The Huntress, The Beast

[Paa'lee]

A breath escaped her, the creature swung its paw the claws passing by her just she leaned back and out the way before reasserting herself. She gripped her spear in both hands before taking a few steps closer. She could feel the aggression growing inside, and things were only getting more dangerous from here.

"Leos..." She called out before, she knew he was there behind her, but when she turned her head slightly she saw him on his knees and seemingly focused.

He proclaimed he needed longer, all she would be able to do was keep it at bay. It would have been a more straightforward task if they were here to kill but he wanted this thing as a pet; ridiculous. Actually being here she still felt it was ridiculous. Twirling the weapon in her hand she caught mid spin and lunged forward with the weapons edge toward the beast to draw him backwards.

It lunged at her again, and she quickly drew her hand. Her palm came into its view and their was a brief moment between them, she let go a breath and it seemed like everything slowed down before it retreated backwards and then gained its ground again. She was trying her best to keep its challenge but things were quickly going left.

"Hurry!" she called out, before stick her weapon out towards her right side to block of its potential escape.

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Pressure.

The creature was feeling an intense amount of pressure. The aggression had been replaced by fear, and now it was more concerned with fleeing than it was in actually killing anyone. Even as Paa'lee stuck her hand out to jut her weapon in front of it, the Maalraas bounded around it, nipping away to get it to move back. Any attempt to flee was cut off by one of them. It wasn't going to escape no matter how hard it tried. Beyond that, it didn't know it yet, but it's mind was already beginning to become his to control. Soon it would listen to him and do exactly what it was that he wanted it to do, no matter what it was or how dangerous it was.

After the aggression subsided, he turned to the fear center and enhanced it to the point where the creature was in shambles. It collapsed in a heap upon the ground, breathing heavily, even though neither the Maalraas or Paa'lee had hurt it. It simply couldn't function any longer because it was so afraid. They were fortunate it had recently relieved its bowels or it would have done so then.

Now Leos stood, eyes open, and walked towards the creature with a single outstretched hand. He passed right by Paa'lee, a hand reaching out to give her upper arm a light squeeze of appreciation, and moved up to the great orange beast that quivered as he approached it, its eyes not leaving him. When he was close enough, he reached his hand out and touched its head between the eyes. In the creature's mind he'd become something of a horror. So menacing and threatening that it couldn't bare to fight him. It was, essentially, frozen in fear. As contact was made he impressed himself on the creature as one might a newborn. Imprinting, it was called.

It took a few moments of him standing there, but eventually the beast succumbed to his will, unable to mount any sort of defense. And just like that, it belonged to him. He took his hand away and snapped his fingers with a lifted finger. The Maalraas sat down. He ran his hand over the Akul's head and then down its jaws to under its chin which he lifted and the creature rose, passively. It regarded them all with its large eyes, but the aggression and fear was gone, replaced with complacency.

"Would you like to touch him?" he asked Paa'lee without turning towards her. "He's harmless to you now unless you were to harm me."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

It etched closer, she monitored its heart-rate assuming it would come in for the kill. Tightening her grip around her spear she was going to go for the blow, right in its chest but something stayed her hand. The beast collapsed in front of her and her body grew lose in relief. Just as her shoulder fell, she felt the bones in her body crack from being held in place for so long.

Movement, she turned her head to see Loes approaching the creature. She was still suspicious, the process seemed...she didn't know. Her breathing had slowed by this time, and she felt his touch on her arm. She looked over at him, she knew it was a sign of appreciation. She was surprised by the strength of his touch but it was more gentle than anything. She didn't think him incapable but...

She shifted in her stance as the creature stood to its feet, she thought maybe it wasn't quite under his spell but she noted his calm demeanor in front of the beast and that to pacified her. He offered her the chance to touch it...her chest grew in size as she took in the air around her.

Her lips parted as if words were to escape them but she said nothing, instead taking a reluctant step forward and stopping before following through to come stand next to him. Looking at the outsider first, she released the breath and turned to the creature before raising her hand to run it over its fur....

