Malice looked up as Kalon came into the room, and she could immediately tell he was upset by something. Very, very upset about something. It had been awhile since she'd seen him this angry about anything.

"Kalon? What's wrong?" She asked as he paced in front of her for a few moments. Aiya and Mirdala both looked up and exchanged glances. They could sense something was wrong and all three of them tensed in response.

"Someone requested to meet with me. They said they had an assignment that would pay well, so I told them I'd meet them in the cantina to hear what they had in mind." He started, his hands balled into fists as he began to take deeper breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Malice didn't think anything sounded out of place so far but stayed silent to let him continue his story.

"You were their target."

Ah. There was the problem.

"Me? I don't believe I've done anything recently to put me on someone's radar like that. Did they say why?" She asked, searching her memories for something she could have done to warrant an assassination. Aiya growled slightly under her breath, and Malice shushed her.

"He's not going to follow through, Aiya. He wouldn't," she said, glancing to the Nexu before back up to the Mandalorian. "Right?"

"Of course not. I couldn't. I would never kill you." He said, finally beginning to calm down. He sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her to pull her close.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, and if anyone tries anything, they'll have a very fun fight on their hands." She assured him. "In fact, I think it would be fun to find this guy again. See if we can get some answers out of him. What do you think?"

She could tell immediately that Kalon liked the idea. Their relationship hadn't been a secret, but it wasn't something they'd gone around announcing, either. It didn't surprise her that whoever it was that wanted her dead hadn't known who he was talking to when he'd called for Kalon. Though the two hadn't been sure of each other when Malice had first arrived to live with the clan, they were very fond of each other now. They'd met in the place that most met Kalon, drinking in the cantina, and after a few near death experiences and sparring matches, they'd simply grown closer, much to Malice's confusion. She hadn't been familiar with such feelings, and they'd caught her off guard. It was a feeling she didn't appreciate but after getting used to them, she was alright now.

"Come on. Let's go see if we can track whoever it was down." She said, nudging him with her shoulder. The two stood and walked out the door together, heading for the cantina again.

Once in the cantina, they both looked around, Kalon reaching out with the force to probe around for the man.

"There." He said, nodding to a figure who currently had his back to them. Malice walked over immediately, Kalon following closely behind. She took a seat without speaking across from the man, who looked up with a startled look on his face when he recognized her.

"Hi there. I caught word that you're looking to get me killed. Care to tell me why?" She said casually. The man laughed in response.

"And why would I tell you anything?" He said, smirking. Malice exchanged a glance with Kalon, who was standing just behind the man, his arms folded and looking very intimidating.

"Tell me, have you ever had your neck snapped? I've heard it's not very pleasant, but I'm very curious to see it happen to someone else."

"And who's going to snap my neck? You?"

"No, actually. I wish. See, I have someone who's just aching to volunteer, and after the day he's had today, I'd start talking pretty quickly."

The man seemed to think she was bluffing, until Kalon stepped forward, gripping the back of the man's head and slamming it forward into the table. An audible crack was heard as the man's nose broke, blood beginning to seep out of it. A few people looked in their direction, but most paid them no mind. It was not an unfamiliar sight to see the two of them getting into and out of trouble.

The man looked up, pinching his nose in an attempt to get the blood to stop. When he saw just who it was that had broken his nose, he seemed to take Malice more seriously.

"Listen, it's not me that wants you dead, nor is it specifically you that they're aiming towards. My employer is looking to get at your master, not you." He finally said, wincing every so often from the face pain he was no doubt experiencing.

"Selika? I'm sorry to tell you, but killing me won't affect her in any way, other than getting rid of someone that runs errands for her. She's not that kind of person." Malice said, laughing. Whoever it was that was behind all this certainly seemed to not know Selika very well at all. "Now why don't you tell us who it is behind all of this, hmm? I'd hate for you to break anything else today."

"I don't know who they are, honest. Just that they're in Clan Odan Urr." The man stammered. Malice exchanged another glance with Kalon. Their clan had just finished a war with the Jedi of Odan Urr, winning and taking slaves triumphantly. Perhaps someone had unfinished business with Selika and was determined to complete it, even if they had lost.

"He seems to be telling the truth." She spoke silently to the mandalorian's mind. "What do we do with him?"

"This."

Kalon reached forward again, placing his hands on either sides of the man's head. A quick snap to the side and it was over in the blink of an eye.

"Hmm. Not as interesting as I thought it would be." She said, sighing. Their search would have to be put on hold for now, but at least they had a good idea where to start looking.

“Run.”

The word hissed through the air like the sound of the weapons below, camouflaged by the rising smoke and flames. A small girl, not more than twelve years old, clutched an even smaller Nexu cub in her arms. Its white coat was smudged with soot and it shook with fear in her arms. The two of them watched as their mother dashed off, her command still ringing in their ears as she disappeared into the smoke. Where would they run to? Would they ever see her again? These thoughts were interrupted by the sound of brush crunching beneath them. Very quietly, the girl backed against the trunk of the tree they stood on, hoping to hide them from the intruder.

"I know you're here, wildling." A voice called from below them. The two stiffened, trying to make them seem as small as possible. The voice was male, that much the girl knew. Though it had been many years since she'd heard the basic language, she understood what he had said loud and clear, and it had sent a chill down her spine. Mother had told them that these humans had come to kill and capture their Nexu pack. What had the pack ever done to them? The girl shut her eyes, preventing the moisture gathering there from spilling over. Aiya was still curled against her chest, and the girl vowed to do everything in her power to protect her. They would not get this tiny Nexu if it was the last thing she did.

Picking up a small twig, the girl tossed it far in one direction. its noise did just as she had hoped it would, and drew the man's attention. As soon as he had walked away, she made a run for it, leaping quickly from branch to branch in an attempt to get as far away from the hunters and their fire as she could. It wasn't long before she heard the man behind her again, running below through the burning thicket. She glanced down only for a moment to try to see what sort of weapon he had, though nothing appeared to be in his hands. She continued running, Aiya's tiny claws digging tightly into her chest.

Suddenly from overhead, she heard a crashing sound and looked up just in time to see a mess of tree limbs come crashing down. Their brittle and still flaming bodies managed to just catch the girl on her lower back, causing her to yell both in pain and anger. Losing her balance, she fell from the treetops, landing on her back with a hard enough impact to momentarily knock the wind out of her. The spot that the branches had hit had been burned, but she would rather fall on it than crush Aiya with the fall. Regaining her breath, the girl looked up to find the hunter just starting to appear out of the smoke. Ignoring the pain she felt, she stood back up and continued running, dodging through the now bare underbrush and trying not to get burned. The ground was uncomfortably warm under her feet, a drastic change from it's usual cooling temperature. She would have a few good injuries to nurse after this was over. If they managed to escape, that is.

She could feel her lungs starting to burn. She enjoyed running, and it was something she did quite often, but everyone has their limit and she was afraid she was reaching hers. She could hear the footsteps of the man behind them, hitting the ground so hard any creature would have been able to hear him from a ways away. There were no creatures here now. No Nexu, no bark rats. Everything had either fled or been killed, and the girl didn't want to dwell on which was more likely. Just as she felt herself start to slow, she stopped immediately. She hadn't realized how far she'd run, but glancing up at the obstacle in front of her, she had a pretty good idea.

