Private Tales The March of Progress

[Ahsoka]

Ahsoka would always trust her gut.

From in front of them suddenly burst a creature that looked like a jaguar except its body appeared to be made of an odd black tar. It dripped onto the earth where it spat and hissed, killing grass, flowers and fallen leaves. It snarled a horrible noise in their direction and begun to prowl towards them. The dripping tar followed. The Tsa'lagi backed up to put more space between them but the jaguar kept advancing.

"Maybe... it's not creatures coming out," she said. "Maybe it's something possessing the animals here, mutating them."

 

[Vass]

Vass brandished his sword, flickering the blade. "Well."

The Mercenary glanced briefly at the not-elf, a frown drawing over his lips. The creature was slowly stalking towards them, each step seeming to be a little more threatening than the last.

"I don't think it really matters right now." His gaze drew back towards the beast. "Not if it's going to at-"

Before Vass could finish the creature suddenly jumped and hurtled towards them.

With an impressive speed, the Mercenary dashed half to the side, his sword flickering high and then low in two quick cuts. The blade darted through the Jaguars flesh, cutting and spewing out not blood...but instead that odd black tar.

It crashed onto the jungle floor with a sudden thud, as though it were heavier than it should have been.

 

[Ahsoka]

Ahsoka stepped in the opposite direction to Vass so he would not have to worry about hitting her with his blade when the Jaguar passed between them. Despite the excellent hit and with its... insides spewing out onto the forest floor, the jaguar rose to its paws once more and turned, snarling, towards them.

"Fascinating," she murmured, her eyes tracing the black gunge. Where it had fallen it begun to inch its way back towards the main host as though it were sentient itself. The Jaguar prowled forward again with a lot more murderous intent in its red eyes now.

 

[Vass]

"I would more say." Vass began to take a few steps backwards, looking over his shoulder to make sure there was a path he could actually step upon. "Concerning."

Sure, it was interesting, sure he might have even thought so himself.

But there was an overarching problem that this thing was very clearly trying to kill them. It was a fact that Vass was not at all impressed with. In fact it was one that he would have preferred not to think about at all. Not in that moment.

His fingers tightened on his sword. "We should go."

He told Ahsoka firmly.

"Like, now." The sword raised once again, the Jaguar continuing to prowl forward with slow steps.

 

[Ahsoka]

But where would they go? Back to the city? It was likely to just follow their scents no matter which way Ahsoka weaved their path. The creature needed to die but the blade did not seem to be working. When she thought back to the chaos of the other monster too she wondered if it hadn't been her arrow that had hurt it but...

"The sun," she breathed, glancing up at the thicket of leaves above their head which blocked any ray of light from reaching them. "It doesn't like the sun," which made sense considering where she thought it had crawled from. Ahsoka grabbed his hand without thinking. "This way!" She took off at a sprint.

The jaguar gave chase.

Ahsoka crashed through the jungle thicket, consciously making the decision to go further away from the city than towards it, but to one of the higher spots where the sun would still be touching the ground at the late hour. Trees begun to give way and soon the pair burst into the open. Sure enough when the jaguar burst into the opening behind them it suddenly screamed and writhed, steam coming off its blackened hide.

 

[Vass]

Vass ran as fast as he possibly could, which was notably slower than Ahsoka.

He had to assume that she was slowing herself down, or perhaps avoiding the tree branches that seemed to be striking him. He rushed as quickly as he could, steps pounding into the ground over and over. His eyes darted not towards what was ahead, but to the floor.

The Mercenary watched for roots, branches, stones. Anything and everything that he could potentially trip over.

He knew one faulty step, one little slip, and the beast behind them would jump on him and practically eviscerate his throat. Vass ran, and ran, and ran. His fingers tight on his sword until they finally burst out into the sunlight.

As they jumped into the clearing, the beast followed.

It screeched and howled, and Vass half turned to look back towards it as it quite literally began to nearly melt. The wounds he had opened up on it’s body untwisted themselves, and that odd brackish liquid spilled onto the floor. ”What in the fuck.”

