Red Leather Jacket

[Dhakarta]

Buying hides was all well and good, and had served her purposes thus far, but a live beast would be much easier to work with. Which was an interesting thing to say when one was discussing a vicious predator, but there you had it. So as much as she had gone out of her way to avoid this part of space after the invasion of Dathomir, Dhakarta found herself in the space of the Mandalorian Empire. Specifically in the Japrael sector, on Onderons most infamous moon, Dxun.

Of course, unless someone present at the founding of the Mandalorian Protectors had in fact been a turncoat, a spy, there was no reason for her to worry. The leadership of the Mandalorian Empire where her enemies, this was true, and for how she'd been born she was outlawed from Mandalore itself, but beyond that, there was no reason for anyone to know or care about her. Other than a notable absence since Dathomir, clan Kotir had always served faithfully. Still, it was amazing how folks sometimes knew things as if by magicks even beyond what the Witches could do, so Dhakarta was in fact prepared for conflict.

Part of that preparation had been to ensure that she wasn't alone. It was smart to have someone watching your back whenever you weren't sure of your surroundings. This was especially true if you were after dangerous predators and might be jumped by your enemies. So she'd bribed one [member="Mavrek Kordalas"] with the promise of a custom piece of equipment made from the bounties of their hunt and that she'd no intention of seeking out their 'kin'.

There were relatively few places on Dxun where you could land even a small corvette, the jungle was too all consuming, and Dhakarta had no interest in landing at one of the few ports. This wasn't a social call. Better to get in and out as quickly and quietly as possible. Still they'd found what passed for a clearing and Mavrek had landed his ship with ease. Checking her weapons one last time she glanced over at the man.

"Ready? Thank you again for coming with me, not a good place to be alone."

This wasn't cowardice, it was wisdom.

 

[Mavrek Kordalas]

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Checking over his own weapons, Mavrek looked over at his new associate with a nod as he slid his blasters back into place in their holsters, after having made sure he was packing the right rounds. The rest of his equipment was already well in order and where it needed to be, so it without any further pause, he scooped up, and placed his helmet over his head, watching the HUD come to life before his very eyes, a satisfied nod escaping him now.

Opening the ramp, he let out a small whistle of boredom at the ramps slow decent, then exited the ship before [member="Dhakarta"] could, he could say he was being gentleman like, but truth was, he got sick of being cramped up in the pilots cabin of the ship, even if it was spacious. "Looks like we're all clear, for the time being." his voice came out, with a slight robotic sound from the helmet, he just hoped it stayed that way, he wasn't interested in running into their 'kin', having to put down fellow warriors over differing views was not high on his list. Once he was sure she was off the ship, he hit a button in his gauntlet that closed the ramp, then he turned to look at her, "So this thing we're hunting... How many do you want? I've got the space for a couple depending on the sizes of the ones we tag."

 

[Dhakarta]

"Hmm," She thought about this a moment as she descended the ramp behind him, separating what she wanted from what she needed, working out best and worst case scenarios. "ideally two, male and female, unrelated. If we only get one, female would be best. Really I could make do with just genetic sample if it's necessary, that would just take longer and cost more."

"Besides," and now she grinned at him "while it would take some skill to kill a creature that hunts in packs, is mostly immune to blasterfire and nearly impossible to see, it is more of a challenge to catch one alive. That would be a hunt worth telling over tihaar. Will be."

"Give me a moment." She knelt, fingers digging down into the earth, eyes closing. What she tried was new, a spell she'd not used before, that none from her maternal side had known, but the idea was the same as many familiar spells. Spirit ichor rose around her, green and shimmering, like a slightly iridescent green mist. In the Other, the ethereal plane between here and the there of the Spirit plane, she opened her eyes, standing.

To Mavreks eyes she would not have moved from her kneeling position. "Vornskr! Dhakar'ta of the Biding Muskeg Clan calls you." ​

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The Spirit Plane was a shifting landscape shrouded almost always and completely in mist that was always moving, always suggesting there was something just out of eyesight. This was proven to be true when lunging suddenly out of the mist came a great black beast easily twice the size of a normal vornskr, sickle claws and dagger teeth bared, venom dripping tail ready to strike it came snarling. Dhakarta moved not an inch, stood her ground, grey eyes meeting maddened red ones and just before it would have struck.. It turned away, circling sinuously around here on silent paws.​

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"Who are you to call me, Child of Dathomir. You are not one of mine."​

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No, the Ur-spirit of the Vornskr would not have made any deal with the Witches before, but just because a deal did not exist, did not mean one could not be struck.​

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"No, but I start a hunt that a predator such as yourself would relish, would excel at, and I seek your blessing."​

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"Pfah, why should I care of such things."​

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"What hunt you here great Spirit? Other Ur who cannot ever truly be destroyed? Surely you grow tired of such unfulfilling hunts."​

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"Perhaps." Ears flicked back in annoyance. "Why should I grant you fulfillment when I have none?"​

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"I offer my body as vessel, not to take but to ride. Grant me your boon and I grant you the right to ride with me on this hunt, to share in the joy of it."​

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"A trick."​

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"No trick, ride as you will, leave when you want, know only that I seek to capture some of our prey alive."​

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"I demand blood. What fulfillment in a hunt with no kill."​

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"I cede to you at least one kill. But not all."​

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"This is intriguing. No one has come to me with this offer before. I accept, have my blessing, Child of Dathomir."​

Eyes closed, and opened again in the Here, though a sense of the Other remained, and by this she knew Vornskr rode with her. A moment later as the spirit ichor drew in and settled within her skin and a new sense unfurled within her. Reaching out she felt the thread of the Force that drew her, that promised there was prey. The Maalraas would regret using the Force to hide them. Such a thing only called the beast that rode her.

Rising, she nodded in the direction she felt the pull. "That way lies the nearest pack." For this enemy she'd brought her energy lance, she hunted as a witch hunted, and would fight as a witch fought. Her usual blasters would accomplish nothing, and most else she owned could only kill. Senses open to the world around them, which was one of great danger, she moved forward, deeper into the darkling woods.

[member="Mavrek Kordalas"]

 

[Mavrek Kordalas]

"Right, two, as their different genders... We can do that." Mavrek replied as he looked up at the ship, then thought silently to himself about how he was going to fight these things, most of his weaponry was useless, so it seemed like he was going to be the bait, and just have to wrestle the beasts into submission of possible. Shaking his head for a moment, a laugh escaped from his form and he turned to follow Dhakarta, still not completely familiar with his fellow Protectors, he wasn't really surprised by anything any of them could do, he was actually a bit of an outsider among his kin, seemingly the only non-force user.

Watching her and the weird summoning of what appeared to be a green mist, he decided he'd just wait and keep his sense on everything around them till she gave him some idea on what he was supposed to do. He stayed completely silent the whole time she was in her trance, not from worry of disturbing her, but in the silence of a patient hunter, they weren't alone out here, he knew that, and he wasn't planning on letting anything here be the end of him.

When she finally came about and pointed said where to go, he nodded and gestured for her to lead the way, after all she seemed to have a better idea on all of this than he did, so he wasn't going to interfere with her ability to track and hunt these beasts, he was mostly here as the help anyways, which was better than sitting around bored on the ship.

[member="Dhakarta"]