The Monster in the Night

[Growley]

Eyes watched in the twilight hours of every evening as the strange, two-legged creatures moved about. They pushed down trees, moved earth, and dug great furrows into the earth. They did this during the daytime mostly; when he slept. He did not much concern himself with them when he slumbered, but it was when the suns dipped below the horizon that he ventured forth from his high-peaked cave to stealthily swoop down and watch.

It was not all bad though, as the two-legs brought with them food. Eopies and shaak, kept so conveniently in wooden pens. No roofs. It was as though they had brought him such delicious food, and offered each delightful morsel without car.

And so he'd happily partaken. In the darkness he took flight, deep purple scales shimmering in the moonlight as he dove through the air like a missile. The small shaak herd scattered, but their terror only made them taste so much better.

And then he would pull up at the last moment, all four legs reaching down in hungry anticipation before digging sharp claws into soft flesh. Powerful wings beat the air like a deep drum, and up he went, his prize held firmly and squawking out a few last weak cries for help.

Thus he sated himself.



This night was like any other, the night clouds like a blanket and diffusing the brightness of the moon so that its' light was like an ambient glow.

Circling high overhead, the drexl tipped to the side, eyeing the eopie pen hungrily.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya slept fitfully as she'd done for the past week. Her dreams brought her back to her fateful moment, locked in combat with Abarai Loki. A fight less about winning and more about finding herself. Every blocked and dodged strike. Every effort turned away. But Loki's eyes were always on her. His lips moved, speaking to her.

Be wary.

The Syragori girl's eyes peeled open in the dark. Narsha Taab snoozed below her in the bunk bed, oblivious to Draiya's restless sleep. With her heart rate up, Draiya lay in bed during the still of the night, willing herself back into torpor.

Be wary.

Her eyes were moving towards the window. It was more than a feeling, it was something interconnected and alive. The sinewy tendrils that connected living intent rang like clarion calls to her senses. Though Draiya couldn't ascertain where they rang from or to what end, she'd be no Jedi at all to chalk this up to bad dream jitters. Stealing out of bed, the Syragori padawan quickly donned her tunic, and snuck out of her dorm into the night.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Outside of the Padawan dormitories, a creature sat. A gangly Vornskr hunched in the overhang, watching nervously with eyes that never left the sky.

And when the dormitory door opened to allow Draiya Naaianeya out, the young Lupine switched her ears back, head twisting to look at the girl. Golden eyes seemed to narrow.

There was no mistaking it now. Draiya had felt the very same thing that she had.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya dashed through the door with a practiced lightness in her footfalls, moving nimbly without creating much noise. Once clear of the dormitories, she felt a sudden intensity of life force and immediately pivoted on her toes, squaring off to face...

...a dog?

The Syragori's eyes leveled severely on the creature, and Draiya blinked hard, not understanding the strange feelings she felt through the force. The life energy here was radiant, by degrees more than any animal she'd sensed on planet. She didn't have time to dwell on that, however, as another living force eclipsed her senses. Even without turning her eyes above, she could feel it's presence - a creature of great size meandering on a lazy slice of sky above. Her ears picked up the thumping tattoo of heavy wings against night air. A presence - searching.

Draiya's lithe form turned back to the barracks, kicking precise steps against the frame of the door that served to wedge her up for a springing leap at the building's wall. She clasped at a second story window ledge, then drew herself up to the next level to spring onto the roof.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The vornskr watched Draiya, feeling the other girl's startled nerves. Of course, it wasn't long before what had pulled Teagan out of her own bed passed overhead.

She'd snuck out of her room, tip-toeing down the hall after waiting for Master Vymes to fall asleep. The first time she'd tried to make an exit she'd come upon him fast asleep in one of the large leather chairs in the living room, and to cover her surprise, the young Lupine had masked her true intentions under the guise of waking him and telling him he needed to go to his bedroom and sleep in an actual bed. He'd given some grumbled excuse, something about how he wasn't really asleep, or whatever. She knew better, and had prodded him until he'd stumbled to his feet, shuffling back to the very end of the hallway, and the entry to his own bedroom.

She'd left soon after, shifting forms along the way. It would be easier to hunt whatever it was that she'd felt if she was on all fours. Or well, that was how she figured it.

Now though, craning her neck upwards to watch as Draiya scaled the dormitory walls, Teagan let out a huffed breath.

