A Prince of Dathomir (Darth Maul x OC)

Hunt - Part 2

TW: child death, death, mentions of child abuse.

Zaiya stared down at the Jedi as she faded, her face was serene. It was almost unnerving to witness. A grim look crossed Zaiya's features, watching as Feral reached down and plucked the now forgotten lightsaber from the forest floor.

A wheeze drew her attention back to the fallen Padawan. Zaiya said nothing as she approached, and knelt beside the dying teenager. He was such a fighter, but there was nothing that could be done to help him now.

The Nightsister pursed her lips and looked into his eyes.

She raised her blade.

"Mon-monster," he hissed through gurgling breaths and blood spattered lips.

"I know."

She brought her blade swiftly across his throat, ending his suffering. It didn't make her feel any better.

"Let's go," Feral said as he picked up the boy's lightsaber from beside the body.

"Not yet," Zaiya replied firmly. "They were headed to the village. There's clones there, we can deliver their payload--" she gestured to the Padawan's pack, "and leave the bodies to be taken care of in whatever way the Jedi see fit."

Feral was silent for a moment.

"Why?" he asked, with obvious disdain.

"Because--" she scoffed. She was at a loss, but this was important. "Because I said so." Feral shot her a wary look. Zaiya fixed him with an emotive stare. "I need your help with this, Feral. I can... I will try to explain later. Please."

There was a moment of tense silence. Eventually, the Nightbrother's shoulders slumped and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, we will appease your sense of honour," he huffed.

-)O(-

There was a hollowness in Zaiya's chest. Killing the child had not been the intention. She had reacted on pure instinct to an attack.

Monster, he called her. Well. She supposed she'd truly earned that now.

The two Dathomirians had wrapped the bodies, for travel, and waited until the cover of night. They carried the Jedi along with the pack they had been so worried about back to the village. They were left where they would be quickly found, and by that time, Zaiya and Feral would be back on the ship.

"Were you unsuccessful?" Maul asked, as soon as he saw Zaiya's face. She returned looking glum and surly.

"We got them," Feral said as he joined Zaiya in the main compartment. "But there was... well..."

"Did you know that one of the Jedi was a Padawan? A child?"

"Is that what this is about?" Feral asked. "He was hardly an infant."

"He was still a kid," Zaiya protested. "I do not kill children! We do not kill children!" Maul looked at her with a frown, his arms folded over his chest.

"A Jedi, is a Jedi," he said slowly.

"We are not Sith." Zaiya hissed. "We are not like Him. We are not like the Jedi that draft younglings into war. We are not the Sith that sacrifice babies for power. We are not maniacs that send little girls into the unknown with strangers--" she cut herself off and took a breath, trying to bring her rage to heel. After a moment she managed to gather herself. She looked at Feral and Maul in turn, her eyes sparking with emotion and intent.

"We are not who made us," she said emphatically. Maul took a moment, seeming to think over her argument. She could tell he did not fully agree, but eventually he nodded and stepped closer. He laid a warm hand on her shoulder.