Arcfall

[Kira Talith]

Shiva
Somewhere in the wetlands



Why do I always get myself into these situations? Kira mused to herself, trying to gather her bearings as the crackling sound of exposed wires and cables danced at the edge of her hearing.

Her vision was blurry, and it took a bit for her to register exactly where she was at. Her nose gave a slight wrinkle at the scent of charred wires and -- wait is that blood?

A warm trickle ran down her temple and had begun to saturate her hair; really, with all the head injuries she's had in the past year, one would wonder if she'd have a concussion by now. At the very least, she had a few scars on her scalp that were at least thankfully hidden by the thickness of her blonde hair.

Her mission had been simple; find the Templar Zabrak by the name of Krest to follow up on his testimony back at the Temple on Coruscant. Originally, she'd done this along with Boolan and Master Spencer Jacobs, but after Calico and his brethren had left Baylan, it had been difficult to track the location of his destination.

Their words had sounded quite final; much to Kira's melancholy. From the time she'd spent with him, he'd seem like a very likeable fellow, and certainly battling Tund Sorcerers and the might of Akala had a way of building up a level of camaraderie. However, she was still a Jedi -- and it appeared from their last conversation, with a tinge of sadness, that because of this, she perhaps wasn't held in much regard.

None the less, a mission was a mission, especially when instructed so by the High Council in order to properly report the findings of a non Jedi being used as a spy against the Sith without the rest of the Council's knowledge.

It took a while to track an idea of where they might have headed off to. Ultimately, it ended with Kira sending a comm message to @[member="Calico Tal'Verda"] 's frequency to ask to meet him. He would be the best person to at the very least, provide a neutral party to oversee any questions she might have of the Zabrak Templar.

Only that a sudden meteor shower managed to put a dent on that idea. Space debris had struck the small starfighter she'd used to travel to Shiva, the appointed neutral area to meet. The damage was severe; one icy bit of a meteor shard five inches in length slamming into one of her engines, causing it to go offline as well as send a whine of emergency bright red lights and alarms within the tiny cockpit.

Panic had bloomed within her breast as the starfighter suddenly spun on it's axis, stars and the watery green planet blurring across her viewport as the tiny starfighter went tearing from the black onto the atmosphere, crimson fire engulfing the hull at the rush of reentry.

Her fingers had frantically swept over the controls, trying to regain control of the fighter, but even then, with one engine, it was difficult. Clouds had gone sweeping across the rising dawn, the ground rushing towards her as the belly of the star fighter went cutting across several crowns of verdant mangrove trees, sending broken branches, leaves and a scattering of birds into the heavens-- the only reason she managed to survive, the friction slowing the starfighter down enough for her to slide into a hard landing that didn't end up with her bursting automatically in flames.

Yet.

 

[Revenchent]

The messages had, shamefully, urged Calico to respond immediately. The thought was intoxicating. The logical part of his mind had won out, thankfully. Giving away Krest to the Jedi was dangerous, and he wouldn't do that to a brother. Not to mention the flak that would come at Joshua for the things that had happened if they came to light within the order. The former Grandmaster had joined the Concord as a full member, and would be treated as such. The Jedi likely knew of his...attachment to the woman, and were apparently not above using physiological warfare to get what they wanted. They were smart, he'd give them that.

Calico had resolved to keep him safe, as he did for all of his family. The chieftain's capacity to love those who would otherwise be alone was truly his only redeeming quality when weight against the mountain of amoral deeds he had carried out. This put him in a compromising position when those messages had refused to cease.

Calico finally answered, relying on the logical reasoning of stopping this manhunt as a crux. In truth, he'd wanted to see Kira. The shameful truth that he would have to confront if he were to remain happy with Keziah. Women and love were two things he had never been taught. The clone was learning these things the hard way, hard contact, his former cuy'vuyal'dar sergeant had told him. Hard Contact was the most brutal and efficient way to teach a man.

This had resulted in his Belbulab--the same ship used on Tund-- to be struck on its port side by the random meteor shower. If Calico hadn't been an atheist, he would have blamed it on the force. Currently, the sleek silver fighter was hanging from a hammock of impossibly resilient vines. Calico's armor had saved him from any major injury, though his beloved DC-17's barrel was bent inward. It left him with the heavy blaster the Protectorate had provided him with, and the huge, red, wrist mounted vibroblade for defense.