She rose to stand, half-turned, then shot off like a wild beast in the direction that she could feel... whatever the thing was.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

It took a moment for Draiya's eyes to catch a hint of what her instincts could already see. At the outskirts of Sanctuary, she saw it. The dim moonlight threw back just enough cool radiance off the creature's wingspan to remain visible but for a few seconds. The Syragori girl's dark eyes stayed fixed on the interloper, even when those eyes could no longer track them by sight as the flying beast disappeared under a blanket of darkness.

Draiya sprinted across the roof, coiling at the edge to splash across the gap between the next building in a full run. Perhaps there was a chance this creature was just passing in the night, but she couldn't escape the feeling of intent that tethered the shadowy prowler to Sanctuary. It wasn't just passing through. It was looking. Hunting.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout Ravenwood was, meanwhile, completely oblivious to the game of hunter and prey going on around her. She'd been up late studying, and now, clutching her datapad in its custom pink case with plenty of new texts downloaded to it, she was making her way back to the dormitories, mostly in her own little world. She certainly wasn't stealthy, that was for sure, her pink high heeled boots (perfectly matching, of course, her pink tunic, robe, belt, and nail polish) click clacked loudly on the floor, and the girl's insistence on always wearing a nice perfume meant that she had a trackable scent to any predator.

She paused for the briefest moment, sensing something. She frowned a little. She could sense a feeling, an intention, in the air that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But Scout had no experience with animals, hers was a coddled experience, and after a quick glance around and seeing nobody nearby, she decided that it was probably nothing. Just in case however, she picked up the pace a little, walking in a more hurried step that only made her footfalls click clack on the concrete ground even louder as she moved...

[Growley]

With a plethora of delectables to choose from, the winged beast circled high overhead before swooping in low. The shaak and eopie in the pens gave off such a pungent odor that the 'monster' only had eyes for them.

Alighting upon the nearest rooftop, the drexl let his wings stay unfurled for a few moments, and with a snorted bfff exiting his nostrils, he gave the rest of his body a little bit of a shake.

Flying could be a chore, at times after all.

A final shake of his wings, and he pulled them back in close to his body while pawing close to the building's edge.

[Karkoon]

Shelter and sleep were unnecessary comforts that often put him at odds with the other denizens of the Ossus Academy. Every night he was forced into solitude as the carbon based lifeforms went to their domiciles and made themselves unconscious. Such a strange process. He could hardly imagine what it must be like to fall into this "Sleep". His species did not sleep. They waited patiently, sometimes for hundreds of standard years, without action. He waited for the daylight to come outside the many shelters. They did not possess anything that he could sit in that would not shatter under the weight of the droid carapace he piloted. Outside he could enjoy the stars and moon. Much better than the otherwise boring interiors of the prefab structures.

Such was the same tonight. While the others slept he sat outside on a bench that his friend Suri had reinforced to hold his weight. A silent guardian, standing watch outside the doors of those sleeping. He knew there was little or no danger here on Ossus, but old habits never died. It reminded him of the week long vigils he stood over the fields of Orax. His people were defenseless on their owns, and if not for the droid suit he was useless without, he would have never risen to protect them. That was neither here nor there. Now he was on Ossus, and there was a military at their back that could protect them. Still, it was hard to let his guard down.

Movement caught his "eye". The sensor suite fed electromagnetic feedback from the droid's optic receptors back to where he sat within the chest cavity of the droid. Someone was running along the rooftop of one of the shelter structures. His eyes adjusted for the darkness, and revealed the Syragori named Draiya. Further movement below revealed an animal he was not familiar with. A quick run through the holonet revealed nothing of interest. Closing the wireless connection to the nearest holonet terminal, the lumbering droid carapace sprung to life; it's servos whirling into action as it stood up and lumbered after the girl on the rooftop.

Something was up. This was not normal behavior. He would follow, as discreetly as his metal body would allow.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

It's landing! It's close!

She darted over, letting her senses tell her where to go as her body obeyed.

Of course, there were some things that weren't exactly translated properly, and the Vornskr let out a surprised huff as she felt her hulk collide with something much more pliable... Skidding to a halt - which ended in the gangly beast standing over a girl who seemed very attached to the color and inner powers of pink. And... how did she walk it those things? A worried look back to the girl's legs (to make sure nothing was broken), had yielded a glimpse of footwear that looked more deadly that a Rakatta death beast.

And then she angled her head back, looking the girl in the face. Her tongue lolled out, toothy maw opened wide as she hoped her 'happy face' would be enough to express any apologies needed.

