Ask Hunters and the Hunted

[Senin Ravelo]

Dagobah was a planet covered by dangerous swamps and forests. If it wasn’t enough, the world was also full of bizarre predators, all prepared to eat anything that moved in front of them. For some, the Sith Empire had decided that it was a good idea to establish a presence there. Apparently, it had been an idea of Darth Veles. Senin wondered if the Sith Lord was becoming crazy. Perhaps when he had this idea, the man was high due to some Dathomirian ritualistic drug.

As expected, the workers of this project were suffering constant attacks by the hostile fauna, with even the stormtroopers that were sent to protect them not being enough. With the failure of this project probably going to cost his life, Darth Veles decided to send some proper Sith to help. While Senin hated coming to a place like this, he knew that as an Acolyte he needed to show his usefulness. The useless have no place among the Sith.

The vision of Jade’s head rolling off still haunted him. The thought of him being the one there, with his Master prepared to execute him, made him want to vomit. He wanted to live. There were so many things that he still wanted to do. He refused to be the next being beheaded.

His thoughts about that day on Raxus were interrupted by the pilot announcing that they had landed. It had transported the G’weneen and the other Sith in a long trip to Dagobah. While he was happy for leaving this transport, Senin disliked this marshland even more. At least he wasn’t going to be alone there.

Senin turned to the other Sith there. He recognised him as the Tiefling Acolyte from the part on G’wenee. Unfortunately, he never asked for another name. The guy was being surrounded by girls like a piece of meat was circled by vultures that the G’weneen feared even approaching them. He even heard that during the party the girls nearly fought him. Maybe he could change that today.

“Well, we arrived in Dagobah.” Senin said, while getting up from his seat. “By the way, my name is Senin. I was in the party on G’weneen.” he offered a hand for the Tiefling to shake. “Você canta muito bem!” he stopped, noticing that the other would not understand the language that he was using. “I mean, you sing very well!”

@Sreeya

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil had arrived to Dagobah aboard a different ship from Senin and decided to familiarize himself with the weird swamp planet a little better. It was kinda hot, but humid, so he wore a basic gray tank and cargo pants with his boots and covered his skin in bug spray. Hot wasn't bad so long as it wasn't also dry as hell. He was excited to learn about the native life, already starting quick sketches of things he saw.

Still though, he was here to actually do a job with another acolyte. Especially since transferring to this new academy was a distinct possibility for the future. It'd be best to make a good first impression. For Sol this meant first figuring out which native life was actually causing the trouble. Half of Dagobah's fauna, and some flora even, were predatory.

At least one soldier mentioned a giant snake when Sol asked through his smartpad. A few talked about watching a gigantic slug-thing swallowing a speeder. It all reminded him of Wrea in the worst kind of ways. While asking around he also got a copy of the equipment manifest. It was while memorizing this paperwork that a shuttle touched down at the construction site.

Hazel eyes looked up from the datapad they'd been boring a hole through. He wasn't sure precisely which other acolyte had been assigned to the job, but now they were here they could get to work! Soleil was excited for the challenge ahead.

@LouJoVi

 

[Senin Ravelo]

When the shuttle had finally landed, Senin got up from his seat. He stretched a bit, making his joints crack. He stayed so much time seated on this ship that he felt like his entire body had become rigid. While his back ached a bit, the red-haired contemplated if it was some signal that he was getting old. Although, he was probably only being dramatic.

While he walked down the ramp of the ship, the Acolyte finally could see with his own eyes how Dagobah was. The weather was hot and humid, there were some forests and bugs. This was exactly like G’wenee! This was good. At least he wasn’t going to have problems with the environment. With this thought in mind, Senin reached the end of the ramp.

Only to step in a puddle full of mud and end with his left boot covered with it. Yes, this was so much like G’wenee that there were even large puddles like the ones that would form in the Lay Pa-Sidian’s streets after a heavy rain. Looking at his foot, he felt relieved that he decided to wear a pair that was waterproof.

He would care about dirty shoes later, now he needed to find the other Acolyte that was going to work with him. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be an idiot, the last thing that he wanted was to end having to save his partner. If they did something idiot, he was going to leave them to be devoured by one of the creatures of Dagobah.

After asking one of the workers if they had seen the other Acolyte, Senin was pointed toward a boy with a Datapad. “Hello, my name is Senin. I’m going to be your partner during this mission.” he said, while approaching the guy. Only when he was close to him, was that the G’weneen noticed that he met this person before, during Ashla’s Carnival party. However, he couldn’t remember his name. “Hey! It’s good to see you again.”

