Trust in the Force | Obi-Wan Kenobi

A Rising War

The Acklay who's home world was normally the planet of Vendaxa, clearly intended for Obi-Wan, was a fierce and tall carnivore with razor sharp teeth, grappling hands, hardened skin covered claws and a protective outer shell. The green amphibious crustacean looked as formidable as the others, especially with its towering height as it trodden forth on its six long legs.

For Lyra, it seemed, she had gotten one of the most aggressive of the four creatures. A Gundark, with angry red skin covered in gray hairs, four powerful arms that were capable of shattering bone, large ears as wide as it's head and a two meter long tail. It stood shoulder to shoulder with the top of the Reek's back and growled aggressively as it was ushered forward. She'd never seen one away from Vanqor before, hadn't known anyone who was daring enough to ever consider taking one form their home planet. Yet there it stood, trodding towards her as soon as its set of dark eyes had landed on its next intended target.

Aggressive and bloodthirsty were Gundarks, the young Jedi knight remembered as she shuffled on her feet and gripped ahold of the cuffs around her wrists a little tighter for comfort. Perhaps blind rage might come in an advantage at some point, that was if she remained alive long enough to make proper use of it.

As soon as she caught Kenobi's voice again, the blond's head turned to witness Padme making her way up her column, freed of her own set of cuffs and creating amble distance between herself and her Nexu which eagerly pawed at the bottom of the stone pillar the second it neared enough to try and reach her.

Time to focus on staying alive herself.

The Gundark, as predicted, was aggressive and bold with it's approach. Speeding to her in a jog that told her it had thought she was glued to the spot and easy for the picking. Lyra knew better than to underestimate an opponent, and as soon as he swung a hulking fist forward she sidestepped. It's fist collided with the side of the pillar leaving behind a deafening crack and crumbling stone as it roaring in frustration, glared down at her before taking another direct swing with it's other hand.

Blind aggression spurred on the flurry of hits, each dodged barely by Lyra taking nimble steps from side to side, sliding under arms and fists and twisting aside just far enough out of reach. It wasn't an approach that worked forever, not in this heat and not after the previous round of battles she had just been through that had already tired her body and gained it a flurry of wounds not easily forgotten.

A loud hiss left her lips when his knuckle grazed the wound on her upper arm, curtesy of Fett and his son back on Kamino, before she snapped her eyes up barely in time to take a large leap into the air when the Gundark spotted the opening and swung two of it's four fists at her from opposing sides.

Once again the stone pillar cracked loudly below, a large rift forming down the middle from the sheer force of the hulking carnivores punch before it began crumbling and collapsing backwards, dragging Lyra who was still on her way back down onto solid ground with it. The Jedi stumbled backwards, grunting at a momentary fall, the chains pulling her harshly while the dust cloud created drowned out everything around her into a haze of sand and stifling heat.

Coughing to clear the sand from her throat, she searched the area around her for danger immediately. The Gundark roared somewhere to her right, before it's mass and looming shadow stormed through the dust cloud towards her blindly. The Force itched at her fingertips in response, the danger an immediate warning for her to prepare for so that she could run backwards out of harms way.

Sadly however, it wouldn't get her much further than a few meters with the length of chain still being a hinderance, reminding her that the best move was to be rid of it first before she could even think of assisting Obi-Wan who seemed to still be struggling with the Acklay, or Padme who yelled out in pain above their heads when the Nexu tore open the skin between her shoulder blades and lower back. Anakin had disappeared from her sights the second he had saddled his Reek.

Half blinded by the sand and dust settling into her eyes in the commotion, Lyra let the memory of her Masters guiding voice play in her head: "Think not, but feel with the Force you must. Let it guide you, hm".

And thus, Lyra let the Force guide her after a strong steadying breath in and out of her raging lungs, calm settling over the surface. While the bellowing rage of emotions from the perusing Gundark on her heels was enough of a distraction as it was, she also settled on using it as an advantage by feeling for it as a target to avoid and dodge.

As much as she had wanted to avoid killing or harming the poor creature, it was becoming inevitable the more she tried to outrun it. Even with the aid of the Force and her years of hard training, running from the brute and its four large legs and arms was becoming tiring, especially with the heat. The more she ran and spun and rolled to avoid it's fists, the harsher and more determined its unwavering attacks became.

The crowd continued to cheer all the while.

Gaining the semblance of a plan, Lyra waited until the next hit connected with the arena floor beside her feet before she sprung into action. Taking the chain connected to her wrists in both hands, she jumped forward towards the growling Gundark panting above her, wrapping the chain around it's neck as she stepped over its shoulder she pushed herself off with one foot and over its head before it could reach up to grab her fast enough.

With a huff and feet on solid ground, she pulled, hard. Pulled as hard as her muscles could work away from the top of the fallen column and struggling Gundark until the chain was tight around the hunters thick neck and the more it pulled towards her the tighter it seemed to become, until the inevitable sound of choking and spluttering breaths grew louder even than the crowd.

It was never nice to take a life, had never been something Lyra had ever craved to experience again and again. Survival or not, the poor creature didn't deserve to be tortured and used for sport in an arena when it could be living peacefully amongst it's family on Vanqor.

As soon as the struggle at her shoulder halted and the life-force dimmed into nothing, the young Jedi knight released the hard chains under her red and now swollen fingers and lifted her eyes up to meet Anakin, Padme, and Kenobi all seated atop the huffing Reek.

"Care to join us?" Obi-Wan smiled, happy to see his partner alive and mostly unharmed while Lyra patted the sand from her robes.

"Care to remove these first?" She answered back easily, lifting her wrists and an eyebrow up to indicate the remaining problem of her irritating restraints.

Anakin barely needed to gesture his head towards the front of his mount for her to catch on. Wrapping her chain around the centre of the Reek's horn carefully she took a step back before, with a twist, it ripped the chains free and she thanked it wordlessly with a bow of her head before jumping up to seat herself behind Kenobi who removed the remaining cuffs from her wrists with the Force.

She needed to grasp onto the back fabric of his robe not to slide off the end of it, but the view offered her the dimming perspective which now plagued them all. Troops of battle droids were pouring into the arena from every angle around them in loud marching formation. The Reek grunted and turned in circles in the centre, clearly growing anxious and frustrated with the situation as much as they all were, she did not blame it for it's anxieties.

Without the prospect of weapons or a lightsaber the chances of making it out of this particular battle were weaning thin.