Probably daggers. [Ari]

[Quietus]

She knew he was there just as she always did. Sight, sound, smell were enough to tell her that, but the sensation in her mind and within her skin told her, too. From the day Arathul Moriir Shamalain had been brought into her life Quietus had made a vow to raise him as her own - which to some would mean very little, if [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] could attest. She was not a maternal sort, but under the orders of her own elder she would do almost anything.

Even raise a child from infancy that she had not bore, birthed, or even wanted.

Three marks upon his right hand palm - three dots burned into his skin would be a guiding beacon for the remainder of his waking days. A most ancient art, the Bloodtrail, its usefulness stood the test of time.

Volden cringed from afar as he watched the boy launch himself at the revered Beastia in the presence of several highly esteemed hunters and their own offspring. A soft groan followed as Ari wrapped himself around the waist of the immovable woman, his hand lifting to his head in disbelief. He'd hear about this later, he was sure.

The Beastia did eventually look down, unsmiling but also distracted from any growing aggravation by the quiver of arrows at the boy's back and the bow in one of his hands. She plucked the bow from his fingers, allowing his affections for the time being, and lifted the bow to examine it. A pleased smile formed as she recognized the burned sigil of the maker, the very same of Ari's daggers, and looked down at him calmly. Free hand formed a strong grip on his shoulder, prying Ari from her and pressing him back as she moved to stoop before him. Quietus pushed the bow back into his hand and released him to sign with her own hands:

It is a good bow.

Green eyes flickered past the boy to the figure of Volden standing in the distance, to whom she motioned with a nod of her head and then followed to sign to Ari.

Show me.

 

[Sunblade]

She smelled of leather, and fire, and home, and Ari snuggled up to the hard woman as tight as he could, anticipating well what would follow in a moment.

Surprisingly enough, there was no thwack to the back of his skull, but soon enough a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and moved him bodily away with seemingly no effort at all. Still, the fact that [member="Quietus"] was here — after days of being stuck with Volden, ugh — was enough to keep the boy from scowling at the loss of contact.

And they were going hunting. Finally, a test appropriate to his skills!

Ari beamed up at the impassive face of his mother as if he'd been the one to craft the bow, then hurried to nock an arrow — the very arrow he'd been forced to recover from an unnamed roof in the Market district — and turned to face Volden.

His expression changed to the very embodiment of vindictive hell as he assumed the stance and pulled the string taut, tongue peeking out in the corner of his mouth as he squeezed one blueish-purplish eye shut and took aim. Expelling the breath from his lungs, the young Shamalain let go of the string a moment later, relishing the vibration of an arrow well-shot as it traveled the length of his extended arm.

 

[Quietus]

Slowly rising to a stand as the boy made his preparations, Quietus eyed Volden where he stood. The man gave a sigh, a roll of his eyes, and a wave of a hand that spoke volumes of his unbridled glee in this exercise. He dropped his hands to his sides, assuming a ready position just as the boy let his arrow fly.

It cut through the air with a low hiss against the breeze, flying on a course that would set it true for Volden's head. At the very last second, however, it was snatched from the air with a hand guided and empowered by the Force. The movement happened so fast that a flush of wind fluttered at them, setting the Beastia's braids dancing at her front. She blinked, and in that instant Volden was in a stance of capture: legs spread, torso twisted to one side, the triumphant hand holding the arrow stretched aside.

Another hand at Ari's shoulder, gripping in a firm squeeze. When the boy looked up Quietus was staring at him with a stoic gaze that gave no hint of pride nor disgust. It was simply the expression of a Mentor still in the throws of teaching a Pupil.

Next time, she signed to him after releasing his shoulder, aim for the heart.

"Beastia," came a voice from her back, "Commander Revarde has arrived with the envoy."

A nod, she signaled to Volden to join them and turned to follow after one of the Guards, her own retinue of Hunters following in tow.

"Better," said Volden as he placed the arrow back into Ari's quiver, left hand balled into a fist to hide the blood.