"Never have I seen this before...you conquered this beast purely with your mind." she spoke softly, the huntress leaving her and the lady taking place. She looked over to him.

"You truly are a master of beast..."

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"I conquered it with the Force, I simply used my mind to wield it."

He watched her as she ran her hand over its fur. She turned her gaze to him, and he noted her change of demeanor. She'd gotten relaxed and gone from being so focused on the battle, the hunt, to once again being the young Togruta that she was. It was actually rather pleasant to hear her admiration. Did he truly deserve it? Well, he didn't know. Honestly, he thought of this sort of thing as second nature more than he did as something special. Perhaps he should have thought it was special considering there weren't many people that could do what he did, but he didn't. So her admiration, in his mind, wasn't really warranted, but he still liked it.

The Maalraas sauntered over and sniffed at the Akul, it batted at them with one paw, mostly in show. Then it nudged him with its head, sending him back a couple of steps, which caused him to chuckle.

"I know. You're bored. Arus, Milan, hartu zion ontzia itzuli."

The Maalraas loped off and Leos threw his hand in their direction while looking the Akul in the eyes. It turned and followed after the two. Mastery of the beast was finite unless someone else were to break it. It was possible, but he'd left defenses around his efforts. He did not wish to lose the beast easily, and even if someone else broke his defenses, it would go wild again and attack everything. Surely no one would be dumb enough to do that and think they could quickly overpower it. Kill it, perhaps, but why waste the effort on breaking his defenses of its mind then? He shrugged as he watched it run off with the felines.

"The hunt thrills you, doesn't it? Gets your blood running, your heart beating? I can tell a master huntress when I see one. Despite all of that you remain cool and calm. You thrive under pressure. An admirable trait, Paa'lee. I was fortunate to have met you here."

Reaching a hand out, he touched her chin softly, but then turned to start the slow trek back. He felt no need to hurry.

"Tell me what troubles you, for I know something does. You are like two people: one lives in the village, and the other thrives in the hunt."

​

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

She turned to him when he spoke of the thrill of the hunt, she began to speak but said nothing, instead she returned to petting the beast until it ran off with the others. Her head followed it motions as she was still unable to believe it. Her head then followed the sound of his words as he continued to speak of her usefulness to him. She smiled, and looked down only to feel his touch on her chin. It surprised her at first, but she did nothing to...he pulled away eventually.

She collapsed her spear and began to walk, and she dreaded the return. For now she was...content.

"You speak as if you know me outsider..." she said with a smirk, avoiding eye contact with his figure entirely. She walked in her own space. Perhaps something did trouble her, but why would she be so inclined to speak to him on such matters?

"Though by the way you say it...it seems as if you've been observing me." she looked over and then return to her own space.

Surely she helped, she go to clear her conscious but it was highly likely her efforts would not be enough. The outsider, Leos, has dominated a beast that threatens her people...they will honor him, she will fall behind in his shadow. Was she ready to deal with that?

"Why?" She said following the trail down the hillside, "Why are you so curious?"

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

He chuckled a bit.

"Observation is the key to understanding your surroundings, is it not? You observe the land around you when you hunt. I observe the people around me when I'm in an unfamiliar place. It was not hard to see the change in you as soon as we left."

Steps were slow. He was intentionally making it so that it would take them longer to get back then it had to reach their destination. He wanted to talk to her, get to know her a little bit. There was more to her than what he'd seen. She could be more, but even he had realized that she was the daughter of the chieftain, and if he'd had sons, his sons were dead, given that all the other hunters had perished. If that were the case, he had no one to leave their people to but her, which meant she was destined to be trapped within the village, making important decisions. For Leos that would have been a life he could live with. He could tell it was not the same for her.

There was also the matter of her connection to the Force. It was raw and untrained. She would not find a way to harness that on her world, and in time it may gnaw on her so much that it breaks her. Or it might not. It was hard to say. But now that he'd opened her to the reality that people out there had learned to utilize the Force in ways such as what he had demonstrated, wouldn't she wish to know what she could do with it. He had to say, she was in a bad state given her current position.

