TheElvenJedi

Warrior Cats; The Valley

D'oh, maybe I should do tthat with mine too huh x'D I'm a dweeb, don't mind me :') done it now lol

Warrior Cats; The Valley

All are open to further relations with other PCs, please DM me or mention me to discuss! :D

Spidernose

Name: Spidernose
Previous Name(s):Spiderkit, Spiderpaw
Breed: Siamese/Birman/Abyssinian/Tortoiseshell/Somali
Age: 48 moons (4 years)
Gender: She-Cat
Clan: BoulderClan
Rank: Deputy
Mentor(s): Olivewhisker (Elder)
Apprentice(s): Sparrowpaw @ViolentViolet
Parents: Frogshade (CliffClan), Blazefoot (BoulderClan, deceased)
Sibling(s): Softwillow (CliffClan), open to others, DM me to discuss!
Mate(s): none yet, DM me if interested
Kit(s): ^^

Brief History and Personality: Born half-Clan to BoulderClan and CliffClan, their mother wanted to bring all the kits to her Clan as she knew they would accept them, however Blazefoot took offence to this and insisted that he should get to keep at least one kit. Therefore, they split the kits between them and Blazefoot brought Spiderkit back with him, claiming he had found her on the border and that she must have been left by a loner. Spidernose worked hard to prove herself to her Clanmates throughout her life as she always felt they looked upon her with suspicion due to her mysterious arrival in the Clan, but none could doubt her determination or skill, which has ultimately led to her becoming BoulderClan's newest deputy. Blazefoot passed away from old age shortly after the ceremony, never to tell her the truth of her heritage though Spidernose long suspected he was hiding something from her.

Spidernose is a determined, no-nonsense cat with a bit of an abrasive side. She can be blunt, but she only wants what is best for her Clan, she doesn't mean to be stand-offish but sometimes comes off that way when she is lost in her work, however if a Clanmate came to her with a concern she would treat it with the utmost care and compassion until it was resolved.

Text colour= #f9ad81 pale orange

Softwillow

Name: Softwillow
Previous Name(s): Softkit, Softpaw
Breed: Birman/Somali/Siamese/Tortoiseshell/Abyssinian
Age: 48 moons (4 years)
Gender: She-Cat
Clan: CliffClan
Rank: Medicine cat apprentice
Mentor(s): Tigerfall (@Polaris North's)
Apprentice(s): None for now (will change if someone signs up as one!)
Parents: Frogshade (CliffClan), Blazefoot (BoulderClan, deceased)
Sibling(s): Spidernose (BoulderClan), Ashclaw (@Drakey's cat, adopted, CliffClan), open to others, DM me to discuss!
Mate(s): None yet
Kit(s): None yet

Brief History and Personality: Born to CliffClan warrior Frogshade, and former BoulderClan medicine cat Blazefoot (now deceased), Softwillow was taken back to her home Clan by her mother as Frogshade knew her leader would be understanding and welcoming of the kit. Unlike Spidernose, Softwillow has known the truth of their heritage from the moment of her birth, though she is much too afraid to approach her BoulderClan siblings for fear of sparking conflict between the Clans.

Kind-hearted and a bit well...soft, as her name implies, Softwillow never showed interest in being a warrior, instead preferring to help others rather than hunt or fight. It was no surprise then, when she approached Tigerfall and all but begged him to make her his apprentice. Tigerfall admired the young kit's enthusiasm and agreed, training Softpaw in the ways of a medicine cat until she eventually earned her full medicine cat name, Softwillow, not too long ago. She works alongside Tigerfall to care for and treat their Clanmates now. In fact, the two sisters are such polar opposites it's hard to believe they're related at all!

Softwillow is a passive cat and would rather use words and talk out problems than let it result to claws and teeth, instead devoting her vast wealth of knowledge to helping any cat she can. Whether they are CliffClan, rival Clan, loner or rogue, all are deserving of help in the eyes of StarClan. Softwillow shares a strong connection with StarClan and believes that everything will work out in the end as StarClan wills it.

text colour= #a2d39c mint green

Frogshade

Name: Frogshade
Previous Name(s): Frogkit, Frogpaw
Breed: Tortoiseshell/Somali/Abyssinian
Age: 84 moons (8 years)
Gender: She-Cat
Clan: CliffClan
Rank: Senior Warrior
Mentor(s): Branchtail (Deceased)
Apprentice(s): Ashclaw (@Drakey's cat)
Parents: Speckleface (deceased), Flamefur (NPC)
Sibling(s): None
Mate(s): Blazefoot (formerly)
Kit(s): Spidernose (BoulderClan), Softwillow (CliffClan), Ashclaw (adopted, CliffClan)