 

[Sunblade]

The victorious grin plastered across his face quickly fell as Volden moved in a whirlwind of dust, snatching his perfect shot out of the air just before it would've sank between his eyes and cracked the skull.

Ari opened and closed his mouth in affront like a fish out of water, gesturing wildly at the man with indignation written all over his features. It was only when [member="Quietus"] placed that same strong hand on his shoulder that the boy calmed down, if only for a little, tearing his eyes from Volden to look up at his mother.

With pinched lips, he nodded his understanding, then returned to glaring at his approaching quarry, now twice-missed. "I would've hit you," Ari grumbled back at him under his breath, then picked up the pace to fall in step with the rest of the party.

For his short legs, the boy had to take two strides to match those of the hunters, and soon enough, he found himself out of breath as he nearly ran after the Queen of the Wilds and her companions. If they'd continued like that any longer, Ari would've likely started voicing his complaints, but luckily for him and the hunters both, they came to a stop not a moment later.

In front of their small group stood the Commander — or who Ari assumed was the Commander — surrounded by half a dozen Irontown guards. Their metallic armor looked odd and unnatural to the boy, and when they spoke, their tongue was sharp and unpleasant to the ear. On instinct, the boy squeezed closer to his mother, peering at the lot between the waiting hunters of his tribe.

 

[Louise]

“Toofless! What did you eat?!”

Maleah's face twisted into an old wash cloth as the pungent fragrance of old nexu fart made its slow climb up the young woman's nostrils. I mean, sure, she'd had smelled worse things than this, but there was something in the fart of a beast that was distinctly eggy.

The large nexu made a few snarls of regret, which were met by a single pre-lecture eyebrow from Maleah.

“If you're gonna eat things off the Irontown ground then you're gonna learn, hopefully, one day.”

Evidently it wasn't the first time this had happened and probably wouldn't have been the last. She might have been chided by a seeming lack of discipline that came from the girl and her overgrown cat but Toofless was different from any trained beast. He was a companion, an extension of her spirit and thus got off the leash, so to speak.

On the bright side, none of Irontown's poachers wanted an eggy pelt, that being said, a farting nexu was hardly useful on the hunt.

“If not, we can always use a cork, right up your b...”

“Hissssssssssssssss…”

“...just a suggesti...”

Her brow furrowed, realising something vital through their banter. She was late. Twin suns (® Chris) widened in a moment of realisation and then resigned themselves to their fate. Was it the fault of the windy Nexu? Or were there other forces intertwined with her fate, lazy forces exhausted by the holiday period?

Maybe she could just catch up and slide in with the group, completely undetected. She glanced sideways at her stinking companion.

Probably not.

 

[Quietus]

Commander Revarde was a man made of Onderonian granite, chiseled by the claws and fangs of the beasts and baked in the merciless summer sun. Some described the man as heartless, but Quietus knew otherwise. He had family back at Halcyon Citadel; a wife and a daughter no more than five summers old, and the way that the Commander looked at the Beastia spoke volumes of the amount of anger, fear, respect, and hatred the man had for her.

"This is a preliminary sweep of Beggars Pass," Revarde began as the group amassed. Hunters, Tamers, Riders, Warriors, and Soldiers of Irontown stood shoulder to shoulder, weapons in their hands.

"our readings show a massive influx of maalraas - the population has doubled in two months. They damn near decimated the dalgo herd that uses the pass to get to the valley for water. Our job is to trim these karkers down, find the breeding queens and skin'em, blast a few dens, collect the pups for the Beastiary. Every single one of you is aware of how dangerous these beasts are and if you've forgotten: they hunt in packs and they're smarter than you, damn well stronger and faster too."

"Wings will scare them into hiding so we won't be bringing any. If you get separated - make sure you scream real loud when they start tearing the skin from your bones. Packs are easier to surround when they go into a feeding frenzy. Any questions?"


You are late. The voice rang through Maleah's head like a gong and were the girl to look up she'd find that pair of jungle-green eyes leering at her through the bodies. Chain your nexu up.

