Fourteen Up, Fourteen Down

[Untaaura Verratoa]

With her running partner in tow once more, Verratoa began the descent back to camp. Fourteen kilometers the other way. Now they ran downhill, and it took considerably less effort to keep a decent pace. Which was good, since the Major didn't at all feel like pushing the envelope with a belly full of Gossam gastronomic mad science. Still, even sandbagging the course could be risky, and the Cizerack was certain whatever she'd eaten wouldn't taste nearly as good the second time around.

With a guarded pace, she continued along with Kuurramaai, the former seeming less phased by the bit of chow. The lupine loped ahead a dozen or so meters, then eventually slowed to keep the distance between them sociable.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Going down was much easier than coming up; even on four legs, the change of angle was appreciated. She was at least mindful to stay with her partner for most of the time, but there were a few instances when the allure of the brush along the side of the trail was just too much, and the vornskr was more than happy to bound off, disappearing for a short few minutes before returning once more.

It was as she dashed back out onto the trail that she caught the first scent of something... off.

Skidding to a halt, the Lupine came to a full stop in the Cizerack's path, ears swiveled forward as her head angled upward to scent the air.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Kuurramaai skidded to a halt on the trail, which was certainly not her usual pattern of being not sure whether to pace the Cizerack or bolt a few dozen meters ahead and explore. Untaaura passed the Lupine but immediately thought the better of it when she noticed the dog wasn't budging. Her ears were up, same as her muzzle, and she winded the air. That caused the Cizerack to do the same, though nothing seemed particularly amiss. While her sense of smell was better than, say, a human's, a Cizerack was no match for a trackhound or the like, and considering something had caught Kuurramaai's attention, that warranted attention of her own.

"What jiss jit, gjirrl?"

Verratoa's own ears snapped ahead to triangulate on any noise in the vicinity. She didn't hear a thing. That in and of itelf was a problem, because they were in the wilderness, and you should expect to hear everything, even if the sum of everything was nothing. Or at least, nothing you'd notice. Silence, however, was precursor to alarm.

The Major reached to her waist, thumbing free the catch on her holster. Her blue eyes looked off the trail, trying to see a horizontal break against stands of vertical trees. Something that shouldn't be there.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

It was a scent that confused her, yet the danger that it carried with it was palpable. The fur at her shoulders rose into a spiked line as her entire body tensed. Her long, bony tail whipped about like an angry viper as her lips pulled away to expose a menacing display of teeth.

Another scent, now from behind her, and the vornskr wheeled about on her haunches to face this new, invisible threat. She let a growl begin in the bottom of her throat, a steady sound that conveyed menace. Whatever was out there, unseen and hidden, it was not a group of tromping younglings looking for flowers and roots. It wasn't Master Hicchoru; his was a unique smell that she would know from miles away. It wasn't anyone from the settlement.

It wasn't that singular, soft yet lingering grey odor that belonged to the Gossam, either. It was something else...

It was something new, and something that was not friendly.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

The change in direction spurred Verratoa to draw her weapon. Whatever Kuurramaai sensed, it had either changed direction - or worse - wasn't alone. Her suspicions were now starting to take shape into a word on the tip of her tongue. Yet before she could invoke them, her blaster was torn from her hand in a violent impact. She barely even had time to register the pain of hot spall against skin.

"Rrun!"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She was moving even before the word reached her lips, but it was not to flee.

Instead, the vornskr surged ahead at one of the beings that she could smell, an ugly dark green scent trail marking the path clearly. Her growl became louder, turning into a snarl as she barreled through the underbrush. And in an instant she reared up, crashing into a body that had once been so well hidden, and with little thought the beast closed her jaws around the soft flesh of an arm.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

"Kuurramaai!" she shouted impotently, surging ahead after the vornskr. As the beast broke through the brush, she could now clearly see one of the hidden figures. But even now, their attackers remained hidden behind ornate masks. The Major's suspicions were confirmed at exactly who they now faced. A Ysanna warrior drew his weapon up for a shot, but Untaaura savagely kicked it aside, turning with her momentum to lash a raking clawed hand at the warrior's neck. She felt the warm ichor on her fingertips before seeing the results of her handiwork, as the warrior collapsed to staunch the flow from severed arteries. The Jaanni'saari officer didn't pause in her aggression, taking advantage of his incapacitation by hastening his demise, wrenching his head and jaw to break the neck.

And that's when the world around her exploded into stars. Red pinpricks of light set against the fading darkness of everything around her. Untaaura fell to the ground as a warrior cracked her across the back of her head with the butt of his gun.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

The sound of metal thumping against a skull brought her up, releasing the Ysanna and looking at the now fallen form of the Cizerack woman.

She scrambled back, as the alien she'd held down now wormed an arm out to grasp one of her fore-legs. She let out a growled yelp, jaws snapping at gnarled fingers. She felt hands clamping down on the scruff of her neck, wrenching her back and to the side, and moments later an angry mask filled her vision. She felt pulled back further, a thin leather cord wrapping around her snout and forcing her mouth closed. Her growl became a whine then, as she watched one of the Ysanna lift his rifle, and in the next moment brought it down, the butt end striking squarely between her eyes and sending her spiraling down into the depths of her subconscious.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Two hours later

Something was wrong here.

