her.
"Have you looked at yourself?" Ayda then said, still treading water before the woman.

"You could use some clean water to wash up...
Your wound...it's all caked up with the muck...the bandages are filthy. You need to clean up...your wound at least." Ayda wasn't bidding for more time in the water...she was back now thinking like a doctor.

"I don't know what you think of me...but I'm still under a Hippocratic Oath...I'm still a doctor you know. And I say your wound needs tending too....you're covered in filth." Ayda waded closer to the pool's edge. Weird the interior was quite luminous, now that she looked around. It was something she had not picked up on, till now.

Ayda looked from Skye to their surroundings. Her thirst quenched, and relatively refreshed from her bath, Ayda wondered now of this fresh water on Dagobah. It certainly was something quite unexpected.
But why not? Dagobah was for the most part a soggy water laden swamp..the entire planet was a swamp. And why couldn't there be fresh water, especially if it seemed to be filtered from stone. The water here seemed to be dropping from the ceiling...filtered and quite clean. The pool had a runoff that seemed to be clearing up the dirty muck that she had shed off herself.
For the most part, it seemed to be sort of running water...as she could see the dirt that came off her drift away.

"Sigh...
Ok....fine..." The woman didn't seem to bite to Ayda's request to wash herself as she did, in the pool water. But Skye was almost as filthy and dirty as she had been. Not as much, but enough to warrant a good dunking.

"Help me up at least?...." Ayda dared extend her hand up to Skye.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye had already turned her back on Ayda when the girl asked her to pull her up. The masked woman scoffed and opened her mouth to tell her off, but in a moment of clarity she reconsidered and turned around. She stretched her arm, reaching for Ayda's hand but stopped just before she grabbed it.
"Pull me in," she said, "and you're dead."
After having waited a few more seconds she then suddenly grabbed Ayda's hand, pulling her out of the water.
She slowly observed the girl in her drenched uniform. She sharply exhaled air through her nose. "Now your outfit is completely drenched and any weak parts could have been broken, great thinking", she dryly commented as she nodded towards the other side of the room, where a few doors were located.
"Come on, move", she told the girl.
As they made their way along the edge of the water Skye continued the one sided conversation. "I bet you would've liked me to go in. 'To clean my wounds'. Don't bother lying: we both know you'd just run for the exit the first chance you'd get."

They approached the first door, or 'hole' would be better. It was just a rectangular gap in the wall leading towards another room. After sending Ayda first, Skye followed and found herself standing in a smaller room with some sort of bench carved out of stone.
There was no other way to go from there, so they decided to try the second doorway, through which they found the same kind of room, yet mirrored this time.
While Ayda took a closer look at the benches and some of the writings on the wall per Skye's command, Skye stood in the doorway.
She sighed silently. The girl had a point, she was dirty and so was her wound. The best thing to do right now was indeed to wash up, but unfortunately she just couldn't. Not only did she not trust Ayda, she also.. had another problem. Where she assumed Ayda's uniform to be simpler, hers wasn't. Both her mask and her uniform had vital components in it, components which wouldn't be able to withstand being submerged. Now, she might have been able to go along without a mask, but there was no way she'd undress anywhere near this Alliance brat.
"We're leaving this section", she then instructed, but as she spoke the words, doubts once again clouded her mind. How long did she have to go on like this? How long was she going to put pride above survival?
"Hold up a sec", she told Ayda just before the girl left the smaller area. "Stay here for a moment. In the back! All the way against the wall, don't move!" The girl was hesitant at first, but eventually complied when Skye stepped towards her threateningly.
She had made her choice, and it was time she put survival above pride. Even if it was just this time. Her pride wasn't going to save her if some kind of creature picked up her scent. The wound wasn't feeling too good either. She was not going to accept surviving hell just to die of an infection in the end.
Still, Ayda didn't need to know any of this. "Do not move, do you understand? Move one fracking centimeter and you're DEAD! Okay?", Skye yelled at Ayda after the masked woman had re-entered the pool area. Her voice was sincere: she was on edge and hated herself because she had to do this. But she just had to.

She slowly approached the pool. Then her eyes flickered between the doorway leading to the room Ayda was in and between the two exits. There was no way she could escape. At least not without running past the pool and past Skye.

The harsh woman slowly took off her mask, revealing the soft face of a young girl, not much older than Ayda. Her eyes flickered towards the doorway once more before she spoke, "I"m serious Ayda. Don't come out untill I say so." However, her voice sounded a lot softer and more natural without the mask; something Ayda would surely pick up. Skye even used the girl's name without a tone of disgust.
The girl then proceeded to take off her uniform, starting with the upper layer, so that she could wash herself. Quickly and silently. This had to go quickly and silently. Ayda couldn't know or else she might be triggered into running for safety.

Silently. Just a quick rush of water to wash off the worst.
Don't let her know.
Shhhh.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

She guessed her ploy had been obvious...
Yes, to not only get that wound clean, but to get that stench off the woman.

Now that the much, the grind, and all that was Dagobah decayed off her body, Ayda could see how much of the swamp had overtaken her captor. And what festered on the woman's wound, she could only guess. But no, it seemed she was still her prisoner as Skye pulled her out of the pool.

There was no sense answering the accusations. But run?
No.
No she had learned a few hours back that running would quickly end her precious life given. And Ayda had somehow grown fond of her life. The good along with the bad seemed to enhance it...make it more pronounced...make it worth holding on to, and continue to experience it.