Of course, she still hadn't moved from over the top of the pink girl.

So pink!

[Theo]

Dr. Theo Phastus never slept very soundly these years. Maybe it was years spent on research excursions in the untamed depths of the galaxy, where sleeping too soundly could mean being easy prey for some rampaging beast. Then again, maybe it was the ravages of time; he was getting up in years, after all. Whatever the case, his honed senses alerted to the sounds just a minute or so after others. In an instant, he was on his feet.

"B1," he rumbled, "something's close. I can feel it. Fetch me Lucille."

The loyal droid retrieved Lucille from where it had been carefully placed in the large, well-ordered tent. Moments later, the professor emerged from the dwelling, antique hunting blaster in hand, dressed only in a thin nightshirt and sleeping cap.

A young woman's scream pierced the night air. Theo advanced, head hunched low, rifle at the ready.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout's world was suddenly disrupted as something collided with her with enough force to knock her off her feet. Startled, and already unnerved, she let out a terrified scream, before taking in what it was that had collided with her. Breathing hard, one hand held out in her best 'good doggy' pose, the other doing a quick check on her blonde hair, a natural reaction to her having fallen over, she slowly got to her feet, putting both hands out to it. The creature didn't seem angry with her, and in fact, its face looked genuinely happy.

Wait. Is she happy because she knocked me down or is she being friendly? Ohh, I wish I knew more about animals...

"H-hello..." She said softly, in that typical baby voice she assumed you should use for talking to animals. "Who's a good doggy?" She asked, reaching forward with that nervousness of somebody who felt that they should touch the animal, but was also afraid it might bite her finger off. "You are! Yes you are!" She baby-talked, edging closer, until she felt confident she could give him a little pat on the head...

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Any thought of the mystery presence was suddenly swept aside in a torrent of shock. A torrent of sudden praise.

The vornskr blinked big, golden eyes, slurped her tongue back behind her teeth, and tried to cut as sweet a canine figure as she could. It was a little bit tricky.

'Good Doggy'. Such a nice change.

Her baser instincts made her give a bit of a strut around the girl in pink.

With wide, golden eyes, the vornskr cast her gaze upwards. The Girl In Pink. That's who she'd come across. There was no mistaking it.

She plopped down on her haunches, looking up with a wide, toothy grin and a fair amount of stars in her eyes.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout smiled and let herself giggle a little as the dog circled her. She was still nervous, but she was beginning to feel like she'd made a friend. She watched as she circled, and then sat down with a funny smile on her face, and again Scout found herself smiling.

Aww, she's so cute. I wonder who owns her? I should pat her again. I hope she doesn't smell much...

Scout cautiously edged forwards, and gave her another little pat, before kneeling down in front of the big dog and deciding to rub the side of its face playfully.
"Ohhh, you're so cute, yes you are! Yes you are!" She baby talked to the dog, before deciding to give the animal a hug. She wasn't sure if you were supposed to hug animals, but she looked huggable, and well, it seemed to be a good approach. Of course, when Scout pulled away, she quickly brushed down her tunic from dog hair, because, well, Scout might be a hugger, but she also was obsessed with preserving her pink clothes and hated dirt.

"What are you doing out late, girl? What you doing?" She continued to baby talk, of course not expecting a reply.

I wonder if they'd let me have a pet...

[Theo]

The besalisk stalked along the empty, dirt path. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the shadows , searching for the predator he knew was out there. Hopefully, he'd see it before it saw him. If past experiences were any indication, a shot fired into the air should be enough to scare the blasted thing off. He would have done so immediately upon exiting his tent, but he didn't want to wake the whole damn town unless there was actually a danger.

Mostly, he wanted to see it. There were still species on this planet that weren't properly cataloged in the well-respected journals, and the chance to understand the unknown was a powerful draw.

Theo approached an intersection and peered cautiously around the corner. Modular buildings rose on either side of him, giving the settlement the sudden feel of a cramped, closed canyon. Much like the time he had been on an excursion on Ammuud, exploring the Kalikas Rift and had accidentally wandered into the nesting grounds of the native pterosaurs. Of course, that experience had led to his spending the next three months observing them at close range and publishing a paper that revolutionized the understanding of the creatures.

