Through my Passion is Borne my Strength

[GABA]

She was very glad the Sith did not laugh at her, she was positive she probably would have tried to punch him, or throw something at him at the very least. Nevertheless, she walked over to where he stood, he moved some branches and without turning to her he had wiped his hand on her face and neck picking up the mud. A quizzical look overtook her feature only to be quickly overcome with a look of frustration in reaction to his comment.

She thought she felt a nerve twitch under her eye and exhaled loudly watching Thaed take a seat beneath the shelter, biting her lip refusing herself to say anything. Ebb crouched down and looked inside, the Sith had pointed to a spot beneath the shelter where there was a leak. She shook her head climbing inside and carefully shifted the branch and leaves directing the dripping away from her before settling down herself, in her opinion still too close to the Sith.

Ebb glanced at Thaed, who had bunched his robes and now was relaxing, but kept her mouth shut. She stared out into the wilderness, her eyes refocusing and focusing back and forth between plant life and rain drops as her mind picked thoughts and pushed them away. Ebberla closed her eyes and before she had opened them again, she was asleep. Her body relaxed, and slumped against Thaed.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed hadn't drifted that deeply into sleep in years. His body was exhausted, and it wasn't from battle. It was from hunger. However, he still dreamed. The Force allowed him to be aware, but the rhythmic drops of rain quickly lulled him into a deep sleep. He remained as such till the next morning. He felt a body next to his and reached out, grinning in his sleep. It wasn't unlike many mornings he had woken up next to a woman. Usually they were naked, but this one was clothed. He didn't mind. He could go for round...whatever number they had left off on. Truth be told, he couldn't remember, but he was happy nonetheless. He sleepily reached over and groped the woman's breast, muttering gently against the back of her neck. His voice was soft and possessed a velvety quality, very unlike what he normally sounded like.

"So..how much do I pay you for a morning quickie? You gotta give me a deal..I'm a regular customer.."

 

[GABA]

Ebberla's eyes popped open, the dream that she was absorbed in had completely faded, someone was touching her quite unfavorably. Her fist came up with amazing speed clocking the Zabrak right beneath his jaw. She pushed his hand off of her and quickly climbed out of the shelter. "GET UP!" she hollered at him and looked around, whispering under her breath a string of swears in multiple languages.

The sun had passed risen, now high in the sky, the temperature finally taking affect on her body, beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She wiped them away with her arm, then examined the muddy mess she had acquired herself the night before. She shook her head, still frustrated and disgusted, there was sudden rumble from her stomach reminding her when the last time she ate.

 

[Sreeya]

Blinding pain. That was all that Thaed knew. He jerked back, snatching the wrist and twisting it immediately. Instinct had taken over by then, even before he was fully aware of what was happening. It was the result of conditioning as a warrior for his entire life. Thaed had her pinned, and was immediately alert. He simply glared down at her, running his tongue along all his teeth to ensure they were intact. If they weren't she would be dead. Thankfully, it had been little more than numbing pain. Thaed quietly withdrew from her.

"Bitch, don't tell me what to do."

He spat the words as he got to his feet either way. His mood was horribly ruined. He rubbed his jaw, staring all around him. The morning granted them the mercy of cooler weather. Thaed reached for his comm, once again attempting to find a signal. He could reach out with the Force, but it would be a massive blow to his pride to inform anyone of the situation. Thaed grabbed his robes, deciding that they made a great pillow.

"We need to find food. Thanks to your hysterical self, you most likely scared everything off."

He walked past her, anger swelling within him. He liked it much better when he had mistaken her for a prostitute. Admittedly, copping a feel hadn't been so bad. A lewd grin graced his features, one she wouldn't see. Suddenly he wasn't so angry anymore. Totally worth it.

 

[GABA]

He caught her wrist and forced her body to twist in order to minimize the sudden disarming pain. Her eyes narrowed with stinging hate and anger and cursed at him unintelligibly. She followed him out of the shelter, brushing the leaves and dirt off the back of her shirt and pants, as well as examining the mud that decorated the front of her from the night before. It only made her more agitated recalling what had happened last night, building atop of disgust and current frustration.

Her stomach growled loudly as he spoke about finding food and she frowned. “Right. Food.” She mumbled looking around, “I don’t know how to hunt. I used to steal.” Ebberla looked up into the trees, sunlight trickling down, she saw nothing, but she was sure she did scare off all the animals in this area.

