Sarkell - Beast

[Reddnn]

”You are more like an animal than you may realize, child. The very basis of your desires will always be to assure your own survival. It is important to remember, and to use that.”

Sarkell was perched among the branches of a tree, gaze fixed on a small pack of Kath Hounds that wandered about the forest. It had rained during the night, and the remaining moisture on the leaves around her occasionally dripped onto her skin. She felt the twist in her gut as her body protested it’s lack of sustenance.

Hunger.

She’d purposefully not eaten this morning. Her body had grown accustomed to multiple daily meals - far from the singular midday meal she’d spent the last fourteen years looking forward to. For this training however, she felt it best to remind herself of those pangs of desperate desire.

One of the younger Kath Hounds had spotted prey, and chased after it. Likely a Squall or some other small creature. This was what Sarkell had been patiently waiting for. She leaped down from her perch, bracing her landing with a gentle burst of the Force. It was not perfectly silent, but her target was already distracted.

Making her way through the twists of the forest, pushing aside foliage as she went, Sarkell followed the sound of padding paws along the underbrush. The young Kath had lost it’s prey in a burrow, and was digging at the dirt where it had disappeared.

Sarkell approached it from behind, though she did not care to be stealthy. Twigs and elder leaves crunched underfoot, and the hound spun to snarl at her, revealing it’s drool soaked teeth. She bared her own in turn, her sharp canines glinting in the minor light that spilled in from the canopy.

The two circled each other, the hound snapping it’s jaws as it attempted to intimidate the Zabraki, and Sarkell remaining light on her feet as she prepared for the hound’s first move. In the back of her mind, she let her senses press forward - reaching towards the Kath, encircling it like an invisible cloud. She felt it’s stomach twist and growl in time with the rumbling sound in it’s throat.

Good. She thought. I will show you true hunger.

The Kath lunged forward, and Sarkell side stepped in a singular swift motion, reaching out to grab at the back of it’s scruff. The motion yanked it’s body backwards, it’s growl turning into a confused yelp. She technically did not need to physically subdue it, but it simplified things. The cloud of miasma that she’d extended over it’s aura snapped taught like a spring trap, and she buried her consciousness into it’s own with fierce determination.

Obey.

Just as she’d done the previous day, she called upon her own feelings and experiences, the fear, the hunger, the desperation to simply survive - and twisted them up into the Kath’s own instincts. It’s struggling in her grip subsided, and it whimpered. Releasing the hold on it’s scruff, the hound pressed itself to the forest floor in submission, it’s nose down and eyes looking to the Zabrak.

She smiled to herself, pleased. In an instance of self-satisfied victory, she snarled at it - just as the Kath had when it noticed her. It pawed at the ground in fear, whining. It felt good to exert her own dominion, rather than having to take the place of the sniveling animal, bowing to those who stood above it.

”You will remember your place, woyunoks.”

No, Mother. Not anymore. This was only the first step.

[Reddnn]

A challenge, but a welcome one.

With the pen set up, the Garral had been delivered as per the deal made, with no further questions asked. The signet ring had been handed over, and Sarkell could begin her work.

Practice is what she needed, and what better way to commit to honing this ability than through increasingly more challenging use? She entered the smaller side enclosure where she could see the newly awakened beasts in the larger portion, freshly alert in their new surroundings paced, wearing off the sedation.

They did look significantly healthier than the mange-ridden examples that she and the others had encountered, but they were still wild animals. Their flanks were covered in various scars and matted fur, along with their less than pleasant facial features - or lack thereof. The individuals who had delivered the animals, as well as the Troopers who had received them had been weary. The Garral were canine creatures, though the fur that covered their bodies halted at their neckline, where the flesh turned bare and red, swollen with the musculature. It gave the impression of almost a skinless face, though in truth it was their skin that had this particular look. It was intimidating, a factor that Sarkell had noted as a positive with the intended use she had in mind.