Vass said, practically dry heaving from lack of breath.

 

[Ahsoka]

"What in the... Oh," she murmured under her breath until her mind dug up the translation that explained the context. The literal translation of the word fuck had seemed a little odd in the context of what had happened here, and it had been a good century since she had heard a human use it in the same way Vass had done. She shook her head in amusement.

"Here," Ahsoka said casually as she undid a waterskin from her hip and passed it to him, patting him on the back after to help with the dry heaving. "You sound like my grandmothers goat," which was not good because soon after the goat had made such a noise it had died. Her eyes panned back to the now dying jaguar. The dark, odd substance leaked back into the earth of fled in small droplets back towards the shade of the jungle.

"I have to tell the Elders."

 

[Vass]

Vass took the drink, though still half stared at the Jaguar.

It was as though the wounds he had dealt to it earlier finally took root. The three cuts enough to kill the beast without that strange black tar. He frowned for a moment, trying to puzzle out in his head what in the hell had happened.

The Commander would know better. "Thanks."

Vass said as he finally took that drink.

"I'm guessing this isn't exactly ordinary." He said with a slight frown, glancing at the sword which was now entirely bereft of that odd black substance. As though it had cleaned itself form the blade and made back towards the jungle too.

 

[Ahsoka]

"No."

Vass, the understater. That is what her people would call him. Of course he wouldn't know the meaning in their own tongue but it would be a private joke amongst the clans people, one she thought more than a few would find amusing.

"Definitely not normal, let's get out of here before it gets too dark," she wanted to warn her people before nightfall. They would need to set up torches and pray that the light of the flame would keep the monsters at bay as the sunlight did.

 

[Vass]

Nightfall.

Shit, he hadn't even really considered that. It was clear that whatever this...creature, thing, goo, was, it didn't enjoy the sunlight. Once night struck it was very likely that it could roam much further than the edges of the Jungle.

"Right." Vass said with a nod. "Let's get going then."

He kicked his heel and turned, glancing towards Ahsoka. "Which way is that again?"

Curiously, he did not put away his sword. One run in was a coincidence, two? Well, that was more than just chance. If another one of those beasts appeared, Vass intended to be prepared for a fight. He was not going to bet caught off guard.

Not again.

 

[Ahsoka]

Despite the situation, Ahsoka rolled her eyes up towards the Ancestors again in despair for her plight.

"How do humans survive?" she muttered in common so he would understand, before clicking her tongue and turning in a seemingly random direction - random, for the group of trees she headed for looked no different to the other hundred groups of trees - before setting off with a confidence of a person who had grown up in these lands.

Like Vass, Ahsoka didn't put her weapons away. The arrow stayed in a casual half knock the entire walk but they were fortunate enough not to come across any other monsters of the kind. When they returned it was to a city not bedding down for the night but gearing up for a celebration it seemed. Great fires had been lit that bathed the whole place in light, and music was already beginning at one end of the camp and others soon joined its siren call.

"Ahsoka!" a female Tsi'lagi approached the pair, casting curious glances at Vass. "Where have you been? Elder Thormak has announced the betrothal of his daughter! We are to celebrate!" Ahsoka translated for Vass roughly before tilting her head at her friend.

"I need to talk to the Elders, where are they?"

 

[Vass]

"Determination and guts." Vass had the answer ready before Ahsoka even asked the question.

There was certainly an argument to be made for the quality of his species. Humans were reckless, stupid, and outright dangerous. Yet they had a quality that many others simply seemed to lack; determination. It was that which drove them constantly forward.

Elves were patient. Dwarves were stalwart. Orcs were strong.

Humans? Human simply seemed to be just dumb enough to do whatever drove them forward as a species. There was a reason they had so many cities in the glove. A reason that they were so common. Even if few wanted to admit it.

By the time they were back at the camp Vass was practically ragged. "Hooray."

He said quietly as Ahsoka translated for him.

