Nevermore

[Kraehe Branwen]

Blood trails led into a dark forest, on the forest moon of endor, sometime long ago, leading the way to two huddled figures and the soft cries of a child. One of the figures was sprawled over the fallen leaves discarded by the trees in preperation of slumber for the winter season. They were far too busy with their yearly work to pay attention to the helpless young girl begging the figure to wake up in words that sounded more like babble than anything. How would she survive out here? Not any of the trees knew, for no one had bothered to ask such a question to such a strange listener. But it's quite obvious that someone as helpless and uneducated in the means of survival could not live for very long on her own. She would surely perish with the coming of snow at her heels so closely.

But she knew nothing of dying, only that her father would not wake up as she had asked him to. So she did not even realize that she herself was in danger of never waking up again, not unless she found herself some shelter.

It was then that she heard some really odd noises, rustling in the trees and screaming in an odd way that echoed. It wasn't human at all, but the call of the crows ready to pick at a meal that was still somewhat warm. The only thing in their way was the live one, the small one with the still beating heart. She looked up at them with tears flitting down her plump cheeks, her eyes pleading with them in some way.

She had seen her father tend to a bird at home before, it had been so much more colorful than these, but she knew no differnce between winged creatures. So she found comfort in them being there beside her. And before long, they too were no longer uncomfortable in her presence, but not without alert either. They merely ignored her and found their meal, not taking in any of the sniffles and whimpers coming from the girl.

Only one stood by her side, as if like a faithful companion, or perhaps a sympathizer. It stayed there for a long moment until she realized that it was there before hopping away and cawing at her with its winged outstretched in a weird dance like way. She watched it closely before it flew away, towards a cave not too far from the terrible scene. As if she understood, the toddler stood and followed the bird into the cave, falling asleep in the warmest place she could find, her father's robes still wrapped around her tightly.

Sixteen years later...

She woke in the same cave, much older and curvier than she had been as a child. Her clothes had been outgrown long since then, so the ones she wore now were merely ones she had learned to sew together from remnants of lost articles of clothing from travelers passing through.

She avoided civilization as much as possible, having got a lot of her instincts from watching the crows. She spent much of her days hiding from grass trekkers, Duloks, and many others nasty creatures who would have her killed. The crows still didn't accept her as one of them for they knew that she smelled like a human and was for sure a human no matter what she did. Except for the one crow, the one that had shown her the way. It laid a watchful eye on the cave as she slept from a tree branch just outside. It even led her to items of use, such as clothes she could use or even other things left behind from hasty travelers.

She'd watch Ewok tribes from a distance sometimes, but would never get too close as to be discovered. She was afraid of them, as were the birds. She'd seen them capture them sometimes and put them over the spit and wasn't sure if they'd do the same to her or not. Rather than chance it she stayed alone with the crows and her one and only best friend who watched over her.

In fact, it had been the crow that woke her that morning with a warning call she had never heard before. She sat straight up, arms held out in very much the same fashion the bird had that first dreadful night. Eyes piercing through the dark towards the dim light that filtered in through the entrance, she spotted someone in a dark hooded robe watching her.

[Jeseth Cloak]

The forest moon of Endor: site of the last great conflict between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance; graveyard of Sith ambition and the Jedi's "only hope." Jeseth had arrived there one week earlier, accompanied by a formidable group of diggers and laborers. They had toiled there, sweating and panting, ever since setting foot upon the moon's tender soil. Jeseth closed his eyes briefly, almost nodding off - a dangerous thing to do from where he stood, on a walkway high above the forest floor.

He had been unable sleep for the majority of the project's duration. Unsettling visions of the past filled his mind. Visions of war, suffering and death. What if, he wondered, they're visions of the future?

The walkway on which Jeseth stood had been part of an Ewok village before their arrival. Now, the entire area was teaming with Human activity, and the village's old inhabitants dead and burried underneath branches and leaves. A foul order eminated from the mound and made it's way up to Jeseth's nose. "Keep digging," he yelled out to the workers at ground level as he pulled a hood over his head, "I'm going for a walk."


_


His walk brought him half an hour's distance away from his camp, just outside the mouth of a dark, moist cave. In the distance, he could hear the echoes of picks against rocks and steel against stone. A bird's cry echoed through the tree tops. His crimson eyes scanned the interior of the cave. Even with his Ventisian eyesight, the darkness was impermeable. Curious, he thought to himself, I sense life in it.