"It'll do." He grunted, pushing himself out of the open cockpit. The soldier fell a good three meters before tumbling across the muddy forest floor. He pitched a roll, softening the impact to a simple bone jarring halt. "Di'kutla...shab." He pushed himself up to his feet, new armor covered in greenery and other odd colorations. He checked his vitals with the HUD display, and let out a satisfied sigh as everything read back green.

Let's hope the ship's alright.

He turned to glance back at the thing. It wasn't remarkably damaged--the fighter was built for endurance--though it would require significant repairs to attain flight. Its beacon had been damaged in the crash, so no one from the Concord would come looking until the time period of three days was up. The Concord could sustain without him for three days, and he could easily survive with the kit he had. Kira, on the other hand...

"Hold on Kir'ika..."

He broke into a brisk jog, not bothering to check for hostile natives or anything of the like. His sensors would pick it up if something came near. The two ships had not crashed far from each other, and Calico arrived in half an hour, red kama swaying, covered in dirt and greenery. He stared up at her ship, a pang of worry echoing through his chest.

"Hold on..." He mumbled to himself, climbing rather awkwardly up to where the fighter was lodged. His foot long virboblade ejected with the speed pf a jackhammer into the outer casing of her ship's cockpit. The glass shattered, and he pulled apart the remaining bits with his gauntlets to create a big enough hole for Kira to climb--or be carried if need be--out.

"How do you not have a concussion by now?" He asked aloud, a worried tinge to his voice. It made for a special kind of greeting. He reached into his belt, and once more, attempted to apply the gauze to the gash in her forehead. You never moved someone with a bleeding head injury until it was secure, hanging from a tree or not.

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]


It’s funny how head injuries seem to make ones heart thunder in their ears. It felt as if her heart was beating an impatient ear jarring thrum, shooting shards of stabbing pain across her head.

Or maybe that was just Calico’s vibroblade jackhammering into the outer casing of the starfighter’s cockpit.

Shards of plexiglass went shattering over her, and fresh wet air came seeping in from the cracked opening above her. Huh? Confusion hit her for a moment, as she began to blink rapidly as the sun’s morning rays reflected against Calio’s armor to cast him in a strange otherworldly halo.

She couldn’t sense him through the Force; he was a void surrounded by the current of energy she’d been taught would flow in all living things. Such a paradox. But there was a comfort to that emptiness.

Calico’s familiar voice came just at the edge of her hearing, her head tipping up to squint at him. The corner of her mouth gave a quirk as the story of the angels of the Moon of Iego came to mind in her slight daze.

“Maybe ‘cause of your patchjob?” she said in a lighthearted and slightly disoriented tone. Ever the one to find some kind of humor in the most obscure of places. She gave a wince as she felt his armored hands come down, the weight of his fingers moving with an almost paradoxical gentle touch as he tended to the injury at her temple.

“Just lucky I guess?” she continued with the jokes, attempting to pull her legs from under the warped metal of the cockpit. However, her right leg seemed a bit stuck. A grimace came over her features, as she began to try and tug it free. However, the motion suddenly caused a groan on the ship, the sound of vines protesting under the weight of the starfighter looming over them with forbearing.

“.... ahh… I have a bad feeling about this....”

 

[Revenchent]

Y'know one of these days, I'm not going to be here to patch you up." He shot back, all cheeky banter now.

His fingers danced with the dexterity of a surgeon, delicately sealing the wound with a strip if the gauze. He made sure to push slightly in the process, just to get his playful point across.

Get her out. Get Krest cleared. Bang out. Pubs will get her....can't, she's one of mine.

The thought was all cold rational thinking. It was something Calico was referring more and more to lately. Life in the Concord was a lot more dangerous than many of its members noticed. He shifted to lift her up out of the ship, hands going to heft her up in a fire-men's carry. That was, of course, until he saw she was stuck. That, and the ship making some not-so-positive-sounds.

"Alright, just uh...hold on a second." He shifted his weight and pushed himself partway into the cockpit--legs kicking up in air, torso and arms sprawled across the interior of the ship, and Kira by extension.

"I'm going to try and cut this...if the ship falls...well, we should be okay. Can't sue me if we aren't anyway." From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was grinning.

This was much better than an awkward conversation, Calico admitted. Then again, crashing the Belbulab had not been on his bucket list. In truth, he need to get Kira out of his system. She was always on the edge of his thoughts, accompanied with the what-ifs and how-to's. If his relationship with Keziah was a blossoming flower, his feelings for Kira were the weeds threatening to eat that flower away.