Aparty." Vass wiped sweat from his brow. "I hope...there's something to drink."

The Mercenary said, still trying to catch his breath from the pace Ahsoka had set.

 

[Ahsoka]

"What? Oh," Ahsoka had moved through the forest with single-minded focus, her intent to get back and report what they had found before the sun went down. She hadn't really stopped to think her way of scaling a forest wasn't suited to the man dogging her shadow. Now she thought of it though, she was mildly impressed he had actually kept up with her. Her lips twitched.

"Why don't you go sit down for a bit, soak up the culture," she patted his back gently and then gave him an encouraging shove towards the woman she had just been talking with. "This is Dyani, Dyani this is Vass - could you watch him for me? Get him a drink?"

Her eyes ran over Vass slowly before her head cocked to the side and she smiled.

"Of course."

 

[Vass]

"Hello Dyani." Vass said, about as ragged as any man could be. His clothes were slick with sweat, his hair damp, and he felt as though he were about to collapse on the ground and be done with...well probably life in general.

He took in a long breath as the other elf guided him towards the festivities.

It seemed a rather odd time to have a party, given that there was an army about to come wipe them out, but perhaps it was the people's way of coping. He could understand that. Joy was hard to find during times like this.

Best to take advantage when you could.

Dyani brought him a skin of water, Vass greedily guzzling it down. "Kress."

He swore quietly, collecting himself finally.

"So there's a marriage?" Vass asked curiously.

 

[Ahsoka]

Dyani had her head cocked to one side as she watched him down the waterskin as though he had been dying of thirst. Knowing her friend, she probably hadn't made sure her human was watered correctly and she quietly tsked under her breath. She took the skin from him and then replaced it with enough.

"You must sip slowly, or you will make yourself sick," she chided and then put a hand on his back to begin guiding him towards the heart of the festivities. Whilst they walked - slowly - she begun to explain. "There will be one, yes, this is the celebration of the announcement. Many of us have waited a long time for it," she found them seats on plush, large cushions that could have easily accommodated two people.

"This marriage brings together our clan and another clan - it is the first in many many moons."

 

[Vass]

Vass looked up at the woman. "I'm pretty sure I'm already going to be sick."

The human commented, patting his stomach gently.

Before he and Ahsoka had gone onto their adventure he'd eaten enough for two meals. A fact that...well he'd mostly forgotten about in all the terror. Now that the adrenaline was swinging away he could feel the roil of food, water, and whatever the fuck else.

His head shook, and he took in a deep breath as the two of them began to make their way through the camp.

"Hell of a time for a wedding." Vass mused out loud. "Or the celebration of one even."

He glanced around. "Though I guess sometimes you have to take the good with the bad."

 

[Ahsoka]

Dyani tilted her head to the side causing the soft waves of her hair to all fall into her lap. She seemed to be taking her time in deciphering his words before the flicker of understanding lit her eyes and she laughed. A man with a tray of food came past but paused to offer them a bowl. Dyani took it and set it between them; it was full of freshly caught shellfish.

"If we stopped living when something bad happened, our live would be lived constantly in fear," she explained in her soft and lilting tone that seemed to accentuate the music being played. "You humans are so..." she seemed to struggle for the word. "Impassioned all the time. Like a fire. It is tiring for someone who lives a long time. Sad," her eyes grew sympathetic.

 

[Vass]

Vass chuckled, not because he was making fun of her, not in the least. This was simply a conversation that he'd had half a dozen times. Oddly enough, humans were the minority in the Red Hundred. Most of them were something more...well durable.

The humans within the company didn't tend to last long. It was either because they died, or they retired. That was the way of things, he'd been told. "We live shorter lives."

He told her.

"So we have to have our passions faster." Vass was no scholar, but the logic always made sense to him. "If we were as calm as those with long lives...well, we'd never do much at all, would we?"

The mercenary shrugged his shoulder. "Impulses aren't all bad. Lead me here after all."

He argued.

 

[Ahsoka]

Dyani gave a small, distant smile.