[Kraehe Branwen]

The young girl who was just barely into her teens jumped up onto her haunches like a wild cat, knees on each side of her torso and ready to pounce into the shadows or forward toward the exit depending on the stranger's movements. Her palms hit the dirt softly like that of a bird's claws, digging in tensely and waiting.

Her eyes were wide, seeing only the light at the end of the cave and the man blocking most of it. He seemed to be staring back with blind eyes. A deep gutteral sound came from her throat then came forth as the threatening sound the crows usually made to strange birds or predators. Instead of sounding threatening though, it sounded strange coming from a human girl who was just barely starting puberty.

Scuttling to one side, she hid behind a rock, propping her hands against the cool granite while her eyes laid watch upon the man. All the while her crow kept her siren going outside. This one was trouble, she could tell because by now the other crows started to join in with it's lone sister's warning.

From where she sat in wait, the young terrified girl couldn't tell what stood at the only exit to freedom she had. It obviously wasn't an Ewok or anything else she could recognize. It's shape wasn't familiar. In her time spent here she hadn't once come across another human since her father had died and she, by this time, couldn't remember him anymore.

[Jeseth Cloak]

The incessant cawing dissipated as the snap and hiss of Jeseth's lightsaber echoed through the forest; the birds dispersed all at once, frightened by the humming, crimson beam. Fear, Jeseth thought to himself, this cave is ripe with it. Kraehe could no longer hide in the dark.

Jeseth entered the cave and lowered his hood, hoping to get a better look at the creature that hid there. He was hardly prepared for what he found. "You're a child," he said out loud, voice filled with surprise. "A Human child?" The lightsaber moved closer to her, illuminating her body completely. She was filthy, her hair was unkempt and knotted, and she smelled foul. Whoever this child was, she had obviously been here a very long time. "What's your name," Jeseth asked of her in Basic, the language most commonly spoken by Humans.

[Kraehe Branwen]

When the cawing stopped, she heard the flutter of hundreds of wings echoing from outside of her once safe lair. The shock of abandonment forced her eyes wide open in horror and froze her in place as the footsteps of the cloaked man crept ever closer. Her breathing quickened as she looked up at him, cowering lower to the ground and digging her nails into the rock.

"A Human child?" The frightening light grew closer and the girl whimpered terribly, turning her face away.

She began to tremble, thinking she was going to die because the crows certainly were afraid of this man. What was he? Was he carnivorous? Would he eat her whole? Or chew slowly while she writhed and screamed, spitting out the bones between bites?

"Whats your name?"

She didn't answer, she didn't understand the words coming from his mouth. She only remembered very few words from her brief time spent outside of this place. Somewhere civilized. Somewhere with a mother and a father. She knew her name, but not what it meant.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth withdrew his lightsaber and moved a few steps closer to her. "It's alright, I won't hurt you." His free hand reached towards her, but stopped before making contact with her flesh. You're safe, his voice whispered in her thoughts. Then her thoughts whispered back:

Sith.

Jeseth stepped back. He had been caught off guard by the nature of her visions. His lightsaber cut through the air, asserting itself between them. "What do you know of the Sith," he demanded. She said nothing. Tell me! She trembled, an invisible barrier breaking down. Tell me! Her thoughts paintfully unraveled; Jeseth could see everything.

Branches and fallen foliage littered the forest floor. Dried blood was crusted onto her hands, bits of dirt clinging to her flesh. She had been hiding and swallowing back her tears, watching...

"They killed your parents, didn't they?" Jeseth's lightsaber deactivated. "Then they left you here to die." His hand reached out and took hold of her wrist. The way he held her made her feel safe. It was familiar, and not unlike the way a parent grasp the wrist of their child. Slowly but surely, he pulled her out into the wooded clearing. The sound of men operating machinery could be heard in the distance.

All this time spent, Jeseth thought to himself, only to find a child. He was so fatigued that he couldn't help but contemplate abandoning his search. It had already cost him a small fortune, and the lives of several men. Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, was lost.

[Kraehe Branwen]

"It's alright,I won't hurt you."

She cringed further as he stepped forward, only to stop inches from her with an extended hand. Her wide eyes stared into his silently, her ragged breathing the only thing escaping her involuntarily.

His face suddenly twisted, the wicked blade of red light twisting its way between them in a threatening manner. "What do you know of the Sith?"