The problem was, he wasn't sure if he could cut them down or not.

"So....don't scream. Or anything, alright Kir'ika?" He asked without waiting for an answer. The vibroblade retracted, and then exploded through the twisted metal. It was his ARC precision that kept him from slicing through his char he's leg. The metal began to give way, as did the ship. It creaked louder and louder after each strike, threatening to break through the trees....

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

“Ow!” came Kira’s abrupt cry as an armored finger pressed down as he smoothed over the gauze. It was more in light of joking dramatics than of actual real pain. His palm managed to catch that trickle of blood that had trailed down the side of her face, smearing a red stain over her cheek.

“Oh.. Right!” she shot back with a quip, every second that was passing allowing her to gather her wits. “Still. Like being pinned down by the leg due to warped durasteel was going to allow me to just flee with a hop, skip, and a jump.”

“Don’t mind me I’ll just be --omph!” That’s when Calico’s body came over hers, the hard angles of his armor digging against her. His helmet came real close then, only about a foot separated her face from his HUD.

Of course the first thing to come out of her mouth was, “... You’re heavy!” she joked, the added weight of his body half on top of her slightly bruising a couple of delicate areas and making it a little bit harder to breathe; have someone in full armor half on top of you and see how well you breathe!

There was another shudder of the proverbial floating coffin they were in, as two vines went snapping with a swwwwipe sound, suddenly jarring the crashed starfighter and dropping it about five inches down before suddenly stopping.

“WHOAAAA!” okay, in her defense, it wasn’t a scream. But suddenly feeling your gut fill with that free falling sensation, even if it was for five inches, was enough to startle anyone! And what does one do when you suddenly have the sensation of falling?

You grab. You grab the closest thing to you and hold on tight. It’s a natural reaction, the mind’s and body’s inherent need to protect itself by latching onto the most stable thing they can perceive.

This just happened to be Calico. Lucky him!

Her arms automatically rose to wrap round whatever she could grab as the starfighter fell those five inches, snaking around his torso and holding on tight, her cheek pressing just under the crook of where his neck would be as she gave a small cry out.

Is it over? She half mused, not realizing what she’d done. Her eyes were wide, and she half gave a little prayer to the Gods that be. ‘Course, she didn’t realize that she’d said that aloud. Then the drop, along with his weight, once they settled, knocked the wind half out of her.

“OMPH!” Oh yeah, definitely bruised a rib or two, betting that a blossom of purple would likely bloom over her ribs. Well, that meant she was still alive and not crushed to death.

She gave a rather unattractive wheezing sound as she sucked in some air, her petite body starting to shift under him. At least her leg was free now, as she gave an experimental wiggle of her toes, moving her legs as precious air flowed back into her lungs.


“... Yup,” she said gasping out, still joking. “Quit… with the… Uj… cake.”

 

[Revenchent]

"Blame the plates. They refuse to diet." He thudded an armored hand against his chest-plate, completely caught off guard by the sudden lurch of the ship. His stomach curled up into his throat for a moment, and then Kira was clinging to him for dear life. "Uhm...yes, I think we're green for the moment.". He mumbled with the social alacrity of a wild Canal, which wasn't much.

He ever-so-gently lifted himself up, staring wide eyes at her through the visor. Thank whatever resulted in the universe's creation she couldn't see. He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, poor man had no idea what to do, and mumbled. "Definitely okay. Lets get you out, and get you treated."

He glanced down at her leg, which seemed to be moving just fine now. Say what you wanted about Vibroblades, they could be just as precise as the best lightsabers.

The ship lurched, again, except this time it didn't seem keen to stop. Kira was already clinging to him, an frankly, he wasn't keen to go down with the ship. Without asking permission, his arms curled around her, yanked, and pulled the poor battered woman up tucked to his chest as he forced his weight out of the fighter.

Something twisted, and it hurt.

Fierfek! The fighter went tumbling down into the undergrowth below, vines and branches snapping loudly in a destructive forest opera.

Calico, being the graceful wonder that he was, miscalculated the backstep unto the branch. He went tumbling down more meters than he would have liked, back first, Kira in his arms. He hit the forest floor with a bone jarring thud, the armor absorbing the force of the fall for himself, and had hopefully lifted Kira to simple bruises.


"You...know I can only eat...Ujj cake." the pain subsided enough for him to make coherent speech. Clones can only digest Ujj cake. One of our many charming secrets...shab...that wasn't a pleasant landing."