She began with a singular specimen. Generally when she employed the mind affliction unto beasts, she did not worry about being gentle enough to be concerned about lasting impact on their consciousness. She only remained aware of this on subjects she intended to bond with for extended periods, or across multiple occasions. She let her influence fall over the Garral’s mind, and snapped it shut like a set of jaws. The creature’s fear, hunger, it’s primal emotions were ripe for her influence to constrict upon. In it’s daze under the first hook, she led it into the separate corral she’d prepared.

Sarkell sat down in the middle of the circular pen, and instructed the Garral to join her, where it too sat. The extended bond she knew was possible lay dormant, it just needed to be cultivated. ‘How’ was the question that remained. She remained there, quietly gazing at the Garral as it stared back with it’s sunken eyes and taught flesh. They were not as frightening when they were docile, teeth no longer bear and jaws no longer snapping. In an odd way, she understood this matter of physical intimidation. When she had first arrived on Viscara, Sarkell had not thought she was that odd looking given the vast and varied characteristics others among the populace showed. Yet, after several more recent experiences it had become clear that there was some manner of influence her face caused. She was not sure how she felt about it yet, but she understood.

She pulled a bucket she had stashed on the side of the pen towards her, and even through it’s daze, the Garral’s eyes flickered in it’s direction, the beast’s nose drawing in the scent of the contents. Sarkell pulled a slab of raw meat from the bucket, and held it in front of the Garral. It’s maw began to drip, saliva forming as the hunger that had developed from the trip to Viscara set in.

”Eat. Know that I, and eventually others - will be the hand that feeds you. You will trust us, and be loyal to us. You will grow to be the peak of your species. You will never starve again.”

As the Garral ate from her palm, she spoke the words, both aloud and within. How much it understood would remain to be seen, but she would repeat this process with each of the specimens gathered, beginning what she hoped would become a worthwhile endeavor.

[Reddnn]

Progress, however slow.

It had been a couple weeks since Sarkell had begun her work to tame the Garral. She’d poured much of her free time outside her own studies and training into this endeavor, which she was beginning to see a very visible progress from.

She no longer had to work with each Garral solo, and she could bring the majority of them into the training pen as a singular unit. Many of them were receptive to her thanks to the regular rewards for their good behavior. Many of them had ceased their growling, though Sarkell was not yet content with how many of them barked and alerted the pack when she approached their home.

There were of course, a few of the group who had proven to be more difficult to break. Two of them, a smaller, feistier male, and a larger female had pushed back against Sarkell’s attempts to tame them. Though she’d ensured that none of the Garral would harm her through her consistent practice of the Force technique - many of the basic lessons that she’d imparted on the pack were not sticking with these particular two.

Where many in her place would have likely either resorted to more violent means to make them submit, Sarkell had another tactic to try first. Her initial lesson from Lord Lin-Harik in the technique she’d been putting to use had taught her that there is always a connection that can be exploited. Many animals would find hunger or fear to be substantial enough to twist and break through into their minds to establish this deeper connection. Given the stature and attitude of these two problematic Garral, a new avenue would have to be explored.

It took some to consider her options, and she often meditated within the center of the training pen while the pack surrounded her. What instinct would be a deeper and more sure hook to pull them in to her control? These two were leaders - above the others in the hierarchy. They would not have been nearly as fearful, nor would they have experienced hunger to the fullest extent as their pack-mates. In time, the realization came to her.

With a hiss under her breath, she’d rise from her kneeling position in the midst of her subjects, and lock on the two that lounged towards one side of the circular pen.

Sarkell had been focusing on the negative traits that she understood these animals felt, though as a result, she’d neglected to understand the potential in the positive instincts that would draw these two in. In her observations of the pack’s behaviors, though they were clearly among the top of the hierarchy - they rarely expended this influence among the other animals in a negative way. Rather, they taught. They guided and took on an almost parental role. It was very likely that they had sired many of the younger Garral here. This was not something Sarkell understood personally, but perhaps something she could still find use in.

As she approached them, she folded her legs and sat, cross legged in front of them. The two gave her their usual suspicious looks, the skin of their faces contorted into an expression she’d grown familiar with. As she breathed out and expanded her influence through the Force, she felt the connection take. Through this, she sorted through their minds quietly, before pulling up what she had sought.

The instinct to protect.