"Beastia Blackthorne's group will be taking up the party rear," Revarde announced, "got some kneecappers to test." A chuckle from the soldiers followed, "my team will be heading up the skinning crew. Every Queen skin you bring back will earn you 1,000c and a vacation day. Larrig's team has den duty. Clean 'em out, bag the pups, cave in the entrances. Redmaw's group will be smoking and tagging individuals. Anything you see juvenile or older without a tag is free game - 500c for extra skins. Trade value for everything else. And watch out for rupings. They'll pick up a wounded dog before you can get to 'em."

As the groups formed Quietus turned to look down at [member="Ari"], lifting her hands to sign to him.

Today you will kill your first maalraas. Its hide will become yours to wear, its meat will be your meal, its bone will become the hilt for your first lightsaber.

Failure is not an option.

[member="Maleah Talith"]

 

[Sunblade]

It was at this point that Ari would usually begin whining, but this wasn't a usual hunt. There were two main differences to the small trips into the surrounding jungle he'd gone on with his fellow tribesmen; guards with guns, his mother's presence… and sweet spirits, what on Onderon was that disgusting stench?

The boy whipped around, the hunting party erased from his mind for a few moments as he struggled to comprehend the foul stink suddenly washing over them. Was it something he ate? Was it something Volden ate?

But no, it was neither him nor his sour guide; it was a complete unknown, a tall girl with burning eyes and the single most odorous tamed animal the boy ever did see. Or, well, smell.

"Who are you?" he inquired without an ounce of shame, bright blue eyes peering at [member="Maleah Talith"] as she approached. "Also your cat stinks. Yuck!"

In his affect, Ari nearly missed [member="Quietus"]' hand motions, assaulted as he was by the unearthly foetor radiating from the Nexu tailing the new girl.

"MY LIGHTSABER?"

Excitement spilled over his young face like soup from an overturned bowl, and any dramatic, serious inflections the Beastia had tried to convey were drowned out in the boy's enthusiasm.

"Let's go let's go let's go!" he cheered happily, tugging on the leather adorning the Queen of Onderon, heedless of stature, respect, or propriety. Manners were for losers. Ari was a hunter of the tribe, and soon he would have his lightsaber.

Nothing short of an apocalypse could stop Arathul Moriir Shamalain once he got going, and with a lightsaber in hand, it wasn't entirely crazy to expect that he might be the cause of it.

 

[Louise]

Definitely not.

Maleah slowly peered up like a guilty dog who had eaten the birthday cake as her grandmother's voice permeated through her skull, without having any prior warning it caused the young woman to twitch (although Oma's voice had that affect upon most people).

As she began to chain her companion up as ordered, a small voice chimed in, presumably asking who she was before abruptly offending her nexu's sensibilities. Okay, that wasn't true, nexu didn't have sensibilities but at least Maleah was offended upon Toofless' behalf, even if he did utterly reek of eggy farts but only she could tell him that he smelled bad!

“I'm...”

Mouth was left open, as before another word could escape the young boy was already exploding with excitement about the prospect of a lightsaber.

Not that she could judge, she had been just as excited when Aela had proposed that they would make one for her not too long ago. Just as excited, but a lot more restrained. Well, with the exception of pole vaulting in dad's workshop. Nonetheless, now she had a wicked cool lightsaber pike strapped onto her back. Maybe she'd show it off to the boy before he made his, just to make him a teeny tiny bit jealous.

She almost couldn't believe the child existed, or hadn't been fed to a drexl at the very least. Orange eyes grew wide as he pulled upon Oma's garments, her gaze slowly moving from the boy, up to Quietus and then back down to the boy again as if she expected the fates to strike him down right there and then.

“...Maleah?”

---

[member="Quietus"] [member="Ari"]

 

[Quietus]

To say the Beastia was a woman of patience was to live a fools delusion.

Green eyes growing acidic with fraying nerves for the rambunctious boy watched him with a narrowing gaze. He was strong for his age, no doubts there, but he was tugging on an immovable mountain harboring within it all the power of simmering rage. Silence as the volcano bubbled away, hot gaze lifting to meet the incredulous expression on [member="Maleah Talith"]'s face.