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]


CRAAAAAAAAAASH! Went the starfight upon the ground as it accordioned upon contact, sending debris flying everywhere. Thankfully, they landed off to the side, but that didn't save them from the hard fall.

Clearly, today was a day for her lungs to not have any air in them. They landed hard, her body jarring against Calico as leaves and branches came fluttering down around them, the hard angles of his plate armor definitely digging and causing even more bruises to litter her skin under her robes.

Shards of pain went dancing across her body, and she couldn't help but gasp for air, rolling off of Calico to fall on her back just to his right. She came down on her back, her arms flung out to the side, one leg on his. She was coughing and wheezing, tears coming out of her eyes as she struggled to breathe.

Finally, after her burning lungs filled with sweet sweet air, her coughing faded, allowing her to take a moment to consider just what had happened.

This... was not good.

"We... made it." her voice was faint, and she certainly looked a bit dazed and disoriented. Her eyes were closed, as if she could not open them due to their heavyweight; stars she was exhausted and hurt everywhere.

For the present time, she lay quietly, just breathing. It hurt just thinking of moving.

 

[Revenchent]

"Yeah...oww." If he was hurting, than Kira was likely a lot worse. Not to mention the fact that they were on a hostile world, with limited rations, and no way of making outside contact. Well, Calico didn't. He'd ask Kira about it when she wasn't hurting so much.

His whole body protested as he forced himself to sit up. The HUD read back nothing serious, though his bones felt like they'd been shattered twice of. He reached up and yanked off his helmet, taking in the humid, wild air. It hit him like a speeder bike; sending him into a violent coughing fit.

Please don't be allergic.

It took him longer than he'd expected to collect himself. He set his helmet down on the ground, and glanced over at Kira. The jog over had tired him, and the escapade with the starfighter had left him completely drained. "Alright...so...that'll be a fun story for later...I apologize, but it looks like you're stuck with me for awhile." He began to dig into one of the many pockets on his belt, gaze drifting absentmindedly to her leg over his.

Childish distractions.

"Here." He grunted, offering a meaty palm sized cube out to Kira. The other hand quickly jabbed a hypo into her neck, not like she was going to resist. It was one of the three bacta hypos he had on him, and hopefully, it would get her in the right mind.

In truth, the soldier felt a bit guilty over causing her damage. It was a million times better than dying in the starfighter, but he disliked having her discomforted. It seemed the weeds were growing. He would have to keep a check on that.

"The Concord will come looking for me in three days. What about you with the Republic?" He asked off the bat, avoiding the questions scratching at the back of his mind. The questions that he truly wanted to ask.

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

Kira gave a wince at the plunge of the derma bacta needle at her neck, the stinging sensation alone causing her eyes to fly open. She coughed a bit more, also slowly moving up into a sitting position. Her hair was a mess, there were clumps of mud, leaves, and a bloody red smear from her head injury earlier. A smear of blood and grime across her right cheek, her robe was torn on the shoulder and there was a ragged hole in the fabric just over her leg that had been trapped.

A grom came from her lips as she sat up slowly, head falling forward a bit to pinch the bridge of her nose. Yup. There it was, the headache. She faintly caught his question, and she in turned her head to peek up at him from a messy fringe of blonde bangs, blue eyes bright against the backdrop of her gossamer hair, staring at his rugged face.

"Ehh...." she went glancing over towards her wrecked speeder. Her homing beacon was shot. "They were aware of my location, but I told them it may be a while before I could return," -- depending on the outcome. She didn't know if Calico would agree or not to allow her to see Krest. If he didn't, then she'd have to think of other methods to get the information and that could take time.

A grimace went over her lips as she stared down at herself, only to turn to annoyance as she noticed her left boot -- whose leg was over Calico's own -- the tip of the leather sole having been ripped away.

"Beans!" she cursed aloud, mildly annoyed "I just got these too!" came her sigh, sliding her leg back off of Calico to get into a better sitting position.

"Uggh...." she began to run her fingers through her hair, getting rid as much of the twigs and leaves as she could. Save one stubborn one that lingered just to the right of the crown of her head.

A glance went up to the heavens; the dawn of the morning light could barely be seen against the thick clouds floating against the verdant canopy of mangroves.

"...Well... I guess we can finally go spelunking," she said with a wry grin, more of a light sarcastic comment as she realized they were stuck on this planet for a while.