She looked over the woman but for a moment, trying to comprehend her meaning. Break parts of her clothing? This only meant that the woman's own clothing were more than they appeared to be, for Ayda's was just for comfort and wear.
Ayda complied with being lead to what appeared to be a side room...a small chamber near the pool. Curious such a room seemed to fit the pools, now that she took more note of it. And so seemed the next one. But what was the woman looking for?..a way deeper in or for something else? Ayda could have sat and rested on any of the slabs that were in these rooms...maybe for a few hours?

But Skye didn't elaborate in what she was doing, so it seemed the woman was just looking..curious as to the interior. But for what purpose? The pools were the most viable features so far and with the filth on her, she should at least take advantage of it. But again the clothing came to mind. Ayda knew of armor like clothing...spider silk? But such clothing wouldn't break in water. It were made like hers..to easily break the surface tension between fabric and foreign material, like dirt and organic matter..blood.
Ayda's clothes, like most high quality fabrics despite their design and make were for the most part 'self cleaning..and drying'.
Even now as Ayda's clothes still wicked the water off her body was almost dry, say for the lower seams which were it all capillarity collected to be shed.

Again with hardly too convincing a threat, Skye ordered her to remain where she was, leaving for perhaps... privacy? It were the only thought at the moment that came to mind. Strange though, as Ayda hadn't figured on her captor to be so conscious about such matters. But she were still somewhat exhausted from their trek through the swamp and if Skye wanted her to stay where she was..then so be it.
Ayda plopped her butt on the stone floor. She was for the most part still spent. Her thirst had been quenched, but her stomach now was voicing its opinion...it was famished.

With Skye leaving to relieve herself, Ayda looked about her meager surroundings. This chamber or what ever it its purpose was, wasn't a store room of food cache. But like outside, this structure or temple of sort still had high humidity...only it seemed stable due to its mass...like a cave of sort.
And Ayda knew caves . They were perfect environments for growing fungi...or as she hoped; mushrooms. Only they needed compost..moss or soft earth. Here in this part it were all stone.

So she opened up her olfactories and sniffed the air, now that stinky Skye, or the much she needed to wash off her person were no longer near her.
And sure enough...she caught a whiff of spores...
"Hmm.." She agreed with her tummy. It did promise maybe mushrooms. But they weren't here. Not in these rooms by the pools they weren't.

"Sigh... " She despaired a moment, as she had been instructed to stay put.
Ayda could pick up the sound of water. Only it wasn't dripping water...it was someone using water. it had the distinct sound of a hand drawing water from the pool...then the sound of it trickling/falling back into it.
She chuckled, realizing her captor was indeed cleaning her wound...at the least. Well, that was good, as she had no means of treating an infection without her med pack. Seemed they had lost or had to leave so many things behind in their scramble to avoid those horrid creatures. the thought of the soul eating creature sent a shiver down her spine.
..then her tummy rumbled again.

"Mushrooms...sigh.." She utters to herself, as she stretched her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was outside the room she were in. But no, she was too far in.
Listening some more, she determined the woman was still busing herself in washing. Weird she just didn't wade in the pool and be done with it. maybe the woman couldn't swim or tread water. Weird if that were the case. And she knew that for the most part humans forgot how to swim. Funny though, as they were created in water and naturally could swim at birth. But so many forgot how. Ayda for one never forgot.

Her curiosity with the water or washing finally got the best of her and she took to crawling on her knees to edge closer to the doorway.
Sure enough the woman was washing her self out of the water..drawing the clean water to herself.
This brought Ayda closer to the interior again and she now distinctively picked up a good trail of spores in the air. Mushrooms for sure. "Hmm.."

Well, by the looks of the woman, she seemed busy toiling with the water and washing her person one portion at a time. Ayda following her nose, finally homing in on the source. It was to the right of the pool...deeper inside the ruin. "Uhm..." Ayda was almost about to go ahead and ask Skye if she could investigate what she smelled. But she knew the likely answer was to keep her mouth shut and stay where she was told.

For a moment, Ayda did just that; remain quiet and still, kneeling now while resting herself on her calves. But her hunger, like her thirst before superseded her fear of retribution from the woman. After all, she hadn't seen the woman eat anything since the day before and they had walked and trekked through much and grime to near exhaustion. They both had to be famished, she reasoned. It would do neither of them any good in continuing on with no calories to burn. Like they both didn't have much stored reserve fat to count on.

"Sigh..." She finally stood up and started to make her way to the right of the pools and Skye who at the moment was busy tending to her wound. And from what Ayda could see of it, it was a bit red, but not too horrid. What little infection seemed topical and the woman's own immune system could or should be able to overcome. provided she had some nutrition to help her body do its thing...

Ayda passed the woman without a sound...stepping over the weapon...and most of what had made up her undergarments. Sure enough the woman's clothes were more than just for comfort. there were indications of enhanced hardware within it's design. The woman was certainly a soldier. Well, Ayda had figured that out when she had single-handedly dispatched those two unfortunate souls the day before.
needless to say, she slipped rather quietly past her captor. But she had no intention of running. at least she wasn't heading toward the way they had entered, that was certain.


Ayda quickly disappeared out of sight as the interior, however massive had many columns..both natural and constructed. How far she walked she wasn't keeping track, as her nose was leading. And the further in she got, the more pronounced the smell of mushroom became. At her initial delight, it started with tiny little outcrops as the floor got softer and less stony. There were in the corners and the sides first and she bent over to pick up one, again bringing it up to her nose. They certainly smelled Ok...