The cliffs sat at the very edge of the forest. If you climbed to the top, you would be able to look out at the vast greenness of the planet. It was not something the girl had ever done, as she was adapted to climbing trees, not sheer cliff faces. She turned in every direction, frantically looking for another path to follow, but it seemed she'd run right into a dead end. Pressing herself against the cliff, she scanned the smoke, trying to find where their attacker was. She kept her arm protectively over Aiya, who glanced up at her in fear every now and again.

"I knew you couldn't run forever, Wildling." A voice rang out. A shadow began to emerge from the smoke in front of her, and she snarled at it as it drew closer. She did not have the spikes that the Nexu had, or the claws or the teeth, but she was still going to try everything she could to stop this man. As his image began to clear, she could see her appearance did indeed seem to throw him off. Her hair, though tied behind her, was a tangled mess, and had many singed areas. Soot and ash covered both her and the Nexu cub in her arms, and when his eyes fell upon Aiya, he grinned wickedly.

"All I want is that cub.The beast will fetch a high price to the right buyer. And who knows, maybe they'd pay just as well for the Wildling girl as well." He approached the two of them, slowly placing one foot in front of the other. The girl crouched, cradling the Nexu cub against her. Had she really come all this way just to fail? She thought of her pack. Of her friends. Of her Mother. At the thought of their mother in the hands of these monsters, a fire seemed to ignite in the girl. As the hunter's hand came down on her shoulder, the fire erupted within her, throwing him back. Just as he was beginning to sit up, he looked up in both shock and fear as she walked towards him. This was not the cowering, scared little girl he'd been chasing. She had the flames of rage in her eyes, and the looks she threw at him might as well have been daggers. It pinned him to the ground, and as her eyes narrowed, he felt an invisible hand close around his neck, cutting off his airway. She watched in satisfaction as his face turned from red to purple, and then to blue. His eyes bulged from their sockets, darting back and forth in terror as the last of his oxygen left him. Interesting, how quickly one could turn from predator to prey.

As she continued to focus, not allowing him any air, she decided quite simply that this wasn't enough. Simply killing him was not going to be enough. She needed a more satisfying form a revenge. Releasing his throat, the man coughed violently, sucking in air as though it was his first time needing it. Before he could fully recover enough to start trying to escape, the girl focused her rage elsewhere, easily snapping both of his legs. He screamed out in pain, the noise ringing through the destroyed forest. If he had any friends nearby, she hoped it brought fear to their hearts. She'd be sure to find the rest of them later, but right now, she had all of her attention on her previous pursuer.

His breathing had picked up quickly as he attempted to push himself away from her with his arms. She placed a foot right over the fracture in one of his legs, stopping him in his tracks. She couldn't explain what was happening, what this strange power was. It felt so instinctive, like it had been there all her life. Her gaze had turned from one of pure rage to now mild interest and curiosity. It seemed she had the perfect test subject to find out just what she was capable of. The man watched as her eyes narrowed, and all at once he felt a sharp pain split through his head. Memories flashed before his eyes, and he wondered if this is what death was like. He saw his deepest fears flash forward, and saw a smirk flash on the girl's mouth.

"You have a family. A family you love very dearly. That's interesting. So did I." She whispered, her voice devoid of emotion. "Imagine how you would feel, watching them die in front of you. Being left alone because someone thought they could come in and take everything from you. Perhaps this will be a warning to any of her friends who think they'd like to take up a similar profession." She drew upon her rage again, delving into his mind. This power had shown her his family. Fairly standard, two parents, two kids. She willed it to warp his perception of them, showing him their slow and painful deaths over and over. It didn't take long to break him, and he was soon a blubbering mess on the forest floor. He'd somehow curled into a fetal position, seeming to disregard his broken legs entirely. She saw him reach into a pouch at his hip, and she tensed, immediately shielding Aiya from whatever it might be. He slowly pulled out a blaster, his hand shaking tremendously. She watched with interest as he aimed the weapon not at her, but at his own head. Sobbing, he pulled the trigger.

Blinking awake, the girl sat up, rubbing her eyes. Aiya was still asleep next to her, now much bigger than she had been back then. The Wildling hadn't dreamt of the past in quite awhile, and it wasn't something she particularly enjoyed reliving. The two of them had gone on to kill as many as the hunters they could, driving each one slowly into madness. She'd decided to let one escape, his mental state questionable. Hopefully, he would be a warning to anyone else who thought they could come here and attack her home.

Though they'd searched for many days, they found no trace of their mother or any of the rest of the pack. She'd had to shield Aiya's eyes as they passed many dead Nexu, completely skinned of their fur and spikes, grinning widely even in death. They'd eventually come across the unburned part of the forest, still green and full of life. They quickly made their home there, finding a large and wide branch that would comfortably house both of them, even when Aiya grew to be as big as she was. Her white pelt had tanned with age, and she'd become a formidable accomplice to the girl's endeavors. They'd seen the occasional human come to their planet. They quietly monitored their actions, and if they meant no harm to the forest or creatures that made their home there, they were allowed to leave with their lives. Even with their previous warning, they had seen a fair amount of hunters still come to the forest in an attempt to catch or kill what was rumored to be the last remaining Nexu and her wild companion. They would never be heard from again, and eventually that seemed to slow the arrival of them. The two of them relished in killing each and every hunter that stepped foot onto their territory, especially with Aiya now big enough to get a good meal or two out of it.

The girl had been attempting to strengthen whatever power she'd used so many years ago, but it seemed to only appear whenever she was really angry or taking out the other hunters that had shown up on occasion. That was really the only time she needed it but she'd grown curious about it over the years. She hadn't questioned its existence too much but none of the other humans she'd seen seemed to posses it. Was she special? Were there others like her in the galaxy, or was she alone with her strange gift? Her thoughts trailed to her human parents, who she remembered only slightly, and those memories were nothing but bitter. She remembered them leaving her here on this planet. Had they known she had this power? Either way, she had very much enjoyed using it to her advantage. The rest of the hunters were all just as surprised as the first man had been. She enjoyed toying with them, breaking them little by little. Their fears were all so different, and each one eventually drove them to beg for death. She usually took her sweet time, and it more often led to the hunters taking their own life, as the first one had done. Sometimes Aiya got impatient and took them out herself.

Both of them had grown a lot since the night of the fire. Aiya was almost fully grown, able to support the girl as a rider if she so chose, and the wildling had aged another sixteen years or so. In the eyes of the hunters that arrived, most of them male, she was a pleasant sight to behold, and that was often their undoing. She had no problem using her physical looks to her advantage, especially because it was the last thing they were expecting. The forest had been quiet recently, no unwanted visitors. Just how they liked it.

Until this morning, that was. Though she'd woken naturally, the girl sat quietly, taking in her surroundings. She could feel something she hadn't ever felt before. There was definitely someone on the planet, but they felt different than the others. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but it seemed that they too possessed whatever fire burned in her. She woke Aiya silently, communicating with her through mostly body language and small, chittering noises. The two of them silently slunk through the treetops, making sure they stayed hidden. They stepped over spots that their shadows wouldn't be seen until they finally reached a nearby clearing. it was often the spot that ships chose to touch down, and this time was no different.