Brief History & Personality: An only kit, Frogshade's parents doted on her somewhat and being part of CliffClan, she was raised to always be caring of others no matter what. A bit reckless and naive in her youth, these careless actions one day led to her becoming injured on the border and unable to limp her way back to camp for treatment. Here she was found by the BoulderClan medicine cat, Blazefoot, who initially mocked her but later felt he should help her so she could at least return to her Clan. While this was fulfilled, neither cat had planned to fall in love with the other and thus they continued to meet. When Frogshade discovered she was pregnant, she was delighted but also worried and immediately asked Blazefoot to meet her so she could give him the news. The she-cat tried to reassure him that her Clan would care for the kits and he would see them go strong one day, but Blazefoot insisted on having one kit to take with him. Frogshade reluctantly agreed and when they were born, Blazefoot took Spiderkit back to BoulderClan while Frogshade returned to CliffClan with the others. Despite her mistake, she assured the leader this would not impact her loyalties to CliffClan and she continues to perform warrior duties with no signs of retiring just yet. On a hunting trip one day, Frogshade came across young Ashpaw, who had been kicked out of LightClan. The she-cat treated him with more care and compassion than he had seen from his former Clanmates, and convinced him to return to CliffClan with her where he would be cared for and accepted. The leader was happy to accept him into the Clan and assigned Frogshade as his tutor, where the she-cat quickly took him under her wing and became almost a surrogate mother to him.

Frogshade has mellowed out with age and experience, no longer reckless and foolish but instead logical and always trying to think through all exits, always willing to lend a paw to Clanmates or loners alike. She cares very much for her kits and would be devastated if anything ever happened to them, she longs to reunite with Spidernose and tell her how proud she is of her, but fears retribution from BoulderClan's leader should she come clean about it.

text colour = #ed145b red-pink

Olivewhisker

Name: Olivewhisker
Previous Name(s): Olivekit, Olivepaw
Breed: Russian blue/Tuxedo
Age: 140 moons (almost 12 years)
Gender: Tom
Clan: BoulderClan
Rank: Elder
Mentor(s): Brackenpelt (deceased)
Apprentice(s): Spidernose
Parents: Darkclaw (deceased), Mistface (deceased)
Sibling(s): None as of yet, DM me if interested though!
Mate(s): None known
Kit(s): None known

Brief History & Personality: Olivewhisker lived a relatively uneventful life free of any added drama. Born to two loyal BoulderClan warriors, he quickly showed a natural aptitude for their way of hunting and rose to become one of the Clan's best hunters in his prime. Best friends with the medicine cat of the time, Blazefoot, Olivewhisker suspected that the tom was being unfaithful to the Clan and warned him on several occasions not to shirk his duties in order to sneak off to see some she-cat. When Blazefoot returned with Spiderkit, he was not surprised to discover his predictions were true, though like most of the Clan he believed the mother to be a loner. Still, he promised Blazefoot that he too would watch over the kit and help her adjust to Clan life, later becoming her mentor and a second father figure to Spidernose after Blazefoot's passing.

Olivewhisker is generally a kind hearted cat with unwavering loyalty to his Clanmates, and a wealth of both hunting and battle knowledge to pass on to the younger generation. An old coot who loves to tell stories of his youthful escapades, it's getting him to shut up that is the problem!

text colour = #00746b teal

Cinderblaze

Name: Cinderblaze
Previous Name(s): Cinderkit, Cinderpaw
Breed: Maine Coone/Norwegian Forest Cat/Persian/American Wirehair cat
Age: 36 moons (3 years)
Gender: She-Cat
Clan: LightClan
Rank: Warrior
Mentor(s): Adderfang (NPC)
Apprentice(s): none yet
Parents: Crowflight (NPC), Beetlewing (NPC)
Sibling(s): Darkpaw (Deceased), Ashclaw (@Drakey's cat, younger brother, CliffClan), Shadowtail (@Drakey)
Mate(s): She feels that she doesn't have time for a mate or kits, nor is she really interested. But if you have a tom who thinks he can woo her, he is welcome to have a shot
Kit(s): see above