 

[Sreeya]

"You are utterly useless in every way possible."

Thaed didn't look at her as he spoke. He knew she would slow him down. Without the Force, she was simply a regular human being, and not aware of everything around her. She wasn't aware of every subtle noise she was making, and it was enough to scare animals from miles away. Thaed held up a hand in front of her.

"You. Stand there. Don't move a muscle. I'll be back....maybe."

With a grin, he walked backwards. Without warning, he backflipped and sprang into the air, spinning to land on the branch of a tree in a crouch. From there, he jumped once more, and again, till he had disappeared from sight. Every movement was precise and methodical. He made no noise as he moved, as if he were as light as a feather. He was gone for quite some time, leaving Ebberla alone to bask in the glaring sun and the horrible bugs.

After a while, a figure abruptly dropped behind Ebberla. It would no doubt scare her shitless, but he was completely fine with that. He casually strode around her, tossing a deer to the ground. Its neck had been broken, but at that moment it simply looked edible. Thaed gathered some branches and tossed them down. Afterwards, a streak of lightning escaped his hand, lighting the wood on fire.

"See? Being a Sith has many uses."

He crossed his arms and scowled at Ebberla as usual.

"Do your job and cook this, woman."

With that, he yawned and stretched, jumping onto a branch to relax.

 

[GABA]

“I am not your tool.” snapped Ebberla pausing in front of Thaed’s hand, ordering her not to move with that stupid grin she had come to hate. The Zabrak backed up and leaped into the trees, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he did leave her and it struck her as odd if she was so useless, then why did continue to babysit her?

Ebberla shrugged at her own thought, the bugs were back to buzzing, she heard the song of birds in the tree tops above. The sun was growing hotter and she could feel the sweat bead on her body, she looked around, walking in a small circle, her hand brushing against her blaster. She felt a pain in her side as she had taken a deep breath in. Ebberla pulled out another bacta pen and sat down injecting the medicine into her thigh. She tossed away the auto-injector, and there was a twig snap, she quickly jumped to her feet, blaster out, but her eyes and ears would not pick up anything.

After assuming it was safe out she sat back down; the Corellian released the power-pack on the blaster, examining it and the blaster-barrel for mud or dirt before she put it back together. The Sith had been gone for a while, and she smirked, he probably did leave her, but just as quickly the thought came to mind, a figure dropped down behind her.

The Corellian somersaulted to her feet, blaster out, safety off and pointed at the Zabrak. Realizing who it is was, her heartbeat slowed and she holstered her weapon, and examined the dead animal he carried on his back before throwing it to the ground. “Welcome back.” She said with sarcasm and watched Thaed gather some branches and then ignite it with his force lightning; Ebb nearly jumped back several feet, instinct telling her not to get caught in the lightning’s tangle whether or not it was for her or the branches it was intended for.

Thaed then crossed his arms, he was scowling at her again, “Now what?” she asked him wondering what she did wrong this time.

Do your job and cook this, woman.

Ebb looked at him with disbelief and annoyance, and then shook her head, her hand firmly placed on her hip, “First, my name is Ebberla, not woman. Second, just because I am a woman doesn’t mean I know how to cook. And third,” she looked at the carcass, her stomach rumbling again, “how do you cook that?”

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed lazily swung a leg back and forth off the branch. He grimaced at Ebberla's words. At that point, he was truly beginning to wonder if she had any uses other than providing an acceptable body pillow. He looked down at her, deciding that it was time to teach her some survival skills. He reached into the belt on his waist, tossing down a saber hilt that would float to her hand via the Force.

"First, take the lower legs off. Then, start at the neck. Anchor the hide and yank it down, unzipping it. You have to skin the damn thing before you can cook it."

He cracked open an eye to watch with amusement. Skinning was a gruesome affair, and one she wouldn't enjoy in the least. If she wanted to eat, however, her best bet was to get elbows deep in the mess.

 

[GABA]

Ebberla looked at the Zabrak and then back at the carcass, letting out a small sigh and scratched her head in thought. The shine of his lightsaber hilt caught her eye and she grabbed it from the air as he explained what she needed to do. The Corellian frowned as she gripped the hilt, she had expected to feel something from it, but it was cold and quiet. Nothing like she had felt the last time she held his lightsaber on Ossus.