BEANS!

 

[Revenchent]

"Better late than never." He shot back, grinning, though a bit pained. The remaining bacta would need to be conserved by serious injuries, not bruises. He would bear it. "Who knows, maybe we'll find a pretty lightsaber crystal. I always wanted a pink one. It fits my character."

For the moment, his thoughts were drifting to their survival. A shelter was a good place to start. "If you have anything that needs treated, let me know. I figure we pitch something up. I'll check around, maybe do some hunting later." Calico pushed himself up to his feet, finding himself laughing a bit late at the beans bit.

This could be nice.

"I saw what looked like a river on my way down. We could pitch up there, get you washed off, and recover." He offered a hand out to the petite woman. He found himself smiling, big and wide, despite the dull throb of pain that found its way into every nerve of his body. At the same time, he clipped his helmet to his belt.

Just tell her.

"And then , when we're safe, we can discuss the political things, and talk, if you want. There anything the the starfighter you want salvaged?"

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@Calico

She gave a slight wince as he spoke, her hands gingerly going over to pass against her ribs. "Heh... I think I managed to jar my bones a bit," she gave a slight jerk as her forefingers pressed down just against the left side of her ribcage.

Okay add in a potentially broken rib. If not, heavily bruised.

The bacta shot would be able to speed up the internal healing, but she'll need some time in a safe place to really get down and accelerate her own healing with the Force. That was all she was good for. Moderate accelerate healing. It was a nifty trick, but she was no Jedi of the Healer's Circle. It was the basics.

"Yeah... gonna need some place to set up shop," she began to slowly attempt to get to her feet, giving a grimace every now and then as her muscles and bones protested. She was a short little thing already, and her slightly doubled over due to her body's protest only made her seem smaller.

"Can't be too sure just what kind of willdlife is out here," her hands were moving with intricate signals, delicate and sometimes a bit too quick to catch. Times like these when she was either hurt, panicked, scared, or washed in emotion, the Lorrdian aspect of her came out in the form of Kinetic communication. Every hand movement, arch of a brow, twitch of her lips, shift of a shoulder or flick of a finger meant a wealth of things. It was a hidden language of it's own, produced by a lifetime of slavery in Lorrd where they had been unable to talk outloud.

It was delicate as it was intricate, but only those trained in kinetic communication would be able to understand. Otherwise, it would simply appear that the woman was a bit to excited for the more poignant of words.

"A river?" her head perked at the news, but then she glanced off towards the direction he'd mentioned. Beyond the mangroves were patches of thick underbrush, not to mention the swamp like conditions here and there. But if it was a river... water would be clearer, and that also meant some kind of food to catch.

Her attention then panned over towards her crumpled starfighter, and she gave a grimace. There was no way she was going to be able to fix it. She was no techie and her experience with trouble shooting was nil to none when it came to such things.

"Yeahh... should be an easy fix right?!" she called out over her shoulder to him, but it was clear it was just a joke. "Just smack some paint on it... meshtape the holes on the hull... good as new!" the chuckle that came out faded with a sigh.

"I'm sure there is an extra medkit in there somewhere," she admitted, limping slightly over towards the ruined starfighter. The leg that had been trapped wasn't broken, but it took a hell of a bruising when it had been pinned.

"Might even have an emergency kit." her feet went crunching over leaves and slick mud as she walked, looking all like a Dantooine hooboo covered in dirt, leaves, and a sprinkling of mud.

She was definitely not at her best state; but that was fine. Jedi didn't need to impress people with their looks. They just had to keep the peace.

Even if that was with her hair looking like a bird's nest, robe torn to slight shreds, and a limp that made one think of Little Timmy.

 

[Revenchent]

Calico couldn't help himself. He laughed, loud a almost obnoxious. The joke was funny, though it wasn't hilarious. It gave the former Grand Marshal a moment to ease the tension, and he certainly seized it. He almost doubled over, biting down on his glove to reel in the laughs. His Jedi counterpart's unique outlook certainly contributed to it all.

"Yeah, heh. I'll give you a running start, throw the thing, maybe it'll glide to Coruscant." He followed after her, his chest making him pay the price for a moment of hilarity. Bruising hurt.

Shab. Stop di'kut.

Calico took it upon himself to search the fighter along with her. If anything exploded, his armor would take it; though his lack of a helmet at the moment left that a bit void. He stumbled through the twisted wreck, and eyes something that looked fairly familiar amidst the metal.

