When Spider Webs Unite (Training w/Rave Merrill)

[Edison Bulkhead]

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
--Ethiopian proverb

The Ruby Ark, Edison Bulkhead's modified Freefall-class ship, needed a good deal of space to touch down, rather than the tiny pad required of a shuttle or starfighter. So it was that she had spent a good deal of time in atmosphere, searching for a clearing large enough to put down.

"They'll find you." That's what her mother had told her as she helped her youngest daughter pack. "That's what your grandmother said about the Witches. You find Dathomir, and they'll find you, assuming you've got what they need." She smiled at her daughter's wide eyes and unasked question. "The Force. And you do, so don't worry." She leaned her forehead against her daughter's, as she always did to show affection. "The Force will show the way. It may not always make sense, the path it puts you on, but every step you take on the path will bring you that much closer to where you need to be."

"And where's that?" asked Edison, closing up her last bag.

"Well that's the question you'll need to answer for yourself, little Acklay." That was Cordray's term of endearment for her youngest, given when Edison was just cutting her teeth and had bit her older brother Etoh so hard that it had drawn blood.

So the ship touched down in a large field of flattened grass, surrounded on three sides by trees and the fourth by a large hill that grew into a mountain behind it. Exiting the Ruby, Edison streched her muscles and took a deep breath. It smelled everywhere of nature. Looking towards the hill, she saw that it was actually a cave entrance, ringed by gossamer lace. No, not lace at all.

Spider silk.

@Petra Cavataio

 

[Petra Cavataio]

@[member="Edison Bulkhead"]

It was a time of moving. The darker clans were being brought under one roof. Better put it, they were going to be under one mountain. The Morte Clan had a massive stronghold when the planet had larger population. At the time, it was the most before a time of madness, plague, and darkness. Petra returned to clean up and return strength into the hands of witches.

A new wing in the stronghold was being made for the Spiderclan. That was what brought a few Nightsisters and Petra to the current clan’s stronghold. Comfort and familiarity was important for all. Petra came out of the entrance with a Spiderclan member. The two were talking about future modifications to their spiders like what was going on with the rancors. However their chat was stopped by Petra. The feeling of another in the force outside the normal feelings of those on the planet already was the cause of the pause. Then an outsider looking towards them was the large clue.

Petra went towards the newest guest on the planet. It was done with speed, but nothing unseen to the naked eye. It was clear she was coming to Edison even with the speed. A fun fact, anyone using the force to make their running faster does not move in the speed of light like some might do. Petra slowing down and came up to Edison with an approach similar to a light jog or power walking. Taking a moment for air, then she greeted the young woman. “I am Ma’tra Petra… Clan Mother if don’t know Paecen. So who are you and what brings you here, dear?”

 

[Edison Bulkhead]

@[member="Petra Cavataio"]

Edison smiled at the older woman. "Pleased to meet you...Ma'tra!" she said, using the proper title. Might as well start now, she reasoned. "I'm Edison Bulkhead, and I've come to be trained in the ways of the Witches of Dathomir. My grandmother, Teagan Blowbye, was a Witch. Or at least that's what my mother told me. I...well, I can speak with animals. Maybe not speak, but communicate. My mother said I was using the Force, but not like a Jedi does." Edison went on to briefly explain her upbringing on rugged Felucia*.

"My mother told me that when I arrived on Dathomir I should reach out with my emotions," Edison continued, "that it would lead me to the proper place." She looked around, focusing on the cave entrance. "I think this is where I'm meant to be. To learn, I mean."

*see her biography for details, link below signature.

 

[Petra Cavataio]

@[member="Edison Bulkhead"]

Listening to the young woman’s words, it was interesting, and for one that communicated with beasts there could be job and lessons open. How the witches spoke and dealt with rancors and large spiders of Dathomir, this new one would have a blast. Well that was the thought Petra had before speaking to Edison. She gave a smile with her words, “Came to the right spot… this clan like the others do speak with the animals, but here there are large spiders too. A witch and their rancor or spider companions speak to each like dear friends. Once understanding and connection is formed you could speak to any beast here with little effort. You see, using the force and being exposed to abilities almost every moment of the day makes the feat second nature. This is how we hunt and live… spiders and rancors need us, and we need them. So you’ll feel more at home as you are trained.”

Petra gave a moment of silence before she let her question out. “What have you been told about the witches by your mother?”