"Should I not be curious? You're an attractive young woman, but only when you're not in your encampment. There you are dismal. Out here you are alive. I prefer the version of you that is out here, so I wish to sate my curiosity and know why it is that you allow yourself to be trapped in something you clearly don't want."

He clasped his hands behind his back, watching her out of the corner of his eye, but not directly looking at her.

"I can help you, if you tell me how."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

She shook her head before rolling her eyes, "The change in me?"

Hmmph

"Your correct about observation..." She said glancing over, and looking him over. Her body shifted from left to right as she followed the path back, pretty soon she stopped at a ledge before jumping down onto another path. Unbeknownst to her, he had been taking his time...she was too. She wasn't ready to give this up, to give him up...in the sense that his presence here was the only thing that allowed her back into the wild. Besides...he was her way of finding out about the wider galaxy, about the Force...

He claimed she was attractive, he was a male...but it nevertheless caught her attention. She glanced over at him, because besides hearing it often, and resenting it his words were different. Then he claimed it was only when she was not home...her eyes glared at him, as she stopped in her tracks...she loved her home, her tribe...it was everything to come of her that irritated her. Maybe she did appear depressed, she surely had to put up a facade.

If she stopped, she assumed he would too. When he faced her, she looked him directly in his eyes. She approached him, coming close "If you had a choice in a woman outsider...would you prefer the huntress, or the lady?" she asked while allowing a brief moment to pass, "The huntress, she's fierce and free, following the whims of nature. The Lady, the one who serves her husband and his goals...to sacrifice her dreams for his...."

She was close enough to him, her face just in front of his. She would hear his answer, but only as she drifted away after she spoke her words.

As she walked away, of course emotion would fill her face. "And what does such issues that will persist after you have left us matter to you outsider? I don't think you can help me..." she said fixing her face as she looked forward.

"Oe'omum...I know you can't"

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Inwardly he was rather enjoying this. She was a clever girl, but she saw things in what he said that he didn't even mean. Some would call that typical. He called it intriguing. In reality, it had been a cleverly disguised trap, playing on her sensibilities to get her to slow down further. Ok, no, that was a lie he just told himself because it would have been excellent on his part if that was the case. Instead it was just luck that his words had unintended consequences that caused her to stop, which in turn caused him to stop and turn to look at her, his orange eyes watching each subtle movement of her lips as she spoke, though that became hard as she drew close to him.

She turned to walk away after speaking, and he waited until she spoke her final words before he reached out through the Force and crafted an illusion of the world around them, taking them outside of the dimension she knew, and into a realm of nothing. It was, honestly, his favorite place. Pure black as far as the eye could see, and yet light enough that they could see each other.

"To answer your question, I think I would prefer the one the woman wished to be, for that is the one that she truly is. And you, Paa'lee, are the huntress. You understand how to be a lady, but the huntress is who you really are. That wild passion and cool collection. That is who you are. That is who I would want."

He moved towards her swiftly, his steps aided by the Force as he drew upon her, hand touching her waist, lips nearest to her ear.

"Even the simplest of words can affect someone's destiny. A simple notion; a thought. Be yourself. Give in to who you are, and be free of who you are not. Your life is your own to live. Do with it what you will."

A gentle hand moved to spin her around to face him.

"There are a thousand thousands of ways to change the future if you only look to find them. And sometimes, they-" he pointed to himself, "-find you." He finished by touching two fingers at the top of her breast bone. "Make use of what you've been given."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

Her world was cut off, fading from all she knew, she was enshrouded in darkness. She could hear his voice as she stopped moving. The very beginning of his words sparked something in her that urged her to turn to look at him. Why was it that he could see her for who she was and no one else could? Was it because he chose to see, or was it become her father was completely oblivious...either way it went, Leos had captured her attention.

Before she knew it she felt his touch on her waist, and his presence lingering over her as he spoke into her ear. He spoke her thoughts, for a long time she had been trying to get herself to understand that but it was always her devotion to her people that caused her to do her duty as her fathers daughter. That's how their society worked...and then here comes this outsider.

