A Tuck Here...A Nip There...And Now A Proper Fit

[Via Dolorosa]

The time had finally arrived for her to go out and claim some besk'ar ore to make her own Mandalorian armour. As a test, she would go forth alone to brave the wilds and the predators. A true Mandalorian feared nothing, as she had been told repeatedly. So equipped with only her weapons, a few supplies, and the traditional garb that all Mandalorian initiates wore, Initiate Armour, she set out through the forests with the mines as her primary destination.

The journey would be long, taking days maybe even weeks to arrive and return. Then there was the manner of creating the armour which she had no knowledge of. Luckily, she had met a smith willing to assist her in the fabrication of her armour; giving her ideas and suggestions. When she offered to pay him for his help, he waved her offer away with his left hand and told her that it was his pleasure to help a new warrior in their endeavors. Still, she would find someway to repay him for both his work and kindness.

Now as she moved through the forest she took care to remain on guard. There were several predators that lurked about, which was not a main concern for her but this forest was unknown to her; giving them the advantage. If forced to engage them, she would be fighting on their turf. She would need her wits about her. A quick glance skyward showed her that the day was giving over to night, meaning she needed to find a reasonable place to make camp; one she could easily defend.

After examining several potential candidates she finally settled on a small moss covered hill. Despite her disadvantages the predators held over her, this hill was a strong strategic pointe. No matter what came and try to claim her for a meal, the hill's angled sides would slow their advance, turning them into easy targets.With a small fire glowing to push away the encroaching darkness, she cooked her food, ate it, and then turned in for the night. This was only the first day and already she could feel the strain of not failing washing over her.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

The next morning she broke down her camp, making sure leaving nothing behind before she continued with her journey. The forest had seemed eerily quiet to her, a sign someone or something was stalking about. She was pretty sure it wasn't her they were concerned about and at once began to be more observant. In her brief time on Mandalore she had learned that killing one another was a no-no which led her to believe one of two things. The first being that maybe a predator was out and about looking for it's own breakfast. She had familiarized herself with some of the predators on the planet, but not all. So whatever was making the smaller forest creatures quiet, must be something she didn't want to deal with right now.

The second thought was perhaps there was a pirate, or a group of pirates, moving about. Maybe even some mercs. Both of those groups had no codes really, traditionally preying on anything that was careless to cross paths with them. For all she knew, they could be out her poaching which she found displeasing. It was one thing to hunt for your food, it was another thing to kill animals for their hides or whatever poachers did. If she crossed paths with them there was no doubt fighting would occur.

A few hours later she came to a small flowing river. In the mud she saw foot tracks, but these tracks were not made by Mandalorian feet. How could she tell? The impressions were not deep enough to be made by even the lightest of Mandalorian armour. Whovever was out here sharing the forest with her was close. Perhaps to close in fact. Her head swiveled to the left then to the right hoping to see some signs of them. Broken tree branches, trampled underbrush, or if luck was on her side, perhaps their bodies moving in broken patterns as they passed some of the foliage. But there was nothing but these tracks in the mud.

Spying a small wooden bridge to her right, fashioned together by falling trees, the Initiate crossed it following a path that wound and bent several times both to the east and to the west. She had been told the forest was massive, but as the daylight began to fade again, she was still far away from the mines. Unlike the night before, she made camp without a fire; eating cold rations and fruit bars. If whomever was still out there, she did not want her camp fire to act a s beacon for them.

Sleep was hard to come by, but eventually it claimed her.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Sarli was beginning to grow more annoyed by the second with these foolish people. She had caught a glimpse of one as he was ducking behind a hollowed out tree stump. giving him and his mates up. Pirates! Whatever game they were playing she was not interested in participating. If they were going to attack then this group should just get it over with. She had goal to accomplish with no time to dance and jig through the forest with their likes, and since she was unsure of their full capacity in numbers, she would be the foolish one if she attacked first.

Reaching the edge of the forest, and still no intervention from her fans, she spotted the mine a few hundred yards out. The sounds of droids and hammering devices was music to her ears. Wasting no time, Sarli doubled-timed it to the mines to seek out Garlen, the man she had spoken with earlier in the week, to obtain the besk'ar needed to have her armour built personally for her. Garlen, a rather tall, stout fellow, saw her coming and flashed her a wave.

"Welcome vod! I was beginning to wonder if you weren't coming," Garlen said clasping his big arms around her, gently giving her a brotherly hug.

"Oh, I was coming," she replied returning the hug. "You never mentioned how big the forest is. But it seems the forest is crawling with ver'verds. More like pirates I think."

Garlen turned his head to stare into the forest, the muscles in his neck tightening. With a shake of his head he redirected his attention back Sarli saying, "Perhaps we should go evict them, eh?"

"They're harmless. If they wanted to attack me there were ample opportunities to do so. Instead they just annoyed me."

"Your call. Come. You look hungry. Food first then we will go see about getting you some besk'ar."

Food did sound good. She had skipped lunch not wanting to stop and give her followers a chance to find bravery and attack her. While she ate listening to the stories from Garlen and the others, she wondered if it would not be a bad idea to go rid the forest of the vermin. Right now the numbers were in her favour. After a few minutes she decided to let them be. If they didn't attack her on the way here, why would they attack her on the return trip home.