Nevertheless, though Ebb didn’t have the Force she still knew how it worked. She adjusted the length and strength of the blade and made sure when she did turn it on, it faced away from her. The woman walked up to the carcass and took a deep breath, she examined her tool, and then the animal, and finally she smiled, “Like an autopsy!” she shot a look at the Zabrak, “Except we’re dismembering the body… However, no hindlegs, remove the skin, what else do I need to take out or remove?” she asked him.

The past few years, Ebberla had picked up great interest in healing; not only had she learned to heal in the Force, but had also taken the time to work with doctors on patients that visited the healing halls on Empress Teta. Ebb made a precise cuts, the blade not hot enough to cauterize the skin, letting the blood flow from the open wound. She was finding this difficult with only one hand, but she kept to it, slow, but successful, not bothered at all by what some may think was grisly.

The back legs removed, she begun to skin the animal, cutting neatly down the animal, peeling back the outer coat of the carcass. She occasionally nicked into the flesh, but shrugged it off, her mind focused on the task, desensitized by what she saw before her. It was some time later before she had completely skinned the animal.

 

[Sreeya]

In a short amount of time, the deer was ready to cook. Thaed took over the roasting, making sure the meat was juicy and tender. He was very knowledgeable when it came to survival tactics, especially as he often put his acolytes through it. Having been hungry for days meant that the two finished off most of the best portions of the deer. Thaed poked the small fire, staring into it with amusement clear in his eyes.

"Curious thing about fires.."

He prodded it again with a stick.

"Its got this knack for attracting all sorts of unwanted attention. It makes you stick out like a sore thumb and sets you up to die in unfamiliar territory. It does make for some delicious meat though."

Thaed pulled the stick back, a cube of roasted meat on it. He popped it into his mouth, despite being well fed already. He was simply indulging himself at this point.

 

[GABA]

Thaed had come down from his tree branch and took over the skewing and cooking of the deer. Ebb was glad for she had cut into a major blood vessel and now sat once more, her clothes covered in another creature’s blood. She watched the Sith carefully, making notes to herself to how the Zabrak did things.

Ebberla was nearly drooling by the time the deer was ready to eat, it had been weeks since she had real food; having eaten rations days prior to Ossus and then the goop they had given her while she sat in a Sith holding cell, the deer was luxury for her. Ebb felt as stuffed as a Hutt by the time she decided she had enough. Thaed poked at the fire, also enjoying his meal.

She narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow at his comment, “Then why did you start one?” she asked him, “Maybe you should have just zapped it with your lightning, you…” Ebb’s sentence trailed off, she leaned slightly to her left, looking behind Thaed. Something had moved in the tree line, catching the woman’s eye. Though she did not have the Force to tell her of impending danger, Ebb could feel something was not right. The air went suddenly silent, no birds, nor bugs, even the wind went still, “Zabrak…”

With a screech and a charge, the brown six-legged mass came barreling into their camp. The Acklay had decided the silver Zabrak would be its meal, lunging its toothy jaws at the Sith Lord. Ebberla jumped to her feet, blaster out and took a shot at beast. It turned to her letting out another deafening screech, angry at the act she had just committed to divert it from its meal. The animal changed its mind, charging to the Corellian instead.

 

[Sreeya]

"Because.."

Thaed spoke between bites.

"..Now that we're fed, there's no reason not to have some fun with the locals."

He had sensed the Acklay for some time now, but was rather unconcerned. He knew that for Ebberla, however, this would be a challenge. As the Acklay rushed towards him, he expertly jumped on top of a tree branch. He was instantly out of reach. Thaed maintained his balance, standing on the narrow branch as if he would on ground. He spoke to Ebberla through the Force.

"This is your chance to test your strengths without the crutch of the Force. I want you to focus. Focus on emotions. They are your natural weapons. Draw from them. Do not think about the Force. Do not think about Jedi or Sith. Draw from that pool and channel it. Use it."

The Acklay raised one of its front legs, revealing its belly in the process as it moved to slam down on her. Ebberla would still have Thaed's saber. He watched closely, and would jump in as needed. However, this would be her fight.

