Mahree Mais-Ede

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Mahree did not know what to expect in the coming hours. She had little skill, little strength, she felt like a target to the rest of the students she stood amongst. The only one she could truly trust was Dash. Even then, the younger girl feared to keep her friend from succeeding. She feared she would be the reason should Dash fail.

She caught Dash’s reassuring smile as they all lined up and listened to Overseer Genbit’s speech about the Tombs. There were rules, surprisingly, yet Mahree felt it didn’t matter; if there were rules, there was someone who was going to break those rules.

As all of the student’s started to file inside, Mahree made sure to stick close behind Dash so that she didn’t get lost in the crowd. Dash was Mahree’s only hope, this the girl knew. All the strength she ever felt was because of Dash. She was stopped suddenly though, by Overseer Genbit. The young girl shrunk as he stood next to her, waiting for some sort of harsh words or punishment to come from his mouth. What she didn’t expect though was a training staff to be dropped at her feet. The young girl slowly bent down to pick it up as other students filed past her, some glancing at her, others ignoring the small scene completely. She glanced up at the Overseer as he spoke, the girl’s mind taking in his words and almost feeling as if Dash was not the only one who cared.

The way he spoke, what he spoke almost made it seem as if he had been in her position at one point. Had he been forced to train to become a Sith as she was now? Did they truly have something in common?

Mahree nodded up towards Corinth before he moved aside, allowing the girl to pass. Mahree held the staff tightly in her hands, glancing back at the man questioningly as she slowly walked with the rest of the students into the Tombs.

Quickly Mahree began to realize she had been separated from Dash due to the stalling at the entrance. The young girl began to feel panic swelling up from inside of her, but she did her best to keep it under control. Overseer Genbjt had given her a form of defense, one of the few things Mahree felt very comfortable in using.

After trekking past various students going in different directions, many giving each other wary looks as they were all prepared to defend themselves, Mahree came upon a large, open pit. The young girl looked at it nervously as she came closer before realizing a pair of hands grasping onto it's edge. Rushing forward and peering over the edge, Mahree's eyes lit up as she noticed it was Dash.

"Dash?! Are you alright?" She asked, bending down as she grasped one of Dash's wrists with her free hand to help pull her friend up.

As Dash fell over the edge, fear pulsed through her veins. Her arms snapped out and snatched the pit's edge. She jerked to a stop. A small cry escape her lips, her legs dangled just above the shadows. Her eyes glanced down into the darkness. The tips of spikes glistened with malice intentions, stained by a faint coat of red. All the breath in her throat stalled in her lungs.

Adrenaline raced within her veins, snapping her from her fear. Her arm reached for the ledge only to fall short. A second attempt proved nearly as fruitless as she dug in her feet and shoved upward. The rocks that gave her grip crumbled from under her weight. Dash yelped when she slipped only to catch herself again. Her mind frantically searched for possible escapes.

The walls were too gravelly to provide proper friction. No other beam or ledge nearby. Each option, her mind ticked off as she weighed the danger in a rapid visual. Seeing no perfectly safe way out, she took a chance. Slowly Dashara began to sway side to side. Her mind counted each one.

One.

Two.

Three!

On the last one, her other arm lifted and snagged the edge. She tightened her hold. With all the effort in her body, she began to pull herself up.

"Dash?! Are you alright?"

Relief washed over Dashara when she heard the familiar voice of Mahree. The girl's hand wrapped about Dash's wrist and began to aid her up.

"Yeah, I let me guard down," she began before flopping onto the ground on her back. Inhaling to recover her air and settle her panic mind, her torso sat upright.

"Someone shoved me from behind. I only saw the Zabrak kid, the one with the droid. So... how good are you at wall running?" Dashara's eyes settled on Mahree when she asked the question.

Tishombra walked off from Mara and went exploring the structure. Moving into another room Tishombra took out her lightsaber to illuminate the room. “I thought maybe we could talk about pooling resources and coming out ahead in this game…” Moving into the room slowly Tishombra checked for inconsistencies and secrets.

Watching from her spot hidden away in the darker corners of the room, the twi’lek considered her options for a few moments. She could let this girl wander on by, and go about her previous plan. Although… hearing her out surely couldn’t hurt. After a few moments of contemplation, the girl hopped her way down and landed just behind Tishombra as she entered the room. ”I assume you weren’t talking to yourself there. So I can hear you out, what do you propose?” She asked, her own self confidence evident in her voice. 