Brief History & Personality: Born into LightClan and raised in their ways from the start, Cinderblaze took to the training like a fish to water, relishing in the thrill of using her claws and brute strength to force others to submit. One of the largest in her litter, she constantly picked on and bullied her smaller siblings which her parents proudly encouraged although they did not realise the terrible effect it would have later on. Darkpaw, the runt of their litter, was always timid and as Cinderblaze would say, downright cowardly. He would get the brunt of her attacks as he simply did not have the heart to fight back. Darkpaw wanted to train as a medicine cat, but before he could do so, Cinderpaw would take one of their practise "training sessions" too far one night and murder her brother as she saw him as a threat to the Clan's "rise to power!" that she claimed she would be a part of. The leader did not scold her too badly, as Darkpaw had displayed very little useful skills even as a potential healer, and instead praised Cinderpaw and expedited her remaining training to give her Warrior Ceremony early. She may be young, but Cinderblaze has plans to go all the way to the top, no matter what she has to do to get there....

Cinderblaze is a blatant bully and she is proud of it, enjoying throwing her weight around and intimidating other cats. Pride is her biggest weakness and may one day be her downfall, she does not interact well with cats from other Clans as she feels they are "beneath" her and that LightClan is the best Clan who will one day rule the valley. She has great respect for her fellow Clanmates however, provided they prove their strength and are not cowardly like her late brother. She aspires to become leader one day, her ambitions blinding her to any thoughts of love or a mate. Other cats are merely allies or an asset to her ambition. When her parents had another litter, Cinderblaze boasted that the biggest, Ashclaw, would become her apprentice one day and they would be LightClan's next leaders...however, Ashclaw would live up to Darkpaw's disappointment and be as passive as her deceased littermate. Cinderblaze, Crowflight and Beetlewing were disgusted by his disgraceful refusal to kill a weak opponent and supported the leader's decision to kick him out (which disappointed Cinderblaze somewhat, she constantly tells Ashclaw he got off lucky as she would have volunteered to end him too had Jaggedstar given her the chance.)

text colour = #fff79a pale yellow

Weaselkit

Name: Weaselkit
Previous Name(s): N/A
Breed: American Curl/Japanese bobtail/American shorthair
Age: 4 moons
Gender: Tom
Clan:LightClan
Rank: Kit
Mentor(s): planned to be Shadowtail in the future
Apprentice(s): too young
Parents: ???? (mother), Briartuft (father)
Sibling(s): Cricketkit (brother, littermate)
Mate(s): too young!
Kit(s): too young!

Brief Bio and Personality:
Has lived a relatively uneventful life so far, being only a kit. Weaselkit was first born of the litter and also the largest of the two siblings, he began picking on his smaller brother almost instantly, ensuring he always got the best spot in the nest unless Cricketkit fought back. Weaselkit is eager to learn and wants to become a warrior already despite being a bit too young. Despite bullying his brother on occasion, he is close to Cricketkit and would defend him if needs be.

Weaselkit is devious and manipulative, always playing tricks on other kits in the nursery especially his brother, Cricketkit. He idolises Shadowtail and constantly follows the older tom around asking for early training and lessons. He hopes to be Shadowtail's apprentice when he turns 6 moons old. Can be a bit of a spoilt brat at times.

text colour = #a3629 hazel brown

Cricketkit

Name: Cricketkit
Previous Name(s): N/A
Breed: American Curl/Japanese bobtail/American shorthair
Age: 4 moons
Gender: Tom
Clan:LightClan
Rank: Kit
Mentor(s): planned to be Shadowtail in the future
Apprentice(s): too young
Parents: ??? (mother), Briartuft (father)
Sibling(s): Weaselkit (brother, littermate)
Mate(s): too young!
Kit(s): too young!

Brief Bio and Personality:

Cricketkit was the smallest of the litter, but that certainly didn't have an effect on his determination to fight and survive. The medicine cat was unsure if the tiny kit would have what it took to be a warrior of LightClan because of his size, but Briartuft and his mother insisted that they should not count him out just yet. Since both parents had proved to be such good assets to the Clan, Jaggedstar and the medicine cat agreed though Jaggedstar warned that if Cricketkit proved to be a threat to LightClan's stability he would have to be exiled like the others. Cricketkit proved to be tenacious, instead of simply sitting there and taking his brother's abuse, he fought back, thus earning his place so far. He looks forward to becoming an apprentice soon.

