[SpringsSong]

Lana. Xyshari.
Akails.

The strange creature they had seen had persisted in following them, which had unsettled Xyshari and Lana, as well as the Akails. They were, however, finally able to meet up with someone and drop the strange creature off, cautioning them to make sure it stayed as far away from Theron as possible because of the havoc it could play with his implants.

"Do you suppose we'll run into another creature out here?" Xyshari asked, her ears perked forward as she scanned the horizon.

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"It wouldn't surprise me, if what the reports Theron's been sending us are true," Lana said. "He said that there have been plenty of reports of these creatures being drawn to these Akail. However... I don't feel right using them as bait."

"I feel even more questionable about the fact that this is what they were literally designed for," Xyshari said. "Reminds me of that time I was sent to a distant moon to take down a droid revolution because they had decided they were above the purposes they had been created for."

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"I remember hearing about that," Lana said. "The moon was destroyed because the droid 'in charge' of the revolution was so deeply tied to the planet's core that, when you destroyed it, it sent a chain reaction to the core that you barely outran."

"You heard an awful lot about my activities before we ever met," Xyshari said, folding her arms.

"You were... considered especially dangerous in the Empire," Lana said. "Surely it can't surprise you that tabs were being kept on you," she said, looking at the Akail as they sniffed around the forest floor.

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"You're right, it doesn't," Xyshari said. "After all, we kept tabs on Sith we considered to be 'dangerous'. I seem to recall skimming a report once of a young Sith Lord enforcing a ceasefire between the Republic and Empire on Hoth, and when the Imperial officer implied that she knew nothing of war, that officer found themselves short a hand, and after that, both parties returned to their bases."

"Ah... that," Lana said, rubbing the back of her neck as she watched the Akail scamper a few yards ahead of them like playful Akk dogs.

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"I fully expected my master to have me executed for that move," Lana said. "However, he praised my ability to keep cool in the situation, stating that he would have aimed a bit higher and appointed a new officer to command that particular base. I told him that the officer was still useful, if properly motivated."

"Not a tactic I would have agreed with, but when I became Alliance Commander, I found myself using it," Xyshari said. "Never waste a potential resource."

"Precisely," Lana said.

[SpringsSong]

The snarling of the two Akails caused both the Jedi's and the Sith's heads to snap around in their direction, with Xyshari's ears perking forward, and her lips pulling back just slightly to show her bared fangs. She would incline her head to sniff the wind around her, and Lana would close her eyes, opening her senses to the Force around her.

"Do you sense anything?" Xyshari asked in a low voice, a growl following her question.

"Something strange," Lana said. "Did you scent anything?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but yes," she said.

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"Every fiber of my being is screaming to get closer and investigate, but at the same time... that scientist said that this is what these things were created for," Lana said, giving a low grumble in her throat as she forced herself to relax her stance. "Not even bred for, but created. Yet... they're definitely alive."

"Yeah," Xyshari said, focusing her attention to the two Akail. She could feel their apprehension, their nerves, and their anxiousness through the bond she had formed between the three of them. She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts for a moment.

[SpringsSong]

As soon as she cleared her head, she sent calming images over the bond to the Akail: she had read that the Akail's original home was a place called Craiss Caverns, and she had seen images of that place. She felt them shift to a state that was a little more at-ease. She dropped the connection, and looked to Lana.

"They were scared," she said simply. "I did what I could to calm them."

"You do have a way with creatures," Lana said with a smile. "Though that much was evident with your Varactyl and your Vorn Tiger."

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"Ah yes, my two most steadfast companions - Nashah and Chylisha," Xyshari said, humming softly. "I miss both of them, but... they lived their lives to the fullest that I was able to provide them with, considering they were raised by me, or by other beastmasters, from their earliest days."

"And that is one of the things I love about you," Lana said. "While you can be cold and calculating when you need to, you can also be warm and caring," she said. At that moment, the bushes rustled, and the Akail's heads snapped around, their tendrils rustling and glowing.

[SpringsSong]

"And there it is again," Lana said, placing a hand to her forehead. "I can't imagine the havoc this would cause with Theron's implants."

"Oh, I'm sure it would fry them. And then he'd whine to us about needing to get his implants repaired and keeping the creatures away from him," Xyshari said, crouching to the ground and motioning for Lana to do the same. Lana did so, and they both watched the Akails.

Suddenly, the two of them leapt in tandem into the bushes, snarling and growling coming from the bushes. After a few minutes, it stopped...