A tiny pick at it and squishing it in her fingers, brought about the freshness of it. A tiny taste at first... letting the tip of her tongue feel for any strange sensations.
Another taste...and still all good.
The entire head of the tiny mushroom she then popped into her mouth and consumed. It seemed fine with no sulfuric after taste or anything that seemed to trigger hallucinations...and the flesh was so well received. her tummy cried for more.
"Oh..nice.." She said, bending down to retrieve them all. And as she picked one..two, she then noticed that they were bigger the further in.
Sure enough Ayda rose and continued on deeper in. And as she got further in, the mushrooms got bigger, and fleshier and more aromatic. They were the same ones she had sampled, only bigger. And as she started to collect the bigger ones, she picked up a splatter in the small interior runoff...it was something of a stream inside, running along the rocks. But the spatter wasn't water against rocks, no. It was easy to tune in following her ears. there were living creatures..small creatures in the water and she took to spotting one..two...several of them.
Her smile widened. Now they were perfect.

She put the cache of mushrooms down and removed her shirt, placing it in a manner to create a sort of basket. And in the stream she went, picking one..two..several large crustations... crayfish!

She returned to where she had left her captor...only that Skye and her belongings were no longer where she last was.
Had the woman left? Surely she would have heard the woman calling her if she had been looking for her.
"Oh no no no... where'd she go?" She uttered, looking around over the pools. The woman had left.

"Skye?..e...e..." Ayda sounded out..the woman's name reverberated through the interior.

No reply.

"Skye?!...ye...ye...ye..... Hello?...o...o...o...o.
You still here?...ere.. ere. ..ere..." Ayda then shouted, holding her bundled top with the goodies she had found and brought back.

Still no reply.

"SKYE?!.... ey....ye....ye....ye......"

 

[Skye Achlys]

"Get off of me you bastards!", Skye yelled as she gave a Zernek a fist to its odd and misshapen face as it tried to jump on top of her. "Back off", she yelled before she managed to shoot upwards twice, slightly scaring the beasts. They stood a few meters away from her. They were looking at her, slightly startled by the gunfire.
Skye turned in a small circle, eyeing every single Zernek down.