Cricketkit is less nasty than his brother, but has still learned LightClan's way of life and abides by it. He doesn't allow his brother's pranks to go unreciprocated, but only ever fights back in retaliation rather than deliberately seeking to harm his brother. He is protective of the smaller kits and still shows good promise as a future warrior of the Clan.

text colour= #f6989d light pink

Briartuft

Name: Briartuft
Previous Name(s): Tuft, Briarpaw
Breed: American curl
Age: 60 moons (5 years)
Gender: Tom
Clan: LightClan
Rank: Warrior
Mentor(s): Milkwhisker (NPC)
Apprentice(s): Ambertail
Parents: Flower (kittypet, deceased), Whiskers (kittypet, unknown status)
Sibling(s): None for now
Mate(s): Ambertail
Kit(s): Weaselkit, Cricketkit

Brief Personality and Bio:

Born as a kittypet to purebred parents, Tuft always hated the soft life they offered and hated being cooped up indoors. Even as a young kit, he would sneak outside and roam the forest before being forced to turn back as his parents had warned him about the "dangerous wildcats" there. However, one day in his travels, Tuft got lost and happened into LightClan's territory, Jaggedstar was going to chase him off but when Tuft instead begged for a chance to prove his worth, Jaggedstar was stunned and agreed.

Despite being a kittypet, Tuft showed himself to be very strong and in fact have more of the attitude of a Clan cat than a kittypet in the first place. After overcoming every test Jaggedstar set him, the tom was so impressed with Tuft's tenacity that he made him an apprentice to Milkwhisker. Briarpaw continued to show his loyalty to the Clan, eventually earning his warrior name, Briartuft. Jaggedstar was so impressed with Briartuft that he was quickly assigned his own apprentice, Amberpaw. At first, Briartuft was nervous and had no idea how to train an apprentice, taking a rather easygoing approach much to Amberpaw's amusement. She would taunt him about it however Briartuft responding with teasing retorts of his own, and the two quickly got close. He began to grow quite fond of her however did not tell her until much later, as he felt it was inappropriate. When Ambertail received her warrior name, however, he confessed his feelings and the two became mates officially. She has recently had their first litter of kits, Weaselkit and Cricketkit.

Briartuft is a strong and brave cat, who would literally do anything for the wellbeing of his Clan. If Jaggedstar told him to jump, he would ask how high and how far. He is kind and protective of his Clanmates, especially kits and those who are slightly more frail. While he wouldn't deliberately try and hurt a cat out of cold blood, he would kill if it meant protecting his mate, kits or Clan. If anything ever tried to hurt them, he would tear them to tiny pieces and bury them.

text colour= #0072bc cobalt blue

Warrior Cats; The Valley

Awww Sparrowpaw sounds like she's gonna be loads of fun, especially the combination of those two as mentor and apprentice haha XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

I think we could work the Exile being somehow alive into it as well if we wanted, its not unplausible if Revan is still alive too after all right? :3 and it might be another cool dynamic to play around with for an Act too :)
Carth would have been awesome, had he been Force senstive or otherwise long-lived, but alas! XD We might be able to squish Atton in along with Exile though if that strikes your fancy? XD

Wouldn't be Manus if he wasn't slippery, after all! :P Sounds good, I shall get working on something this evening!

Warrior Cats; The Valley

@ViolentViolet Sounds good to me! :')

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Nothing good ever came out of never putting them through the wringer once in a while, eh? XD

I agree, it would be very nice to introduce some more of the canon cast from the other storylines, while it's been nice building our own thing too it is kinda strange to have them ALL just vanish like that without explaining where/what they were doing, especially the non-Force users that wouldn't have been wiped out by Bracknell and Soto the first time :D

I did indeed start angling towards Revan when Manus mentioned looking for two specific people (I figured it was Revan and the Exile, actually haha), and I think that would be a veeeeryyy good next plot point indeed! :D Big ol' yes to all of that, this is gonna be soo awesome! *slight fangirl squealing* xD

Warrior Cats; The Valley

@Polaris North Even if he did, I wouldn't complain. Conflict creates character development after all hehehe (though I'm sure there will be plenty of conflict to come later on too XD)

Warrior Cats; The Valley

@Polaris North Nah, that's cool and makes sense, I doubt she could have successfully given birth on her own or hobbled all the way to the border for Blazefoot to assist her before labour happened, so that totally works :)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Soooooo...I may have ran away with that a liiittlee bit :'D Sorrynotsorry, but I figure we could still work it one of two ways there, that A) Ari was ACTUALLY posssessed and forced to attack him, which is not beyond the realm of possibility in a land full of demonic entities, eh? or B) (since you kinda alluded to her clothes changing in his vision) she had a symultaneous vision at the same time where she was forced to kill and attack him and thus only BELIEVES that she did

