The Cat and the Thicket (Ali)

[Professor Mors]

***Cholganna, Outer Rim Territories, Grid Coordinates T-5***

***Northern Hemisphere, Quadrant D-37***

No doubt, the roar of thunder overhead was the surest cause for Aliclair’s sudden, and rude awakening. Upon regaining consciousness, she would have quickly found herself encased in a simple, but sturdy escape pod, with a single flashing light just above the door hatch. Thumbing the button just below the indicator produced the following message: “Good Afternoon Young One”, a holographic facsimile of Sa’ato commented dryly, “Some context is surely in order”. The faux-Neti flashed a sly grin and continued, “Welcome to Cholganna. It is uninhabited, and largely overlooked in most atlases”.

“You say your great fear is being abandoned”, the prerecorded image continued, “So I have cast you out. None of the other acolytes have been informed, nor has your master”. The light plunk of a soft rain began to keep time as droplet after droplet touched down up above. “The lesson here is simple”, the digital shade of the professor moved to conclude, “Survive, with only your spirit and Force to aid you. If you succeed in locating and defeating me in single combat, we will return to Sith Space together-”. The fake-Sa’ato grimaced, “You have three weeks, or else you will be left here to rot: this escape pod will detonate a minute after this message terminates. Best of luck Child…”

Indeed, as the hologram shut off, a sudden beeping gave credibility to the Neti’s warning. Aliclair would have but a few moments to exit the pod and clear the blast. From there, deep jungle, merciless rains, and all manners of beasts awaited her out in the humid wild…

[Aliclair Austjor]

It was a dark plain that she'd landed in, and explored for the time being while her physical form had been through transport. Finally, she'd gain consciousness but it was through a loud crackled noises of the thunder that violently pulled her out her slumber. Gasping sharply, she sat up, but hitting her head on the pod window. Aliclair hissed in frustration, holding her head. Roughly, the hybrid opened her eye to see the button to open it and doing so pulled up the message Professor Sa'ato pre-recorded message, a lesson. Her ears gave a small flick as she watched, and slowly, anger rose from the bottom of her sternum. Pushing against the glass as the message concluded, she rushed out the metal pod, running a few feet but ultimately slipping and sliding behind a bolder, the explosion rattling the surrounding area, scattering any aves, and mammal lifeforms. She covered her head with her hands as debris flew passed. When the sound of the explosion died down, Aliclair stayed there for a second, then slowly sat up, her breathing becoming shaky. "This people are going to drive me insane" she thought, getting to her feet. Ontop of being stranded on a planet with no villages to take aid from, it was raining so being cold and wet was not sitting well for her.

But she couldn't just sit here. She had to move quickly, considering she wasn't sure what time the sun on this planet will set, if it ever set of course. She shook her head before standing and scanning the explosion sight. Everything viable were taken by the embers but there were a few salvageable pieces, including a decent spear-head like jagged pod part. Sheathing that behind her, Ali decided it'd be best to move on from here, find a decent place to set up camp, sleep.

Walking out a few miles out, she came across a gathering of trees with vines. A start, and off the ground is the best. Aliclair wasn't sure what was on this planet, and without the pod, she couldn't figure out the planet's fauna. Crouching decently low, she coiled the Force around her legs and leapt high (force jump), landing on a sturdy branch. "Three weeks of being alone. Great... The survival aspect doesn't worry me, its having to fight that.. deceiving two-face bark face.. I need to be ready for whatever he may dish out. I only survived Tormentous because I was Ben's apprentice, to use as bait. He could've killed me if he really wanted to, at any given moment. I can only assume Sa'ato has around the same combat abilities." She explained to herself as she sat with her back against the thick tree trunk.

{} 5 Hours Later {}
Nibbling on a soft patch of grassblades was a small furred creature, with a predator having her eyes locked on them. Ali slowly drew back the drawstring of a bow she'd crafted out of wood with rockhead arrows. The creature yelped out briefly when the arrow pierced its side before Ali shut it's mouth to end its suffering more. Ali stayed on the ground for a second; a small amount of anger boiled in her throat for a second before she swallowed it down. Ever since she'd sided with the Sith, she had been treated as the animal. Chains, being commanded, never having freedom. And now, she was left stranded on a planet with possible killer creatures, and Sa'ato just dumped her here for a lesson. A rather poorly executed lesson... But it was their way. Approaching the tree she'd decided to set up base, a small rustle of leafs caught her furred ear, causing it to swivel and her head turned. She knitted her eyebrows as she scanned her surroundings. Extending her senses, (life sense) she scanned for any sentient beings that may be around her, mixing that with her sensitive nose, if anything was around, it would be hard not to pick it up.