 

[GABA]

Ebberla leaped backwards as the Acklay speared down its front leg where she stood only moments earlier. Thaed had jumped into the trees, his words rung in her head, the beast made for another lunge at Ebb, attempting to snap at her torso. She released a series of blaster fire at his skull backing up, the Acklay lowered his head, absorbing the shots in his armored crown.

She had no one or anything to rely on, no Jedi, no Sith, no Force, it was just herself and she knew what she wanted. Doubts tried their best to leach into thoughts, whether or not she should look for another way to eliminate the threat before her. But that would have taken time, time she didn’t have. Ambition to destroy the creature became her focus.

The Acklay kept on the Corellian. Ebb jumped over a large root moving behind a tree, the beast went the other way cutting her off. It rose onto its hind legs, tearing the air with another screech causing Ebberla to blink wildly to rid of the sudden burst of colors obscuring her vision. She dodged clumsily from the Acklay’s teeth and fired another shot, except the second shot didn’t fire.

Ebberla cursed, the Acklay tried impale her again, its leg stabbing into the tree behind her, sending a rain of splinters. The woman jumped back over the root and made her way back to the camp, she held her useless blaster under her arm picking up a stick and snapping it in half before positioning it to hold down the trigger. The power-pack begun overheating.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed simply watched, curious as to why she hadn't even attempted to use the saber. Regardless, he assumed she knew what she was doing, even though it did not look like it. The Zabrak remained standing on a branch, following the acklay's movements, along with Ebberla's. His hand hovered near the multiple saber hilts clipped onto his waist, but his fingers did not grasp a single one. This would be her game, no matter how difficult it was.

The Acklay had its leg stuck from impaling the tree, and it tried to wriggle it free. Meanwhile, this gave Ebberla a chance to duck away to fiddle with the blaster. After seconds, the Acklay finally yanked its foot out, which was now slightly injured. This enraged the beast and it gave a loud screech that would echo throughout the entire swamp. The Acklay stomped back towards Ebberla at full speed, bringing both legs up to slam down on her.

Thaed wondered if this would be the end of her. He couldn't see what she was doing, but he guessed she wasn't doing so well. For odd reasons, he wanted to step in to take care of the Acklay himself. However, that was when the Sith Lord side of him emerged within his mind. The Empress wanted this woman trained, not rescued every time she was in trouble. And so he would observe.

 

[GABA]

The blaster was heating quickly as Ebberla had hoped. The beast had announced its freedom and charged at the woman, who let out a huff of frustration as its scream interrupted her vision once more, giving the swamp a violet hue. The beast was within meters from her, raising its front claws in another attempt to impale her. She took a large leap backwards as its claws stabbed the earth before her feet. The blaster’s power pack begun sparking and she threw it at the beast. However, the acklay had raised its spear like ligaments again, sending the blaster off its trajectory and knocking clear into the swamp behind them.

Ebberla’s jaw fell agape as she dodged another spearing from the six-legged creature. She was in disbelief to what had happened in more as to how the odds were for something like that to occur. In the calm that would naturally follow to an unintentional surprise, she was felt something else burn inside her. The woman felt the urge to push it away until a later time, however, another part of her wanted to use it, like a fuel.

The acklay snapped at her numerous times, but she kept dodging and knew she couldn’t keep this up forever. She was going to wear herself out and what were the chances she slips up and finds herself impaled by its front claw? Ebberla released the lightsaber hilt from her belt, her thumb sliding over the button igniting the crimson blade to its full potential. The hilt was heavy in her grasp and yet she still didn’t feel anything from it, no ominous whispers or twisted voids, just a cold piece of metallic piping.

The beast seemed to back off from seeing her ignite the weapon, but it was short lived, letting another ear-piercing screech. Ebberla didn’t wait, she pulled on the burn she felt inside her: the frustration to the failed explosive blaster, the Sith who sat in the tree above her, the stupid animal that was trying to eat her, and overall being in this swamp agitated her greatly.

