Chapter 2: The Hunt (I)

Some time later. Sounds of birds chirping in the skies created an echo that bounced through the trees of a never-ending forest. Deep within a grassy path, Pav-ti could be seen walking silently, taking step by step. Only the sounds of leaves being crushed underneath her feet could be heard. Yet even from these noises, critters began to come into view either on branches of trees, or deeper within the tall grass around Pav-ti. Pav-ti continued onward with a determined look in her eyes.

Pav-ti continued on in silence. As she walked, chittering reached her ears, which drew Ahsoka's attention. it was another local beast to Planet Shili. A Chikarri. It had a very similar appearance to that of a squirrel, but had very elongated ears. It happily chirped while nestling itself in some branches while Pav-ti proceeded to ignore it.

'This is...', A sound of a small voice inwardly struck. While remaining silent, Kohsaka inwardly thought to himself, observing the ongoing scene before him. '...Just where is this?', Kohsaka continued to think to himself. Yet his body couldn't react to what he wanted to do. He quickly found himself as a newborn baby, but for some reason, he had strange azure-blue skin. He also saw he wasn't alone. A weird orange-skinned creature in front of him happily cooed to all the new sights before her.

Kohsaka's eyes lay still on Ahsoka.

'That isn't a human...', Kohsaka continued to think. 'Just where exactly is this?', Kohsaka tried to ask, but found himself unable to explain the present situation. He could only watch on, feeling his movements restricted thanks to the baby barrier that he was placed in. Kohsaka looked upward, and saw a giant figure before him. Well, it appeared giant to him, but only thanks to having his body shrinking down to that of a baby. It was that part he hadn't come to a realization yet. His mind was still muddy, even after a year had passed since he was born.

So for him, Kohsaka could only watch the forest before him after receiving a gentle smile from the large orange-skinned woman.

As Pav-ti continued to walk, an opening appeared, which allowed some rays of the sun to sneak into the thick forest. Taking a moment to enjoy the sunshine, Pav-ti stopped, and did a motion of her hands, proceeding to speak to her two children.

"Ahsoka, Kohsaka. Look. All around you, there is life. You must cherish it. Honor it.", Pav-ti said, saying to the two. Pav-ti then approached some plant life, in what appeared to be large, colorful pink-purple enclosed mushroom-like plants with the fluffiness of dandelions on their tips. Taking a moment, Pav-ti took her rifle, and swung at the fluffy portion of the plant. Each swing she did, the large fluffy ball dissipated, creating smaller fuzz balls, soaring into the sky.

Ahsoka giggled seeing this happen around her. Kohsaka too, took this time to smile. Even for Pav-ti, she was momentarily distracted by Kohsaka's current appearance.

Not once did he smile before he was born. 

Pav-ti couldn't help but feel a bit emotional, but she knew now wasn't the time to feel that.

The boy continued to watch the weird plants' behavior, which was a new sight for him.

Taking some steps on the path they were currently on, Ahsoka's cooing continued. Only by having one or two moments pass did Pav-ti place two fingers on Ahsoka's and Kohsaka's lips.

"Hush now, little ones.", Pav-ti said in a serious manner. Her own steps came to a halt, and was now completely still. If one had a close look, some sort of braying of another weird Kohsaka saw in the distance could now be heard. It was a Kybuck.

Pav-ti took her rifle into one of her hands, and assumed a hunting stance, carefully taking each step forward to not disturb the Kybuck. Eventually she found a group of Kybuck in the distance. Taking a moment to blend into the tall grass, she halted her steps.

The couple of Kybuck cocked their heads upward, wondering what the sound they heard was, but proceeded to continue eating the grass before them.

Pav-ti reached her hands out, and gripped her rifle. Taking a stance to shoot, she took a moment to make sure her aim was spot-on.

A single shot was all that was needed once Pav-ti had her finger on the rifle's trigger.

Bang!

Braying of the nearby Kybucks echoed around her as Kohsaka was momentarily stunned by the large sound of the single blaster shot. His eyes then turned wide, seeing a Kybuck fall over while the remaining ones fled deeper into the forest. A momentary disturbance caused the small creatures in the trees to flee in terror. 

Back at the Togruta village, the Togrutas heard this loud gunshot further into the forest. At the elder's house, she too heard this gunshot, followed by the sound of a dying animal. A smile appeared on her face, and she proceeded to chant something in ancient Togruti.

Back inside the forest, Pav-ti approached her fallen prey, only to realize the Kybuck was still breathing, signaling that it was alive.

Seeing a dying creature before her as Pav-ti knelt, Kohsaka felt his sister start to squirm. The boy watched, but Ahsoka started to make fussing noises.

Seeing Kohsaka's eyes on the dying Kybuck, Pav-ti took a moment to turn Ahsoka's head forward as well, and proceeded to speak.

"You two must face death, Ahsoka, Kohsaka. Do not fear it. Do not let it consume you.", Pav-ti uttered to her two children.