[Professor Mors]

Aliclair’s skill with the Force and natural aptitude did not fail her. There was indeed some manner of creature lingering nearby– her senses were in full agreement on that. What they could not specify however, was the number of potential hostiles, or the direction in which they lay. The air hung thick with humidity, odors traveled far more slowly, and the ceaseless cacophony of birds and other wildlife distracted the mind. Yet, while the young hybrid stood on-guard, a malevolent aberration was closing in, creeping slowly, just out of sight. Finally, a sudden rustle in the foliage above gave the young acolyte something to act upon.

Snapping her head skyward, Aliclair noticed the sun had been obscured by the clouds. No, not the weather, some– thing, some entity casting a shadow over the jungle floor. Sadly, with her focus thus diverted, the aspiring Sith did not have time to detect the earth-colored tentacle that shot out from behind a particularly broad tree and roped round her ankle. Within moments, the ground was a distant memory as the exiled youth was hoisted up through the canopy of trees with fierce speed and strength. Before she knew it, Aliclair was face to face with six large, lidless gray eyes.

An arboreal octopus, fully grown, with a diameter of twenty meters from the point of one tentacle to its opposing twin. Had the professor been present, he might have offered a footnote with regards to the beast’s shared ancestry with a similar species on Endor. He might have likewise gone on to describe the incredible hydraulic power of its sinuous limbs, which held fast to Aliclair as the cephalopod inspected its prospective meal. After some moments of semi-sentient inspection, the tentacled terror decided the humanoid would do nicely for a midday snack, and unceremoniously thrust her back down halfway from whence she came.

Dangling as he was, Aliclair could more clearly see the main fleshy mass of the octopus’s core, and its seven adjacent limbs hanging with malice from the neighboring tree branches. Slowly, the young woman was lifted once more, this time towards a sinister, gaping beak situated directly beneath the fiend’s ‘head’. Once more, Sa’ato might have taken a moment to warn Aliclair about the rows of teeth hidden within the ghastly maw, packed with enzymes designed to quickly liquefy prey. Unfortunately, the acolyte would have to follow her gut on the matter, or else end up in the gut of a most grizzly fate…

[Aliclair Austjor]

There were many many elements at play here to test and combat against the hybrid. She couldn't pinpoint anything; there was a difference between detection within walls than in nature, where sound bounced off trees and the air would change the direction of scents so she couldn't rely on her nose either. It wasn't until an obvious noise from above caught her attention, a small gasp escaping her lips. Attempting to move back, and essentially get away, it's tendril coiled around her leg to roughly pull her upwards and in the process, hitting the back of her head on the ground before dangling. This left Ali dazed, struggling to stay aware by pure adrenaline. She was met with the eyes of her predetor and slightly panic began to surge within her body. Ali reached back to grab her spear to feel it wasn't there; it'd been hit off so she was left defenseless.

Unless..

She let out a huff, hardening her fingers as they shifted into a position , using her sharpen claws to slash the tendril wrapped around her leg. Successful, it quickly let her go, but in her daze, she couldn't regain herself and her body slammed into the ground below. Ali grunted in pain, slowly trying to get herself from this shook state, looking around then quickly grabbing her makeshift spear, quickly getting back to her back with her spear ready in hand, clenching her jaw to endure the pain and breathing through her nose, with little to no air in her lungs.

[Professor Mors]

The octopus-out-of-water let out a pained trill as Ali clawed her way to temporary freedom. For a few moments it thrashed its tentacles in a vain attempt to swat its foe, before several of its bulbous eyes fixed on the young women with cruel intent. With one of its larger limbs, it squeezed the base of a thinner nearby tree, the wood cracking and groaning until it ruptured some four feet from the root of the stump. Severed thus, the smaller tree began to list forward, and would surely be upon the downed humanoid in moments. Alas, among the many fauna on Cholganna, the arboreal fiend was one of the most intelligent, and its ploy was not yet complete.