She was surrounded.

~~~~~~~~~

Skye sighed relieved after she had both fully washed and dressed herself again. "Hgnn", she grunted as she attached the final cord, securing her outfit. She took her mask in her hand, but just before she put it on, she reconsidered. Maybe she should keep it off for a bit longer. Yeah.

She ran her hand through her long hair one last time before she walked into the room she had left Ayda in with her mask in her hand. "Ayda?", the woman whispered with confusion as she couldn't spot the woman. Her eyes ran along the walls for a few more second before she slowly started to realise the woman had left. "No no no no no!", she spoke, each 'no' louder than the last. "That bitsh!", she yelled. "Alright, alright, think", she then murmured as she looked around the room. "She couldn't have gone past me. No, no that's not possible, so..so there has to be another way. Something I've missed…", she mumbled a she started to go around the room, investigating every crack and hole in the wall, feeling every stone. She checked the ceiling, the walls, the floor- everything. After a good amount of minutes trying to find a the way Ayda had went, she gave the wall a kick with frustration while she yelled in anger. The echo of her yell hadn't even disappeared yet when she suddenly heard another yell. Skye couldn't immediately find the source, but after a few seconds the figured the sound was coming from... behind the furthest wall.
"What the…", Skye mumbled as the yell slowly faded away. She walked towards the wall before checking it again, every crack, every stone.

Nothing.
She couldn't find anything and she hadn't heard a single yell again. Maybe she had imagined it? Maybe she had. Some kind of combat stress or whatnot. She stood up again to make her way towards the pool room again. However, just before she left the small side-room, she turned around and stared at the wall once again. She wasn't giving up yet.

She stepped a bit closer towards the wall again, before she slowly raised her mask in front of her face. It took a few second before the vision kicked in, but once it did, Skye's eyes lit up. Through a few cracks in a certain set of stones, she saw a bright red object. After she gasped in surprise, she quickly crawled towards the wall, but as she did, the red thing quickly disappeared, almost like it 'ran' away.
But Skye wasn't giving up, she placed both her hand firmly against the wall, and pushed with all her strength. "Hnggggggh!", her groans filled up the room as she pushed against the wall. To her surprise, the wall slowly started to make noises itself as well; the stones were slowly falling on the other side of the wall, which was slowly giving in.
"Come ooonn", Skye groaned as she gave the wall one last extra push. Most of the stones had now fallen down which enabled Skye to see into the cavernous place behind it. Unfortunately, the a few stones locked in place, resting on the already fallen stones, and no matter how hard she pushed, Skye couldn't get the wall moving anymore by pushing.
"Alright", she whispered, while she quickly did her hair into a ponytail. She then walked to the other side of the room before turning back around, staring at the weakened wall.

"It's just a few stones. Nothing special", she told herself as she stood there. She took a few deep breaths before she suddenly dashed towards the wall with her shoulder forwards.

It did the trick: Skye bursted through the wall, only to find that behind it was a twenty meter drop. Luckily for her she landed on a steep and smooth piece of rock on which she 'sled' down.
Her landing was rough and she had a few scratches here and there, but luckily she hadn't broken anything.
"Oh Force", she mumbled as she pushed herself back on her feet. It was dark in the cave, not pitch-black, but the kind of darkness that limited your vision to a good few meters without an external light source. Luckily for Skye, she had a small flashlight in her backpack, which she immediately took. Once she turned it on, she shone it around the cave, revealing all sorts of rock formations. "Wooow....", Skye whispered. By now her discovery had momentarily made her forget about Ayda. After all, there was no way the woman could've ended up here.

After looking back up from the way she came, Skye concluded there was no chance of her getting back up there. "Only chance is through here, then", she mumbled as she shone her light ahead of her. Skye carefully ventured through the cave, but she had barely been on the move for a minute when she thought she saw a glimpse of red eyes behind a rock. She immediately averted her flashlight beam towards it, while raising her blaster with her other hand. She slowly stepped forward in the intent to circle around the stone. But she hadn't even set five steps before she saw another pair of eyes out of the corner of her own eyes.
She immediately turned to face the red eyes, which was a mistake, because the eyes had already disappeared. But now, the moment she turned around she heard fast tiny footsteps coming from behind her.
In a reflex, she turned around once again, but this time she blindly pulled the trigger on her blaster, firing a volley of shots. She heard a painful cry, and once she had completely turned and shone her flashlight around, she saw a four legged creature lying on the ground.

Then the screams started.
Deafening screams, coming from everywhere suddenly filled the cave. It must've been tens, hundreds of creatures. Skye wasn't interested in meeting more of these so she started sprinting back from where she came. In a clumsy moment, she tripped over a loose pair of rocks. The landing wasn't rough, and she quickly rose to her feet again. But thanks to her fall she did get a glimpse of what was happening behind her- and because of that she was now running even faster. The entire cave behind her was moving. The creatures (Zebreks), had completely swarmed the entire cave- the floor, the walls and even the roof. They were everywhere.

Skye managed to evade a few of the Zebreks that had caught up with her before she eventually reached her place of entry again. The gaping hole in the wall up above was surely not going to do her any good that high up.
"Oh frack!", she yelled as she turned around the face the horde coming after her. With the flashlight in one hand and the gun in the other, she prepared to face the first few Zebreks, the ones that had proved to be faster than the rest of the swarm.


"Get off of me you bastards!", Skye yelled as she gave a Zernek a fist to its odd and misshapen face as it tried to jump on top of her. "Back off", she yelled before she managed to shoot upwards twice, slightly scaring the beasts. They stood a few meters away from her. They were looking at her, slightly startled by the gunfire.
Skye turned in a small circle, eyeing every single Zernek down.

She was surrounded.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

Skye..ye..ye..ye... echoed through the empty halls.

The sound of dripping water from the ceiling stalagmites hitting the pools were the only other sound reverberating-
Wait...did she hear something else besides the water?

"Skye?..ye...ye...ye..." Ayda called out going from one chamber to the next, still carrying her cache of edibles. The fresh crayfish were still squirming in the folds of her shirt top which she had used to hold both the crustaceans and the delicious mushrooms. She had indeed went against her captor's will. But only to find them both food, for they hadn't eaten anything for quite some time..two days now. And by some miracle of the force they had found fresh water among the muck that was Dagobah, they only had solved one problem out of many..water.