'Do not fear death...', Kohsaka uttered to himself within his thoughts, letting a moment of silence pass before the Kybuck took its last breath of life. Pav-ti took the time to chant in ancient Togruti as she pulled out a large knife, and stabbed the Kybuck directly in its heart, giving it a quick and painless death.

Ahsoka's eyes landed on the dead animal, unable to turn her head away.

Kohsaka too, watched on as he saw his first life taken before his own eyes.

*****

Some more time has passed while Kohsaka watched his mother tie up the dead Kybuck. Both him and Ahsoka were now placed on the grass getting some mobility for the first time. Ahsoka didn't have enough strength in her legs to crawl or stand yet so she just happily cooed. Kohsaka tried to move, but his one year-old body just sat there motionless like Ahsoka was.

That didn't disencourage him. Instead, his eyes focused on his mother, who finished tying up the Kybuck. Pav-ti took this moment to look at the two. She could see happiness in their eyes.

"Haha, this Kybuck is good. Enough to feed several in the village for a while.", Pav-ti happily answered before turning to her two children. "Now, I shall proceed to carry both this Kybuck and you two back to the village, unless you would like to try?", Pav-ti continued to say, revealing a playful grin.

Ahsoka cooed again at her mother's remark, but Kohsaka's expression became deadpan, almost as if he reacted to her. Pav-ti was distracted by her son's reaction, but let out a laugh.

Unfortunately, that laugh was short-lived. Pav-ti saw her daughter's expression change to that of interest. Her eyes no longer blinked happily in response. Pav-ti saw Ahsoka's head a bit to the side, acting as if she was seeing something that wasn't her. Even Ahsoka's earlier giggling stopped entirely.

"Grr...", A growling sound reached the three's ears, causing Pav-ti's eyes to turn serious. It didn't take long for them to hear loud footsteps. Due to being small in stature presently, Kohsaka found his body jumping off the grass every time this large figure took a step toward them. It appeared to be crazed, and drool dripped down from its lips. Kohsaka determined this creature to be a very large tiger, but was twice or three times as large as what a normal tiger was, and was yellow in color with black stripes going across its body.

Pav-ti immediately entered a defensive stance at the sudden creature appearing before her. Her parental instincts triggered, and her body lept forth in front of her two children. Ever so slowly, a face-off emerged between Togruta and beast, with the large tiger taking steps slowly, but surely. Its eyes ignored Pav-ti. It was clear the tiger was targeting her two children, wanting to consume them as a meal.

Ahsoka did not know what fear meant at this time, even if she received her mother's earlier teaching. All Kohsaka saw was Ahsoka looking at the large tiger, unable to shift her eyes away.

At this time, in the face of fear and death yet again, a strange feeling started to emerge in Kohsaka's body. It almost felt ethereal, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Ever so subtle, Pav-ti's montrals on her head perked, acting as if she had sensed this change from behind her. Unsure of what it was, Pav-ti took aim, firing off a couple of blaster shots at the large tiger. Doing that grazed the tiger's arm, and the scent of flesh burning reached their nostrils. The tiger entered a crazed stance, lunging at Pav-ti, and knocked her aside with a large sweep of its paw.

"Oh no...", Pav-ti tried to say, only to feel pain strike against her body as it collapsed onto the grass. The large tiger ignored her, and the drool continued to drip from its mouth. It eyed the two children before it. Yet the little boy didn't feel any fear. He felt at peace, despite seeing the imminent threat of death before him.

'Ahsoka, Kohsaka!...', Pav-ti tried to utter, but found herself unable to move her body.

To her surprise, she saw the tiger now in direct approach to her two children.

"Grr...", The tiger growled again. For some reason, it was attracted to the boy. It ignored the searing pain in one of its large arms, and silently observed the boy for the moment with its large fangs protruding outward.

Even though Kohsaka's arms were tiny, he reached out with one of his hands. That calm feeling he was feeling, he directed it toward the large tiger before him. 

Pav-ti became shocked, seeing her son suddenly touch the nose of the large tiger. A moment didn't even pass before the tiger's anger subsided completely. It's growling lessened, and it accepted the boy.

The large tiger had one more look at the two little children before it. It then turned around, proceeding to head further inside the forest, likely to where its nest was.

Kohsaka's little body then fell plump onto the ground right then and there, falling unconscious. Ahsoka just watched on, cooing again as she didn't understand what had just happened before her.

It took a moment for Pav-ti to recollect her emotions, but her eyes soon glanced on her son's unconscious body. She immediately stood up, and dashed through the large grass, arriving next to her two children. She quickly placed Kohsaka in her arms.

"Kohsaka!", Pav-ti said, reaching her son's side, entering a panic as she tried to see if her son was in any danger.

Seeing as her son was in no immediate danger, Pav-ti let out a sigh of relief, and proceeded to collect Ahsoka up into her embrace as well.

Thanks to the few shots that were fired off, the villagers could sense something was wrong. Several Togruta tribefolk came rushing forth into the open area where Pav-ti was after the tiger seemingly left on its own. Kal-il saw his wife, only to see Kohsaka unconscious before him. He could only hold Pav-ti in her arms, and Pav-ti's eyes started to water.