She was spun around to face him, and he would see her amber eyes.

Her voice gently and softly cut in, "My father, always said there are no coincidences..." she looked up at him, "I am to wed...to be the lady. To serve a role in a cause greater than myself." She looked down.

"My father is Olo'eyktan...his will is to forge stronger ties with other clans so that he remains such. A beautiful daughter, that is his most prized possession."

She spoke those words as if she was telling a grand story, but this was true. Without proving herself worthy as a hunter, she must do so in other ways. She looked back up at him,

"So what will you do Leos?" She indeed said his name, "How would you help me?"

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Someone else could serve that role, someone who wants to. You are not a possession to be sold."

He lifted his hand to lay lightly against her cheek. The idea of someone being a possession was disturbing to him. he didn't own slaves, he never would, and even his collection of creatures from throughout the galaxy were not considered by him to be possessions. These creature were his companions, his family if you would take it as such. They protected him, and he protected them. Soon enough he would have a large enough preserve for all of them. He just needed a little more time for that project.

The question of how he could help her was a good one. There were several ways that he could, but he knew that she wouldn't like most of them. Considering she had helped him greatly, he felt he owed her more than the negative ways would allow. But ultimately he would leave the decision as to what he did for her in her hands.

"There are many things I could do. I could remove his memory of your existence. I could hurt him. I could take you away from him and this place. Or we could simplyou find a way to make you unwanted by anyone who would want to have you married to them."

He would allow her to decide what the latter meant. Typically, in his experience, the non-pure individuals were not wanted by those in arranged marraiges. His thumb brushed against her cheek while he contemplated all of this. Even a huntress could enjoy tender touches from time to time. She was still better with that fire of hers, though. The way it drive her to be wild and free. That was what he found most attractive about her.

"Tell me what you want, what you know could make it so nobody would want to take you in an arranged marraige. I'll help with that. Then you don't have to leave your people and you can remain the huntress."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

She didn't resist his touch, and once it again it was as if he knew her through and through. He had said things that captured her attention and made her even see him in a different light. Someone else? Like who? Though she figured he spoke of himself, a fact that was reiterated by the options he provided her, especially the last.

So, this whole time, he had been attracted to her...was it real? She hoped beyond her flesh. He wasn't like any of the others she had encountered, she didn't resent him for his attraction and in some ways that frightened her because she had only just met him. She took a deep breath and kept his gaze.

She enjoyed his touch, she brought her hand up to rest against his. "If you want my love Leos...you'll have to become one of the Sahnish, the original people..." she said softly, before slowly taking his hand away from her face. She figured him staying would not be an option, he had other things to attend to that were beyond this world.

Her eyes were still locked on his, "You'll have to be of greater worth to us, you'll have to stay and prove that you are worthy" her words were so gentle and soft that it appeared like a cool whisper. "That is if you want my love..."

She said love because it was what he would have to convince her father he had for her, that Leos could then pick her as the woman he wanted. First he would have to prove himself...

Though part of her thought that Leos really did want her affection...

She chose to walk away from their intense moment, hoping he would end his illusions....

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Her hand upon his felt pleasant. She seemed to enjoy his touch as he enjoyed hers. But what she said gave him pause. If he truly wanted to free her of the reality that she was sorted into, then he would have to stay there for some time and earn it. Could he afford such? Could he take the time away that was necessary to see this through and was it worth it in the end to do so? They had after all, just met.

She turned to walk away and he let her. The illusion unfurled to reveal the world she knew, and thankfully no akul in the immediate vicinity. Though she walked away, he remained standing in place, watching her. It was a great risk he would be taking, and all for the affection of someone he barely knew. But she was worth it. He could see it in her. He thought briefly about Kith, but Kith was so young and it might takes years for her to come to understand love and his affections for her. On top of that, she may not return his feelings.

He couldn't hedge his bets on mays or may nots.

"Paa'lee, wait."

Hurrying to catch up with her he moved to stop her if she didn't stop herself. If she did then he stopped before and looked at her seriously.