Her whimpering turned into a short scream, her form falling backwards into the dirt. Cowering with an arm across her face, her eyes watched him warily from over her forearm in wait for his familiar weapon to do its damage. As he saw what was within her mind, she remembered where she'd seen it before. And the terrible fright nearly choked her and prevented her from breathing. She could do nothing more than stare at it, hyperventilating. It may have been a far away memory that she'd nearly forgotten but it was clear now. The red light was bad and it could kill her.

"They killed your parents, didn't they?" The cave suddenly went dark as the blood colored beam disappeared, leaving them only to the echoes of her tortureous breaths. "Then they left you here to die."

She couldn't see him when he reached out and grabbed her wrist because her eyes had adjusted so quickly to the dull glow of the lightsaber. But when she felt it, she tried to pull away at first, yelping. But deep within the recesses of her mind she remembered someone holding her hand... laughing and then tossing her into the air. She lost herself in the memory she hadn't dredged up in so long that she didn't realize she was being pulled out of her home of nearly 12 years until the sunlight hit her eyes. She hissed and cawed in protest, trying in vain to pull away. The man had a very tight grasp. Pulling away would be as impossible as communication at this point.

Her terror only grew when he took her to where the machines and other men were. Her body began to tremble and her attempts became more frantic until something red dropped from within the makeshift pocket she had on her shirt.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth's eyes lit up as he watched the red object fall from her pocket. His grip on her wrist pressed tighter, cutting off the circulation to her hand. "What is that," he asked her, his hand reaching out to it and summoning it with the aid of the Force. As it settled into his palm, he felt darkness stir within him. It was an Adegan crystal.

Jeseth began to smile and laugh loudly, placing the stone into his pocket. He had only needed to touch it to assure himself of the fact that Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, was gone forever. He picked Kraehe up and tossed her into the air, a big smile etched onto his face. Sharp teeth were clearly visible behind those pale - almost purple - lips of his. The men who had been slaving away watched on, expressions of relief washing over their dirty faces. They longed for this moment since the first day they had set foot on Endor's moon. They wanted to go home.

Jeseth set Kraehe down and order the men, "Return to your shuttles. We've found what we came for." All at once, the workers began to retreat with their equipment, a few slow droids straggling behind. The dirt, rocks and metal debris all around the dig site had been heaped into immense mounds. At the base of these mounds, Ewok corpses could be seen peering out at the world. Jeseth gazed at their vacant eyes for a moment. They shouldn't have denied him the right to dig in their village.

"You have a choice to make," Jeseth said as he turned his attention to Kraehe. "You can stay here, and continue to live as you have been, or you can come with us, and make a new life for yourself." He pointed up to the skies, which were growing darker with every passing moment. The Death Star's remains were faintly visible from where they stood. "Do you understand?"

[Kraehe Branwen]

"What is that." She was too frightened to see her sparkley treasure float through mid-air to his hand. But she did notice his laughter and it only drew her attention to his teeth. She began to panic even further. Sharp teeth, he was a carnivore! When he grabbed her she almost thought he was about to eat her and she beat her fists against his arms in vain, kicking and flailing her legs in the air only to miss his torso time and time again.

He set her down, but didn't let her go, saying something that she didn't quite understand to the other men there. For all she knew he was telling them it was time to eat and she was the main course. Looking around in a panic, she caught sight of the Ewok corpses suddenly and shrieked.

I cant believe the news today
Oh, I cant close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

Broken bottles under childrens feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I wont heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday bloody sunday...)
(allright lets go!)

And the battles just begun
Theres many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday

How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...
Tonight...

Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
Tonight
Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
(come get some!)

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Wipe your tears away
I wipe your tears away
(sunday, bloody sunday)
I wipe your blood shot eyes
(sunday, bloody sunday)

Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
(here I come!)

And its true we are immune
When fact is fiction and tv reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The real battle yet begun (sunday, bloody sunday)
To claim the victory jesus won (sunday, bloody sunday)
On...

Sunday bloody sunday
Sunday bloody sunday...

Her wide eyes turned to the man who had a tight grip of her her mind whirling and attempting to figure an escape route out. He pointed to the sky but she was so scared by the way he was acting and the things she was seeing that she couldn't comprehend. She couldn't calm down enough to even try to. All she wanted to do was go back to her cave and gather her things and find a safer place to call home.

