Hidden Malice

Chapter Thirty-Two

They'd been walking for quite some time before, without warning, Malice climbed a nearby tree. Kylo stood at the base, looking up at her.

"Where are you going?" He called after her.

"I'm getting the view I need from here." She answered. She stood at the higher branch she could reach and looked around. They were far from any of the hills or mountains she had been looking for. But she did have good news when she slid down the tree.

"We're near where my old shelter was." She told Kylo. He looked around, not seeing anything nearby that looked like adequate shelter. She continued walking through the trees, Senzu clinging to her shoulder. They made their way through some extremely thick undergrowth before stopping.

"We're here." She said suddenly. There in the ground was a medium sized hole. She crouched, checking inside for creatures before lowering herself inside. Kylo followed, carefully feeling for the ground before letting go and falling into the hole. But when he landed, he saw it was more than just a hole in the ground. It opened up into a fairly large space, and connected to an underground tunnel system.

Malice brushed herself off and continued walking, entering the tunnel ahead. Kylo followed quickly, not particularly feeling like getting left behind. They walked for a good twenty minutes before he saw light up ahead. The tunnel sloped up and exited into a large, spacious cave. The cave mouth was on the side of a cliff, making it impossible for most predators to get to them. Malice waited for Kylo to climb up before covering the hole with s nearby boulder.

"Well, this is it." She said, gazing out onto the forest below them. The only light came from the cave opening, which had a beautiful view of the setting sun.

Kylo wandered around the cave. It didn't look like it had been occupied for just as long as Malice said had said it had been. He ran his hand along the wall, stopping when he felt several marks that had been scratched in. They were lines, most likely marking her last stay here. A pile of dried leaves laid in the corner, and they snapped easily when he stepped on them.

"That's what we'll be sleeping on. Well, not that exact one, but you get the idea." She said, coming to step beside him. He didn't think he was going to enjoy this week, and suddenly missed his bed very much. He looked over the edge of the cliff, coming face to face with a fifteen foot drop. It wouldn't kill them to drop from it, but it would hurt. Looking up, they were actually pretty near the top of the cliff. It would be impossible to get to where they were from the top.

"Come on then."  Malice said, setting her bag down. She was climbing back into the tunnel, so Kylo set his own bag next to hers and followed.

"We're going to get things to make beds and food." She told him, very focused on the path ahead. Senzu has been staying very close to her on her shoulder the whole time. He was sniffing around but smart enough to know to stay close. They exited the hole, popping out where they had been before.

She looked around at the trees, seeming to be looking for one specific type. She approached a tree with very large leaves, pulling one down.

"This is the kind we want. This one and only this one." She told him, making sure he saw.

"Why only that one?" He asked.

"Most of the other ones leave rashes of some sort on your body. One type is usually filled with small insects. These ones are poisonous to most creatures here, but human skin is immune to it. It's really the only one that doesn't have a negative side effect. From personal experience, I might add." She said, shuddering at the thought. They folded up a good amount of leaves, and she gave them to Kylo to hold. He tucked them under her arms before seeing her and Senzu both freeze. She held a hand up for Kylo to stay where he was and the two of them stalked off quietly. He listened for the hum of her lightsaber but didn't hear it. The air was deathly silent, but that silence was sliced through by the piercing scream of some animal. Malice stepped out of the brush, with two bodies of some rodent like creature. She had two larger ones and Senzu held a smaller one in his jaws. Their necks were snapped, with no evidence of any other attack. Had she caught them with her hands?

"Yep." She said, victoriously. She led them back up to their cliff side cave, where they set their prizes down. She showed Kylo how to lay the large leaves out in comfortable looking piles. She had snagged some dry sticks and leaves from the old pile in the corner and set them near the cave opening. Igniting her lightsaber, she scraped on the wall, creating sparks that fell onto the dried leaves, starting a small fire. She fed it a bit more tinder before beginning to clean the rodents they'd caught. Once they were clean, she speared them onto a large stick, cooking them. The smallest one she didn't cook, as it was Senzu's meal. He'd caught it himself and she couldn't have been more proud. Kylo watched her work from the leaf bed he'd make, absolutely astounded.

It was like she'd never left. She still retained all the skills she'd learned while here. How has he been so lucky as to be chosen by her? She called him over moments later, and they sat, eating their food and watching all the stars appear.

Looks like they'll be here for awhile. Kylo sure is lucky to have someone with him who knows what she's doing.