Ebberla pulled on her anger as it empowered her actions as she backhanded the blade through the acklay’s leg. The creature cried out in pain as it loss balance and lunged its jaws at Ebb. She hopped back, the beast missing; it tried rising up on its disabled limb, but Ebberla sliced off the other leg, a small smile cracked on her face.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed could feel the emotions roiling within Ebberla, the anger and hatred that pulsated angrily. The realization made him grin, though she wouldn't be able to identify it any more than human emotion. She had little idea of what she was doing, though she was channeling her anger as the Sith were taught. Thaed watched as the lightsaber sliced through the creature's leg. Suddenly it fell forward, helplessly waving its remaining limbs about in every direction. It attempted to bite at Ebberla, letting out a shrill screech. Thaed said nothing for a moment, crossing his arms. At last, he finally spoke, his voice flowing into her mind. He carefully weaved through all the emotions within her, careful not to interrupt it. She was finally thinking how his Empress wanted her to think, finally being molded into what she wanted the former councilor to be. Thaed's voice was nothing more than a whisper.

"Finish it. Now."

The creature rolled around and began to rise again. It opened its jaws and tried to inch closer to Ebberla, leaving its mouth wide open. Thaed knew one more well placed hit would destroy it, and she would have the kill.

 

[GABA]

The creature flailed, unable to push itself up, snapping at Ebberla in its last attempts rid of her. Ebb didn’t move, letting the acklay draw itself closer to herself, her emotions still pulsating through her body. It gave her the strength to continue, to push on, to finish the beast. Her eyes narrowed with concentration and focus as she raised her blade. A faint whisper touched her mind and she answered with action.

The acklay found its footing awkwardly, practically pushing its front half towards the human. It lunge its head at Ebberla, its mouth wide open, allowing her to thrust the crimson blade through the roof of its mouth. The creature roared its last before it succumbed to its death and Ebberla wrenched out the blade. The animal slumped to the ground, the head landing with a thump before her feet.

She looked down at the dead acklay and extinguished the blade, she whispered in Old Corellian, cursing the animal. Ebberla then looked back up into the trees where Thaed had observed.

“Can we get out of this kriffing swamp now?” Ebberla snapped at him, her anger still pumping through her.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed could feel the anger radiating from Ebberla. It pulsated and grew like a taint in the Force, and he relished it. It was the most intoxicating scent to a predator, and he drew it in, letting it flow into him. Ebberla had no idea that she had such an effect. He was shaken out of his trance as she spoke. Thaed could only grin, jumping off the branch and gracefully landing on his feet.

"Felt good, didn't it?"

He didn't wait for an answer, hauling the rest of the deer over his shoulder. The animal would last them for a bit longer before it was completely done. Thaed looked walked deeper into the swamp, letting his ears guide him.

"We're looking for running water. That will lead us towards an exit. It's the still, dead water that marks the swamp. None of this water can be drunk, and that'll kill us faster than starving."

The thought made him uncomfortable, but he knew Ebberla would die faster without the aid of the Force to slow down body functions. For now, they could do little other than venture ahead, hoping that nothing attacked.

 

[GABA]

That grin he sported was different from the other ones she had seen and was taken aback to his response. Having been so used to his scowls and calling her useless, she thought she felt a spark of pride pop inside her. She looked back at the dead acklay as Thaed removed the res t of the cooked dear from the camp. Ebb sported a small smile, she had just taken down an acklay single handed, literally, and without the aid of the Force, that had to give for something. Her pride though was short lived suddenly realizing how she took down the animal. An immense wave of guilt washed over her.

She felt her stomach drop with the thought of not what she had done, but how she had done it. She looked at the Sith’s lightsaber hilt and Thaed had mentioned something about water. Ebberla quickly pushed the thoughts out of her head, recalling her mind was an open book; the last thing she need was him to say something about her thoughts.

“Where did you find the deer?” she asked him walking beside the Sith as they continued on, “They wouldn’t stick around in a place like this, it’s a trap for prey.” Ebberla explained.

 

[Sreeya]

"It was injured and left behind. I'm already taking us in that general direction, but unfortunately it doesn't give us much to work off of."

He continued walking.

"Also, I have terrible news."

Thaed tilted his head to look at her.

"I dumped out the whiskey to make room for rain water."

He knew the words would have a devastating effect on her, but he kept his face devoid of emotions. Thaed looked ahead again, reaching out with the Force to feel any life forms nearby. He couldn't feel anything substantial, which was frustrating. Once again, he had to bat away at mosquitoes and other bugs that swarmed around him.

"When I was first brought to the Sith, my master had me surviving alone in the wild for months. I was an inch away from death, till I could rely on nothing but my emotions and the strength they brought. They're rather useful in clutch situations. Even you cannot deny that, Miss Councilor."