It was a much smaller ship than usually held hunters, and didn't seem to be as highly armored or weapon filled. It's hatch touched down to the ground, and both of the silent watchers were surprised to see a woman step down onto the planet. She wore a fairly revealing outfit, and the girl noted that it must be very easy to move around in. The woman scanned the edge of the clearing, almost looking right at the two of them a few times. Aiya had to pull her companion back to the shadows by the hair a few times in an attempt to keep themselves hidden. The girl hissed slightly, swiping a few times at the Nexu, who merely rolled her four eyes.

"Excuse me." The woman called. Her voice was strong and confident, and the two of them exchanged glances before creeping to peer out at her again.

"I've come a long way to meet you. Word has spread through the nearby cantinas amongst the hunters. You're causing them quite a bit of trouble." She continued, turning in their direction. They two of them grinned smugly, continuing to listen to her.

"You have an ability, don't you? Something you don't understand."

This drew the girl's curiosity again. She had been right. This woman knew about the power too and seemed to possess it as well. This assumption was confirmed as a purple energy of some sort erupted from the woman's fingertips. The two of them flinched back but watched in awe as she seemed to control it to form different shapes. The girl slowly slid down the tree, landing softly on the grass of the clearing. She had Aiya stay back just in case, but couldn't help her desire to get a closer look, even if it meant exposing herself. The woman looked up, her eyes piercing and victorious.

"Do you have a name?" She asked, folding her arms and looking her up and down, the purple energy disappearing. Technically she did have a name, it was the name her human parents gave to her, but it wasn't used here so she shook her head.

"Excellent, then I get to give you one. You've been protecting this planet very well. Did the hunters do something to you?" the woman asked. The girl nodded, looking at the ground bitterly.

"They killed my family." She said quietly. "Or took them away somewhere. I don't know. We didn't find them after."

"Oh, you do speak. Wonderful, that simplifies things, doesn't it? Now, they killed your family, so it's been less protecting and more revenge. Malicious little thing aren't you." Her eyes gleamed with realization and she spoke up again. "Malice. That's what we'll call you."

"Malice." The girl repeated, nodding.

"Good. Now, you have two choices. You can come with me, and I will teach you to strengthen and harness your abilities, or you can stay here and never grow any stronger."

Really, there was only one choice. Selika Roh was someone who got what she wanted, and right now, she wanted this girl as her apprentice. She had raw, untrained potential, and Selika could only imagine what kind of weapon she could shape from her given the right training.

"As long as Aiya can come." Malice said, motioning toward the treeline. The Nexu responded, jumping down to join the two of them. "I promise she's strong too, and we work best together."

Selika considered the feline for only a moment before nodding. It would be foolish to deny the girl her companion, and she was actually looking forward to seeing them in action. The Nexu would also serve as a constant reminder of the girl's lost family, and that would be a constant source of power that could be tapped into at any time. The two looked at each other, seeming to communicate silently, before Malice nodded again.

"We'll come with you. We want to get stronger."

Selika grinned, looking down at them both.

"Trust me, my dear, you've come to the right place."

As Malice was walking her pet
She found that the cat was dead set
She followed her sight
and saw up to the right
was a rat that was in a cold sweat

The Ramblings of the Guilty: By Malice

I don't know what the point of this is.
I mean, free verse poetry is just writing things
in a unique way, with unique words and a unique idea.

I'm not good at writing things like this,
I don't think either of us are,
but I want our team to win so I guess I'll give it a shot.

You're pretty cool I guess.
I mean, I like you, and you like me.
Which is weird to think about.

Two killers, both alike in dignity,
in fair distant space where we lay our scene.
Wait, wrong poem.

To be or not to be, that is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind to actually write a poem,
I'm not good at this.

We aren't good at expressing emotion.
I don't understand it and you don't care,
but we care for each other, and that's good enough for me.

I hope I slightly got across what you mean to me.
Whether you can make sense out of this or not,
or recognize that I took the time to attempt to write this.

You're pretty cool, and I'm glad you're around.
Also, you know that bottle of rum you were saving?
I broke it. Now I've got a headstart because you took time to read this.

~Mal <3

Malice breathed in deeply as she stepped foot once again on her home planet of Cholganna. The earth was soft under her feet and a cool breeze blew through the air, causing a few of the people behind her to shiver.

Having been newly promoted to Aedile of their house, Malice and Kalon had needed to find someone to fill the position of Battle team leader. They'd chosen Kul'tak Drol, who was both able to give orders to his battle team and follow orders from his superiors. Thus far, he was doing a marvelous job, and when he suggested that he wanted to take the battle team out for some survival training away from the base, Malice had immediately volunteered to take them all. Once the group had been gathered, they'd set off for Cholganna.

Malice had the most survival experience of the group by a long shot. Kul'tak himself had a little, but none of them came close to matching the experience of actually living on a wild, uncivilized planet for almost your entire life. The brisk breeze didn't bother her even a little bit, and it bothered her Nexu companion even less. She turned to the group to begin addressing them.

"Alright, we're here for one night only. I don't want to get in trouble because most of you die here, so we'll be returning tomorrow morning. If you survive and manage to retain some desire to continue survival training, then we can talk about more nights, but for now, it's one night only. Now, who can tell me some of the first things you should do when staying for an unknown amount of time in an unfamiliar location?"

A few people scratched their heads, but no one spoke up. This was going to be both more difficult and more frustrating than she'd originally thought.

"You," She said, suddenly pointing at a seemingly fit male. She knew his name was Felix, and that he was the only non-force user in the group. Though she considered it a slight waste of time to have him there, her desire to return to her planet overpowered her distaste for the human.

"Well, you should find shelter of some kind. Or make one." He answered, scratching the back of his head.

"Correct. Anyone else?"

A few murmurs of 'food' and 'fresh water' and a fire sprang up from the group. All of which were true, but there was one more thing they were forgetting.

"Those are all very good points." She said after they had quieted down. "But there is one more, very vital thing you need to do to even stay alive at all, and that is knowing what creatures you're up against."

She called for Aiya to come sit beside her, who swished her tail before growling lightly at the group.

"Aiya is a Nexu. They are extremely dangerous creatures of feline origin. They've got four eyes, a tail that can act like a very painful whip, more teeth than they know what to do with, large claws, and a good part of their body is covered in spikes. They are the top predators here on Cholganna, and they will not hesitate to rip you to shreds." she said, starting to pace in front of the group. They looked wary but not nearly as terrified as they should be, especially to survive an overnight stay on the planet. She hadn't wanted to jump right to the most drastic tactics, but she only had one night to teach the lesson she needed to teach, so it had to be done.

"Here's where the fun part begns. Everyone is going to march back onto the ship and place all your weapons down. You are to take no weapons with you at all. Anyone caught with one will be severely punished. I'm sure Aiya would love any one of you as a chew toy."

The small group mumbled to each other before heading back up the ramp and into the ship. Kul'tak followed to make sure no weapons were kept, and then after tossing Malice the only device that would unlock the ship again, he sealed himself in with them. Malice called the group back, laying a hand on Aiya's head.

"Now that everyone is unarmed, you've got a task in front of you. You're going to work together to survive the night, without weapons, and without me."

There's the fear she was looking for.