With the additional strength of three sinuous arms, the octopus let out a strained whistle as it forcefully tore a thicker, taller specimen from the earth, roots and all. The top-most canopy of this new club snapped free and fell to the side, but it was of little concern to the beast, which hurled this new danger toward its prospective meal as hard as it could. Now, Ali had two projectiles to contend with, and at two different speeds. And, whether she evaded them, the foul octopus made preparations for what it hoped would be its final strike. Coiling itself round the undamaged canopy to the rear, the creature stretched its torso out to the fullest.

Its innate elasticity made bounding from tree to tree simple enough, but positioned thus, all it needed to do was let go and let physics do the rest. Either pinning the enticing feast to the jungle floor, or crushing her outright, the beast was determined to have its fill…

[Aliclair Austjor]

Everything she could see with her eyes were multiplied, her vison completely unclear. Using one hand to hold the spear up toward the beast and her other limbs to scoot back the best she could, it didn't take long for the beast to recover from a small scratch. And now, even more peeved that its prey retaliated. "I'm not on anyone's menu today, or ever." she thought bitterly. The small tremors in the ground as the tendril-wielding enemy pulled up a tree and tossed, and to rinse and repeat left Ali in a predicament in where she needed to push aside her daze and focus on her survival. Her feline ears flicked forward as she used those mixed with danger sense to roll out the way of the first tree, quickly sheathing her makeshift spear behind her before using her claws again and feet to lunge forward to barely dodge the second tree by hiding behind a bigger and thicker tree.

Ali let out a brief growl as she shook her head in attempts to break the daze. It worked, to some extent. A part of her thought of climbing the trees to try and pounce on it but her hand-to-eye coordination wasn't at 100%, so she could wind up hurting herself rather than surviving. Equipping her hands with the makeshift spear, she had to be ready for whatever the beast had in store next..

[Professor Mors]

Some several kilometers from the arboreal assault, Sa’ato, blissfully unaware of his student’s peril, inhaled the fresh alpine air. Having made camp on a modest plateau that sat midway up a nearby mountain, the Neti had taken to meditation in light of an incoming tropical thunderstorm. While he was curious to track Aliclair’s progress, the professor knew better than to give her an obvious clue to his location by reaching out with the Force. No, Sa’ato had more important matters to handle. Chief among them, how to proceed if his prospective student reached his location weakened, or on death’s bed.

Normally, if a nobody-acolyte sought instruction, the Neti would lose no sleep if they died from the rigors of training. In this case however, Aliclair was not just a simple tool to be tossed by the wayside. Her primary master was none other than the Sovereign himself, and that came with its own unique merits. Certainly, Sa’ato had stood down when the Echani moved to seize the throne through less-than-ideal means. The professor had taken the bribe of increased status not necessarily because he desired prestige, or even the wider resources of the position, but simply owing to the fact it was the right move at that time.

What respect he had for the upstart Darth’s scholarship was fatally troubled by his dubious claim to power and nearsighted ambition. For now, Sa’ato had neither the means– nor a truly driving reason to foment insurrection against an irrefutable powerful foe. One day however, through training, or the will of the Force, that situation could change. And, when it did, the professor would need someone close to his potential target: an ally, or an instrument to help hasten his demise. Thus the dilemma: if Aliclair failed to defeat the academic on this shambling world, would the wandering lecturer make good on his threat?

Hence, as the pupil fought for her life in the name of progress, the teacher delved deep into his own set of mental exercises…


***

Seemingly glaring at the dazed hybrid, the tree-born cephalopod let the branches above crack and tense for one more moment, before it launched itself forward with furious speed. Tentacles flailing wildly behind its bulbous torso, the octopus gnashed its beak with lurid hunger, the two chitinous bevels that comprised its mouth finally settling wide open, ready to sample a taste of Ali if she wasn’t crushed outright by the impending impact of its full weight. Indeed, what agency remained belonged to the cat-eared woman. Her would-be predator had cast the die. She could attempt evasion once more, or else bear the brunt of its full strength, under threat of a grizzly, agonizing death…

[Aliclair Austjor]

Letting out another hiss in sensing the octo-beast behind her, Aliclair attempted to abscond once more to no avail; her foot had caught under one of the tendrils, which caused her to fall forward, and letting out an breathless grunt. Pure adrenanline pumped throughout Ali's body as she clawed at the ground in attempts to pull free before she finally decided she'd have to attack. And attack she did.