Ahead, visible in the dim light, a small figure was wrestling with some sort of beast. His muscles tensed, and he began to point the barrel of the blaster skyward when her high-pitched, sing-song voice echoed back to him. The blaster came down and he hustled to her, short legs churning and night shirt flapping in the cold (periodically exposing the professor).

"It's not safe to be wandering in the dark tonight, Miss," his eyes continued to scan the dark skies, "You and your dog better find some shelter. Hop along now."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

The beast had taken to perch with it's attention diverted away. Draiya paused in a deep crouch, one rooftop away from the winged behemoth. It was a predator, that much was obvious, but nothing she'd seen during her lengthy time on the Sanctuary world. Sleek scales as midnight as the still darkness surround it, yet the Syragori padawan sensed no malice from the animal. Nothing of sinister portent. That didn't make it dangerous. Plenty of creatures could kill in the name of surviving, and that certainly included regular people.

What are you? she thought, returning to her second sight to glimpse into the luminous heart of the animal so near to her stalking approach. Other energies did not escape her notice. The staid vigil of a Besalisk who had responded to the possibility of danger. That...strange dog. A girl Draiya did not know, lavishing her attention on the odd canine seemingly unaware of the trouble perched close and above.

Draiya took another step closer.

[Growley]

The drexl gave a sudden snort, his head going up and his eyes blinking slowly as his head turned this way and that. He could feel... something. It wasn't anything he'd felt before on his previous nightly trips, and the winged beast tensed his body, ready to take flight.

A string of gibberish sang through his head, and he let a low growl form in his chest, rumbling up to manifest through baring teeth. With lips pulled back over each white instrument of chewing menace, the creature slowly turned to look at the approaching form of...

His eyes narrowed to vicious slits.

It was a day person.

Squaring off with the girl that crept her way closer, the drexl unfurled his wings, his body mass suddenly much larger.

And with a great heave, the monster in the night leaped up into the sky.

[Karkoon]

It was quiet on top of the building where the young female and the creature were perched. Fearing the worst had happened, Karkoon grabbed the sides of the building and pulled himself upward using whatever handholds he could find while being careful not to permanently damage the building while pulling his weight skyward. Eventually he reached the edge and pulled his upper body on to it, looking up just in time to see the creature take flight again. While dark to others, his droid optics were able to view the creature unhindered by the darkness. Image captured. Ran through the holonet again.

"Drexl. Native species of Dxun, moon of Onderon. Ferocious predator. Employed as war mounts. I would suggest caution, fellow Padawan." He repeated back the holonet entry as his suit's live feed fed it to him.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

"Warr mounts?" Draiya mouthed, turning back to her fellow armored padawan.

So it wasn't simply a wild beast at all. It had a greater potential still. She turned back to look at the beast, a little smile on her face. Suddenly, it sprang from it's roost, opening it's huge wings to beat the air down in a tremendous rush that cast back Draiya's black hair.

"That's good advice!" she yelled back to Karkoon, coiling then springing in an energetic leap towards the ascending figure of the drexl. It's long tapering tail swished towards her, and the Syragori padawan caught it at the last trailing length, holding on for dear life as she began to be carried aloft.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout jumped out of her skin at the voice of the approaching Besalisk, and span around to face him, looking both startled, and for some reason, trying to radiate innocence even though she hadn't actually been doing anything wrong. She patted the vornskr gently to make sure that she was calm and happy, and looked over at the approaching stranger.
"She's not my dog. I just met her." Scout answered with a sweet smile."But I don't want to leave her alone out here. She seems pretty domesticated. She must have an owner. She might have gotten lost!" She explained with genuine concern for the animal, even if Scout didn't know the first thing about looking after dogs.

"Wait. What do you mean 'not safe'?" She asked, suddenly sounding nervous and glancing around the dark. She didn't go out in the dark much, not really, it hadn't been part of her coddled, safe life style before her time as a Jedi, and she didn't think that there was anything wrong with it now. "Is... is something out there? I thought I sensed something... odd, but I couldn't really.... I didn't understand it. It was only for a moment..." Scout was actually very talented at sensing motives and thoughts, but she had to be trying to do it, which is why she had missed Theo, and her naivety with animals meant that she didn't really know how to feel for an animal presence. Only sentients.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

With her tongue lolling out, Teagan pitched her head to the side, staring up curiously at the the Besalisk. Theo, her memory told her his name was. Though, she'd never really met him; only heard about him.

The Girl in Pink was speaking again, and the young Lupine cast her gaze back. Sitting down rather heavily on her haunches, she wrapped her long, whip-like tail around her paws.

