Hidden Malice

Chapter Thirty-Three

Kylo woke with a start, his sleep interrupted by a very loud, starting noise. He looked around and found Malice on her stomach peering over the edge of the cliff.

What are you doing?" He thought to her.

There's a Nexu pack right under us. They don't know we're here but I'm letting Senzu watch them.

Laying on his stomach, Kylo crawled over to where she was, desperate to not give them away. He peered over and saw exactly what the noise was coming from.

Four fully grown Nexu were prowling around. They'd just killed some sort of creature and we're taking turns devouring it. Kylo knew Senzu was going to get bigger, but it wasn't until now that he realized how big. Easily rideable, just as Malice had said. Their large, toothy grins snapped at each other, their four eyes peering into the darkness.

Senzu seemed extremely interested, though he didn't make a sound. His tail twitched in excitement as he watched them all eat. They growled and continued to snap at each other, almost done tearing their food apart. Kylo knew they probably wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

When does the sun rise?" He asked. Malice looked up at the sky.

An hour or so. Not going back to sleep?

I don't think I'd be able to.

Malice knew the feeling. It wasn't until the last few days of her abandonment here that she'd felt safe enough to sleep. She hadn't had a lightsaber then, either. But she had survived and made it through without too many scratches.

Today they'd work on agility. They'd be jumping from tree to tree and if they were lucky, something would be chasing them. That always seemed to make things a little more real, which usually gave better results.

The Nexu pack tossed a few of the bones around before prowling off. They most likely go nap off their meal for a few hours. Malice was curios as to where their den was but decided against following them. She didn't want to put Senzu in danger, and just because he was the same species didn't mean they would show him any mercy.

The leaf bed had been as comfortable as she remembered it to be. The night was cold but they were protected from the wind and rain at least. And of course sharing body heat helped a lot.

Malice stood, brushing the dust off of her front, while picking up Senzu and letting him sit on her shoulder again. Kylo stood as well, looking around outside. The sun was beginning to peak over the clouds, and the beams shone brilliantly over the treetops.

Grabbing her lightsaber, Malice led
Kylo out of the tunnel system and put into the forest. She scaled a tree easily, leaning against it to wait for Kylo. He was glad at that moment for being force sensitive. He hadn't had a huge amount of experience climbing trees, but the force gave him an extra push. He stood beside her and she gave him a small grin.

"Alright. We're going to be jumping from branch to branch. I'll begin to throw obstacles in your way. If you fall off, you start over. Understand?"

Kylo nodded, feeling determined. Malice leapt forward, landing on the next branch, and waiting for Kylo.

"Just jump. Trust your senses and let the force guide you to each branch."

He jumped, landing a little off balance, but steadied himself immediately. They took off after that, Malice leading the way through the treetops. At some point she allowed Senzu to climb down and he jumped on his own, leaping with a grace that far surpassed Kylo's. Malice began to cut branches in his path, forcing him to run through an obstacle course of sorts.

At one point she looked behind them and her eyes widened. She chirped for Senzu, who immediately climbed onto her shoulder, and took off, yelling over her shoulder.

"Don't look behind you just keep jumping!"

Kylo resisted the urge to immediately look behind him, but instead continued to leap. Looking back would slow him down, and if there was something behind him, he likely didn't want to be caught without a lightsaber.

He heard a crashing through the trees behind him getting closer and closer, when the trees suddenly ended and he stepped onto air, using the force to roll upon hitting the ground. He stood, uninjured, and looked behind him.

A large octopus like creature was spread out on the tree branch, almost like a spiderweb. Malice drew her lightsaber, running it through the creatures large head. It gurgled before collapsing into the ground and curling up. She walked over to it, slicing off its tentacles quickly, while leaving the head. It would make a good meal for some other wandering creature. Most likely the Nexu pack, since it was a creature they often preyed on.

Slinging a few of the tentacles over her shoulder while tossing one to Kylo, she headed back to the hole in the ground to go back to their little camp.

"You did really well." She told Kylo as he tried to get one of the suckers off of his arm. He pulled it off with a loud pop, and glanced up at her.

"Thanks. I don't think I've ever used the force like that. To guide me when I couldn't always see where I was going." He told her.

"Using the dark side of the force doesn't mean always being angry. It means we're unbound from the rules and guidelines that the Jedi have. We can use it however we please, while they are forbidden to use it in some ways. It can guide us just as well. We are free to use it as we wish." She explained. Kylo nodded, seemingly deep in thought.

Malice started their fire once again to begin to cool their food. Kylo dropped the slimy tentacle next to her, and she cut off a small piece for Senzu to chew on.

Perhaps this week wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Another finished chapter! Hope
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