Reaching behind her, she grabbed the makeshift spear, rolling to her back and javelin-tossed it straight into the beast's side, even adding an extra measure in lashing her long tail to hammer the end of the spear so the jagged metal of the spearhead dug deeper, past it's slippery hide. "Would you let go already?!" the hybrid asked angerly as she continued to pull against her foot and tried scooting back further.

[Professor Mors]

The octopus screeched and writhed about in light of the unexpected blow to its midsection. Unintentionally obliging Aliclair’s demand, it slackened its grip and wriggled about in agony while attempting to extract the spear from its side. In the throes of anger and mania, the beast slammed against several neighboring trees, causing their trunks to creak with a foreboding air, weakening the already-mangled roots lining the edge of the clearing. Though it would not be clear to the arboreal fiend, Aliclair possessed enough presence of mind to know that with some finessing, the creature could be goaded into bringing any one of the deciduous titans crashing down onto itself.

But, to accomplish such a maneuver, Ali would have to risk getting close once more to entice her foe– and she would have to do so soon. With one last anguished whine, the cephalopod succeeded in tugging the crude weapon free, vengefully snapping it in two right before the hybrid’s eyes. With that done, it steadily raised its limbs, aiming to finish the fight then and there…

[Aliclair Austjor]

This was it; now or never. Aliclair would need to kill this beast, and as the trees fell in an order to where she had no choice but to inch closer and closer to her foe. As she danced her way around, but still closer, the beast felt the need to finish this now, and with that thought, it waited for the hybrid to get to the right spot than-

Quickly lashing two tendrils, they snared one around her leg, and the other around her waist, and yanked to not allow her to escape. Mixed emotions stirred throughout Ali's chest as she inched closer to this octo-beast, clearly 10 times her size. Letting out a hiss of brief pain from being yanked, she raised her hand to use her claws again but a third tendril coiled around her neck to force her to attempt to delatch, a wheezed gasp escaping her lips. The feline hybrid began to hyperventilate as the heat from the beast's body inched closer to hers. One snap from its beaked maw was all it took before Ali's right ear shot with pain, and the right side of her face drenched in crimson liquid that she'd soon come to realize was her blood. Ali let out a lament of pain before being pumped with pure adrenaline once again. She dug her claws again into the 'face' of the creature and gripped this time. The beast riled back and released all tendrils, giving Ali free reign to climb up its hide to jab her hand, claw first, deep into it's back, and as it wrangled and tossed to throw the feline off its back, the claws of said feline gripped on something, she wasn't sure and yanked it out with full strength. It screeched out a dying breathe before ultimately falling and slamming down, as its life deteriorated into just a corpse.

Ali slid down the deceased octo-beast, and stumbled before falling to her knees. Her body, limbs, trembled and her head throbbed with pain as her right ear, completely torn, bled. Not at a fast rate, but if not treated, could lead to infection. But.. she needed to clean up. Slowly, she rose to her feet to grab the jagged spearhead the beast decided to break. "Actually.." she thought as she walked to the beast and began to cut its tendrils off, to eat later on. Once she felt it was enough food, she looked around, and threaded a few feet from the kill to find a decently small cavern, big enough for her to lay and stand but small for just one person, or creature. Placing the cut meat on a large leaf in the cave, and setting up a small fire with sticks and leaf bits, she started by sitting then laying comfortably, her legs and tail curled up next to her. Ali looked to see her arms were still caked in the kills' inky blood, and with no energy to search for a water source, she decided to do something she thought she'd never do. Hesitantly, she parted her lips enough for her sandy tongue to slither out and lap against her arm. At first, the bitterness of the blood made her retract but eventually warmed up to it. She continued to clean her arms, and even her face from the bloodstain. The pain within her torn ear lingered, but she was too exhausted to do anything else after she was done 'grooming' herself. Ali adjusted herself then coiled her tail out more to lay her head on it, getting comfortable. A battle triumph, in this dumb test she was thrown into, no doubt Sa'ato's idea. She couldn't help but to think what was he trying to accomplish with this. This wasn't abandonment, this was slaughter. An uninhabited planet with creatures of the unknown. Snorting, she wanted to sleep, rest, but knew she'd need to be on her P's and Q's if she wanted that. She let out a shaky sigh as she continued to watch the sky from the small cavern mouth.