Kissed by Fire: Cal Kestis

Chapter 23

She couldn't believe it. The fear that gripped her stomach as Y/n slid down one of Dathomir's slimy slopes was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Cal was gone. She watched him disappear beyond the rock wall that separated them on this horrible planet. She had never felt such terror in her life, not even when the Shyyyo Bird had fallen on Kashyyyk. She knew then that Cal was alive, and that she could get back to him. But right here on Dathomir, they were separated. She didn't even know if his heart was still beating. Force, she hoped it was.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only a few seconds, Y/n fell into a large swampy pit. She groaned as she hit the ground face first, feeling the slime go all over her front. Her hair was now coated the Dathomir's green mud, her shirt soaked as well. She raised herself up onto her hands, looking around at the environment she was now in. It was filled with hot mist, water dotting small areas of the swamp like little pools. Green, red, and purple moss covered many of the rocks, and she could hear the calls of many different animals surrounding her.

Standing back up, she rubbed what mud she could off of her face and arms, her eyes not leaving her environment. Without Cal by her side, she was unsure of her likelihood of surviving, especially if more of those Nightbrothers or undead Nightsisters found her. Keeping a steady hand on her blaster, she looked for the nearest path. It didn't take her long, finding a small way through the swamps, but it only led to more swamp.

Y/n looked up at the rocks and bridges that were built over her. If she could just get up to one of those, she'd have a vantage point of where she was, hopefully even being able to see the Mantis. Taking her blaster from her hip, she went to fire off the grapple, only to find the mechanism broken. "No. No, no, no, no!" Y/n muttered as her hands fumbled with the gun, trying to fix the grapple. When she realized it was a lost cause, she let out a scream. "Kriff!!" she cried, holding her hand to her head in frustration and fear.

"Y/n... Y/... Are you t... I'm... find you..."

Y/n's eyes widened when she heard Cal's crackling voice over the comms. "Cal?! Cal is that you? Can you hear me?"

"Y/n? ...cut out... I can't... you.."

"Cal? Oh, for the love of all that is good," Y/n muttered to herself, feeling her eyes sting from frustration. "Please, I can hardly understand you! You're cutting out!"

"...put an... move... find yo... BD track..."

He suddenly went silent. "Cal?" Y/n spoke, and fiddled with the comm in her hand. "Cal, oh please don't be broken too. No, no, no, I can't do this without you! Cal!!"

Y/n felt a tear finally drop past her eye, closing them tightly as she put her dirty fists up to her head. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't contact Cal, which meant she couldn't contact Cere and Greez to even attempt to get her out of this swamp. Her land must've been worse than she anticipated, going by the pain she felt in her side. She knew she didn't break anything, she would've known, but she definitely bruised herself bad. Once again, she realized she was short of something she usually relied on. BD's stims.

She needed a moment to collect herself. She could feel the lump in her throat growing as she tried to keep the tears at bay. Literally any other planet in the galaxy would've been better to be alone on than Dathomir. "Damn Nightsister. Damn Nightbrothers. Damn this whole planet!!" she shouted out, picking up a rock and throwing it at the nearest wall. She watched as a piece flung off, falling into a nearby shallow pool of water. "And especially damn the walking dead."

"Okay, okay. Y/n," she started talking to herself, letting out a breath and closing her eyes. "What would Cal do? What... would Cal do...?" She began pacing back and forth, racking her brain to find any way out of this. "He would... meditate. Look to BD's map for the next path. Or just... start swinging his lightsaber around." She tilted her head. "Only one of those I can do right now, and I can't even do it properly." Meditation had never been one of her stronger skills. Letting out a pained sigh, she whispered, "Oh, what the hell can I even do? I'm no Jedi. I'm just a karking doctor."