And then the crows started their warning calls again. She caught her breath and looked up as one single crow landed on her shoulder, looked to it in the eyes then back to the man and began to struggle even more ferverently than before. All she could think was "DANGER"! What a day she was having. Not only did she get caught by some scary dark man, but there was a big group of crazed angry Ewoks heading this way with weapons and out for the blood of those who took the lives of their friends and family. And she was going to get caught up in the middle of it.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth's eyes went wide with the sudden realization that hundreds of life forms would soon be upon him. "Run," he called out to Kraehe, dragging her along by her dirty, fragile wrist.

"Yub Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub," could be heard echoing through the trees behind them. The Ewoks were filling the air with an angry chorus of strange cries. Twigs and leaves broke loudly underfoot as Jeseth and Kraehe struggled to get clear of the tiny savages. Blaster fire began to ring out from the direction of the landing site. The excavation team was lost.[

Well, Jeseth thought as he ran, at least I won't have to pay them. It was comforting to him that he could find that one positive element in his current situation. "Let's just hope they haven't destroyed the space cruisers," he whispered to Kraehe, panting for breath. Moments later, a massive explosion rocked the forest floor. Fire rose up into the air, then mushroomed into a pillar of black smoke. The ships were now lost, too.

Jeseth stopped, yanking the young girl’s wrist as he turned around to watch the explosion shimmer in the darkening sky. A growl escaped him. “Now we’ll be stranded here,” he exclaimed angrily.

"Yub! Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub! Yub Yub!” The Ewoks had found them. Jeseth would be forced to stand and fight. From the trees, arrows and rocks began to fly. Several of them landed at Kraehe’s feet with a stabbing thud.

“Stay behind me,” he snapped at the young girl, shoving her back and out of harm’s way. His pale fingers moved to wrap themselves around the hilt of his lightsaber and pull it free of its clip. It came to life with a violent snap, the crimson beam of its blade hissing into existence in the middle of the small clearing. A menacing hum filled the air as the lightsaber moved to cut rocks and burn arrows down to nothing.

[Kraehe Branwen]

"Run."

That word she understood. It was simple words she could comprehend so when he started dragging her she did what she could to catch up. Having been in the wilderness by herself for so long worked to her advantage. She was able to keep up with him easily once she caught her footing. Unfortunately her footing faltered as blaster fire frightened her, but she was able to regain it quickly and sped up as a result.

The strange man kept saying long sentences she couldn't understand, but by now she began to think that he wasn't after her as the main course. He was trying to help her. She got all that from that one word he had said and that he was going in the opposite direction of the Ewoks.

When a sudden explosion caused him to painfully pull her to a stop, Kraehe hid behind him and looked into the distance at the smoke and embers floating gently downwards amongst the trees.

Amongst the angry war cries of the Ewoks, Kraehe caught the faint sound of the single crow that had watched over her. She looked up as the stones and arrows began to fly. The man seemed to deman something of her as he shoved her further behind him, but she protested, looking for her crow. She spotted it at a nearby tree where an abandoned spear one of the Ewoks had been using was lodged. Kraehe looked from side to side quickly and ran for it.

It wasn't too far, but the Ewoks still continued their onslaught upon her as she went for the spear. When she got to it she wrapped her dirty hands around it and pulled with all of her might, grunting with the effort. She wouldn't go down without a fight.

[Jeseth Cloak]

The Ewoks pressed forward, the reflection of Jeseth's lightsaber burning brightly in their eyes. They feared him, but not nearly as much as they hated him. The Dark Jedi stepped forward, turning his body slightly to avoid an oncoming spear, then arced the his lightsaber out to meet several of the furry attackers. They never even had the chance to cry out before their bodies hit the floor in a stream of black smoke and vaporized blood.

Another volley of stones and arrows erupted from somewhere behind the trees. Jeseth dodged them, rolling across the floor and coming to a halt just in front of Kraehe, using his lightsaber to shield her from a potentially fatal barrage of debris. "Foolish child," he yelled without turning to look at her, "do as your told!"

Thock!

Jeseth's world began to spin. A rock had struck his head. The little beasts were dropping them onto him from high above the forest floor, utilizing primitive wooden gliders. He began to see dark spots and white sparks fizzing in and out of his field of vision. His defense faltered. A thick arrow whistled through the air and pierced his right shoulder, causing him to drop his lightsaber at Kraehe's feet. The weapon hissed away loudly, and Jeseth fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"Yub Yub!" The Ewoks erupted into cheer, turning their attention to the Human girl who was clutching was of their spears.

