Disclaimer: Disney owns Star Wars, not me. All the characters and places (except for my OCs Analise, Meeka, Gaspar, Myra, Sibar, and Sierra) belong to them.
"aaaa"-talking out loud."aaaa" (bold and intellics)-talking through a holo or com. 'aaaaa'-inner thoughts. aaaaa-talking through a Bond. "aaaa" (bold)-another language.
AN: Thank you to Count Mallet for the review. Yeah Sibar and Sierra pretty much hate Ahsoka and are strongly anti-Jedi. It will be revealed why soon, though I am sure that many of you can probably guess what happened.
There's only two more chapters of The Hunt! I know, short story:)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter Eight
This was not how Ahsoka had always pictured her Akul Hunt being. In the Temple she had listened to the stories of the older Togruta who had gone on their own Akul Hunts and returned home with tales of daring and cunning. Of wild fights that left them with deep bite marks, red lines from claws raking down their back and arms. Always embellished of course in the best fashion of young, newly named Padawans.
Jedi were meant to be humble, but even the Senior Masters were known to liven up the stories of their more daring adventures. Storytelling was an art form at the Temple after all. She giggled to herself. Anakin was no exception to the rule. Half the time Ahsoka was left to wonder just how much of his stories were true. Especially his stories about podracing on Tatooine or the time he blew up up a droid control ship from inside, still able to make it out just in the nick of time.
The giggle that Ahsoka let fly from her lips seemed to echo in the air around her. It was one thing that all the stories she had heard about Akul Hunts had left out. The lonely expanse of grass and sky. The air still and silent except for occasional bursts of winds. There was few signs of wildlife and signs at all of akul.
The Youngling sighed, shaking her head to see if she could catch even some sort of sound within her montral.
Nothing.
Just more wind.
Ahsoka sighed again, hitching her pack higher up on her shoulders. A day had passed already. Far from an exciting and daring adventure, her Akul Hunt was turning to be yet another lesson in patience.
Another boring lesson at that.
Well...She could at least start her own story so that when she did find and kill her akul, she was at least prepared.
"You should have seen it Anakin! It was nearly as tall as a ship and so huge it wouldn't have fit in the Council chamber..." Her bubbly chatter filled the silence as Ahsoka tried to figure out the exact wording and phrases that would impress her brother the most while at the same time ensuring a proper fussing from Padme and Analise.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meeka had never understood the draw of Akul Hunts. Hunting akul itself seemed a pointless exercise with little to gain.
The meat of the beast was not taken, nor the orange fur. Only the teeth were ever taken from an akul. Teeth that became headdresses, sometimes elaborate and worn only by those who had killed an akul on their own and in the traditional way.
She shook her head. In the killing of the akul itself, there was no profit. She would only be able to sell the teeth and only then to some Togruta or another. More than likely the Togruta would not buy the teeth for it went against their tradition as hunters.
No...No profit at all in killing akul.
Killing the Jedi brat...Now there was some profit to be made there. Of course Meeka would get more if she brought the Togruta runt to the Count, but he would still pay her handsomely if she handed over a corpse. He just wanted her out of the picture to clear a way to his main goal.
Not that Meeka knew what this end goal was. She was smart enough though and had managed to piece together what she could from their very few communications to figure out that whoever pulled the Count's strings wasn't just interested in mere power over a handful of planets. He wanted total power.
The bounty hunter snorted then went still. When the brat didn't turn to where she crouched, hidden in the grasses she relaxed and returned to her thoughts.
She had let herself snort because if she had read the Count correctly, he wouldn't be content being the hands that did all the dirty work for his boss. No, the Count was the kind was the kind that wanted all the power. She wouldn't be surprised if he was already plotting on taking out his boss and sizing control for himself.
Meeka shook her head. Now was not the time to be wondering about the Count, stiff and cold. All she needed to focus on was the brat who was now singing to herself. Some silly thing about shepards and lambs. Foolish to sing a song of peace and contentment while in the middle of a hunt.
She hoped the girl got close to an akul soon. If she didn't come peacefully, Meeka would simply slit her throat and let the akul do the rest.
Yes...Death by beast was the best way to cover her tracks.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
His eyes were focused on the grasslands beyond the village. Not for the first time was he grateful that the goggles he wore to protect his eyes also kept those eyes and the expression in them hidden.
Master Plo Koon was worried.
Master Plo Koon was tense.
This was suppose to be a time of celebration, of excitement. His little 'Soka was growing-up, taking her first steps into a wider galaxy.
And that scared him.
Fear was unbecoming a Jedi, especially a Jedi Master. Yet Plo could not help it. Ahsoka knew little of the worlds beyond the sheltered walls of the Temple. She had only gone off planet after her arrival twice; once to Ilum for her Gathering and then to Naboo for her siblings' wedding. In fact the only time she even left the warmth and safety of the Temple was when the twins would take her to Dex's for a treat.
Was Ahsoka ready to take her place as a Padawan? Of that Plo had no doubt. She was more than ready. Was she ready to face the reality of the war she would soon find herself in? Plo was not so sure.
There was something else too...A dark cloud hanging over the grasslands...Hanging over his little 'Soka. Threatening her.
"You worry for Ahsoka my old friend." Shaak Ti joined him, her hands folded within her robes. "You worry for her future."
"The future is always in motion. I worry more for her now. Do you not sense it?"
"A dark cloud hanging over her, over her hunt. You wish you could be out there with her."
"It has been two days Shaak and that cloud only seems to get darker. My foster daughter is out there alone when all she has known is the Temple and the safety it gives her."
"These new rules gives us freedom and strength, but also trials. We must still let go even when we do not." Shaak freed a hand from her sleeves and rested it on Plo's shoulder. "Ahsoka must be let go to grow and find her place in the galaxy. As for the hunt, this is something she must do on her own."
"Then I will pray to the Force that she will succeed in this hunt and come back safe."
"We will both ask the Force to protect her."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Someone was following her.
Someone wanted to hurt her.
The Force was yelling a warning her that the shadow following her only meant harm, hurt, death.
Ahsoka was not the only hunter in the grasslands. There was another and Ahsoka was her prey.
The Togruta Youngling took a deep breath, her mind racing. She could yank the com from her pack and call for help, but that would mean an automatic end to her hunt and the shadow could still get to her before help arrived.
Everything in her head was screaming at her to run from the shadow, to put some distance between her and it. To run and run then call for help. She was still young enough that she could always do her hunt the following year and take her place as a Padwan then.
Even as the Force rang with alarm, it whispered to her now. Reminding Ahsoka that she was a Jedi and in the eyes of the Jedi and the Force itself, a Skywalker.
She was a Skywalker and Skywalkers did not run from shadows even when they carried the threat of death, of joining the Force.
Ahsoka Tano was a Jedi and a Skywalker.
She switched from flight mode to insane plan mode. A plan that wasn't suppose to work, but probably would. After all she had been taught by the best.
She scanned the area and reached out with the Force. A wildness at the edge, nearby. Wild and angry. Hungry. This was its territory and it was not happy at being disturbed.
She grinned, sharp teeth shinning in the sun.
Let the shadow think Ahsoka was its prey. She would teach it a lesson.