Black Sands

[Arisalin]

Jason drew the sword from the ground as Xotomi threw the beast through the air. With a roar he leapt forward feeling the force tear through him as the distance was closed in two large bounds. He rolled under it's sweeping tail as it began to turn back towards Xotomi and lunged forward. The blade was light and quick for it's size, so he fell off balance losing most of the power from his strike. In a moment of confusion he found himself exposed to the monsters left side, and it turned it's hate-filled eyes on him swiping a deadly claw.

Jason pulled back and sent himself skyward with a rush of the force.

 

[Mistress]

"Great!" Xotomi cursed as the boy left her side and strode into the cavern too damn soon before the dragon was rendered properly dazed. "Master, your pet child is now in my frakking way!" She thought she should reign him back in. 'Looks like there is going to be a sacrifice afterall!' "Humph!"

Xotomi watched as the dragon turned on what's-his-face. She raised a hand to bring the toy sword to fly into her grasp. Then she hurled it towards the beast, focussing on the Force still, sending the sword straight for the dragon's eye, adjusting its trajectory with each movement of the beast.

She started to work on severing a section of the sharpest Stalactites she saw overhead.

 

[Arisalin]

Jason felt the heavy blow from behind. He had been struggling to his feet, but now found himself hurtling through the sky once more. His sword flew from his hand and clattered somewhere to his left as it landed right before he did. Dazed he rolled over as quickly as he could just in time to see Xotomi's sword fly through the air and pierce the beasts eye. It roared in fearsome rage stumbling backwards claws flailing. Sudden gratefulness overwhelmed the downed and worn apprentice.

Jason stood and stumbled backward to avoid the beast in it's anger. He looked to Xotomi and saw her focus. The stalactites. The Dragon however was not planning to stay under those specific ones for long he realized! It was a good strategy, but the beast was recovering, it's frantic movements having loosed the sword from it's eye to land slimy, puss and blood covered, several yards away.

It turned it's eye on Xotomi now one eye swollen closed, ready to charge and tear her to shreds.

Taking a note from the others book Jason dove and grabbed his own sword, throwing it as hard as he could towards it's side guided also with the force to draw it's attention, and keep it under the stone spikes above.

 

[Mistress]

Xotomi stood her ground and reached out for the baby sword again with the Force, but the dragon had stepped on it and crushed it. No bother, Xotomi had managed to break a stalactite free from the cave ceiling. She controlled it, driving it down deep through the dragon's waist deep crap i had to :) and finally into the ground. The thick end of the stalactite stuck out of the ground like a stone pillar.

She flung the dragon once more, slamming his side into the stone pillar she had erected. Then another stalactite fell fast and she caught it, immediately driving it into the ground on the other side of the dragons abdomen, pinning the dragon tightly between the two stones. But she worried that they wouldn't hold forever. They could have structure cracks!

"Kid!! Hey, kid!! Twist!!" Xotomi shrieked in urgency. "Twist it, kid!!" Xotomi worked on attempting to twist the beast, head and tail in opposite directions. Her intent is to break its spine!

 

[Arisalin]

Jason stumbled back but didn't fall as a blow was delivered towards him. Then with a crash the stalactite came down on one side of the beast, and another pinning it to the left. Xotomi yelled for him to twist with the force and he immedietely understood. They were going to break it's spine. He threw the sword to the side and with an explosive wave of power he motioned extending his hands forward in a claw-like fashion. Grasping one side of the beast he twisted with all of his might, knowing Xotomi would do the same.

 

[Mistress]

The result of two Sith each twisting separate waves of the Force, just happened to be utterly devastating, not just to the dragon, but to the wave of the Force used to render it incapacitated. Xotomi felt the cave begin to spin, but she didn't stop her concentration. The dragon bowed its head and swayed in its stance. It soon fell and a disgusting crack occurred. Once that crack was heard as its spine snapped, the dragon was wrung like a wet towel. It's flesh tore at its abdomen, causing a gruesome gush to explode from the beast as its entrails spewed forth, and its pearls...which Xanthus isn't permitted to have a single one, unless he's buying drinks afterwards.

