THIRTY SEVEN. fear is a deadly weapon! ｡･:*:･ﾟ✧｡･:*:･ﾟ
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A shriek rips the planet's atmosphere in half as the creature claws back into the obsidian sky, disappearing into the smoke the fire colors orange and the blanket of the galaxy, stars invisible through the fog. Glowing crimson bolts spiral through the air after the creature, but Zoya thinks they all miss. It's hard to tell as she rolls away from Din, drawing her own blaster from its holster in the same movement that brings her to her feet, braid falling forward over her shoulder.
The rapid fire of Cara's heavy weapon sets a quick rhythm that automatically increases the speed of Zoya's heartbeat, the constant sound punctuated by the blasts of the others' weapons and the soft noise of the child's whimpers.
"What the hell is that thing?" Zoya shouts over the noise, throwing a glance towards Din as he jumps towards the baby's cradle.
He seals the pram, protecting the child, glancing right back up at the sky. "I don't know," he calls back.
Gradually, the blaster fire dies out, and the group, tensed and at the ready, stares upwards, prepared for another onslaught. It's silent for too long; Zoya shifts on her feet, unconsciously moving closer to Din, hand catching at the frayed cloak that hangs from his shoulders. The material is soft and worn underneath her fingertips, and he looks down at her, feeling the pull on the fabric. Her eyes are hard, unflinching, but beneath the scarlet façade of bravado and courage lies the violet tinge of fear.
Din's hand finds hers.
"It's okay," he reassures her.
As the others keep an eye on the sky above, she allows her true emotions to peer through her mask. "I don't know why I'm so scared," she whispers, and her exhale shudders as it leaves her mouth, trembling at her lower lip. Zoya's eyes search his visor as her brows knit, eyes blossoming with unshed tears. "I don't want to die." Memories of Ayaan, her brother, filter through her mind. Too young, too soon.
The syllables shatter as they fall off her tongue, and gods, all Din wants to do is pull her into his arms, hide her away from the living nightmare that wreathes itself into the sky above them, but another shriek splinters against the night as the beast returns, low enough that their bolts smash against its belly.
It continues to wheel and swoop overhead, cries drilling into Zoya's ears as she ducks instinctively, firing her blaster off as quickly as she can in the direction of the creature, which soon turns into multiple screaming demons, passing low over the camp. One drops low enough to sink its claws into the Trandoshen's shoulders, one of Greef's men, yanking him straight up into the air, his cries tumbling down around them.