But now she had found sustainable protein and what could be well construe as food. Not complete balanced meals, but good enough for them to not die or weaken out of starvation.

But where was her captor Skye?
Ayda went as far as going back outside in the swamp jungle. But the only footprints were those of them both entering and no one leaving. Skye hadn't left..she was still inside!

Ayda scurried back in and back to the pools.
"Skye?..ye..ye..ye.." she called out, echoing through the stone chamber halls.
Nothing but dripping water..some babbling runoff..
Wait...there it was again. It was not water, nor really someone calling back, but..but as Ayda keened up her hearing-
They were of strange screeches and..and Skye's faint shouts.
But where were they emanating...where were they coming from. It was difficult to pinpoint anything among the vast interior halls as sound became broken up tenfold...at least what hadn't been absorbed. She fixed up her bundle more securely as she went from one chamber to the next, both calling out and listening. The interior was quite vast and with the limited luminescent light it was difficult to really gauge between what was shadow and open doorways to other parts. But as she continued from one to the next, the faint sounds she occasionally had picked up became null. She had gone too far and doubled back.

"Skye?...ye..ye..ye.." She called out as she had in every chamber...now back to where she last left her captor.
It took a moment to figure out that if she had been discovered missing that Skye would have first looked for her inside the chamber where she had been instucted to stay in. As thus, Ayda went back to where Skye had told her to stay.
At first upon re-entering it...nothing.
"Skye?..." She called out.
But what was this?..no echo?
Strange, as her voice had echoed before. before she had taken to sneak out and follow her nose to find the mushrooms. Now it didn't echo?..at least not as sound as it had before.

"Skye?.." She called out, listening...or not listening to her echo.
naturally despite her wide eyes and good sense of making out most of the dim lighted interior...many folds of shadow obscured details..and sure enough now she were standing at quite a large dark shadow...an opening in the wall.
It was darker beyond the collapsed wall, giving reason to have appeared to be nothing but a shadow. But it was an opening which had not existed prior to her leaving this chamber.

Ayda approached it and stuck her head in, trying to acclimate her eyes to see more of what was darkness. And little by little minute details took form..shapes..shadows within shadows.
"Oh my..." She realized there was a drop beyond the wall.
And there were those squeals..and more squeals...strangely familiar if only- wait.
Yes! Skye's voice...shouting...warning...
She was in a fight?

"Skye?!" Ayda shouted below.

More squeals...this time getting louder...nearer.

"What the..." She uttered seemingly picking up moving shadows below like the ground was, moving. moving toward her..and coming up.
The strange smell too....somehow familiar....she knew that smell.

"Ooh... well hello there...." She were suddenly surprised by a small yet so familiar little creature that suddenly pooped up right in front of her, stooping on the stone that had been part of the wall.
"What are you-....oh my!" Ayda then took a step back when two...ten...then a bunch of more little critters came up scaling over the fallen wall. She knew them to be Zernecks...small adorable pets. One which she had when she was a little girl in the orphanage...her only friend really. It had taken to her..or rather, she to it at the time and did prove to be a wonderful and cute little friend that took the weary long days of confinements to her small room bearable. And yes, it was a carnivore, as she had fed her little Zerneck what bugs, creepy crawlers and such that she easily found in the orphanage. And at times, she even fed it small scraps of food..or portions of meats that she rather not eat in the mess halls when served. her little Zerneck gobbled it all up and would 'urp' at her and even purrr...much like a feline. It had truly been a great pet. Up until the superintendent of custodial got wind of it. Then it were taken away from her, never to be seen again. Naturally she received a stern warning to never have such vermin in her room, before receiving quite a scrub down and confined to her room less her room mate and Zerneck. It was later in her studies that she learned of their nature...as when in packs.

Ayda was quite taken back by the amount of Zernecks coming up from the cavern and into the chamber. Her first reaction was to back away quickly, but that proved to be her downfall. She tripped up and landed on her butt. Inadvertently she dropped the bundle upon her derriere meeting with the floor, spilling crayfish and what was still a bundle of mushrooms.
Immediately the Zernecks made for the crayfish..tearing into the crustaceans...fighting among them for the better part of the fleshy meat. naturally there were more popping up out of the wall than there were crayfish to be had. And as the majority of them were deeply busy at the fresh crayfish, the rest were now looking at the bigger filet-mignon... Ayda.

"EEk!..." She screamed scrambling or trying to put some distance between her and the little devils, pushing her self..feet pushing her backwards...buttocks on floor. But as she did this, she kicked the bundle away from her. It caused it to tumble and exposing the mushrooms that she had wrapped up kind of separately so as not to contaminate them with the crayfish. At least not till she got the crayfish cooked or boiled somehow. Ayda was about cleanliness and despite her current situation, prisoner and all..she did her best to keep what needed to be kept clean; clean.

The mushrooms spilled out...some even getting in between what was left of the crayfish, as by now they were mostly all spoken for.
But instead of the Zerneks lunging for the fleshy delicious mushrooms, they jumped back away from it...like it were some kind of horrid thing that would harm them. And harm one..two it did upon mere contact. or at least of what Ayda assumed happened. For two of them started to trash about, scraping themselves agaist the floor, until they accidently bumbed into another zernek..then they too squirmed and trashed about like something had gotten on them.

It took no time whatsoever for Ayda to realize it were the mishrooms that seemed to be the culprit of the few Zerneks behaving as such.
"Eeek...get OFF me!..." She yelled, pulling one, two off her as she then made to regain her few crawls back to the spilled mushroom and the cavity left by the retreating Zerneks from them.
She plopped herself next to the mushrooms and remnants of crayfish, which were now void of the creatures. In a way, as she looked about her, the Zerneks had encircled her...which in reality had distanced themselves from the mushrooms by which Ayda now was next too. It seemed to create a sort of force field, if one was looking at the behavior of the little creatures.
Ayda felt her hand around the floor and picked up one mushroom...crushing it into a few pieces and threw it at the Zerneks in front of her. Just as she had hoped for, they scrambled away from it..even jumping ahead of it to avoid even coming in contact with it.

"Oh shoot... Skye!" Ayda then realized that her captor Skye was behind and below that very same wall the creatures had popped out of...and did she know of the mushrooms?
But how was she to get to her captor? Surely, she just couldn't get up off the floor and make a dive for the wall.
or why should she?
Why dive?
Why dive when...when she could walk.