Also, an honourary canon character appears (well...two, but Khem is well...Khem, as Ashara says XD)! Seemed appropriate to have them suddenly appear, Cheriss probably had a "bad feeling" about things and called in these two as cavalry of sorts? :') what do you think? xD

Kept Cheriss' part short cause I didn't wanna launch too far into the Soto fight before our duo caught up (plus I wrote....a lot, for the other bit and I didn't wanna spew a text wall at you LOL)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

There wasn’t much of a choice but for the Champions to comply with Voldon and Cheriss’ directives, unless they wanted to be left behind in this hellish place; so they gave chase, even though the Champions had long lost sight of their quarry. It would seem Voldon and/or Cheriss had not, however, as they spurred on with the determination of a man possessed. This path seemed to go on forever…the more they ran, the more Aria’s head began to feel muggy with what she could only assume was exhaustion. Fighting off the illusions and that spat with the Faceless girl must have taken more out of her than she thought, for the Champion soon found tendrils of the black mist of unconsciousness drifting in and out of her vision. She batted them away with a growl of annoyance. NOT now. She had to tough it out, keep going...had to catch Soto. They couldn’t let her get away with what she had done! But the more Aria tried to fight it, the more insistent the mist seemed to become that it would have her in its grasp, and the thicker it got until she felt like she was choking on it. She was more than a little grateful when Yerbol stopped as they reached the opening to the cave, though before he could finish the sentence, his voice seemed to fade into the distance.

For a brief moment, the Champion thought she HAD lost consciousness. But then, this had to be the WEIRDEST dream she had ever had, because her partner was still standing in front of her. He was trying to speak, to ask her something, but his mouth was moving and no words were coming out, whatever was being spoken instead drowned out by this incessant buzzing in her head that seemed to fill her entire skull cavity until her head threatened to explode. She watched in puzzlement as his expression changed from cautious curiosity, to shock. Words became more tangible, but they were muted, as if she were underwater. Her body seemed to be moving of its own accord, her mouth forming words she would have NEVER spoken to him no matter what happened. Aria could feel the sharp pang of betrayal through their bond and she desperately tried to fight against it, to dig her feet in and resist the force that compelled her to attack her partner.
NO. NO, I would never hurt him! These are lies! I LOVE HIM, STOP! Desperately Aria tried to scream, tried to tell him, and yet the only words that would come out of her mouth were more lies. No, no no...please, Bol this is a lie...this is all a lie!
It seemed the more she tried to fight, the louder she tried to scream, the worse whatever this….hell was, became. Next thing Aria knew it was all sabers flashing and taunts as she lunged for Yerbol and he desperately tried to fight her off without hurting her. One time too many, her crimson blades came far too close to severing his head, though thankfully her efforts to divert the attacks seemed to work at least once and she instead glanced the blade harmlessly off the tree trunk behind his head; the second time Yerbol threw her backwards with a powerful Force blast.

Aria kept hoping...no, BEGGING that all of this would stop. That it was all some horrid nightmare and she would wake up at any moment and it would all be over. Thankfully, it seemed help would arrive at precisely that moment. As Aria scrambled to her feet and was forced to make another lunge for her partner, a shimmering silver barrier appeared between them which stopped her in her tracks and held her in place as a vaguely familiar voice proclaimed firmly:
“ENOUGH! Release them!” that black mist returned, swirling violently around her though Aria was helpless to try and push it away this time.
“Release.Them.” the voice’s owner made herself visible, an orange-skinned Togruta who balanced a saberstaff expertly in one hand while the other extended towards the Champions, dragging the mist aside against its will. “You are not welcome here!”

That was ridiculous, right? Mist couldn’t move on it’s own….this was all some weird fever dream that must have been brought on by the stress of their situation, they were probably passed out somewhere in some bunker in Voss Ka, right….? Slowly, as her head began to clear, Aria began to realise this was not a dream at all, although she could definitely classify it as a waking nightmare. A nightmare which would soon be over, thanks to their rescuers. With one more flick of her wrist, the Togruta propelled the last of the mist away into the shadows. Eerily, the black fog took on the shape of a person at that point (by which time Aria was convinced she had finally lost her mind and started hallucinating), emitting an inhuman scream as it lunged back towards Aria, red eyes boring into her and drawing her back in.
“Don’t look at it!”
The Champion tried in vain to snap her head to the side and jerk free of the demon’s grasp, only able to do so when a set of six-inch claws pierced into the apparition and tore it apart, the last wisps more easily thrown aside by the first Force user and dissipating to reveal the towering eight foot creature that stood in its place.
Certain it was safe to release her, the Togruta released the barrier and Aria dropped to the ground, retching violently as she gulped down lungfuls of air. Her insides felt like they were on fire, her limbs turned to jelly as if she had been drowning and only just been able to come up for air.