Quietus slowly lifted a hand and extended her arm, palm up and open. A warrior standing nearby gave the barest recoil, his own face stoic as he reached to his back and pulled a carved wooden club from its sling to place the handle within her fingers. The motion was fluid and deliberately non-violent - a smooth, gentle tap upon the boy's skull.

[member="Ari"] dropped like a stone.

Without ever removing her gaze from Maleah the Queen of the Jungles reached down, grabbed the whelp by the nape, hoisted him and carried him over to her granddaughter. The punishment for being late? A little extra burden for the journey. Mere luck that he was so young and small.

Do not fall behind, she told the girl after pushing him into her arms.

The woman turned on her heel, returned the club to its owner and stalked off to lead her hunting party out with the rest. It would take half the day to reach their destination, she hoped Maleah had a good breakfast.

 

[Sunblade]

One moment, he was bouncing excitedly, and the next he was reduced to nothing more than a sack of potatoes on the ground.

Luckily for [member="Maleah Talith"], he was a rather small and thin sack of potatoes, and therefore wouldn't be a very heavy burden to bear. Now, if you count the personality…

But that was neither here nor there for the young boy, who was currently enjoying the pleasures of forcibly induced sleep. Not born, but at least bred in the jungle, Ari had learned to fall asleep to the gentle swaying of the hammock, and so the girl's arms would fare especially well in keeping him under.

Which was just as well for Arathul, because maaaan, these dreams were cool!

He was a maalraas, hot breath and hot sweat pouring off him as he bounded through the forest; his land. Every paw found sure footing, every stride and every jump advanced him through the seemingly impenetrable lattice of vine and foliage.

Prey.

A warning, an order, and he glanced to his left, keen eyes piercing the green darkness that suffused the jungle in its depths. His Elder was there, trampling the earth beneath its claws as they sped through the underbrush.

The scent hit him a moment later; metal, rust, acid and leather. The Tall ones were here again, shambling noisily and clumsily through a world that wasn't theirs. The Elder bared rows of sharp teeth, and he followed along with the rest of the pack on their heels.

The blinding light of a dying day consumed them a breath later as they lunged through the last curtain of leaves and into the flank of a hunting party, ravenous to tear into their flesh like they would in theirs.

Ari shot up in his cousin's arms with a loud gasp, eyes wide as saucers. "Mom!"

[member="Quietus"]​

 

[Louise]

She couldn't look away.

Despite the fact that there was a mild knot in her stomach that told her, no, demanded that she stopped staring at Quietus being harassed by a highly energetic child but she could not look away. Like, staring into the sun, except hopefully she wouldn't go blind.

One small tuk later and Oma was approaching her, small unconscious boy in tow and still the young woman couldn't help but stare, quizzical expression now bordering on the confused as her was delivered into her arms.

What am I supposed to do with one of these? Maleah thought to herself, looking down at the now far less excitable boy in her arms, waggling both eyebrows at his small form.

Now burdened with a child (no, not in that way, you can breathe dad) the Talith twin was left to follow the hunting party, having to keep up with those without sleeping brats weighing them down (although, truth be told he was fairly light). Eventually however, even light weights can cause aches and she had opted to shift position, like swapping which hand held the heavy shopping bag.

At first she hoisted him over her right shoulder, although he kept almost slipping due to the lack of broad male shoulders, so then she opted for the left shoulder perhaps in the hope that she was oddly not symmetrical. No dice. There was a moment where she considered dragging him behind her by his foot, like a child-shaped club but she thought better of it.

Eventually he was back in her arms, arms that were becoming weary the longer that they trekked, although to her credit she managed to keep up with the back of her pack.

Just when the twin thought that she would be carrying him the entire way the boy finally came back to the world of the living in a manner that was so sudden that Maleah found herself startled, accidentally dropping him at her feet.

“Gweh?!”

---

[member="Quietus"] [member="Ari"]