None of the Zerneks were even attempting to jump over the mushrooms to get to her. they were just merely rasping and hissing and quite mad that they couldn't have their delicious filet-mignon...Ayda.
"Heh!..."she replied back at the hungry pack. No way it seemed they would chance coming in contact with the mushrooms despite their ravenous hunger.

Ayda picked up more of the mushrooms. This somehow infuriated a few Zerneks..or at least took to prepare for her to possibly throw them again toward them. They scurried back further..some jumping over others so as not to be so close to her throw. But instead of throwing them, she squished the fleshy mushrooms and started rubbing them all over her exposed skin..then clothes..hair.
oh the Zerneks were pissed. So pissed that they hissed and stammered and some eventually popped back in the open wall. There was uncontaminated Skye below and she wasn't spoiled like Ayda was.

But guess what...
Yes, Ayda got up, taking a few more mushrooms..or what was there to pick up in haste and went over to the wall. A clear path were made at her every step. Even the stones she had now touched, the Zerneks avoided.
"Heh..serves you right...you little devils..." she said as she once more peered down below.
She had no choice really but to jump down. But how and why did Skye go down below,she couldn't figure. The only thing she knew by the faint shouts and blaster fire was that the woman was in trouble...maybe even from these very same Zerneks. If so, then she could help her...after all, she had a handful of what these critters avoided.
It was certainly a ways down and from what she could see or not see, quite unscaleable and steep if not smooth.

Taking a deep breath, like she were about to dive in one of the pools again, she jumped down to what she gambled was a floor...

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye briefly looked over her shoulder after having heard something- or actually someone- fall down. As she returned her gaze towards the creatures to continue to fight them off, she spoke to the fallen woman she recognized to be Ayda.
"Great fething idea. You've come back just in time to die", she snarled as she grabbed one of the Zerneks who jumped at her face. It slightly scratched Skye's cheeck with it paws which resulted in Skye letting go of the creature, which then fell against Ayda. Skye was slightly startled when the Zernek suddenly started screaming like it was dying before it ran away in fear.

While Skye was following the fleeing Zernek with her eyes in confusion she was suddenly grabbed from behind. Sort off. Ayda was... rubbing her arms? With some kind of mushroom? "What in the... What are you doing? Stop!", she commanded as she pulled one arm out of Ayda's hands with the intent to reopen fire. But it would've been too late already, the little devils should have already swarmed her by now.

But they hadn't. When Skye wanted to reopen fire, she found the little creatures just staring at them, hopping around and hissing, but not attacking. Grasped by this strange event, she didn't resist anymore when Ayda took her arm again. "I don't know what it is that you're doing, but fine", she said as she eyed down every single Zernek that moved. As she did that, Ayda seemed to ramble about the creatures having a weak spot for the mushrooms or something like that. Skye wouldn't have believed it, but hey, it really did look like it.

So they were safe. Sort of. For now.
Sure, the little things wouldn't attack them for a while, but it didn't look like they were leaving either. There had to be a way to show these little chits that it was time to leave them alone.

"I'm done with this", Skye then mumbled as she took her blaster and aimed it towards one of the nearest Zerneks. Skye pullled the trigger once, hitting the creature perfectly so that it was still alive. It grunted in pain as the others moved away from it and looked at it. Skye then moved towards the grunting Zernek. The others kept their distance from Skye, but the wounded one couldn't. This would be their exit.

"If you don't leave," Skye spoke loudly, not expecting the creatures to understand her but to recognize the harsh tone, "this happens." She kneeled down as she grabbed the Zernek by it's neck. The little creature screeched like it had never screeched before. So much so that it was hurting Skye's ears. It kept screeching and suffering. It was almost kind of sad.
Almost.

The creatures responded like Skye had expected. It was done. Where the creatures had been wary of the two girls before because they had been smeared with the mushroom thingies, they were now deathly afraid of the two. Every single creature ran away as fast as they could as the one Skye was holding let out its final screech. It was dead. And the job was done.

It was likely neither of the two girls would see the creatures again. Good.

After taking a few deep breaths and staring into the now empty cave, Skye turned around. She was a small distance away from Ayda. There was an awkward silence. Ayda remained silent as the masked woman stared her down.

Then Skye took off the mask to reveal a face which expressed pain, betrayal and anger.
She slowly stepped towards Ayda with her fists clenched.
"You left. You abandoned me. You ran away again!", she spoke harshly and loudly as she walked towards Ayda faster and faster. Ayda took a few steps back, perhaps in fear, as Skye come closer and closer. Just a few more steps, and she had reached her. The woman with the hate filled expression rushed towards Ayda and then she..


..suddenly pulled her into a tight hug.

The hateful expression immediately faded away from Skye's face as she hugged the girl. Her face now showed tiredness and fear. Skye had secretly been relieved to see Ayda again, for she feared to have been left alone in this place. "You came back", she whispered, sounding a bit softer than she had hoped.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

Surprised is what she was...

While Ayda had thought about her captor having fallen prey to the Zerneks, she hadn't counted on Skye to embrace her as such. All she was thinking about was the woman under the same attack by the creatures as she had been.
Sure, she figured on some kind of scolding or whatever anger the woman had, that she would vent out on her. After all, Ayda had seen Skye do her worst....and to her own comrades. Skye had a temper. But despite that, she still didn't wish the woman coming to harm. She didn't want anyone coming to harm.
But aside the initial concern of finding edibles, as staple as they were to share; the realization that the woman was being assaulted, much like she had experienced, before discovering the mushroom effect on the creatures. Ayda just simply couldn't phantom letting Skye be bitten to death by the Zerneks.


It were Ayda's nature to think of others and ease their sufferings. Again, it were as to why she had chosen to become a doctor...or a healer, as most in the galaxy called them.
It took a moment for her to respond in the same manner...putting her arms around Skye. As for a moment, she had expected the woman to knock her down to the floor again for disobeying her silly order to stay put. But instead... a softer gentler means of contact.
"I'm so hungry....I smelled mushrooms not too far from us and...and thought we could eat them.." She said while still in that embrace.
"You were tending to yourself...washing near the pool..." Maybe it wasn't necessary to remind Skye that she had indeed instructed her not to move from there.

The woman slowly broke away, taking a step back, but still now holding Ayda's arms. Their eyes met as Skye seemed to take on what she was saying and meaning.