"If that is what it takes to get you out from under the yoke of familial responsibility and free you of the caged life you will be forced to lead then I will do it."

Not a direct admission of feelings, but she already knew how he felt. She just had to accept it.

"I won't be able to stay here forever, but I will do this. For you."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

He called out for her, but she mind wouldn't allow her to stop. His motions to stop her was all that could, and so she did when he moved to. Her last step failed to make contact with the ground, and she turned to face him. He looked more serious now than he did before, not to say his words meant nothing previously but she could tell in his face that he would mean what he said now for sure. At least she hoped...

Her face lightened up, wasn't as tense as before. He agreed, and his reasoning was to indeed free her. She didn't expect a full blown confession from him about how he felt about her, part of her knew...and she hoped he knew on her part as well. She came in close with a smile, but withdrew from him.

She placed her hand against his chest, "Sìltsan..." she spoke in her native tongue. She was pleased with the decision, and would look forward to how it turned out, she thought it would provide a fair chance. That remained unknown. They would have to return.

(Skipping a bit here)

Their long trek back took longer than it needed to because they both stalled. But even that could only last so long. Of course as the approached the outskirts of the village she reverted back, Leos would have noticed but this time she had a bit of hope left...The people would notice them returning in one piece and whether the Mirialan had his new pet with him the Meskwaki would cheer and look in awe regardless.

The first thing would be to convene with her father, she entered the tent first "Sempul...we return and the outsider has conquered..." she noticed the presence of others before she even had to look up, when she did she finished her phrase "The beast...what is going on?" her voice shifted in energy.

"My jewel returns and so does the master of beast." he threw out his hands to welcome them both, she lowered her head because this could only mean one thing. The other Togruta elders exited the tent just as the came in.

"It is no coincidence that the outsider accomplishes something this great while we begin to find you a suitor. The other leaders are impressed with your beauty and are excited to conjoin families as we usher in new times my daughter. Sons will begin to compete for your affection."

"Sempul ruxte...but the outsider has just..." her words were cut short by the low hum in her fathers voice. It was something he did to shush her often.

"Paa'lee I am trying to do what's best for our people...this alliance will bring warriors. With the Akul at bay we must."

She lowered her head, and nodded. It was her duty.

He followed that by "I wish to congratulate you outsider, no one has ever been able to conquer a beast like this. We celebrate you tonight as well..."

She looked to Leos, it was in her eyes and face. She was not expecting this...

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

They returned. She changed. It was easy to see it once again. There was a slight difference there, at least until they entered the tent of her father. When they did, he felt a change in her, one of immediate despair and defeat. It put him on edge, and his orange eyes watched as the other elders vacated the tent. Almost as soon as they did, her father went into a tirade of accolades for him, and spun a web about finding her someone to marry. It was clear that he was not going to wait long enough for whatever it was that he needed to do. His hands clenched into fists, and the more the man spoke, the more his knuckles turned white. His anger hadn't reached his face, but it was plainly evident.

What I am about to say may insult you, but I do not mean it as such, it is simply the truth and I do this for you.

The words were sent to her mind, a warning against what was about to happen. Leos was not someone you could pull one over on. He was not someone that you could push around. Most of all, he did not back down from his promises, and he had promised her that she would not have to endure the life of servitude that an arranged marriage meant. Her husband would not respect her and she would be delegated to raising babies and nothing more. The Huntress would be gone forever. That was not acceptable. He lifted his hand and used the Force to literally silence the elder Togruta. He would find himself unable to speak, but other than that he would have no functional difficulties.

"Silence, you old fool. Do you not recognize that your daughter does not wish to be subjugated to a life of nothingness? She is a huntress, not a possession. Were it not for the fact that she cares for you I would strike you down where you stand for treating her as such."

He reached out and gripped the mans body, freezing him in place as he approached.