Tishombra looked over her shoulder and smirked. “Hallucinogen. One dose for each. Won’t kill them but makes it even easier to Mind Trick them that things aren’t quite what they seem. Cause lets be honest they have advantages given to them by sponsors. Lets even the playing field for them. Put them all on even ground. Then it’s more fair. More like our trials.”

Tishombra turned gracefully toward the twi’lek. The crimson glow illuminating and throwing shadows so that half her face was in shadow and the other half lit by the glow. Her gold eyes were eerie in the crimson glow as they shined from the smallest amount of light. Her smile was just as disturbing. “Well?”

The twi’lek watched quietly as Tishombra explained her little plan. Crossing her arms, Talik did not give away even a hint of what she was thinking for a long few moments before letting out a soft sigh. ”I’ve not mastered the mind trick skill. Perhaps we give them an enemy, myself, to fight? Those two outside who seemed to be sticking close, could serve to break them apart.” She said, hoping this other girl caught onto her plan. ”Betrayal by a friend… emotions running from that serve a new sith being born.” She said softly before allowing a small grind to grow on her lips. ”If any of these runts are capable of even making it to be one.”

Tishombra smirked and looked in the direction of a noise. She turned off the saber and fell back to one of the statues to wait.

Dash frowned. Her eyes tried to penetrate into the shadows, difficult due to the poor lighting. She inhaled to sooth her frustration as she began to examine the hallway's sides. Clinging to the wall, Dash extended her foot to test for a small ledge. Nothing. The stone had been worn smooth, and she leaned back into the platform's safety.

"That idea is pointless." She muttered under her breath.

Mahree glanced up as her friend tried to look at all their options for crossing the pit. The cave’s ceiling was high enough… perhaps.

“We can try to jump.” Mahree said, looking back at Dash. She figured her friend wouldn’t like this idea very much given Dash’s hesitation with the Force, but it was worth suggesting. Mahree was confident she could do it, and was confident that she could encourage Dash as well; but she didn't want to force her friend.

“You sure?” Dash asked again, now hearing Mahree. Her eyes turned to face her friend and looked her over for any hesitation or hidden worry.

Seeing nothing, the older woman sighed in relief.

“You can go first, I’ll follow. It’s not the first time I’ve jumped across a gap.”

Mahree shrugged and stepped forward, holding the stage in one hand tightly as she glanced down into the pit. The younger girl turned suddenly, using the momentum and throwing the staff across the pit and to the other side.

She took a few steps backward, taking in a deep breath and getting low before pushing off the ground. She ran fast, lowering and pushing off into a jump at the very edge of the pit. She used the Force to strengthen her jump and push her further, allowing her to land one foot on the other side at the very edge. She moved forward, making sure she was safely over before glancing back over to Dash.

"Ready?"

Dash silently stood back. Her attention shifted to follow the girl's rush across the gap and hoped for the best. For the short time she had known Mahree, the girl hadn't shown much athletic or acrobatic talent. The time it took for the younger girl to get across felt like an eternity to her. A dreadful one.

The spell broke when the girl's feet landed safely on the other side. Dash let out a heavy sigh of relief. Her figure bent and her hands found her knees, the lock muscles loosening. It took everything to fight the urge to simply collapse at that moment.

Her head perked up at Mahree's question. A sharp, confident grin spread across her lips.

"This is a piece of cake. Better make room."

Her hips swayed as she moved from the end, giving herself a running start. She flipped about then lowered her arms to the ground, her foot braced against the ground. She inhaled then exhaled. Without warning, her figure bolted forward. When she drew close to the wall, her foot extended, and she tilted her balance.

In a well practiced move, Dashara managed to wall run over the gap. At the last bit, she kicked off and landed on her feet.

"Hopefully all our challenges will be that easy, but I doubt it." She flashed her friend a smirk.

"You just had to show off, didn't you." Mahree teased as Dash landed her run across the wall. She smiled to her friend before kneeling down and picking up the staff she had thrown across.

"They probably won't be… but as long as we take them together, we can make it."

Dash chuckled. “Comes with living in ‘Little Slugland’.”

Her lithe figure moved past her friend and into the chamber beyond. About four pillars surrounded the center with a room to the left and right. So far, no presence appeared to be in sight. This put Dash at ease as she considered which direction to head.

"You learn quickly or you die. I wasn’t going to end up being another dead kid left for the rats on the ramparts. I was going to survive to see somewhere better. “

Her eyes glanced at Mahree to indicate if she had an idea of where to go next.

Mahree hesitantly examined their path ahead. She watched Dash for a moment before the grip on her staff tightened as she started to follow her friend.

Across the gap, something shifted in the pale light and paused. Light reflected off a pair of eyes following the pair before it vanished.