"Your objectives are to find food, fresh water, shelter, and to not get eaten. I'll return to collect whatever's left of you in the morning." and with that, she and Aiya took off into the treeline. For a moment, the group only looked at each other. She couldn't be serious, could she? Once it became painfully obvious that she was indeed serious, a few of them began to speak, forming everyone into a tight circle. Malice and Aiya hadn't gone far. In order to test their abilities they needed to be able to watch what they were doing, but they could each hide well enough that they wouldn't be seen by anyone, even with their force abilities.

Something else they did not know, was that Aiya and Malice had made a trip to Cholganna only a few days earlier to speak with their mother and her pack. They knew the humans would be arriving, and had planned out a way to test their responses to encountering the entirety of the pack. They had no weapons, and they were not strong enough in the force yet to cause the Nexu any damage.

Malice's thoughts were interrupted as the group below seemed to agree altogether and start off into the forest. She and her Nexu were deathly still as the group passed underneath them, not realizing their Aedile would be watching their every move.

"Wouldn't they get in trouble if we all died?" One of the group asked from below as Malice and Aiya stalked them from overhead. "I mean, they need us as troops, don't they? If we all die, we weaken their numbers."

"We aren't adding much to their numbers right now. Sure we increase the number but skill wise we don't matter. Not yet. That's why we're here, to get better and prove ourselves." another answered, who seemed to be one of those who had inserted themselves as a leader.

Malice and Aiya followed the group all the way to an area higher up on a hill, where it seemed they were going to set up camp. The group was divided into smaller teams who were tasked with a few of the mission objectives. One group set off for water, one for food, and one for trees and wood for a shelter and fire. Food would be the most difficult to be sure. There were many streams with fresh water nearby, but food was scarce if you didn't know how to catch it. Cholganna was lush with vegetation but as far as the fauna itself went, it consisted mainly of only three creatures. The Nexu, the Arboreal octopi, and the bark rats. Both of the other two were hunted by the Nexu, and could be great food sources. The Bark Rats were small and fast, often difficult to catch. However, if you could follow one back to their nest you'd find a few more. The Arboreal octopi were more of a problem. The Nexu hunted them easily but the octopi were usually much larger than the standard human. They stayed in the trees and liked to drop down on unsuspecting prey. She wondered absentmindedly how many of the group would be eaten by them.

After a few hours, the group was finally back together. Thus far no one was missing, but a few had a good amount of cuts and scrapes. A few had dead bark rats hanging by their tails that would eventually be cooked over a fire if they could manage to start one. One boy she noticed had hair that was standing up in all different directions, a result of getting the mucus from the Arboreal octopus in it. She would have loved to have seen that.

She raised her head as one of the group explaimed happily. They'd gotten a fire started, and their little shelter was coming along nicely. At least altogether their abilities equaled perhaps one Kul'tak. If they had known better, they would not have yelled so loudly. Though she knew that the Nexu pack would not come out to aid her until night time, if it had been any other situation they would not have been so lucky.

The smell of cooked flesh slowly wafted up to them. It did smell delicious, but now was not the time to get distracted. The smell could attract other creatures, so the group still had to be on the lookout. The sun was beginning to sink, painting the sky with brilliant pinks and reds and oranges. Though it was a beautiful sight to be sure, it greatly contrasted the overal deadliness of the entire planet. Soon they'd be going to bed, and if they were smart, they'd set up sleeping shifts. They weren't going to get much sleep anyway, Malice intended to make sure of that.

As the group assigned who would be sleeping first and who would be keeping watch, Malice silently climbed onto Aiya and the two jumped off to find their pack. Dark shadows cast from the trees could very well be seen as creatures with malicious intent to the frightened eye, and she hoped they were able to all stay alive without her watching them for a few minutes. Once they'd finally found the pack, they set off altogether to approach the sleeping battleteam.

Even those who had been meant to keep watch were starting to doze off, which was a rooky mistake. The lives of their groups depended on them, and though Malice would have liked nothing more than to pick out those of them that had fallen asleep at their post and let the pack eat them, she decided against it. Scaring them out of their minds would have to do.

Their mother let out a piercing cry, which was often done at the start of hunting missions. Malice watched as not only those who were supposed to be keeping watch woke up, but all of the rest who were allowed to be sleeping. She stopped the back from dividing and surrounding the group, as it would be more frightening to see them all come out at once. Even that did not happen straight away. More shrill cries echoed the first, and the group scrambled to their feet, pressing their backs together to stay on their guard. Malice and Aiya stayed behind, watching the terrified looks on the groups faces as the rest of the pack slowly came out of the shadows and paced towards. A few angled weak force pushes in the packs direction, but they barely ruffled the feline packs fur. The darkness made it difficult to aim and see, and eventually it was only the reflective eyes of the pack that stood out against the night sky.

The group wasn't doing anything. No more attacks, no attempt to run, nothing. They just slowly backed together as the pack now began to surround them. Once they were within attacking distance, Malice called them off, walking out with Aiya. The group looked at her in surprise, still very tense.

"All in all, you didn't do terribly. You found food and water, made shelter and got a fire started, but you also did a lot of foolish things. Any sort of loud sound will draw predators to you. Even cooking food can be a death sentence. Usually setting up shifts for sleeping would work, but your watch shift fell asleep almost instantly. That would have gotten you all killed, so for those people, we'll have a special training back at base. For the rest of you, I suppose you'll be allowed to live. If we do this again, make no mistake that the stakes will be raised, and if some of you die, I will make no attempt to find your body. Back to the ship."

The group hesitantly moved towards the ship, stopping when they got to the few Nexu that had been guarding them on that side. The felines stepped aside, and the group did not stop running until they got to the ship, banging loudly on the doors to have Kul'tak let them in. Unfortunately, Malice still had the only device that would unlock it, and she had no desire to leave so quickly. They'd be fine waiting.

She thanked their mother and the pack before turning to enjoy a pleasant and calming walk back to the ship together through the familiar forests of their home.

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.

Prompt Choice: Enemy Mine

Character Rival: Ryan Neale #10609

Malice blinked awake, realizing instantly she was somewhere unfamiliar. Leaning aginst the back wall, she seemed to be in some kind of prison cell. She tried to think of how she had gotten here, but the last thing she remembered was creeping over a hill in an attempt to get some information on the Odan Urr fighters nearby. She'd volunteered herself for the mission, knowing her stealth abilities outmatched anyone else on her team. Had she even gotten close enough to hear anything? She didn't think so. Something must have happened before she could reach them.

"Oh good, you're awake." A voice called from the other side of her cell. She looked up, scowling immediately. The voice belonged to a man who wore a fairly smug expression, his arms folded as he looked down at her. His dark blonde hair was cut fairly short, and he had very dark blue eyes. He reeked with light side energy, and Malice could only assume she'd been captured at some point. Sighing mostly to herself, she frowned at the thought of what Selika would say whenever she managed to escape this cell.

"I'm Ryan," The man began again. Malice raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm here to guard you, so don't get any ideas. I'm armed, you're not. It would be a very unwise choice to try anything."

She didn't reply, already focusing on trying to find a way out. She wasn't sure where she was, but she figured it was most likely somewhere on Florrum that they'd made a temporary base for holding prisoners. Even if she got out, she wouldn't make it far. There would be more enemies walking around, and she was likely to stick out like a sore thumb.

"So, you're Malice, right?"

The man's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she shot a glare at him from the corner of the room.

"I've heard about you. You're the Nexu girl, aren't you?" His eyes clearly showed his interest, and he didn't seem to care really at all that she was a dangerous sith.