"They're edible...and so were the crayfish in the runoff further up there.." She motioned with her head to the ceiling, as they were now below somewhere as to the source of the mushrooms and crayfish.

"The Zerneks first came at me ..maybe for the crayfish. They're all gone...the crayfish i had. But once they finished that, they attacked me and that's when they spilled the mushrooms. And that's when I discovered they didn't like them one bit." Ayda turned back to Skye's orbs.
By now, Skye had dropped her hands off her and seemed a bit solem, beside relieved that she or both were Ok for now.

"I came back to where you were washing...with the food. You weren't there , so I thought you went outside. But I saw that you never left..." She went on to explain, not needing to mention that there were only their footsteps coming in and not out.
"So I looked for you and saw the broken wall. That's when the Zerenks crawled up and came at me.
Anyway...they seem to have an acute allergic reaction to the mushrooms...hmm...kind of gives reason as to why there are so many crayfish up there. The runoff is lined with mushrooms. The Zerneks can't get to them..." She then unconsciously wet her lips thinking of the crustaceans and how tasty they would be. Only that they had to either find more down here or desperately find a way back up. Lord she was starving.

"I only got to taste a few small mushrooms before I started to gather the crayfish... Now we lost it all." She then looked around a bit, her eyes picking up minute luminescence...not like there was on the next level up. And the air was...dryer down where they were.
"I don't think there's any mushrooms down here..nor water and crayfish either.." She was more thinking of what her tummy was complaining to her about.

And then there was the second hug. THAT was as unexpected as the first. Ayda didn't quite understand much of the first, let alone the second, as she had done nothing since the first hug but talk. And it wasn't like Skye was still angry at her like she had been before.
So again she hugged back. It was better than getting knocked down for sure. Then again, there was no feeling of anger from the woman either...that was a plus too.
Maybe the woman wouldn't be so bossy or as mean as she was before. That would be awesome...Ayda could definitely go for that.

They were alone... and singly, the chance of survival and comfort would be against them, so she figured. Together they could more than double their chances. Already they knew Dagobah wasn't at all friendly to the likes of their being...even spiritually they were at risk. This planet was not created for mankind, nor their spirit.
She didn't have to say it, but going deeper and lower was not a option for their survival. They had to get back up the steep cavern wall to the ruins above. At least there was some sustenance for them...and they would be much closer to getting off Dagobah somehow than staying below ground.

"Sigh..." She was still quite hungry and all the excitement with the Zerneks had burned quite a few extra calories. She was feeling it. Ayda was starved.
Her eyes dropped to the freshly killed Zernek on the floor. Maybe-

"Hmm... you think they're edible?" She asked, lightly giving her lower lip a bite.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye just stood there staring at Ayda as the girl wondered about the Zernek. Skye was still a bit reluctant to admit she just hugged the girl twice, reluctant to admit she was kind and happy to see the girl who was the enemy.
But maybe, maybe she could let it go this one time. She'd made mistakes before, trusting the enemy, but she'd do it once more. In the name of survival. Yeah. Just survival.

After Skye made up her mind Ayda was already leaning forward towards the Zernek. It was then that Skye quickly lunged forward and grabbed Ayda's arm.
"Don't", she said. It was a command, just like all the other things she'd said before, but it sounded a lot kinder. A lot softer. "We can't risk it."

Yes, the Zernek looked good. But that was only because Skye and Ayda were starving. Yes, Skye too was extremely hungry. And the thought that they were fish and mushrooms up there made it even worse.

But she had something. Something she had kept for herself. In reserve. It was one of the things Ayda had found. A bar. Food.

Skye reached for the backpack in her outfit without saying a word. Out of it she took a bar of military food. She couldn't imagine it being tasty, but it would definitely grant the consumer some strength and nutrition. She held it in her hand, looked at it for a moment and sighed silently.
Then she handed it over to Ayda.
"Eat it," she said, "it'll help against the hunger."

As the confused Ayda held the bar of food, Skye made her way towards their 'exit', the hole in the wall through which they entered.
"Eat that for a bit, gather your strength and then come and help me when you're done", Skye spoke loudly, her voice was now more confident again.

She looked up with her hands on her hips. How where they getting out of here? She ran her hand along the walls. Apart from the rocks at the bottom the wall were smooth. Too smooth. Unclimbable.

Maybe she could find something to throw? Nope, they had no rope and there was no viable anchor point or anything.

Maybe she could build her way out of there? Skye started to grab the stones which had originally made up the broken wall and she started to build a small set of steps with them. She came quite high, but not even remotely far enough.

"Chit!", Skye yelled. She was frustrated, tired, saddened, starving- and probably about to die. She desperately looked around the cave- there had to be a way. There just had to be.

But there wasn't. Skye's hopes had slowly but surely been destroyed. Eventually she slowly stepped back towards Ayda. She was defeated. Skye stopped a meter away from Ayda and looked her in the eyes. Skye's expression was sad and full of regrets. Her hands slowly reached out to grab Ayda's and her lips slowly moved to say something.

But then her solemn expression changed. A determined look arose on her face as she stared into the distance.
She was looking at a certain rock formation.... She had seen it before, but where?

Of course! The murals! The art on the walls near the pool! One set had depicted some kind of cavern. It showed a bound man being brought down here by guards armed with spears, probably as punishment or as a death penalty. But that meant there was a natural entrance from the cave into the ruins.

"We..we can still escape! That thing- the rocks, I saw them on the walls. There's an exit somewhere behind there. I just know there is. There has to be", she spoke fast and full of energy, which was odd because energy was the one thing Skye didn't really have anymore. It wouldn't be much longer until the woman would just collapse without food and rest, but she wasn't going to show that to Ayda.
"Come on! Quickly!", she said as she grabbed Ayda's arm before they hastily started making their way towards the rocks.

 

[Ayda Elisantra]

The energy bar had come from the MRE's. it had been found by her among the trashed and scattered items that she had gathered after that creature charged their camp not two days ago....

Skye had thrusted the bar into her hands. At the given moment it had seemed god-sent. Ayda held the bar, but as desperately she wanted to rip into it..package and all. Yes, the wrapping was made biodegradable and in fact wasn't toxic at all. If ingested, it was nothing more than simple starches and fillers...emulsified. It could take up space in her empty belly along with the so delicious bar itself, she was so hungry.

