Standing at the edge of the cave, I looked out upon the rock face and landscape to determine that the acid rain had been dried up and was no longer a threat to me before then focusing on the bird creatures that circled they were eyeing me hungrily, however instead of pushing them away, this time, I intended to find a way to use them. They were large and despite their spindly frame, seemed strong. I watched them closely, observing their patterns, learning when they chose to dive and once I had chased away all sense of unease and fear, I backed up in order to take a running jump.
The leap was a little thrilling, the tight knit within my stomach clenching as I flew out into the open and seized hold of the largest bird I could see and held on by its feet. Initially we dropped, the both of us crying out as my sudden weight forced us down but the bird flapped its wings and maintain its flight pattern. Once it had stabilised, it then began to peck and snap at me, flying awkwardly in a bid to try and eat me off its own leg so I let go with one hand in order to stretch out and focused the Force upon it.
I willed to have some kind of connection, allowing peace and gentleness to wash over me as the bird settled. We hovered, great wings flapping and brushing against me until I then focused on the rest of the flock and directed them upwards, as the birds seemed to move as a unit rather than an individual. They screeched and the cacophonous sound rung in my ears before I realised that we were moving, the rush of rocks streaming before me as I was flown all the way to the top at speed. The rest of the climb would have taken me days. These birds got me there in a matter of minutes. We flew upwards and as the ridge came into sight, I swung myself back and forth in order to gain momentum before finally letting go after we'd passed the cliff edge, flying forwards and when I hit the ground I fell into a roll, feeling fresh dirt underneath and the smell was enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Once still I covered my head, freezing in place to be ready for the onslaught of attacks, but they never came, and when I turned to look, the birds were already diving back down, squawking sharply and disappearing back down to their home. It made me wonder why they would choose to live there when there was so much better nesting grounds up here, turning to inspect the new landscape only to be disappointed it wasn't the jungle region I had hoped for. It was a forest, but the river was not far, so I pressed onward, now facing new challenges and had to learn all the more what to anticipate in this new place.
My ability to recognise and anticipate danger had become a good deal better ever since becoming lost on this planet, and once more I took to observing the wildlife around me, watching where the herbivores avoided and learning why. The forest and grasslands held untold dangers just as the jungle did, and I quickly learned to avoid most of the creatures here. Within minutes I had to battle my way through a pack of creatures that looked a cross between birds and canines, six legged with the front pair having razor sharp claws. They were fast and vicious, and I had to leap across the river in order to finally escape them, scrambling upon an old, fallen tree which crumbled under my weight and I only just made it across before the bridge collapsed and took some of the creatures with it into the white foaming rapids.
Breathing laboriously, I looked back to see them snarling and prowling the riverbank, whilst I remained on the other side and out of their reach. I watched them as they watched me, and I knew then that this wouldn't be the last I saw of them. So I ran. I ran for all I was worth, continuing to follow the river, scrambling up rocks and avoiding the death traps around me. The carnivorous plants, the giant insects, the boggy marshes within the grasslands which swallowed up anything that fell within them and numerous other threats. This entire planet was trying to kill me. I barely slept anymore, constantly on the alert for things as my senses remained on edge at all times, pre-empting attacks and learning where the safe places were to at least rest.
Rocks were often a good bet, and if I was fast enough I could build them into a makeshift cave and used the woven flaps as a door to block my way in, lowering a rock in front so that I was completely encompassed in the dark, but at least protected from the predators that had taken to hunting me. Several times they would come close, even landing upon the top of my cave and released a garbling wail to signal to the rest of the pack before moving onwards, so I once more had to find ways to mask my scent and make better tools for myself.
The grasslands were full of broad blades of grass and weeds which were excellent for weaving things together, so I taught myself how to make baskets and bags until I had one which was sturdy and strong, looping it across my front in order to carry things for me. Other smaller ones contained food I gathered for myself, fruits and roots mostly, but one or two little creatures that I managed to trap which resembled other edible meats I'd seen elsewhere. It was hard at first to kill them, to take innocent life for my own gain but I made peace with it, for I needed food to survive and there hundreds more of these critters, whilst there was only one of me.
Water was more difficult to find and store, but after a while I taught myself how to carve and, using one of the claws of the beasts that was hunting me that I'd managed to break off during our first conflict, I used it to carve out a container from wood, creating something like a drinking cup which I could fill with fresh water when I found it and seal it with a top and a few blades of reed grass to keep it from spilling. This contraption failed a few times, but like with everything else, I kept on trying until I had figured out the best way to store water without losing it. I learned to cover my scent and my tracks, how to avoid being seen, how to hunt and fight with the crude weapons I had in my arsenal until I was gradually beginning to understand just how to survive this planet.
Everything was red and purple hued which often hurt my eyes, but I used the materials in order to make new clothes for myself in order to blend in. Mud hid my skin and my scent, whilst grass, leaves and other materials provided camouflage when I needed to hide, though at night temperatures still dropped far below freezing and everything became an icy wasteland. It's a wonder anything survived here, and yet every morning, the creatures would return. How were they managing it? There had to be something, some kind of place they went in order to stay warm through the night, so I endeavoured to find out.
This meant following a group of non-aggressive creatures I had found, one of the rare ones that satisfied themselves by eating roots and fungi from the ground, using their long noses to sniff them out and dig them up. I'd follow them at a distance, though several times I accidentally made them scatter with fright and I'd had to begin all over again. I hoped to learn some kind of new survival method, praying rather desperately that these creatures weren't just simply adapted to severe cold, and as the night drew closer, I watched them burrow themselves into the ground and disappear from sight.
I tried to copy, but my hands only met with an already frozen ground which I could not dig through, so I had had to find an alternate shelter. The forest provided cover, and in the end I climbed a tree and set myself up within it's branches where I meditated throughout the night to keep myself from freezing, though I almost failed. It was cold. So bitterly cold that I could not move for a very long time afterward, which left me vulnerable and weak, easy pickings for predators once they found me. There was always something new, something seemingly even more dangerous than the last. I spent most of my days in perpetual fear, almost constantly running from something or over and several times almost lost my life either to a hunter or something that had ensnared me. The plants here were just as terrible as the animals.
Most released some kind of spore which caused irritation and sometimes hallucinations, twisting everything into a nightmarish reality until the effects wore off and I found myself almost being eaten by a giant flower. I needed to get to that ship and the beacon, I couldn't bear to stay on this planet any longer than necessary, so I pushed onward with everything I had. As I feared, however, the river split not once, but several times, creating different pathways to take and I had no clue as to which one I came from, so I could only trust in the Force to guide me. Holding out my hand, I allowed it to form around me, guiding my hand to point towards one particular branch of the river so I took it, beginning another climb up a steep rock face before continuing through the deadly forest region, thinking of my master and hoping that he would be proud of me when I finally returned home.