But the effect of throwing so much power around drained Xotomi. She felt nauseated. She hopes Jason stops soon. It was a clash they generated that caused Malacia. "For the love of god! Cant you feel it? Stop boy!" she yelled out and she slowly fell upon her quivering knees.

 

[Arisalin]

Jason didn't know what happened. One second they stood in victory and then he felt it. Like a wave the sickness brought him to his knees. He wasn't thinking, still feeling the power surge through his hands. His vision blurred and he heard Xotomi call out. There was just so much. His own powers were working against him. Then he silenced it and fought against the darkness that attempted to overwhelm him.

 

[Mistress]

Xotomi was just about to zap him in his arse to give him a clue, if she could have manage through the turmoil, when finally the kid stopped his end of the chaos. 'What a mess!' And the dragon was by far worse! The blood and innards stretched the length of the cavern and was sloshed up the walls. By the looks of it, sizing up the kid in the distance, she figured it was spread out to be probably knee deep. "Repulsive!" she declared. She wondered what the heck that kid was thinking, stepping all the way into the cave like that! Didn't he know he could have used the Force standing right in the opening tunnel like she was? He didn't need to forget upfront and personal. She hopes he has the common sense to have learned that!

Xotomi called out to Xanthus next, "Are you finished yet?" She spun around on her heels. "That kid of your's is covered in so much gravy, he's going to attract all manner of carnivorous species! Bugs, buzzards, animals...reptiles!" She thought to blast open the mouth of the cave again, but isn't really looking forward to what the kid is going to attract. "Lord, I hope he doesn't trip in that mess when he makes his way back out of there," she said moreso to herself.

Xotomi stretched out her hand and beckoned to raise the coveted Pearls from the muck.

 

[Xan]

The sound of slow clapping materialized from only a few meters away from the Krayt Dragon's head, which was the only warning received before Xanthus's form appeared from the thin air. He was sitting down in a relaxed position against a naturally made stone column, having clearly been there for some time. When he finished clapping, Xanthus extended his hands, causing a Pearl to occupy each one before placing them each within an armoured pouch on his waist. Rising, Xanthus made a gripping motion with his hand, raising the immense creature from the floor of the cave just long enough for him to pull his sword free of his bulk with the Force. The blade bore not even a scratch from having been crushed under the creature's weight, a sign of its dark side empowerment and immersion.

"I will most certainly give you both credit. That was the single bloodiest kill I have ever had the...pleasure of witnessing. Very well done. By all means, take a Pearl or two and let's prepare to leave this place. Oh yes, and before I forget. You passed my test. Congratulations on not being eaten by a Krayt Dragon. You are now fully grown adults in Tusken society and my true Apprentices. Come along now, before the body begins to stink." Xanthus said with his typical calm-yet-amused tone of voice. Nevermind the fact that he almost got both of his Apprentices eaten by a legendary desert beast beneath the sands of Tatooine. On that note, it remained rather unclear about whose body Xanthus meant: the dead beast, or the ones covered in dead beast juices.

 

[Arisalin]

Jason hadn't realized it until she said it. Dazed from the disgusting gut-wrenching feeling he still had from several moments before, he looked down at his clothes. They dripped gore, soaked and sticky the smell was revolting. Maybe it was that odiferous fact that brought him totally back into the real world. He dropped to the ground dry heaving, forgetting the strong outside appearance he had struggled to uphold for the last several hours. It was just to much for the moment, and the sickly urges went from dry to wet very fast. He finished after almost a minute, and looked up wiping a hand across his face to clear some of the slime.