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Senin would find Sol bouncing his leg and looking at the datapad again until he got closer. His boots and lower legs were splattered with bog mud and bits of stray flora, although he clearly wasn't bothered by it. He looked up when addressed by Senin and gave a sort of lazy salute, his shorthand for a properly signed 'Hello'. Unbothered by the humidity, despite the fact it frizzed up his dark hair, he stood from his seat and stretched a little.

Soleil recognized Senin from the ill-gotten party bus and smirked slightly, although they hadn't interacted much. The silent acolyte had a habit of wandering off to do whatever without much explanation. His right wrist came up, around which was a plate-and-chain bracelet with 'SOL' stamped onto the plate. Settling his hands on his hips he looked around the construction area. Folk and droids were milling about and getting work done, laboring against the wishes of the swamp.

There wasn't much to do but wait for something to show up. Luckily, one of the things Sol was good at was handling animals. A colorful native bird flapped down from the air and landed on Sol's shoulder, nibbling at his hair with little grumbly noises, and then flew off again. Sol eagerly followed the direction it flew toward the edge of the construction area, swiftly climbing up into the gnarled branches of a tree that looked out over the swamp.

Under the water there was a hint of something large moving around, although they couldn't yet tell what it was.

@LouJoVi

 

[Senin Ravelo]

Senin watched the other Acolyte make a gesture that he interpreted as a greeting and point to a plate in a bracelet. The G’weneen could see the word Sol written in it and he concluded that it could only mean the boy’s name. “It’s good to finally know your name. We never were able to properly interact during the party.”

Since Sol didn’t answer him with his voice, Senin guessed that he was mute. This would explain the gestures that he had made when they interacted during the party. Now the G’weneen felt bad about it. His knowledge about sign language was minimal, this would make the interaction between the two difficult. The red-haired hoped that the other would not be mad if he didn’t understand his signals sometimes. The last thing that he wanted was to deal with possible drama while in the middle of a mission.

After this interaction between them ended, the two Acolytes hadn’t much more to do. Their mission was to help in the protection of this construction and so far there was no sign of danger. Senin could see how the place was normal, like any other construction place. There were workers and droids carrying the material that were going to be used in the buildings, while others were already preparing the foundations.

The G’weneen were feeling a bit bored with the necessity of waiting for something to happen. There wasn’t much to be done here and the humidity seemed to be growing every minute. He wondered if he should talk with Sol. Perhaps the other Acolyte could teach him some things of sign language. This could greatly facilitate their mission.

When he was going to talk with him, Senin saw that a bird had landed on Sol’s shoulder and was playing with his hair. The G’weneen stared at this scene while a smile appeared on his lips. The scene was innocent and reminded him from something that could appear in a cartoon. Nothing that could say that the boy was a Sith.

When the bird flew and Sol followed it, Senin went after him. As far as he knew, there was some type of creature attacking this place. They shouldn’t stay away from each other. The G’weneen stopped near the swamp, where Sol was watching the bird that was perched in the branches of a tree near the water.

Suddenly, the sound of something large moving through the water attracted Senin’s attention toward the swamp. He could see a shadow there, but couldn’t identify what it was. Approaching Sol, the G’weneen whispered to him. “Be prepared. There is something in the water.” he made a gesture with his head, trying to guide the other Acolyte look to the shadow moving from side to side in the swamp. “I think that it still hasn't seen us. What do you think that we should do?”

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

From his perch in the tree's lower branches near the bird, Soleil watched the water roil and shift with open curiosity. So focused was he that he hadn't noticed Senin's approach, starting slightly when he heard the other acolyte's whispery voice. Sol and the bird both turned to stare at Senin.

He gave him a bemused look and wondered why he was whispering or felt the need to tell him about something Sol was actively checking out. Not that Senin may notice the quiet things that went on in the background with Sol. Most didn't anyway, so he didn't feel bothered by it. Instead, he turned back to the water with furrowed brows, trying to figure out what exactly it was. Repeated attacks were an odd behavior from a predatory species except in certain circumstances, generally speaking.

Soleil kept to the trees, jerking his head for the other acolyte to follow before hopping to the next one, following the shape along the water. He paused in place as it surfaced for a moment, revealing the scaled back of a dragonsnake. Sol's eyes practically sparkled at the sight in spite of the obvious danger and, gleefully, hopped to the next tree. He fully intended to follow it wherever it was going.