And as if to punctuate the words spoken, she let out a happy bark just as a shadow darkened the already sparsely illuminated area around them.

[Growley]

The sudden addition of weight through his balance off, and the drexl clawed the air as his wings beat furious strokes to try and gain altitude. The day person clung to his tail doggedly though, and both beast and girl tumbled from the night sky in an uncontrolled tangle of wing and limb. He roared his displeasure.

Only at the last moment was he able to regain lift, and his wings billowed out to catch as much air as possible as he angled his suddenly ungainly body down, then up once more. He saw a group of three beings, and as he swooped low, his accrued speed allowed him to pitch up and remain in flight. But only just barely, and still clawing the air, one forepaw gripped the nightcap of the tallest day person, pulling it off as he sailed over the trio.

[Theo]

Dr. Theo Phastus, antique blaster rifle still shouldered, suddenly felt rather foolish. Of course, he was surrounded here by people that could control minds, dodge blaster bolts, and jump three stories. They could likely handle a single wild beast.

He carefully set the blaster on the ground and regarded the young lady and dog near him. "I don't see anything, but I'm sure there's something out here. Just keep your eyes open and your ears sharp," he said in a low whisper, affecting his usual pompous air.

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he suddenly felt a breeze on the back of his head. Very slowly, he reached up to touch his hat. Very slowly, he felt nothing but his bald skull. Very slowly, he looked up and saw nothing.

[Scout Ravenwood]

The dog was being adorable, and Scout was gently smoothing her head and fur as she sat obediently, even as the big man, who hadn't introduced himself, continued to speak to her. But then, all of a sudden, everything changed as something flew low over them, swiping away the hat of the speaker even as Scout let out an involuntary, girly shriek. She may have been a Jedi padawan, but she was still something of a wimp, at least when startled, especially by big animals, which she had no experience with. Or small animals. Force help all of her dorm neighbours if she ever found a spider in her room.

But she was still a padawan, and she spotted the person below, although to her eyes, it looked like she was in the beast's claws. It was dark and moving so fast she couldn't quite grasp that she was just clinging to the tail. Scout gave a panicked look.
"It's got somebody! They're in trouble!" She exclaimed, whirling around in a circle, looking for somebody to help. To do something. Scout wasn't the heroic type. She was the 'has a nice hairstyle' type. She didn't have a combative bone in her body, and she was terrible at fighting or combat, or anything particularly energetic or involving action. But at the same time, somebody was in trouble, and she'd become a Jedi to help people.

She looked down at her pink lightsaber hilt on her belt.

A Jedi only ever ignites her lightsaber if she intends to use it. I know that. It's one of the oldest rules of the Jedi. And I've never even turned it on except for training, or that one time to test the colour. But, somebody's in trouble... And... I don't know what to do!

"Look after her! She needs cuddles and lots of love." Scout told the big important man, pointing at the dog. "You be good girl. I'll see you again soon." She baby-talked to Teagan, giving her one final little scratch behind the ears.

A Jedi only ever ignites her lightsaber if she intends to use it.

With a familiar snap-hiss, Scout's soft pink lightsaber blade burst in to life, bathing the darkness in a pink glow that somehow made her look, well, even pinker. And then she ran off. It was a terrible run, the run of the ultimate girly girl, in heels no less. Arms flailing to the side, hips wriggling, and yet barely moving. It was like somebody asked you to imagine the girliest run you could, and she embodied it. But she was at least trying, willing the Force to carry her further along, and to help her keep up with the beast...

[Karkoon]

The creature, Drexl, took flight again, but before Karkoon could issue additional warnings and caution the padawan hurled herself at the creature, catching it's tail and being dragged away by the winged nightmare. A series of screeching noises schrilled from Karkoon's droid carapace as the electromagnetic interface picked up his panic. Released the side of the building, he dropped like a rock to the ground. The servos in his legs hissed angrily as he took the shock of hitting the ground. He wasted no time setting off, the powerful limbs of his droid body pushing against the earth as he ran after the flying creature.

A sign post was anchored in the ground ahead. A heavy duty metal pipe. It was unceremoniously ripped from the ground and concrete base as Karkoon ran past. Ahead of him a group was huddled around the pink glow of a lightsabre. "Get inside. Dangerous." He called as he ran past them. Ripping the sign off the pole he hoisted it over his shoulder like a javelin, ready to throw it. He just needed a clear shot, and that was impossible with the padawan hanging from it's tail.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

"Aaaaahhhh!!!"