 

[Mistress]

"Ick!" Xotomi turned away from the kid in disgust. The dragon was one thing, but people guts is just by far too much! Finally she shrugged and looked at Xanthus. He was amused, but perhaps honestly so. She smiled herself. She wasn't stepping out there into the cave and the coating of dragon innards. Nope. But she wanted something sooooo badly! Then IT happened. The dragon's head exploded. She hopes Xanthus doesn't get gooey....forget that! What does she care! He brought her here. She's going to need to have her leather boots fumigated! The heated explosion caused the jaws of the dragon to fling towards Xotomi. Exactly what she wanted! She pried out two teeth and tossed one right to the kid for him to catch. "A fine casing for your Lightsaber, kid; Aye?" She would hollow it out and fashion the tooth into a new hilt!

Xotomi took the tooth and pearls into her cloak. She felt like a festering stew of bacteria is just going to love to bake in the heat outside. But the cave seemed to be practically sweltering since it was barricaded. She hadn't realized how hot it had become when she was concentrating on living. She raised her hands to blast away at the rock, when she heard something begin digging through the rock.

Xotomi ran away from the cave opening toward the muck of the inner cave. She almost got stuck in waste deep excrement the instant she stepped out of the tunnel. She cursed at Xanthus. But she wasn't about to let him get away with sitting this one out! But he probably would! She crawled her way out of the slop and withdrew her Lightsaber this time. Someone is going to die...someone...not something....someone. Maybe not today, cause she is busy at the moment.....but definitely some day to follow, as that is all there is ever. "Xanthus....when you least expect me...." She shook her finger as she sneered at him.

"Round two, kid!" she called out, thinking how this dragon hunting, man crap is truly tiring.

 

[Xan]

Scratch...crash...scratch... The sounds were coming from the other side of the collapsed rock wall, and just from the sounds of the power being used to clear a path into the chamber, Xanthus could tell that the beast on the other side would likely be massive. Reaching out a hand, he called his second Sith Sword into his palm and sheathed both, drawing a silver-bladed lightsaber and igniting it with a grim smile. The smile however, was not for what was beyond the rocks, but for his female apprentice. "You know Xotomi, I would welcome the distraction of an attempted assassination. Life will be rather boring for me without being able to find creative ways to mess with your head and test your potential." Stepping next to Jason, Xanthus placed a hand on his pupil's back and released a charge of light-side Force energy, removing the urge to be sick from the young man and hopefully restoring some strength. The likely result would be Xan being shrugged off for the preservation of strong image, but at the moment what mattered was having a fully prepared team to do battle against this new opponent.

This had not been a part of Xanthus's plan for training his apprentices, and so he needed to ensure that they would survive the encounter. "The game has changed and therefore so have the rules. Anything goes this time, and the objective is survival and escape from this cavern with limbs intact." The situation had clearly brought out Xanthus's more serious side, as he neglected to even chuckle in the face of Jason's being covered with bile and Krayt Dragon intestinal juices. In fact, at the moment the Sith Assassin's silver eyes were narrowed and his mouth was set into an almost straight line, all amusement gone from his face and replaced by a steely calm demeanor. "Clearly this cavern is more attractive than I realized. We leave immediately after this creature is dealt with." Xanthus said in the same nearly monotone voice as he lifted his free hand towards the rubble. The sound of clawing and crashing had become louder now, as though the beast were digging through the final rocks.

"Round two begins..." Xanthus said as he made a pulling motion towards a central boulder in the rock wall, pulling it back to reveal a massive reptilian head complete with massive eyes that stared directly into the cavern. A mighty roar sounded from that scaly head as the dragon that it was attached to began to break through the last rocks separating it from the three Force adepts. "Now." With that, the beast broke through and Xanthus threw the boulder directly at its skull, more for confusion and disorientation issues than to actually deliver significant damage. Following earth with lightning, Xanthus extended his free hand and from the fingers flew streams of indigo-grey lightning that danced along the Dragon's body, bringing about a pain and rage filled roar that filled the cavern.