When she finally managed to steady herself, Aria looked up to find the trio crowding around her, faces a mixture of concern and relief (all except for the creature, whom she was sure only ever had ONE expression total: smug disdain).
“A-Ashara…?”
“Hey look at that, you remembered what I look like.” the affirmed Ashara smirked as she crouched to help the Champion sit up. “Take it easy kiddo, sit up slowly.”
“Wh-What was that?” Aria coughed, rubbing her throat uncomfortably.
“The nightmare these lands are named after. What are you two doing out here by yourself, where’s Master Lash?” Ashara frowned, her scolding tone quickly becoming concern as she could see no sign of the Dathomirian.
“They went into the cave over there. We were gonna follow them, but then...well...” Yerbol awkwardly pointed it out, his gaze not moving from his partner as he took a step towards them. “Ari...are you alright?”
His concern couldn’t override the horrible realisation Aria had come to.

She had tried to KILL him. After swearing to stand by his side and care for him unconditionally, she had almost murdered him.
“D-Don’t touch me.” she squeaked, trying to shrink away from Yerbol in an attempt to protect him. She couldn’t take the chance, not while they were still here and there was a chance it could happen again.
“A-Ari, I-”
“I SAID DON’T KARKIN’ TOUCH ME!” the Champion screamed, leaping backwards before his hand could make contact with her shoulder. Almost instantly, she felt bad for yelling at him as he flashed her a look of helplessness, amending it with a quieter murmur of: “I-I’m sorry, Bol...I d-don’t wanna hurt you...”
“You should be fine, kiddo.” the Togruta smiled. “But what’s say we catch up with your Masters and get out of here, ey?”
“Yeah...yeah, we should.” Yerbol cleared his throat as the Champions tried to turn their minds back to their objective, they would have a lot to talk about when this was over but now wasn’t the time and they both knew that. “Err...thanks….”
“Ashara Zavros.” the Togruta introduced herself, briefly extending a hand towards the Champion. “Former apprentice to Darth Lash, but I guess now you could call me more of a uh...freelance, Force user?” a friendly smile accompanied the statement, Ashara releasing Yerbol’s hand to gesture at the hulking creature that had left them in order to peer inquisitively into the cave mouth in front of them. “The Dashade is Khem Val, he’s er....well, he’s Khem. Got a few screws loose, but makes for good muscle when you need someone to cover your back.”
The Dashade turned to cast a threatening glare at the other three over his shoulder, gravelly voice growling something in an old Sith language Aria knew very few their age would have understood. Ashara claimed it translated as:
“It is impolite to speak of Khem Val as if he is not here. Khem Val can still hear you.”
“Oh, don’t be such a wet blanket, Khem.” Ashara snorted, waving him off dismissively. “We’re not here to argue, we’re here to help them.”
Aria exchanged a wary glance with Yerbol, while she was glad to have more help, she had to wonder how Ashara had known they would be here….had she been following the Qyaari all this time and only just offered her help, or had Cheriss finally reached out to her former apprentice fearing they may have needed further aid? If it was the latter, it would appear the Elder had been right….

____________________________

The cavern provided less light than Cheriss had hoped for, the Dathomirian growling under her breath and reaching for her borrowed saber to create some light of her own, but stopped as Voldon assured her they would arrive in a well-lit chamber soon enough. As Voldon attempted to point out their next move, Cheriss forced him to pause in order to point out that they had lost their faithful Champions who should have been right behind them.
“Aren’t we forgetting someone, Voldon? We should wait for them, how will they know which path to take?” the pause in their step that the Elders took to consider this fact gave Soto the moment to appear and sneer something about ending the Qyaari once and for all, though Cheriss’ eyes narrowed as she apparently took offence to the “old maid” comment.
“Hey! Who are you calling old, Soto….you’re no spring chicken yourself!” the Dathomirian spat, igniting her lightsaber as her eyes darted from one rendition of Soto to the next, then back to Voldon. It was IMPOSSIBLE to tell which one was the REAL Soto. They would have to kill them all, and hope they got lucky with hitting the actual Soto before she could escape again.
She caught the other Elder’s gaze and inclined her head towards the Soto directly ahead of them.
“I say we go straight down the middle, force them to follow us...what we don’t want is for them to back us into a corner or lead us into a trap.”