Draiya shrieked in the moment of confused freefall. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Stubbornness and lack of a better idea bade her to keep her firm hold around the drexl's tail, and just when it seemed like they were going to hit the deck, the drexl's trailing tail dipped low, but still barely airborne, allowing Draiya a fleeting glimpse of her fellow Padawan Scout, that weird dog, and the egg-head Besalisk professor.

Now feeling the surging of beating wings righting their trajectory again, Draiya's shouts took on a whole new sound.

"Wooooo hoo!!"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Her ears perked up suddenly at the sound of Draiya's voice, and springing to her feet, Teagan exploded into a run after the shadowy creature. That was what she'd scented! That was it! Paws hitting the ground in a rapid pace, the vornskr shot ahead like a rocket. She breezed past the Dr. Phastus, and managed to dodge the pink - [i]pink! How cool was that?! - lightsaber before tearing off after the shadowy thing. Its' smell was easy enough to follow now that she had a good whiff of it.

The metal man with a signpost had cautioned them all, but she was too excited to heed his warning.

A series of happy barking sounded through the air, as if beckoning the everyone to follow.

[Growley]

The brief moment of stabilization was short-lived.

With the whooping Day Person on his tail was becoming the gravest of annoyances, there weren't many options to be had. Instinct made the Drexl snap his upper torso in the beginnings of a full-body shake. The motion traveled, carrying down his tail so that it seemed to crack like a whip. It was an action that ultimately cause him to plummet once more though, and he beat furious wings to try and keep airborne.

It was a futile effort, and both beast and girl dipped lower. One last mighty heave, and hee brought himself up just enough to avoid plowing directly into the ground. Instead, he seemed to glide into an uncontrolled landing that sent both him and his unwanted passenger tumbling into a collection of wooden pallets, unused tent canvases, and packing crates.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout wasn't about to give up, not just because a giant metal man had told her to, or because the dog she was trying to protect had torn past her effortlessly, or because she was so slow on her feet the creature had crashed to the ground with the girl in tow before she got anywhere near, or even because as she came to a stop by the fallen creature she had to stop, hands on her knees, panting from exhaustion because Scout didn't know the first thing about physical fitness or running. She preferred to maintain her figure by simply not eating much. She didn't have time for exercise. That would interfere with her precious various beauty regimes.

Now she had two choices, however, attack the beast, or aid whoever had been clinging to it. For Scout, it wasn't even a decision. She wasn't a fighter. She never would be. But if somebody was in trouble, she'd try to help. She dashed towards the figure that had been clinging to the creature, still breathless, but trying to help, and still holding her lightsaber in case the beast attacked, and that was when she recognised her.
"Draiya!?" She gasped. "Ohmigosh! Are you alright!?" She ran to the side of her fellow padawan to check up on her, even as she panted, hoping that at least all of her hair was still in place after her short, but for her, exhausting, run. Scout hated even meeting her fellow padawan unless she knew she looked perfect.

[Theo]

Anyone looking out into the cool night would have seen quite the strange train of individuals tearing down the street of this small settlement.

A flying beast. A figure clutching the flying beast. A droid with a makeshift club. A girl with a wobbly run and a pink lightsaber. A dog. And bringing up the rear, Dr. Theo Phastus, rifle in hand, unmentionables occasionally exposed by his flapping nightshirt, trying to keep up with the young folks.

He had only caught the briefest of glimpses of the beast as it had sailed away from him into the night, his blue and white striped nightcap clutched in its talons, but that brief glance had him fascinated. Expansive wingspan, at least 10 m across. Dark coloration. No apparent feathers or fur. Long tail. Not a very good lift to drag ratio, judging from how often the thing was flapping its wings. Possibly a relatively primitive creature. Though that could also be due to the imbalance caused by the additional weight on its tail. He wished he had managed to get a better look at its anterior end.

If it was native to this planet, to this region, he had not yet encountered this particular species. But it could be an introduced species. The Jedi and the Alliance weren't the only ones on this planet and there were some who had no compulsion against the introduction of foreign, sometimes extraterrestrial, species into a fragile ecosystem. Whatever the beast was, it had to be captured, identified, and studied. This, this is why he was here. This was his calling.