"Yeah, I guess you could call me that." She said cautiously, eyeing him. He grinned at her response, seeming to get even more interested. She met his eyes coldly, and he seemed confused for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know if you've noticed or not but I'm not exactly in an ideal situation. " She snapped back. He flinched slightly at her voice, frowning.

"That's true I suppose. You were the only one we managed to capture, though. we set an explosion off and you were close enough to it that it hit you enough to knock you out. The rest of your clanmates escaped, though." He explained.

So that's what had happened. Malice was glad at least that no one else had been captured. She looked back up at her guard, her mind beginning to turn. He was friendly, and she sensed a lot of emotion in him, something he didn't seem shy about expressing, either. She turned her back to him, wanting to try to do some more thinking. He seemed like an obnoxiously pleasant person. He was probably a gentleman, and she wouldn't be surprised if his goal currently was to make a new friend. Jedi really were pathetic. Though this is the closest she'd been to one since arriving at her own clan, she knew enough to know she didn't plan on coming into contact with them again.

"Anyway, I'm not sure what we plan to do with you after the fighting is over, to be honest." The man admitted. Malice looked over her shoulder at him, trying to pick up any small details that might be useful.

"I'll probably be killed." She said matter of factly, shrugging.

The Jedi looked slightly worried.

"I'm sure they wouldn't. The Jedi are just in their actions. Perhaps they would ransom you back?"

"No one is going to pay you any amount of money for me back. It's not how we are. I'll be killed, and your precious Jedi will have the blood of a double murder on their hands." She turned her head back around, waiting for his reaction. Her pregnancy hadn't been something she'd made known to a lot of people. Selika knew and that was about it. Not that it needed to be a secret, Malice just wasn't one to go spurting her personal information off to anybody she saw.

"Wait...you're not...are you?" Ryan's voice, while at the start held disbelief, had now turned to shock. Even if she wasn't entirely, her unborn child was innocent. She felt him start to pity her, which is exactly the thing she'd been hoping to feel. She grinned to herself as she heard him pace a few lengths of the cell door. She brought her arm up slowly to her mouth, biting into it. She stiffened at the pain but didn't stop until she felt her own blood begin to well out of the wound, coating her tongue in the taste of iron. Looking behind her, the Jedi was still pacing, now seemingly deep in thought about her current circumstance. A drop of blood fell from her arm and onto the stone floor, and she hissed, breathing sharply. She hoped it seemed genuine.

"You're bleeding," Ryan said, gripping the bars on the door to her cell and looking in. She looked down, pretending it had been her first time seeing it.

"Hmm, I'm not actually sure how that happened." She said, examining the wound. She touched it with a finger and flinched like it had been very painful. Hopefully, the Jedi wouldn't be able to resist helping a damsel in distress.

Her plan seemed to work, as she heard him grumble under his breath about being quick and that no one would see, as he tore some material from his shirt, unlocking and stepping into her cell. She didn't move right away but allowed him to come closer. He noticed her stiffen as he got closer and held his hands up as a sign of good intentions.

"whoa there. I'm just going to get that wrapped up for you. We don't want you losing a lot of blood." He approached carefully, kneeling to her level and taking her arm gently. His eyes now held nothing but concern and worry. Strange that he had only known her for however long she'd been in this cell, and yet seemed to care so much about such a small injury.

He tied the wrapping off, and while Malice saw the blood seeping through, it had slowed a considerable amount. She hadn't punctured anything important, and it would've stopped on its own in time, but this was going to help it get there a bit faster.

"There you go, good as-"

The Jedi's sentence was cut off as Malice faced him quickly, placing a hand on his head. Drawing on her force powers, she wove a new image in his mind. She searched until she found a face she assumed was his higher up, and threw his image outside the cell. She couldn't see anything, but Ryan would see it as if it was really happening. He stood up quickly, making a frantic saluting motion.

Malice didn't need to have physical contact with him to continue the illusion, so she simply sat and watched him talk to the wall, truly believing he was being spoken to. Her illusion of his superior told him she was being moved to a new location because Clan Plagueis had begun to close in on their location. They wanted to move her there first, to ensure that the new area would not be attacked by their rivals. Ryan nodded, seemingly relieved to hear their prisoner would not be killed. He turned to her as his superior walked away, pulling a pair of restraints out. She eyed them before looking back to him.

"I need to put these on you so we can get you moved. They aren't going to kill you, just move you. I promise to keep you safe." she could see that he meant it, and almost pitied him. He was so good hearted. Perhaps this was just the lesson he needed to show him how foolish he was.

She stood slowly as he walked into the cell again, and pulled her arms behind her back, binding them together. He grabbed them, pushing her forward and out of the cell. She tried to look as irritated as she could as they passed a few pairs of what she could only assume were more Jedi. They didn't seem to think much of it, and continued on without a word. She refused to move a few times, earning her a shove from the Jedi behind her, which was most often followed by an apology.

Once they'd finally made it outside, Malice could see just how much damage the fighting had done to the planet. There were entire parts of the planet blasted away from different explosions, and a few injured bodies lay strewn about the ground. She slowly replaced the image with another illusion. This one showed a clear path to the new location, and a few soldiers waiting to escort them. They walked in silence, Malice pausing to struggle for effect every now and again. She couldn't reach out to try to sense her clan without losing the illusion, so she'd have to time her actions perfectly. She glanced back at the base Odan Urr had taken refuge in. It was simply a large cave looking structure, and she was glad to be out of it.

The pair of them continued walking, and Malice was actually surprised they hadn't been stopped at all. Perhaps the others had thought she was being taken out to be killed. It was the only reason that made sense to her as to why they would have allowed this man to single handedly take her out of the facility. She was cuffed and being led out to the middle of nowhere in their eyes. It would make sense to kill her away from the rest of the group.

Finally, once they were far enough away, Malice dropped the illusion, and Ryan took a step back.

"What? I don't understand. Where did the troops go?" He asked, blinking and looking around. When his gaze fell upon Malice, he looked hurt and betrayed.

"Did you do this? I was trying to protect you and take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm not a child." She spat back at him, her hate clearly evident. "I do have to thank you, though. I would never have made it out without you." She flashed a smile at him, and she saw his expression darken ever so slightly. She felt him begin to reach out with the force and laughed. Confusion and fear clouded his face, as his attempt at using the force ended in failure. She'd been working on this trick for a long time and hadn't gotten to properly test it out just yet. Realization sunk in as the Jedi realized his connection to the force had been disrupted.

"What did you do to me?" He demanded, now beginning to panic. He released small spurts of force energy, but nothing even close to what he had been attempting to do.

"A lot less than I would have liked, trust me." She purred, enjoying toying with him. "I promise you, I would love to stay and torment you until you begged me to end your life, but I have places to be."

Keeping half of her concentration on continuing to suppress his force ability, she used her illusion ability again to simply darken the Jedi's sight. He would see nothing until she was far enough away that her connection would break. Until then, he was blind in every sense of the word, and she watched with satisfaction as he dropped to his knees, feeling around on the ground and in the air for her. Smirking, she leapt forward, landing solidly on the ground nearby, and began her trip back to the clan. She ran forward, wondering what she had missed while she had been gone.

Malice slowly opened her eyes, blinking the sleep from them. She sat up, rubbing the back of her head, and looking around.