It had bothered Anbira for the past kilometer on the trail, and now it was practically screaming at him. The birds sounded wrong. The normally vibrant throaty warbles that carried on these trees were largely absent, instead the silence was only periodically punctured by a more shrill and forced call. The Jedi Knight froze in his tracks, weather-beaten skin around his eyes creasing into slight crows feet as he squinted into the distance. More a habit than anything, as the Force was a far better scout than his eyes could be. He felt a presence close by. Barely there, but a distinct feeling of pain and confusion. Acting on instinct, the Jedi bounded into the underbrush, clearing a thicket of brambles with a wave of his hand that caused the thorny snarl to bow away by an unseen force.

"Now that's not something you see every day."

Trussed up and tossed aside next to a tree was a vornskyr. It's white fur was ruffled and dirty, but through the mess, he could still occasionally see the slow rise and fall of breath. Anbira approached the beast, and quickly began to make sense of the knotted rope around the animal. Still, none of this made sense whatsoever, and didn't put him at ease.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

It was the sounds of brush moving that roused her, pulling her up into the waking world. Her chest, once steadily rising and falling, soon enough began to heave with exertion as she struggled in her bindings. She whined, her body writhing even as her eyes caught sight of...

And in less than a second she grew still. She knew the face that now looked down at her. With tawny eyes the Lupine craned her neck to gaze up at Knight Hicchoru.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

"Easy there."

It didn't even need to be said. Once the animal had sighted him, it seemed to relax, as if utterly accustomed to him. That was odd. Even though Anbira certainly knew his way around the wild, there was always a degree of acquainting required and respect to be given to wild creatures. This vornskyr didn't tense, it didn't wind him or evaluate his body language. It was almost the signs of a tame animal.

"Something got you tangled up good, alright."

And there was that. This didn't seem to be the work of a snare or trap. Someone had tied the beast up and just left it here. Not pelters, they would've made short work. And a farmer would have likely just shot it and left it be. So why all the effort? Anbira didn't dwell on the matter at present, and with a flick of his lightsaber, he made short work of the vornskyr's bonds. It wasn't likely that he'd get much of an explanation the conventional way, and Anbira dropped to his haunches.

"What happened to you?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Her ears drooped low at that. How could she possibly say anything?!

If it was Master Vymes he'd understand. He knew what she was, but the other Jedi... well, no one else really... knew exactly what she was. In the face of that particular terrible knowledge, Teagan only let out a low whine. She gave a last brief struggle, shaking herself out of the coarse bonds that'd held her fast. She didn't immediately stand, rather her posture changed as she rose only to sit up. She turned tawny eyes to Knight Hicchoru. Pleading eyes that held frustration in them all the same.

Her head angled to the side as she seemed to slump, and her eyes closed tightly as she gave a nudge to his chest.

She couldn't Change, not now. Not without exposing her secret.

Another whine, and the vornskr lifted her head up, pulling away as she scented the air.

She could still smell them. She could still smell her.

Slowly she lumbered up to stand, and her eyes opened, trailing away from the Jedi.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

There was more to this. Anbira watched the vornskr turn away, winding the air toward the wild thicket beyond. Her body was tense. Not apprehensive of him, but something else. The Jedi Knight ran a hand along the fur from the base of her neck down her back. He could feel the tension, see her focused attention. Slowly, his blue eyes closed.

"Who did this to you? And why?"

Years alone on Felucia had made him depend on the wild around him, not just as a resource to be used, but a companion. A teeming presence to take solace and communion. It was never as simple as a conversation. Even with the force, there were only base feelings. But what he felt when he reached out to her was startling, and his eyes opened suddenly. The answer was crystal clear, almost as if the words were spoken.

"The Y'sanna?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

At that she snapped her head to him, ears switching forward.

Yes, it'd been the Y'sanna, but his 'lucky guess' did more than simply elicit a response to the affirmative. She felt his mind touch her own, and as if on instinct the young Lupine threw up her normal mental barriers. She'd been slack, and he'd - in a way - caught her with her hand in the sweets jar. And even if he now had a notion of things, she still couldn't help but shut him out.

Instead the vornskr gave a hurff. She let her tail grow still, and with a slow blink she let her eyes leave the Jedi to once more look in the direction that she could almost see the scents of the Y'sanna. She could even make out the distinct trail that belonged to her Cizerack companion. It was unmistakable.

Her chest swelled with a long intake of air, and she let it out through her nose before sidestepping, slowly beginning to move away from Knight Hicchoru and in the direction that her nose and eyes told her to go.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

He felt the aburpt disconnect and flinched. The sudden and decisive severing was nothing he'd ever felt in an animal before. He didn't know vornskyr by personal experience. The jungles of Myrkyr were full of strange creatures with strange connections to the force, but that itself didn't invalidate what he'd gleaned. For a moment Anbira simply sat in surprise, then exhaled.