"Some might not think that is a good thing."

It was hard to tell whether she was talking about the glanced cast in his direction which were not all friendly, or the fact that his path had led him into a warzone. Either way she seemed disinterested in the topic for she rolled onto her elbows and engrossed herself in the dancing and music instead. It was a good hour later before Ahsoka returned looking more than a little haggard and threw herself onto the cushion beside her friend.

"It appears this wedding is to do with you," she said as she plucked a mug from a tray as it went past. "The tribes are joining up, and the Elders will meet with your General tomorrow."

 

[Vass]

"Well it's about the only thing we got goin for us." Vass pointed out, though decided that elaborating further would probably not work out too well for him.

He was a mercenary, not a philosopher or anything of the sort.

It was hardly something he was in a place to argue about. Even among humans he was young. What in the hell else was he going to add to the conversation? All he could really talk about was...well what he had come to understand.

The Red Hundred were often slow to move, slow to decide. Unless pressed.

When Ahsoka came back Vass was sitting back. They had been talking about this or that, changing the subject every now and again to something a bit more interesting. "Me?"

He mused.

"Didn't know I was getting married." Vass mused jokingly, though then added. "But I guess that's good."

It was what he'd hoped for after all.

 

[Ahsoka]

"Maybe," Ahsoka didn't look too convinced. The tribes hadn't united in millennia for good reason. Each one had its own unique identity that wouldn't bend towards the other. By the Elder promising his daughter to the son of the rival tribes Elder... that was a sign of bending. Of needing to bend. They were worried. Of course they tried not to let it show but she had seen it there in their eyes crawling behind the façade.

They didn't think the talks were going to work.

"I am surprised you are not up dancing," she said, switching topics, and lounging back in her seat with an amused smile. "Nobody taken your fancy in asking?"

 

[Vass]

Vass scoffed. "Dance?"

His head shook.

"We climbed down half a cliff, swam in a raging river, than hiked ten miles." It was remarkable how accurate he was with describing it all, even the distance. There were a few hundred feet give or take, but it was close enough to what they had actually done.

"I'm ready to go to sleep." The Mercenary said with a shake of his head. "Much less dance."

He was only human after all. "We humans are very fragile, remember?"

That was more mocking than serious.

 

[Ahsoka]

Ahsoka laughed but she had to admit that she was tired too. Only that morning she had been bound and waking from a deep unconscious state that hadn't been restful due to its forced nature. A part of her was disappointed because she wanted to join in the festivities for such a historic occasion. At least this way she was able to use Vass as an excuse. Rolling to her feet she motioned for him to follow her and then she led him through the crowds at a much slower pace.

The tipi she took him too was away from the heart of the action and she parted the flaps to reveal a homely interior that would have rivalled any conventional home with its fur rugs, plush bedding, and hints of personality.

"Make yourself at home."

 

[Vass]

Back in his home city, a house was...well a house. Kitchen, bedrooms, even a bathroom sometimes, but since his leaving he had seen more than a few homes that did not match this.

It was safe to say that this tipi met that criteria.

He looked around for a moment, observing everything around him curiously. There was a bed in the corner, though not the sort that sat on any kind of support. Instead it seemed more like the kind which simply sat on the ground.

Vass mused for a moment, and then selected the large and comfortable carpet to lay down on.

He wasn't about to deprive Ahsoka of her bed. "This will do."

The Mercenary muttered with a loud yawn.

 

[Ahsoka]

"Good."

Because Ahsoka had had no intentions of giving up her bed. She flopped onto it and groaned in pleasure as her muscles bunched then relaxed. The last time she had been laying down her hands and feet had been tied. The sharp contrast made her value this moment even more. The Tsi'lagi might not have been blessed with great magic like their elven kin but there were a few spells and manipulations of nature they all knew. She murmured one of those now and the sounds from outside the tent faded into a hushed whisper.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow," she murmured and then lazily kicked off her boots, stripped herself naked, then crawled under the skins. "Goodnight."