"Your village is in shambles because you failed to teach your warriors properly and they died. The only way to save that is for you to leave and be absorbed by another clan, not by selling her off to the highest bidder. You do not own her, and you never will. She is the only reason I succeeded in what I was doing. She kept me safe while I broke the beasts mind. Now she and I have come to an arrangement. She is not available for you to pawn off on someone else. She and I will be together, when she deems us ready, and she will remain a huntress, not your puppet on a string."

The tension would stray from the elder Togruta's vocal chords, allowing him to speak now. If he shouted for help it wouldn't matter. Leos could overpower all of them, and he had his armed Guard just outside of the camp. Besides, they had no warriors except for Paa'lee, and he wasn't actually hurting her father, just showing him the power that he was messing with.

"Now speak your words, taking into account what I have said."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

She thought that maybe Leos would be able to become one of the people to learn their ways and win her the way her culture demands. But it would seem her father rushed things quicker than the two of them could reveal their budding feelings for one another. She didn't know what to do next so she stood there and accepted his words just as the lady should have. It was then that she heard a familiar voice in her head...there was only one who ever appeared there and she looked up at him.

She was confused by his words, but as she the situation went on she would come to understand wholeheartedly what he meant.

Suddenly her father grew silent, not by his own will. Her head shot back to Leos as his words grew disrespectful, albeit he was making a point for her sake but it was shocking that such a thing would transpire. All of this was followed by a threat, and then she spoke up

"Leos!" she called out to him,

She could only watch as her father was manipulated by him, his body being frozen in place as if some constricted him from moving. Her conclusion was, it had everything to do with the Force. She was seeing a side of him that she hadn't and she didn't know what to think...

"Stop! What are you doing!?" she called out, reaching forward with her hands toward her father who had been shook to his core. She rushed over to the man wrapping her arms around him as he gathered his strength back. Both of them looked over at the Mirialan...

"Leave outsider! You quest is finished..." he said panting.

Paa'lee helped him to his seat, and she looked over to Leos before storming out of the tent.

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Remember my words."

She'd stormed out, and he understood why, of course, but the anger he'd felt at the man had been too much to keep in, and to be honest, he hadn't wanted to. His orange eyes were leveled at him. The threat was very real. Though it had not been the course of action that he wanted to undertake, coupling his tiredness with the tiresome actions of old fools towards their daughters, he just hadn't had the patience to deal with it in the normal, diplomatic manner that he would have chosen. Instead, the man had gotten the threat. Now that might come to bite him in the rear end, but he'd only done it because of her and his desire to see her treated better.

Once he was satisfied, he turned and left the tent, following after her. It wasn't hard. Her anger was quick to pick out in the Force and he raced to catch her, stopping her with a firm, but gentle grasping of her arm.

"Stop, Paa'lee. I know you're upset and I understand why, but what I said needed to be said. I'm tired of people like him treating others like property. He may not understand how wrong it is, or he may so, it matters little. It angers me."

He stepped before her, firmly prepared to be slapped.

"What would you have had me do otherwise? He wasn't even going to let you speak, to tell him what we'd discussed. I had no choice and he needed to be stopped. I won't see you treated as such, but I know you care for him, and that's why I did nothing that would actually harm him. He is perfectly fine and will remain as such. I've no desire to harm your father, I just need him to understand that there's more at play here than his petty desire to replace the people you lost with someone else's people, selling you off like a slab of nerf to the highest bidder. You are not a possession and I won't see you treated as such.

"Your anger is understandable. Strike me if you wish. I won't stop you. Otherwise, go back in there and tell him what you wished to tell him, and stop hiding."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

He grabbed her arm, and she turned but pulled away. She backpedalled back between two tents where one side of her figure was caught enshrouded in the nights shadow and the other by the giant flame in the center of the camp. She looked upon him, it was in her face and made even more obvious by her breathing. She paced back and forth while listening to his explanation, and while it seemed as though it went completely through her, she was taking in all of his words and what exactly they meant.

There was a brief moment of silence between them, and then she lunged forward grunting in irritation with the intent to attack him, but she stopped as she got close enough and lowered her hand slowly, parking it just at her side. Instead she rose on the balls of her feet and planted a peck against his lips before withdraw and looking at him. Then she slapped him on his shoulder.

