Cherris sat down on the damp grass, stretching her tired legs out in front of her. The sun was setting, a cool breeze going through the trees. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sounds of nature, listening to birds and insects all around her.
And to Kyp's sudden and very vivid cursing.
A frown creased her forehead and she opened her dark eyes, searching for the Jedi. She heard him walk towards her from behind, muttering under his breath.
"Are you okay?" she asked turning her dark head towards the young Jedi Knight. The look on his face was one of carefully controlled anger; lines across his forehead told her that he was also in pain.
Cherris got to her feet, making sure to shift her weight onto her other ankle, and walked towards him. He ignored her again, a trait she was getting extremely annoyed with. "What happened?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest, a defiant expression on her face.
"You know those tiny red flying things we saw a while back?" he said, picking up Cherris' backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. Cherris nodded and slowly followed Kyp as he started walking on, "Well, watch for them while taking a leak."
Cherris' frown deepened but when she noticed Kyp's slight limp, she couldn't help but laugh.
"They bite, huh?" she asked, a wide grin spreading across her face.
She was getting used to walking in silence, taking in the odd surroundings. Here and there she would stop to rummage through her backpack, taking a few pictures with her holocamera.
After a long while Cherris stopped and listened to a familiar sound; the sound of running water.
Her heart leaped with joy as she realized they had finally come to a large, winding river of cool, flowing clear water. She passed Kyp in a hurry, her foot screaming out in pain but she ignored it.
Taking off one of her boots – and needing help with the other – she immersed her legs within the water, closing her eyes and lifting her head up towards the darkening sky.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Kyp called from behind, dropping the backpack to the ground.
This time it was her who ignored him, going against the scientist within her, knowing it was a very stupid idea to jump into a river without knowing what swam around her legs.
She just didn't care.
"You should join me!" she called back, turning around to face him with a smile on her face, "The water might cool the bug bites!"
Kyp scowled and sat down on the bank.
Laughing Cherris splashed water into her face, rinsing off dirt and tears and feeling clean after two very long days in the wild.
She walked back towards the Jedi and sat down next to him, "How much further is it?" she asked in a low voice, her gaze wandering back to the river, watching as the silver water ran its course.
Kyp shrugged, "Another day or two."
Cherris sighed and lay back on the grass, watching white clouds pass by overhead. It was getting dark extraordinarily quick, Cherris thought. "We should make camp." She said, stretching.
Kyp nodded, "But not here."
They walked another hour or so, starting another fire when the only illumination emanated from the white moon above them.
Cherris fell asleep and dreamed of her home, of her friends and family. And not once did she see furry creatures with long, pointy fangs or small red bugs ready to bite at the first notice. Under the circumstances Cherris slept well.
Kyp woke her with a slight shake. She came wide awake almost immediately, taking the second watch and letting Kyp rest for the rest of the night. The breeze around her was cool and her pants were still damp from her splash in the river.
I should have taken off my clothes first, Cherris thought with a frown but smiled as she imagined the young Jedi's reaction to a half naked female scientist.
She chuckled but dismissed the thought.
He slept soundlessly, a lock of dark hair covering his left eye. He seemed at peace when he was sleeping, Cherris thought. When she was a child, her grandmother had once told her that while watching someone sleep, you could see his or her true face.
Kyp seemed so young to her; too young to have already seen and done so much.
He's not much older than yourself, Cherris thought, pulling her knees towards her chest.
The rest of the night she distracted herself with counting stars and hoping that the first beams of sunlight would soon be seen over the horizon.
After a meal of dried up rations, they walked on. Cherris could still hear the river nearby but the beautiful sound of water was disturbed by a sudden thundering sound. At first Cherris thought there was a storm brewing but when it sounded a second time, she realized it was an animal.
A large animal.
She stopped walking, frantically looking from side to side, hoping against hope that there weren't any more creatures wanting to eat her.
"Come on." Kyp said, grabbing her hand and beckoning her to move forward, "We should hurry."
"Can't you reach out with the Force and feel whatever that was?" Cherris asked, hoping that the fear she felt wasn't evident in her voice.
"I just did."
Cherris waited for an explanation but when Kyp kept quiet fear slowly turned into panic, "What is it then?"
Kyp shrugged, "I don't know." He sounded annoyed, "But I have the feeling we should hurry up."