With a thunderous crash, the beast fell from the sky and Dr. Phastus, closing on it with the others, was wishing he had his tranquilizer gun. A net. Something.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Irony was the act of smashing through a packing crate and then into a comfortable pile of packing peanuts, but there Draiya lay in a heap, staring up at the night sky. She vaguely recalled a familiar voice saying her name, though from what sounded like far away. Unfocused eyes blinked, then fixed upon the unsettling glamour of her fellow Padawan, Scout Ravenwood.

She made a motion with her mouth to say something, then paused with a look of concern on her face, before spitting out a pair of foam peanuts.

"Ow."

[Karkoon]

Karkoon never got the chance to throw his poke spear. The creature fell from the sky again, and he was nowhere near enough to catch the falling padawan. Instead he had to watch hopelessly as they disappeared from sight into a tangle of crates and unused supplies. His pace never slowed; his metal feet pounding noisily into the ground as he raced toward the crash sight. There was no sign of the padawan, but he could feel her. Through his nature as a limbless sentient crystal, he was very attuned to the environment as seen through the force. He had an idea where the fallen padawan was, and was reinforced by the pink illumination of Padawan Ravenwood's lightsabre.

Stepping between Draiya and the creature, he made himself a barrier; intent to keep the beast at bay should it attack.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The vornksr bounded close to the metal man, skidding to a halt on paws that seemed far too large on an already gangly creature. Her ears swiveled forward as she heaved great breaths into her lungs, and as the glow of the Pink Girl's lightsaber tickled her peripheral vision, Teagan turned to briefly take in the flash of saber light. It was brief, and she quickly turned back to focus on Draiya.

There was worry, but there was also a fair amount of intense curiosity over the creature.

What was it?!

It had such a different scent!

[Growley]

A throaty growl perforated the air, as the winged creature stirred. Crashing into a collection of hard objects was not exactly what had been on the order for the evening.

Another string of gibbering, growled grumbles, and the Drexl reared up before immediately veering to the side, his body leaning dangerously as though he'd had too many overripe red berries. So sweet, but so dangerous! And that was exactly how he felt now, he head throbbing as he only just caught himself in a controlled side-slide-stomp, all four feet trying to plant as solidly and widely as possible.

"HRUFFFF..."

A shake of his head only seemed to make things worse as his whole body rocked, wings going out to try and help stabilize his already precarious stance. He still felt like he'd eaten too many red berries...

[Scout Ravenwood]

"Draiya!" Scout fretted, holding out one of her perfectly manicured hands and placing it on her fellow padawan's forehead. She wasn't particularly great at, well, anything actually practical yet, but Force healing came more naturally to her than fighting, and she tried to focus at least some healing energies in to her friend (at least, Scout considered them friends) to help her recover faster. She became aware of the beast thrashing around behind them, trying to stand up, and she turned, lightsaber held out.

She could cut off its head now, probably, if she wasn't clumsy with the swing. But Scout didn't even think of attacking. It wasn't in her nature, especially not a wounded animal.
"Whoa. Whoa... Calm down boy... Caaalm..." She said, trying her best to will the beast to be calm, reaching out with the Force to gently persuade him to relax. She was good with minds, although animal minds were very different, and she was making her best attempt to relax it and calm it.

[Theo]

CRASH

The spectacular end to this brief chase was heard long before it was seen. Dr. Theo Phastus closed on the source of the sound with long strides, moving at a surprising pace for a man of his age.

Hsss hsss hhhh, Hsss hsss hhhh, Hsss hsss hhhh

Two breaths in, one breath out. Two breaths in, one breath out. Steady breaths, that was the key. Keep that heart rate down. Stay focused. With the dog leading the way, he made his way through the darkness to the source of the noise. A small figure was slumped in the shattered remains of some crates, dazed, but conscious. The robot and the pink girl were working together to keep the beast at bay. And what a magnificent beast it was. Strong, agile, and clearly deadly.

Dr. Phastus kept his voice low and calm. "That's it, young lady, keep it subdued. Watch that tail. If you see it start to flip back and forth quickly, get ready to defend yourself."

His steel trap of a memory began cataloging his observations. No indication of how mature it was, but it moved with a slight clumbsiness that could be indicative of a juvenile specimen. Dark scales, possibly black, possibly dark purple or blue. Light frame, but heavily muscled. Elongated body, long neck, wide head. The wings comprised a membrane supported by what looked like a single phalange and tipped with razor-sharp claws. An apex predator, no doubt. Magnificent beast!