 

[Edison Bulkhead]

"Let's see," replied Edison, looking up at the sky as she thought of an answer. "She said they -- I mean you -- are a matriarchal society, which is awesome by the way, and that you were divided into clans. I'm not sure why. Is it because of where you live on Dathomir, or do you follow different rules? I think I remember her saying that the Witches were all descended from a Jedi who came here thousands of years ago after being cast out of the Jedi Order, and that she devoted herself to learning the ways of the Force on her own, and that she created Laws and passed them down, but some of the Witches didn't like them and created their own which focused more on the Dark Side of the Force." She paused for a moment, trying to recall anything else her mother might have said. "It was mostly myths and stories, really, that my grandmother passed down. Like I said, she was a Witch too, although I think she's been dead for a long time. My mother never really talked about the Witches until she saw me with the animals." Edison didn't mention the pride in her mother's eyes when she recognized her daughter's potential; the potential of the child of a bought woman to rise above the hardships she'd lived.

"I'm probably missing a lot of details," she admitted. "Apparently my grandmother wasn't exactly forthcoming with what she'd learned; she just told little pieces of things. Fragments. I guess that when she got pregnant with my mother she left Dathomir and struck out on her own. I don't even know where she wound up."

@Petra Cavataio

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Edison Bulkhead"]

Spoiler

"That's it in a nutshell," said the spacelane witch from nearby. She rose, dusting spiderweb off her coat. With a nod to Petra, she took charge.

"Allya, her name was Allya. A failed Jedi who was exiled to a prison camp here. All of us are her descendants. About nine hundred years ago, the first Nightsisters arose - Gethzerion, Talzin, Baritha, Kyrisa. Ever since then, either within the other clans or as their own clans, Nightsisters have formed their own traditions, even their own proprietary abilities.

"I won't sugar-coat it, kid." She tapped her cheek, where Nightsister power had burst blood vessels in a thin spiderweb of purple, and gestured to her yellow eyes. "All power has its price, and ours more than most. As someone said once, the only hot Nightsister is a weak Nightsister. I can do just about anything I put my mind to, I can teach you to do the same, but there's a cost to walk our way. I need to know you're ready for that."

 

[Edison Bulkhead]

Edison smirked. "Looks fade. And where I come from, working from dawn to night, outside, in all kinds of weather, they fade faster. The women of Felucia don't care much about physical beauty so long as they can work. It's just life on the frontier. I never much cared for fancy dresses and makeup and making sure my nails were clean anyway," she said with a shrug. "Always too many other things to do." She didn't add that she wouldn't mind wearing a fancy dress, putting on makeup, or making sure her nails were clean from time to time, just that she'd never found much reason for doing so.

Within the cave, she felt herself being watched, and reached out with the Force, the same way she'd done at home. She could feel the presence of the giant spiders; warm, comforting, waiting for her. How could people fear such amazing creatures? This one was getting hungry, and wanted to hunt. Edison wondered what such a creature fed on.

"She's watching me," she said to @Rave Merrill. "Can I go say hi?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Edison Bulkhead"] got a nod of approval. Rave's background was, to put it bluntly, spacer trash, with a multitude of traveling companions and piecemeal jobs. Between that and long years hammering at a forge, Rave was sort of the definition of a blue-collar Master.

"Go right ahead," she said. "They'll recognize their own, but they respect strength of will. Affection, but not helplessness. Not fearlessness without foundation."

 

[Edison Bulkhead]

[member="Rave Merrill"]

Edison had no fear of animals; she'd been raised around beasts of burden, combat, and riding all her life, but she did respect the ones she hadn't personally come into contact with yet. So the new witch moved slowly, calming her breathing and reaching out through the Force with thoughts of good will and companionship. Mixed with those, she added a dose of respect and a healthy push of self-confidence, because one thing she knew about animals was that they would get away with as much as you allowed them to, and first impressions counted for a lot.

As she approached the mouth of the cave, a massive blue spider, as tall as Edison's shoulder, stepped from the shadows. She could sense more behind this one, but this one was the one that came to greet her. Edison knew the thing was poisonous, could feel the energy and hunter's instinct coarsing through it, and felt her own blood rising. It wanted to go out there, it wanted to feed, and it wondered if this girl before it might not be a prime target.

"Beautiful lady," said Edison quietly. "You want to hunt? You should go. I've come to join you here, but I can't hunt right now. I've only just arrived, you see, and have much to learn. I hope I can learn from you, too."

The huge blue spider regarded the girl for several moments, then dipped its head until its mandibles touched the earth before turning and climbing up the outside of the cave wall, moving quietly into the trees.

Edison turned back to Rave. "She likes me," she said simply. "So what do you think? Am I ready?"