This was not her room. These were not her clothes. These were not her ears. She ran her fingers over them, trying to keep her cool. Spotting a mirror on the opposite wall, she threw herself out of bed, searching her reflection in a slight panic. Her ears had a slight point to them now, and she was in some sort of nightgown. It was a very soft material, almost silk like. She cringed at being in such a ridiculous outfit before glancing around.

"You find a set of traveling clothes, a quarterstaff, leather armor, a scimitar, and a traveling pack." A voice echoed, sounding more like it was in her head than anything. Frowning slightly, she turned, indeed finding everything the voice had just described. She hadn't seen it there just a second ago, but perhaps her eyes were just playing tricks on her. she pulled the other clothing on quickly, wanting the nightgown off of her as fast as humanly possible.

"Don't you mean half humanly possible?" The voice sounded like it was very proud of whatever pun it had just made.

"What do you mean? What's going on? Who are you?" She asked out loud, frowning to herself.

"Cause..cause you're a half-elf. Get it?"

"She wouldn't get it, jokes aren't her thing." A second, female voice spoke up. She spoke the truth but Malice's question still hadn't been answered. She decided to ignore them for the time being, stepping outside of the door and out into the hallway. It seemed like she was in an inn of some sort, and when she found the set of downwards stairs, she followed them cautiously.

The bottom floor was some type of bar or pub and was empty minus one figure who sat eating some sort of meal at a table nearby. He turned to look at her as she entered the room and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Kalon?"

"Malice?" He stood from his seat at the table and walked over to her. "I don't know what's going on, or where we are. What happened to your ears?"

She clapped her hands over them immediately.

"Nothing, ok? I don't know! Have you seen anyone else that you know?"

"No one has come in except you. You and the bartender over there." He pointed to the bar, where the bartender had clearly heard their conversation and had begun to frantically scrub one spot of the bar over and over. Flashing each other a look, the two of them approached the man, leaning against the bar.

"You seem pretty nervous for someone just here to wash dishes. You know something about all this?" Malice asked, trying to play it both cool while still being intimidating.

"She's a cute little half-elf! She isn't intimidating!" The first voice said. Kalon glanced around like he heard it as well but didn't say anything.

"Roll for intimidation." It said again, and after a short time, the female voice sighed.

"7"

"Yeah, the man is nervous but isn't going to tell her anything."

"Leave it to Kalon, he can get the job done." A third, slightly accented voice said. "See? 18."

The man behind the bar watched as Kalon leaned in closer, his voice painted with a very dangerous expression.

"Listen, we're very confused, and very on edge, which doesn't usually turn out well for people like you."

"I don't know anything I swear!" The bartender insisted, sweating somewhat. "All I know is that if you finish this quest for me, I'll reward you for it."

Malice raised an eyebrow. A quest? What kind of nonsense was this man talking? On the other hand, perhaps he'd reward them with a way back to the station. She and Kalon exchanged a glance before nodding to him.

"Fine, what's the quest?" kalon asked. The man told them of a nearby cave, that was the home to a terrifying creature. It had been visiting the village by night and stealing the people's belongings. He had lost a very valuable artifact and needed it back immediately. With directions to the cave, he sent the pair of them off, still both as confused as they had been.

Once outside, the two of them quickly scanned their surroundings. It seemed like a standard village, not too poor, not too rich. The people were beginning to wake up and walked out of their homes, offering friendly waves to the two of them. Neither of them returned the smiles, instead looking around suspiciously.

"So you hear them too." Kalon said suddenly, though only loud enough for her to hear.

"The voices? Yeah, I have. I'm not sure where they're coming from. Does someone have us chipped?" Malice answered, running a hand through her hair. It was a seemingly normal action, though she was really doing a quick check to make sure she didn't have any devices on her head, allowing whoever the voices belonged to access to her thoughts.

"We could always ask them." Kalon suggested as they continued down the path that would lead them to their destination. With a nod from his Journeyman companion, he cleared his throat.

"Alright, no more games. Who are you, and what do you want?" He demanded.

"Seriously, Matt? Being the DM doesn't mean letting them break the fourth wall." The female voice spoke up, sighing. "This is weird. What are you supposed to say to the characters you've created?"

"Just answer and get it over with, won't you? Then we can continue on." The accented voice said, sounding slightly irritated himself.

"Hey, Kalon is all yours. YOU can deal with him."

"Fine." The accented voice cleared his throat as well. "I'm Jarak. I'm your creator, and we have a similar drinking habit."

Kalon's eyes narrowed, but the two continued walking, now out of the town and walking through open fields. Malice could tell he had more questions but decided to speak up herself.

"Come on, there's at least two more of you." She said, waiting for their response. The female voice sighed again.

"Fine, I'm Amber. Mal, I'm your creator and-"

"And she's not nearly as cool as you are, Mal." The voice who had identified himself as Jarak said. A muffled "ouch" followed quickly, indicating he'd received some sort of punch, and the female continued.

"and I feel weird talking to you. There, Matt, it's your turn."

"What? I don't have to do it, I'm just DMing."

"You said everyone, mate." Jarak noted.

"Fine. I'm Matt. You don't really know my character. His name is Abadeer."

"That cocky Togruta? We've seen him around." Kalon replied. "Now, what was that about being our creators?"

"We don't have time to explain this entire thing to them. Matt, let's keep going." Amber said impatiently.

"Fine fine. Let's see, it looks like they're just now approaching the cave." Matt announced. Kalon and Malice looked up and sure enough, the cave they'd been told to find was indeed coming into view.

"We'll just ignore them for now. Let's get this done and get out of here." Kalon murmured to her. She nodded, tightening her grip on her quarterstaff. The cave was smaller than they'd expected and seemed to only have a few connecting chambers within. They stopped in front of it, and Kalon pulled out a large sword.

"Can you use that?" Malice mused, smirking at him. Besides his lightsaber, she'd only really seen him use blasters. Neither of said weapons had been anywhere to be found that she'd noticed, and she couldn't help but think that they'd probably come in handy right about now.

Kalon swung the sword in front of him, connecting with a small tree and cutting it clean in half.

"I think I can handle myself." He said.

"Alright, I want to check for traps." Amber said.

"Roll perception."

"17"

"Malice notices a trip line at the entrance of the cave."

Looking down, the half-elf frowned slightly. There was something a lot less satisfying about being shown the trap instead of finding it herself. Kalon must have seen her reaction because he nudged her.

"Just play along with them. This is going to be a lot easier than we thought, and the sooner we get out, the sooner we can get back to the clan." He said. Malice nodded, seeing the truth in his words. They carefully stepped over the wire and into the cave. It was very dark, For Kalon, that was. Malice was surprised to find that the dark didn't seem any less visible than the outside had been, and blinked in confusion.

"Why can't Kalon see as well?" Jarak asked.

"Kalon isn't a half-elf. he's just a human. Half-elves can see 60 feet in the dark." Amber said happily. Malice grinned at Kalon, who couldn't see the grin quite yet, but he knew her well enough to know when she was getting full of herself and thumped the back of her head.

"I call a foul, he can't do that to her. He can't see where she is yet." Amber said suddenly, making both kalon and Malice flinch.

"You can't call a foul, he's already done it, you numpty."

"I'm allowing it." Matt decided.