[Kraehe Branwen]

When Kraehe finally managed to pull the spear free she turned around to see a figure crumpling to the forest floor. Her eyes widened in fear, knowing that she'd stand no more chance alone than she had with a companion. Her crow friend sent out a shriek that alerted the flock to the situation as the Ewoks turned their attention to the young teenager. She deftly dodged an arrow by ducking away, scrambling towards a tree only to find that there was more dangerous fire coming from that direction as well.

She hissed and cawed at them, as feral as she was, her eyes wild, and feet quick. The rocks began to fall from above and thats when she began to climb, spear clenched between her teeth.

"Yub yub!" The Ewoks cried in alarm, not expecting to be pursued from their perch high in the trees.

Spears, arrows, and rocks were thrown at her to derail her attempt, but not for long. A chorus of horrid inhuman voices seared through the air. The Ewoks quieted only for a moment only to begin shrieking as crows began flying at them. Pecking and clawing at them, Ewoks fell from above, tripped and fell down below. Wings beat and beaks chewed terribly allowing Kraehe time enough to climb to a high branch.

She bent her knees and perched happily upon the branch and watched the mayhem with a smile, satisfied that the struggle between nature and Ewok was enough of a distraction to keep her out of the action. But alas she was wrong. An Ewok had managed to keep from being seen by her feathered friends by lodging himself within a hole within the trunk of the tree that she so happened to be in.

Debating whether to keep himself hidden or to capture the girl, the Ewok finally made a decision and jumped out, hitting the girl in the head harshly with a rock. It took the one blow to knock her out. And with that one blow, the crows seemed to scatter, leaving the carnage behind and sitting on branches in the surrounding area to watch and see what would become of the girl that had once been a part of their flock.

[Jeseth Cloak]

When he finally came to, Jeseth noticed that the world was upside down - no, he was upside. His wrists chaffed, and a quick glance revealed that he had been bound tightly to a thick log with dirty ropes. His ankles were done up the same way. He tugged at the restraints, but they wouldn't give. Across the small hut in which he had been placed, he could see the young girl. Only the faint light of a primitive lantern illuminated the room.

Glancing about, he couldn't find his lightsaber... or anything else that belonged to him. They had stripped him of his robe, and left him in nothing but his white fatigues. "Wake up," he hissed at Kraehe, trying to rouse her. "Wake up..." He closed his eyes, focusing on a small wooden cup that hung on a shelf just above her; it tipped over with a quick knock, spilling a small amount of water on Kraehe's face.

Outside of the hut, he could hear high-pitched cheering and sing, and the beating of drums. The air was scented lightly with smoke and the aroma of spices. What are they doing, Jeseth thought to himself, trying to get a look past cracks in the wood. All he could see was a roaring fire.

[Kraehe Branwen]

Kraehe spluttered and coughed when the water hit her face, shaking her head and struggling as though she were drowing. It took her several moments to realize that she wasn't in a body of water and that she had only had a small amount of it spilled on her face. She groaned in pain, her head throbbing from where the Ewok had whacked her with the rock. But her groans cut short when she heard the ruckus going on outside. Her eyes widened and muscles tightened.

The small girl's nostrils flared at the smell of smoke and ears tuned in to the sound of feast drums and jingles. It was enough to set her hair on end and start her into a frenzy like a cornered rat. It was like watching a trapped animal trying frantically to free itself by exhausting all options, even if it meant chewing its arms off. She'd have tried, but she settled for trying to chew at the ropes. But the poor girl failed since her teeth weren't made for that kind of job.

She twisted and writhed, shook and rattled until, finally, her tiny wrists slipped free. She plopped to the ground uncerimoniously and lay there stunned for a moment because the fall made her fragile concust head throb all the more. Whining, Kraehe got up and looked around the hut in a crouched ferile position to get a feel for where she was... Other than in the center of an Ewok village where she would be the main course for dinner tonight. Thats when she spotted the scary guy that wasn't so scary afterall.