But how and why had Skye not devoured it like..yesterday? Ayda couldn't figure, as they had been hit hard when that creature tore through their meager supplies. As it had turned out, they both had not eaten..not with the protein bar still intact. It meant the woman was just as hungry as her..right?

Skye of course had already moved away from her and on to the unscalable wall. Ayda held that bar a while as she watched Skye mull over the situation...getting back up to the level they were. There were certainly edibles up there...mushrooms...crayfish...maybe even fish too. Ayda had been so ecstatic on first noticing the crayfish and how easy it was to catch them that she didn't need to look for other creatures. And if these caverns had even Zerneks, then there was a good chance for other more palatable proteins.

Still the discarded Zernek was more than they had at the moment. The whole vermin thing was more mindset than anything. Zerneks were for the most part clean creatures...hers had been. Then again, she did her best at the time to keep it's makeshift little cubby hole...one of her small drawer that Ayda was alloted, clean and odor free, lest the superintendent of the orphanage discovered her pet.
Ok, so she had never even for one moment ever consider eating her zernek...but her tummy now was crying a different story.

"Sigh..." She watched Skye futilely trying to stack up some of the fallen stones to maybe reach the opening. but she knew it was futile, even as the first stone was piled on top of the other. Ayda had studied physics and had to pass geometry along with all of the intricate math and sciences. They had all been part of her education that lead up to her qualifying for medical studies. Her grades had been exceptional.

Naturally, she wanted to ask Skye to stop. Stop with the notion that she could build up to the opening. It was physically impossible. There wasn't enough stone for even a weak base, let alone pyramid all the way to the top.
And as such, Skye ran out of both stones and strength by the time she found out for herself how futile her effort had been. Ayda had just watched...holding tight that energy bar. She knew if she had said anything to dismay Skye, that the woman would once more loose her temper. She was that way...Skye was.

"W...wait...you don't need to pull me along like a child." Ayda stopped, as Skye was once more started tugging her along. Naturally the woman sharply turned at her, with a look that Ayda could only describe as one who couldn't believe she had the nerve to start resisting now...now that Skye had started to be nice to her.

"We'll stick together... I won't make a run for it...
I could have run with the food I had when I went outside looking for you. But I came back in, when you weren't out there." Ayda explained, before presenting the energy bar...untouched from its wrapper.

"I went to get us food...for both of us. I can't eat this alone." She then said, despite her tummy arguing otherwise.

"We share this now... we share everything...please?" her big light blue orbs were difficult to avoid. She had those eyes...no malice...no hate...just innocence.

 

[Skye Achlys]

Skye wanted to turn around and continue going forward, but Ayda's light blue eyes had caught her own. She couldn't exactly explain it, but there was something to the young woman. As a result of this, even though Skye had planned to not do it, she eventually took the bar into her hands to break and share it. There was something about Ayda's eyes. They had a certain effect on Skye. They were so young, just like hers, but they were also so innocent and pure.

Skye looked at the bar in her hands, and even though her stomach was screaming for everything, she broke it into two, with a bigger and a smaller piece. She handed the bigger piece over to Ayda without looking at her before Skye turned around and continued walking forward.
"Just keep up", she softly ordered as she marched towards the rocks. During their little walk Skye swiftly ate her part of the energy bar, slightly silencing her stomach for a while.

Skye's heart started pounding faster and faster as they reached the formation she thought she recognized. She stood still just before she had rounded the corner. Her hands were softly shaking. Not only because of the obvious conditions, but also because she knew that if this wouldn't provide an exit, they'd be done for. They'd have nowhere left to go and nowhere left to stay.

She took a deep breath.
And then she walked around the boulders that had been obstructing their view.

Skye's eyes lit up as a massive gate built into the cave wall emerged in front of her eyes. It was gigantic and completely decorated with pieces reminiscent to the pool. "Oh my...", Skye mumbled as she observed the enormous gate. Behind her Ayda had now too caught up and was probably wondering about the stone door as well.

Skye walked a few steps backwards so that she stood next to Ayda. Without averting her eyes from the structure, Skye mumbled: "We'll get out of this. Just do as I say, when I say it." Her tone was something she herself wasn't even sure of. It was both meant to command Ayda to follow her yet also meant to comfort the woman, two things which didn't exactly go together.

Attached to the door were a bunch of clogs and levers, which together added up into a whole complicated mechanism. Parts of it were damaged, parts of it were missing and parts of it were still operational- or they at least looked operational.

"Come on", Skye said as she started walking again. She briefly took a hold of Ayda's arm, gently pulling her along, before she let go again, which resulted in her hand sliding along Ayda's arm and eventually her hand before they'd lose contact. As Skye walked towards the structure, she could see some form of text engraved into the gate.

"An ancient language", she slowly spoke. "Fascinating, but not very helpful"

Luckily the pieces and paintings on the wall were more visual clues than verbal ones, so they were better fit for the two women.

When Skye had observed a few of the drawings which had been next to eachother, she understood its purpose.
"This was a test. It links up with what I've seen", she mumbled as she walked along the stone door. "It looks like this was their punishment. People convicted of horrible crimes where thrown into this cave. Their only exit seemed to have been this very gate...". "It's some sort of puzzle, I believe. Yes, yes it is! Look there, that mural", she said as she pointed towards a specific drawing, depicting a man tangling with a set of clogs and levers while little creatures, probably the ones Ayda and Skye faced before, crept up behind him. "If they completed the puzzle, the door would open and their crimes would be forgiven. But the tricky part was completing the puzzle with a crafty and primitive type of timers... The hungry bastards we met a few minutes ago."

Skye turned around to look at Ayda, who was looking at the mural. "We don't have to worry about the creatures, all we need to do is finish this puzzle. Or what's left of it", she sighed as she saw a few broken levers. Hopefully the main mechanisms were still intact. If they were, there was probably a way to bypass broken sections.

It was only when Skye was staring at Ayda that she noticed a small drop of blood slide down her own cheek. As she brought her hand up to it, she felt a small cut somewhere, undoubtedly made by one of the Zerneks. It wasn't anything spectacular, but just another annoying potentially dangerous cut. Starting to know how Ayda thought about wounds, Skye kept her hand against her left cheek, hoping to keep the cut hidden from Ayda. They didn't have the time to worry about superficial wounds.