"I hate you both."

Once they'd finally settled down, Kalon and Malice took a look around. Noticing a few torches on the wall, Malice dug through her bag until she found a small tinderbox. She quickly lit one of the torches and handed it to Kalon.

"There, now you're useful again."

"Watch it, Journeyman. I don't need the force to crush you."

They started down the only hallway connecting to the first room but paused when they heard Amber speak again.

"I want Mal to scout ahead. She's got double proficiency in stealth. She can give them an advantage."

"Fine, roll for stealth."

"Ha! 28."

They seemed to wait for Malice to start going on ahead before they continued talking.

"She finds one door up ahead. It's shut tightly, and she won't be able to open it by herself." Matt said.

"Ha! That's what you think. I'm rolling for strength."

There was a long moment of silence before Amber spoke up again.

"9"

"Yeah, better bring Kalon back with you."

Malice turned around, rolling her eyes at their argument, and got back to Kalon.

"There's a door up ahead. It's the only exit it seems. And I apparently can't open it." She told him. He nodded, seeming up for the challenge, and walked up to the door. Handing Malice his torch, he placed his hands firmly on the door and pushed.

"Jarak, roll strength."

"21"

"The door groans before falling backward, landing loudly on the ground. The room on the other side has lit torches on the walls, and a large table in the middle. Scattered around, you see many different, seemingly useless belongings. It looks like the hoard for whatever you've been sent to fight. On the table is the item the bartender described to you. Before you can reach it, however, the noise of the door has drawn some nasty looking cave dwellers to you. Roll initiative." Matt said quickly.

Malice and Kalon looked around as three reptilian looking creatures came slowly towards them.

"What are these?" Kalon hissed.

"I don't know, they're nothing I've ever seen before. "

"Psst, they're called Kobolds." Amber said quietly. They were very ugly looking, but were not as tall as Malice and especially not Kalon.

"My initiative is 16." Jarak said.

"Mine is 20"

"Alright, Amber. You go first."

"Cool, Malice is going to take out her short bow and take a shot at the nearest Kobold."

In all honestly, Malice had lost track of just what she was carrying in her bag. Reaching back, she felt the smooth finish of what he assumed was a short bow, and retrieved it. She found the small sling of arrows and pulled it over her shoulder, taking one out and aiming.

"Does a 15 hit?" Amber asked.

"Uh, yeah. Roll damage."

Malice released the arrow, sending it plunging into the Kobolds ribs. It took a few steps back, howling in pain.

"10 damage."

"It's pretty badly hurt, but it's got enough left in it to keep going. It's also his turn now. Jarak, does a 10 hit you?"

"As if."

"You are so full of sass today." Amber said under her breath.

"Alright, then it's your turn." Matt said, waiting for Jarak's response.

"Kalon is going to take his huge sword and go for the next closest Kobold. Does an 18 hit?"

"Yep, roll damage."

"8."

"You've chopped off one of his arms, but he tells the others in his language that it's just a flesh wound. He simply switched to holding his spear with his other hand. Now, does a 14 hit you, Jarak?"

"Uh, no it does not."

"Amber, does a 17 hit you?"

Amber sighed.

"Yes. Yes it does."

"Alright, Mal is going to take 6 damage. The Kobold she shot slashes her a few times with his dagger. But now it's her turn again.

"Then she's going to take out HER dagger, and stab him too. 13?"

"Hit."

"Alright, the damage is going to be 7."

Malice grinned, gripping the handle of the dagger tucked snuggly against her calf and plunged it into the creature's heart. He toppled over, his body spasming a few times before he went still.

"Jarak, does a 2 hit you?"

Jarak didn't answer.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." Matt laughed. "You're up."

"Does a 12 hit?"

"Yes."

"Alright, 9 damage."

Kalon swung his sword back, letting it down right on the Kobold's shoulder. His other arm was chopped off, and before he could run away, Kalon had taken his head clean off of his body. Ir bounced to the ground, tongue slightly out of its mouth. Now there was only one Kobold left, and with its friends gone, it eyed the two of them in worry.

"Can they do a cool team attack?" Amber asked. "Come on, it's the only time we're using them as D&D characters. Please?"

"Fine."

"Alright! Let's have Kalon launch Mal off his sword and at the Kobold, and she can stab him right in the head."

Matt sighed.

"I need a strength check from Jarak and a very high acrobatics roll from Amber."

"Kalon's strength got a 20."

"And Malice's acrobatics got a 22! Is that high enough?"

"I suppose."

Malice grinned, holding her dagger tightly. She reached a hand out and felt Kalon take it, hauling her up and onto his sword, which was angled slightly to allow her to stand on it. She braced herself as he quickly pushed off, giving her enough momentum to do a nice flip in the air before plunging her dagger straight through the Kobold's skull. Its eyes were now frozen, wide in terror. Malice landed gracefully, stowing her dagger back into its case and walking over to retrieve her arrow from the chest of the first Kobold.

"Well done, you two. I'll distribute gold and experience after we're done, even though technically we'll never do this again." Matt announced. "Now, luckily for them, and because it's late and I want to go to bed, the fearsome creature isn't anywhere to be found. However, if they take the treasure they've come for, it'll upset the monster, and it'll unleash absolute terror on the village when it returns."

"But will we get to go home?" Malice demanded.

"Yes."

Without needing to consult in any way, Kalon picked up the treasure and stowed it in his bag.

"Come on, guys. You're just going to take it without any second thought?" Matt laughed.

"Are you kidding? This is Team Asshat we're talking about. Of course they don't care. They just want to get home." Jarak countered.

"He's got a point." Kalon agreed. "Also, what is an Asshat?"

"Nevermind it." Jarak's accented voice replied.

And with that, they're adventure was done. Kalon and Malice returned to the village with their found treasure, and the bartender kept his promise and sent them back home. They both woke up in their own beds, and neither had ever been so happy to be in their own rooms again.

Malice took a sip of her drink, mulling over the day's events. She enjoyed the alone time, using it as a means of escape from her everyday schedule. Most of the other drinkers knew well to not bother her. She'd been known to punch teeth out when she felt like it. She tensed slightly as she sensed two people coming near her, and silently wished them away in her head. Unfortunately, wishes were for children, and the two took the empty seats to her left side. She groaned inwardly as the two started laughing loudly together, and she saw the bartender glance her way, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged back, indicating that she had no idea who the fools were.

They were both female, at least a few years younger than she was. The armory lightsabers at their sides indicated that they were also someone's apprentices, and she pitied the force users who had to deal with them.

"I accidentally lit my home on fire. It was enough force energy that my master picked up on it and came to ask me if I wanted to train! Of course, I accepted, my parents were so annoying." One of them spoke up slightly, reaching for the drink she'd ordered. Her companion laughed slightly.

"Well, I accidentally killed three people before I knew I was force sensitive!" She said proudly. Malice tried to drown out their obnoxious voices, but her attempt was interrupted as one of them turned to her.

"What about you?" She asked, sounding very full of herself. "You look around our age. How did you find out you were force sensitive?" She was almost so annoying that it was amusing, as she seemed to challenge her to top killing three people.

Malice glared at them from out of the corner of her eye before sighing and finishing her drink off. She turned in her seat to face the two of them, clearing her throat.

