The breeze carried the small grains of sand upon them, heat beating down in a smothering blanket as the high noon sun reached its zenith. For most it was too much to bare and they had sought shelter as best they could; the locals weren’t fools, they knew the peril of adventuring in peak heat. For most, it was lethal.
Aay’han was not perturbed. She had decided a week ago to go for a saunter. It had been simple enough to skip out of Arconan space for an adventure and straightforward enough for her to find her way back when the mood took her. It had not been enough for the Iridonian to simply read of these places; the wish to see, to feel and to know these locations burned within like a stoked fire.
The black robes the Iridonian wore fluttered and danced around her pale flesh as she walked straight-backed between the tall dunes. With a deep inhale she finally felt freedom in her heart, expelling all her concerns as her body adapted to the environment she felt was her birthright.
Before her it loomed, like some mythical beast: Star Destroyer Inflictor.
The exhaust ports were massive, looming overhead and providing some reprieve from the tireless solar assault from on high. Reverently she stepped closer, hazel eyes taking in the sight as though it was some form of beauty that only could be admired. To her it symbolized power, control, and the folly that comes right before the fall.
As the Mandalorian took in the sights afore, she had not been paying attention to what had been happening behind her. It was after all, a desert, surely there was very little that would happen.
Or at least, that was what her childish mind had imagined.
Behind her, someone had been following her progress. The Barabel in question had not really anticipated accepting the mission. At first glance it wouldn’t provide much prestige, though, after a little digging the Obelisk had learned that the child had connections. This is what had enticed him out of his shell to accept the small and oddly silent contract that had been posted for the return of the Iridonian spawn.
He had kept himself downwind of her, uncertain of how alert she was of her peril. The Augur had her scent though, he had lent in and drawn in the deep breath on the winds and she had been sweet, with the chemical hint of Krath witchery intermingled within her core.
The scent spoke volumes of her, and of all creatures that wandered the universe. In this instance he knew she was physically wrong, that nature had not created this being. It had been rushed, sped to the desired point and then left to fend for itself, it seemed.
That in itself made her interesting prey.
The male had not anticipated how attenued the female was. It had only taken a single step closer for her to spin on her heel to face him. Those deep caf-coloured eyes took him in with disconcerting stoicism before she was raising her voice to speak.
“Can I help you?” Her voice remained at its usual pitch and tone, unperturbed by the hulking reptile that loomed. Languidly, he closed the distance between them to speak. Mayhap this would be made easier by a simple statement of fact, though he doubted it.
“The Clan demands your return.” Kashiro found Basic was an odd language. Aay’han could not miss this hissing of his tenses. In the back of her mind she searched him over, not particularly liking her odds against him but refusing to back down.
“I want to explore first.” Eye contact was quick, the challenge within the making. The Barabel hissed with pleasure. At least he would not get bored with this one.
“Enough talk, you will come.” A clawed hand reached to the utility belt at his hip and scooped up the slave collar, flashing it in the sun so she would be able to view it. This action did not have the anticipated response he had hoped for.
Instead of meekly obeying his whims, the Barabel was mentally assaulted with a wave of fear. It caressed his senses, for which he was grateful for, as the waves of sensation were enough to allow him to pull back enough to avoid the activated crimson blade that had aimed for his eyes which, had he not pulled his head back up to his full height, would have blinded him in an instant.
Aay’han backed up swiftly to put space between them, knowing damn well that she would be unable to win by brute force alone. Her steps appeared surefooted as though she had spent fifteen cycles within the arid climes of her species' planet. The Mandalorian refused to break eye contact now that it had been made; she could not back down from his challenge without causing herself some severe emotional discontent.
The Barabel hissed in a bated breath, instinct and pleasure coursing at the new hunt that had lain before him with such willingness that he could barely utter a word before she lashed out again. The Augur side-stepped her, lashing out with the bony prominence of his elbow and sending his prey sprawling with a pained gasp of air to the shaded sands.
“Let this one see what you are made from, mhn little one?” His voice came in sibilant hisses and purrs, reminiscent of the reptiles that his genetics were supposedly based in. Slowly, with a languid air of one who had all the time in the world, his hand grasped at his weapon.
Oh, how he adored the hunting knife, so simple and yet effective. Failing that, he always had his claws of course. As the female staggered to her feet, he could not scent fear on her. No markers for flight could be sensed from her scent. His anticipation for the hunt only rebounded, forcing the large muscles to tense and ripple as he advanced upon her.
The Obelisk hoped she would fight more; it was always fun when they decided to disobey his whims.