Carefully she got down on all fours and stealthily creeped towards him, eyeing him as if she was still unsure. She sniffed the air around, still smelling the fire outside that was meant for them. They didn't have much time.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Untie me." Jeseth whispered to her, motioning with a jerking of his wrists. The log upon which he was hoisted shook. "Undo these ropes." he said slowly, hoping to get through to her. He noticed that an Ewok's shadow began to creep across the stream of light that was pouring into the room. Closing his eyes, Jeseth worked to draw the small creatures attention away.

Go, someplace else... he willed, and watched as the alien's shadow danced across the little cracks in the logs of the hut, then skittered away in a different direction.

"That won't keep working." Jeseth said to Kraehe. "Be quick."

[Kraehe Branwen]

The words he was speaking were too complicated for her but she got the jist but the urgency in his voice. It wouldn't do to try to untie his bonds by hand. It would take too long. She had been lucky enough to have small wrists that could wriggle out of them, but he didn't and his ties didn't look as lose as hers had been.

Her eyes surveyed the hut once more, closely this time, for something that she could use.Her nostrils continued to flare at the scent of the festivities going on outside all the while that she searched. Kraehe's line of sight finally landed upon one lone spear in the corner, probably abandoned by an off duty guard, that would suit her purposes. She scittered to the corner on all fours. grabbed it and put it between her teeth, then lunged towards Jeseth's location once again like a cat, snagging at the ropes.

Her feral eyes looked upon the bonds while one hand took hold of the spear and took to work, cutting away the fierce hold it had on the Dark Jedi Master. She grunted with the effort of trying to go faster, being that the spear was slightly dull. But finally, her efforts were rewarded as Jeseth became freed.

[Jeseth Cloak]

As soon as he was loose, he came to his feet and looked at Kraehe' "Thank you." he told her. "Now, we need to get out of here..." he added, reaching into his pocket to check for...

No! he cursed angrily in his mind. The crystal is gone!

His eyes narrowed in thought. "No, we can't leave yet." he countered what he had said just seconds before. Edging closer to the small hut's entrance, he pressed his face against a crack in the wall. Firelight filtered in against one of his dark red eyes, and through that crack he saw them: his lightsabers, his Jedi robe and Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber crystal. The items were heaped together in a pile by a massive fire. A white Ewok was waving a staff over the collection of trinkets, and chanting some strange words. What the furry creature was saying, Jeseth couldn't be sure, but it angered him all the same.

A growl escaped him. "I need those weapons, and that crystal!" he said to Kraehe, glancing back at her. "But there's too many of them out there." He was gesturing with his hands, trying to help her understand what he was saying, when two Ewoks opened the door and stepped into the room. They stood there staring at the Human girl for a moment, and then looked to the broken ropes upon the floor. Jeseth had been so consumed in thought that he had let down his guard. He shot his hands out towards one of the fuzzy creatures and grabbed hold of its head, snapping it's neck with a crunch. The other one tried to flee, but found itself pulled back by some invisible Force.

Jeseth shut the door as the small alien landed at Kraehe's feet in a tumble. "Kill it." he told her, pulling a finger across his own throat to give her a meaning to his words.

[Kraehe Branwen]

She looked at him like he was crazy. All she wanted to do was get the heck out of here before all of the others found them and ate them. Standing here and wasting time on killing one of them was just an obstacle between her and freedom. And she'd never killed anything that could actually... speak... Though it didn't make sense to her, she was still hesitant as she looked down at the Ewok. Looking down a flash of memory came over her and she whined and grunted, shaking her head wildly. Her fingers came up to her gnarled hair and threatened to rip it from the roots. Seeing the fear in the Ewoks eyes reminded her of her own fear, of her father's murder. She began to freak very much like a wounded animal, or like a two year old, and would very soon become hard to console.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Her fear permeated his senses, sending a chill up his back. The Ewok was beginning to scream, and any moment the screams would draw more of the aliens upon them. Jeseth extended his arm towards the fuzzy creature and began to constrict its airways. After a few moments, Kraehe heard something snap inside of the Ewoks throat, and the thing fell to the ground, took a few labored breathes, and expired.

Jeseth glared at the child for a moment, then softened his expression as he stalked over to her and put a hand around on her shoulder. His fiery eyes gazed into hers reassuringly. "Everything will be fine." he said quietly. "They're not like you and I... you needn't feel any guilt."

His hands brushed back her hair. It was messy and coarse, and he hardly managed to brush his fingers through it. As soon as he got back into a ship, he'd force the girl to jump into a shower.

[I'll finish this later!]