"You think you're something special? Either of you? I didn't have parents to raise me, and I killed a lot more than three people. When I first showed signs of being force sensitive, my parents tried to get rid of me. They tried to dump me with the Jedi, and when I was too old to be accepted, they abandoned me on the outer rim planet Cholganna. It's a wild and dangerous planet, covered in thick forests and vicious creatures. The most dangerous of any of them is what I was raised by. The Nexu."

She grew more satisfied as she saw the girls eyes grow wider and wider, their egos slipping with each sentence.

"They accepted me almost immediately, teaching me to survive in the forest. Leaping through the trees, killing from the shadows, you'd be dead the second you stepped into our territory. Not even your bones would remain after we were done with you, they'd been ground down and crushed by even the smallest of cubs. Even with all their ferocity, that doesn't stop Nexu from being a highly sought after prize. They're used for their fur, their teeth, their spines, as arena beasts, even as pets if you think you've got what it takes.

One night as we all slept, poachers arrived on our planet. They scoped us out easily, sleeping in the highest branches of the trees. They quietly set fire to our forest, using it as a means to draw us out. I just remember waking up and feeling my throat burn as I inhaled the smoke. My mother handed me her only other child and had us run as far as we could the other direction. Even if I was fast, one of the hunters had us cornered almost immediately, and none of the grown Nexu where there to protect us. We didn't' even know if any of the others were still alive. He was getting closer to us, until all of a sudden he was writhing on the ground. I felt something I'd never felt before, some sort of power. It only grew stronger as I got more angry, so I thought about everything he'd done. How we might never see our family again. I thought of our mother, and how she must surely be dead now. I watched his eyes roll back into his head as he fought for breath. I watched all the different colors his face turned, watched as he slowly began to look more like the monster I knew him to be.

We went after the others after he was no longer a problem. The fire was put out quickly, it's purpose now served. Many of the people had left already, their prizes secured as well as their bounty on them. We tortured the rest. I wanted to make them suffer, make them beg for death. Even when they finally did, we savored their pain, the cub and I. We allowed one to escape after the others were dead. Who better to spread the fear than someone who had just watched his comrades eyes bulge out of their sockets? We wanted to stop anyone else from coming to our world, and it worked for the most part. There were a few groups that thought themselves strong enough to best us, but as the cub and I grew, we only grew more deadly. Some were killed instantly, others we played with, toying with them and playing mind games. No one left the planet alive. Until one day, word got around to my master, Selika. She heard the tales of a wild girl using a mysterious power and recognized it as the force. I must have peaked her interest because she paid us a visit. We didn't kill her right away, we were more curious than anything. I sensed in her the same thing I had in me, and she eventually convinced us to join her. So please, go on about your three deaths and your measly fire. I'm sure we're all dying to hear more."

The girls were silent, and one of them had their mouth hanging open in surprise. Their confident gazes had been completely taken over by fear, and Malice dropped a few credits on the counter as she stood from her seat. She glanced at them once more before turning, smiling smugly to herself. Nothing welcomed new recruits like intimidating them out of their minds.

The second she'd woken that morning, Malice knew something was wrong. She sat up quickly in her bed, looking immediately around her own room. Everything seemed to be as she'd left it. Aiya was still sleeping where she had been the night before, and the sleepy Nexu twitched in her sleep. Still, Malice could still feel something was different, and she was determined to find out just what it was. Making sure not to wake Aiya, she got out of bed, quickly pulling on her normal outfit and clipping her lightsaber to her side. She opened her door, peeking her head out cautiously. Everything seemed to look the same outside her hallway. A few people she didn't know walked by, but that wasn't cause for alarm, there were many people she didn't know yet.

She walked around, glancing through different windows and doorways, trying to find what in the world could be throwing her off so badly this morning. Passing one of the training rooms, she had almost completely passed it, when she realized who it was inside. Kalon Entar sat, seemingly in meditation. That was odd by itself, as he wasn't one to find any use in the practice. She entered the room carefully, still fully on guard. The Savant seemed to sense her presence immediately, and a warm smile lit his face, making Malice freeze mid-step. Kalon was smiling? Actually and genuinely smiling? He opened his eyes, getting to his feet and coming over to her.

"Kaila, it's good to see you. Have you come to meditate as well?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.She pushed it off, frowning.

"I told you not to call me that." She replied, her eyes filled with suspicion and a growing paranoia. Kalon's warm face turned to one of confusion.

"What do you mean? Why would I call you by anything but your name?" he questioned. He could see there was something wrong with her today, and he was starting to grow worried. "Kaila are you feeling alright?"

"What's going on, Kalon? Something is wrong and I can feel it, and now you're not acting like yourself." Malice shot at him, her voice starting to raise. Kalon didn't answer, but slowly pulled a holocommunicator out, speaking into it.

"Can we get Master Selika to training room C-74? Her apprentice is here and she's acting...out of character."

Perfect. If anyone knew what to do, It would be Selika. Leaving Kalon behind her, Malice approached one of the training dummies, deciding to take some of her frustration and anger out on the unsuspecting target. After a few well-placed kicks, the dummy's head ripped clean off, hitting the ground with a soft thump. She glanced over, not realizing Selika had already entered the room and was sharing a few worried glances with Kalon. They both looked at her, not saying anything at first until Selika raised her hand.

"Kaila. May we speak with you?" She called. Malice flinched. Even if Kalon calling her that had simply been a slip-up, there was no way in the galaxy that Selika ever would. Selika was the one that had given her the name Malice, telling her it was her new name and her old name was dead now. She approached the two slowly, eyeing each of them with suspicion.

"Kalon tells me you're feeling strange today." Selika started, her face painted with worry. "That was quite a bit of...aggression you displayed over there. Has something happened? Would you like to talk to us about it? You know anger and hate are not the Jedi way."

"Well, of course it's not, I'm not-" Malice cut herself off quickly, realizing it would be a short conversation if she'd finished her sentence the way she almost had.

"-feeling well. I'm not feeling well. Kalon was right. I just feel sick today."

Selika and Kalon's faces both relaxed instantly, their concern seeming to dissipate now that there was a believable reason for her behavior. They were both dripping with light side energy, and while Malice was still determined to get to the bottom of it, she was slowly beginning to wonder if perhaps she was dreaming. That would certainly make sense, and the more she thought about it, the more she began to relax.

"Would you like me to escort you back to your room?" Kalon asked, his warm smile returning. Malice nodded. Perhaps if she went back to sleep, she would wake up back in her actual body.

Kalon gave a small respectful bow to Selika before heading out of the training, room leading Malice back to her own quarters. She followed him silently, still trying to formulate how she was going to get out of this dream world. Currently, going back to sleep seemed like her best shot, and she was so busy concentrating, she almost didn't realize Kalon had stopped in front of her door.

"I hope you feel better tomorrow." Kalon said, inclining his head to her.

"Thanks. I hope I-" her sentence halted and she winced, looking down at her finger. Her hand had slipped reaching for the door code, and she'd somehow managed to cut her pointer finger. A small drop of blood beaded and dripped from her hand, falling to the floor. She looked at it in horror, her breathing starting to quicken.

"Kaila? What's wrong?" Kalon didn't get an answer. She just continued to stare at her finger. It was beginning to sting as she stuck it in her mouth, cleaning the blood off of it. After a short while, she muttered one sentence under her breath.

"You can't feel pain in dreams."