@LouJoVi

 

[Senin Ravelo]

When Soleil turned to stare at him, Senin felt a bit uncomfortable. He wondered if had said something stupid for the other to react this way. Perhaps the other Acolyte didn’t expect that he would say something about the scene happening in front of them. With the other being mute, maybe he didn’t like to have conversations with those that don’t understand sign language.

He watched the other Acolyte ignore his warnings about the creature and continue where he was, watching the figure move on the water. The G’wenee thought that Soleil was crazy. A creature of this planet was constantly attacking the workers and staying in plain sight would turn them into a target. In Senin's opinion the two should find a safe place to see what was hiding inside the water.

However, beside his best judgment, Senin decided to stay beside Soleil and watch the creature. If the thing decided to attack both of them, he was certain that he could defend himself by using his lightsaber. Maybe even using the other Acolyte to distract it while the G’weneen moved against it.

Then, Senin saw Soleil gesture that he wanted to be followed. Senin looked up to the tree where the other Acolyte was and sighed. He didn’t expect that he was going to end up needing to climb. When the teen started to move away to another tree, the G’weneen decided to finally go after him. Using the Force, the red-haired jumped to a branch.

While he moved from branch to branch after Soleil, Senin noticed when part of the creature emerged from the water. By its scales, it could only be a dragonsnake. The G’weneen wondered if it was responsible for the attacks. The other Acolyte had started to move again, following the animal. Without any choice, he went after him.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol kept up with the swimming animal, confident he was high and away enough to avoid it if it decided to get snappy. So far, the dragonsnake either hadn't noticed them or just didn't care. Both were possible with such a large predator. Its size and apex status also made it easy to track; even swamp slugs rarely bothered them despite being larger.

In fact, from what Sol read and observed, dragonsnakes weren't considered territorial. They were ambush predators, not active hunters. Repeated attacks were strange and, like any puzzle or mystery, Soleil wanted to find out why they happened. So he followed the snake's path from tree to tree for some time, obviously not speaking the entire journey.

He stopped after at least ten minutes of travel and tracking when the dragonsnake did, settling itself in a river fork, hidden in the murky water with only its eyes barely visible. Soleil turned to check if Senin'd kept up, gestured toward his own eyes and jerked his head toward the water-hidden beast. He offered Senin some sour-sweet bubblegum and popped one into his own mouth for the wait, chewing it thoughtfully while they waited.

Soleil hardly moved until some local animal approached the water's edge to drink. Water exploded outward as the dragonsnake shot up to grab it, almost missing entirely but snatching a leg. Much violence followed, ending with the leg torn free as the animal tried to flee, dragging itself further from the shore before collapsing. The dragonsnake slowly dragged itself from the water and Soleil leaned forward to get a good look.

It was at least five meters long from snout to tail, large even for its own kind. Its abdomen was also visibly engorged as if it'd already eaten recently, and yet it feasted freely on the animal it'd just killed. Soleil excitedly wrote some notes in his notebook.

@LouJoVi

 

[Senin Ravelo]

Senin continued following Sol. The boy was still moving through the branches, while maintaining all his attention at the dragonsnake that was swimming nearby. The Gw’eneen wondered if the other Acolyte suspected that this creature was behind the attacks against the workers.

He wasn’t a specialist in Xenobiology, being far more interested in mythology and archaeology. However, Senin still remembers of having seen somewhere that the dragonsnakes were one of the greatest predators of Dagobah. Maybe this one decided that the workers were an easy snack. If it was the case, they only needed to kill the animal and all their problems would be solved.

After following Sol for some time, Senin finally saw the other Acolyte stop and gesture to him to look at the water. When he did it, the G’weneen saw that the animal had also stopped moving and was now hidding near a river fork. The red-haired jumped to a branch near where the boy was, this way he could have a better vision of the creature.

While it was still hiding underwater, Senin could occasionally see its form in the murky water. The position that the creature adopted reminded him of how some yacare from G’wenee would stay close to the shores of rivers, waiting to jump over some animal that had approached to drink.

“Thanks.” Senin whispered, before picking the bubblegun that Sol had offered to him. While he chewed it, the G’weneen watched the dragonsnake attack and kill an animal that had approached the water. It confirmed his theory that this creature hunted like a yacare, using an ambush to surprise the prey.

With his prey dead, the predator moved out of the water to take it. Senin noticed that Sol was watching the scene, while writing in a notebook. He wondered if it was regarding their mission. “Do you think that this creature is behind the attacks on the workers?” he whispered, before turning back to look at the dragonsnake. “Although, it didn’t seem interested in us when we were near the swamp.”

@Mr. Teatime