"I despise you...you, an outsider. You come here and cause all of this...and even when I want to be angry at you I can't." she said softly, releasing the air her body kept almost as if she was completely dropping her guard. "This was your purpose...you were brought here to do this for me...not by coincidence. I only wish you we could have done this the right way..." she brought her hand to touch his face, lightly, she held it there. "You could've been the one I married...but you must go now. My father won't allow it...but he may be willing to hear me. I will go to him." she said all of this before withdrawing her hand and taking a step back.

"Come back...in a weeks time, at Dawn, meet me where we conquered your beast."

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

It was surprising when she did it. Strange that the first time he kissed a woman was when she gave him a simple peck on the lips. And yet, he loved it. Loved the fact that she wanted to be mad at him, but instead she kissed him. No, he wouldn't get to marry her, but such was life. He could still help her. He could still love her. He could still be everything for her that she wanted him to be, just not her husband. If, in doing what needed to be done, he was able to get her to free herself of the situation that she was in, then it was all worth it in the end. After all, she could still love him, even if they weren't to be married.

His head tilted into her hand and he nodded at what she said. When she stepped away, he watched her for a moment, and then turned to move past her, a hand brushing her arm as he walked by, and then he left the camp altogether.

/Time Jump/

In the week between when she told him to go and when they would meet again, he sent his Guard back to the ship orbiting the planet. He wandered through the outside realm of the planet, avoiding the villages and tent clusters where people might seek to cause him trouble. On top of that, he directly avoided going near any Akul that he came across. The Maalraas had stayed behind with him, and proved invaluable in keeping him from running into unnecessary danger. It was nice to have friends, even of the feline variety. Most of all, he just wanted to know whether Paa'lee was alright, more than anything.

When the week was nearly up, he went to the spot where the akul had been, and he waited for her. The Maalraas roamed around the immediate area, preying on the smaller critters that flitted about. They needed to eat too. But in general, he kept the area safe so that when she came, she'd find no trouble there.

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​

 

[Paa'lee]

She walked into a spot of light, ever so silently as if she was on the hunt. She wasn't of course, she rushed all this way to see someone...hoping he'd show his face, if he didn't she'd understand. Perhaps such moments they shared were only temporary, her answers would only come where she walked up this hill to see if he was there.

In this moment, she was caught somewhere between the huntress and the lady. It was the nerves in her stomach, but as she took a step she forced it out of her mind, the next would see her following through with more. She crept up this hill, extending her stride as her knees bent with every step. When she got to the end her movements became noticeable.

Her spatial sense of awareness had cast out, and locked down on a specific target. So he did come...she inhaled just as her entire body emerged to where he would see. Exhale, she took more steps forward as she gently released her grip on her spear.

"Outsider..." her words were completely gentle, soft. But he would be able to hear them...

[member="Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Arus appeared behind her and walked up near her, brushing past her leg.Leos had already known she was coming anyway; he'd felt her approaching him. When she spoke, he turned his eyes to look at her, a smile touching his lips. Of course he'd come. No, he hadn't been messing with her when he'd said all of those things before. It had all been for good reason and it had all been truthful. So now, he stood, snapping his fingers at the two Maalraas to circle around and keep them safe. Arus whined a little but then sauntered off with Milan to go do as he said. Arus was always something of a free spirit in that regard.

He walked over to her, and walked around her in a full circle, making sure she was unhurt. When he came back before her, he reached his hand up to touch her cheek.

"Huntress," he said as he leaned forward to give her forehead a light kiss. "I'm glad you came."

Knowing she would come wasn't the same as her actually coming. After all, anything could have happened to keep her from being able to make their rendezvous. Her father could have turned into an obstinate muel that wanted her to only stay at home for the rest of her life, or he could have sent her off to be married or something. To be honest, she could be married even though she was right there with him. But that wouldn't change the fact that he loved her and wanted to be near her.

"I would have waited longer."

| [member="Paa'lee"] |​