"Alright then. Sorry about that, girl."

There wasn't much time to dwell, however. The vornskyr was up again and moving in the direction her attention had been so fixated. Anbira followed, mindful of his surroundings. The Y'sanna were a cunning people. If what he'd gleaned was true, there was no shortage of danger to be found on this path.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She followed where her own senses told her to go. Truthfully, it wasn't difficult to see the trail left behind by the Y'sanna. Every so often she'd stop, lifting her head to scent the air.

Further they ventured into the forest; further into the deep woods. Sunlight trickled down through the overbrush, trickling down along tree trunks and rock faces that jutted upward. In any other situation it would've been a beautiful thing to observe, but right now...

Right now she could only think of what was possible to happen to the Cizerack, and it wasn't a hopeful thought. She stopped once more, pausing in front of a fallen tree trunk. The scents meeting her nose now were stronger, and more vibrant. Up ahead loomed another rock face, but it was the darkened, yawning mouth of a cave cut into the granite that her eyes remained on.

One ear fell, flicking back and forth as if to alleviate some unseen pestering fly before returning forward once more. She moved, though now her body seemed to gain a fluidity that took her over the felled trunk with almost liquid movements.

They were close now.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

The animal's body language had changed before Anbira even felt the change himself, and he carefully managed his own footfalls and body language to match, shadowing the white vornskyr as she crept along the closing distance toward the cave with a tell-tale crouch of a predator waiting to pounce. Behind disheveled strands of hair, Anbira's eyes squinted, a reflex action as his true sight was being done beyond what he could see. The Y'sanna were elusive people, themselves children of the force and bound up by those universal mysteries in their own unique way.

As they continued their careful approach, a sudden sense of peril and alarm filled Anbira's senses just as he heard the tension whine of a tripwire brushing against the vornskyr's paw. His hand was already out in front of him as he heard the whistling puff of air, and the poisoned thorn the concealed trap fired hung a scant centimeter from Tak's muzzle.

Anbira exhaled raggedly, carefully crawling forward to pick the offending projectile out of the air, rubbing the sticky viscous coating on his fingertips as he rolled the thorn between his thumb and forefinger. Topoid berries, mashed and thickened in a kettle. The inky midnight blue color was distinctive. Very carefully, Anbira pushed the business end of the thorn deeply into loose soil, and cleaned his fingers with a leaf.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She'd frozen mid-step, only her eyes moving as the Jedi reached out to pull the thorn from the air. And when he had, she turned her head, watching as he studied it before burying it tip-first into the ground.

She whorrfled in thanks, but it was only a moment later that her eyes turned again to the cave's entrance.

She didn't know much of anything about the Y'sanna, other than the few bits and pieces of stories that she could glean from the older students and teachers. There'd never been any talk about traps.

A hesitation, and she stepped forward, her paw now finding the soft earth with a much more careful movement. Knowing it was unavoidable, the Lupine let her own senses reach out past her mind's barrier, searching ahead and looking for any other unseen surprise.

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Anbira felt the change in her presence, but this time armed with self restraint, he respected her boundaries and pried no further. It was clear to him now that the vornskyr wasn't simply responding to stimuli in the force as a reflex of nature. It was actively using the force itself. Impossible was the reflex appraisal, but the old addage went that once you remove other possibilities, even the seemingly impossible becomes the truth. Surprise was visible on his face at the realization, but they were simply too close to danger for him to act on his insights. Instead, he continued to shadow the vornskyr as they continued into the cave itself.

The light of the mouth didn't extend far, and soon they were descending into murky darkness. His eyes usefulness diminished, the Jedi relied more on more on his other senses to guide his steps, Jedi's intuition making certain the uncertain as the corridor they traversed narrowed. The tunnel thinned to where it could only be traversed single file, and then switched back. Hands brushing against stone suddenly flinched in realization. The passage they now moved within was no cave. This portion had been cut by hand.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

She moved with sure feet, seeing the world around her in suddenly much more brilliant colors. Her Dama had once described what it was like to push outward into the Force when Changed, and it was a sensation so unique that Teagan felt almost a little bit nervous at the influx of what she both felt and saw. But, still she pressed onward, paws silent as they took her deeper into the darkness of the cave.

Through the narrowing tunnel she persisted, the scent of Cizerack and Y'sanna mingling together and forming an easily seen trail that wound through passageways that wound deeper and deeper into the cave.

She stopped then, lowering her body to the ground. Ahead, in the inky blackness, there was the barest of flickering lights. It bounced off a bend in the tunnel, and the Lupine inched forward before pulling up sharply, coming face to face with a tangle of hanging bones and scrap metal. Tied together, they hung suspended, like a wind-chime.

Her ears ticked back, lips curling back over sharp teeth as she turned to look behind her at Knight Hicchoru. He'd have better luck at navigating this than she.