Just as soon as the ship had touched down, it was gone again, but not before leaving something behind. Whispering promises of magic and adventure, the couple on the ship had set their daughter on the grass below and watched without breathing as she laughed happily, running to the edge of the clearing and to the forest. They slowly made their way back onto the ship,and before the little girl knew what was happening, the ship doors had closed again and her parents were gone. She ran frantically back, the exhaust from the ship blowing her hair around. Tears formed in her eyes as she watched them slowly rise up and disappear out of the planet's atmosphere. The couple let out the breath they were holding in relief. Their lives were saved from the monster they'd created, and perhaps they could go on to have more normal children.
Everything now seemed a lot quieter, and yet louder at the same time. The girl, named Kaila by her parents, was no older than five years old. She'd been so excited to take a trip with her parents. They'd told her it was a beautiful place with big trees to climb and lots of fun creatures. Why had they left her behind? She sat in the grass where the ship had been, sniffing loudly as tears continued to pour out of her eyes. She pulled her knees close to her, wondering if her parents would ever come back. The sun was beginning to set, and with it came a chill in the air. Shadows from the trees stretched longer across the ground as the sun moved, slowly striping the ground she sat on.
From the treeline, her cries had drawn the attention of a small pack of feline creatures known as Nexu. The leader, a female, blinked her four eyes slowly, tilting her head in curiosity at the tiny scrap of a human that sat, curled into itself in the middle of the clearing. It would make an easy meal for sure, but something about this human intrigued her. It's cried drew out her maternal instincts, and after chittering a message for the others to meet her back at their home, she slowly padded out of the forest and towards the weeping child. If this child was all alone, perhaps she would take it in as it's mother.
This was a pivotal moment for Mal. Later on, she would realize she was abandoned because her parents feared her and her growing force abilities. They feared what they did not know, and after the Jedi refused to take her due to her age, they decided to simply drop her off on a nearby planet. Malice would grow more and more bitter, and eventually, it would lead to her opinion that non-force users were weak and pathetic and not worth her time. She would also learn to draw on this memory full of fear and betrayal, and use it to strengthen herself, vowing to never again let herself be as helpless and vulnerable as she was that day.