"This?" He asked aloud, grinning like a child sharing lunch with his crush. He turned to face Kira, the little red box held in both hands. Her condition gave him a pang of worry, but he wrestled that down before it rose into panic. He stared for a moment at the odd hand gestures she was doing: at a complete loss as to what it all meant.

"It'll be a bit of a walk. We can hole up until you're a bit more on your feet, if you want." He asked worriedly, the medkit jingling lightly as he set it on the ground. The childish innocence was gone. "Your hands...I hope it's not shock." He mumbled, getting it completely wrong. The Commando pushed up to his feet, scooping up the medkit in the process. "Again though, we can stay for a bit. I can carry you if need be, or we can walk. It's your call Kir'ika."


@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

Well, you could knock her over with a feather. Or a vine, considering their current situation.

Kira gave Calico the most bemused expression, his laughter echoing throughout the mangroves around them as he doubled over in mirth. "Tch... I know I'm funny... but I don't think I'm that funny," she said in a lighthearted quip, taking the red emergency kit from him with a slight "Thanks"

"I think you are just trying to butter me up for bruising my ribs!" she joked, turning now away from the starfighter to once again pan her gaze at the area around them. Yeah, this was gonna be a doozy, she mused to herself, only to perk her head at his question, a bit surprised.

"Huh? My hands?" she glanced down, turning them up and over then back down to check for injuries, "No they are fine." Then it hit her. "OHHH...you mean this?" her free hand came up and made the slight motion of her hand that signified the words she'd just spoke.

"That's nothing... it's okay. Just a leftover tick." she told him, which it was. It was a fall back to her primary language. She shook her head at his next offer, granting him a wide sunny smile.

"I'm alright Calico." She gave a small pat on her own chest, "I'm made of sterner stuff," until the slight bit of pain at hitting bruised ribs came back.

"Ow...." she said, turning her face away to hide the silly mistake. "Come on... there's a river with my name on it. And dinner too."

 

[Revenchent]

"No butter. Don't have any on me." He set his helmet back unto his head, the HUD flooding him with welcome information. Nothing had moved in their general area besides, well, them. "Therefore, your words are liiiiess. He huffed a quiet laugh to himself, and retrieved the heavy pistol from its holster.

The weapon wasn't exactly graceful, and it bucked more than a ronto, but it was better against something big than the Vibroblade. Not to mention the fact that Kira's fighting capabilities were likely not up to par right now. He needed to compensate.

"Tick?" He asked, pressing the issue. He felt his pulse raise more then he wished when she offered him the smile. The helmet saved him from any embarrassment, but his own nagging guilt remained, an internal torment that refused to relent.

He set off at a slow pace, partly to make sure Kira didn't double over, and partly to garner a lay of the land. The river wasn't far, only a five or six minute jog. He kept a close eye on the Jedi as he wrote off a mental checklist on what would need to be done. Shelter would be the first.

"What kind tick? Not the bug kind, I'd hope. I'm not the best at doing field surgeries. Last time was...eh, messy."

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira just kinda slowed down to a stop, bemusement as well as an added amount of puzzlement growing over her face. Another leaf went fluttering from her hair, dancing in the air for a moment before landing at her feet. Humor lit her blue eyes, as she began to slowly shake her head.

"Should have known you'd say something like that --- after the Uji cake after all. " she teased him, happy at least, that he had been able to relax a bit in laughter. It was what she did afterall. Humor had a way of just making the bleakest of situations just a hair better.

None the less, she began to walk again, her legs walking through the thick underbrush. Every slight twist of her torso sent a dull ache of pain over her ribcage, and thinking about it, she was sure she was going to need to wrap it when they made camp.

This is going to be interesting, she mused, realizing her situation. It could be weeks before anyone started to look for the Jedi Master. Worry knit her brow. Especially in a trying time like this.

She took a deep breath, feeling the moist air fill her lungs and cling to her skin. Yeah, this was going to be interesting. One way or another.

His question brought her out of her reverie, as she kept on walking, pushing aside a large leaf to make her way through. A chuckle came out of her, "Not that kind of tick." she admitted, amused that was the first thing he thought of.

So, after a second, she continued, confessing, "I'm just talking with my hands, that's all."

 

[Revenchent]

"The Ujj cake and I are very close actually." He blinked twice at the corner icon in his HUD. A massive map sprawled across his vision, threatening to overwhelm him and push a headache. "Talking with your hands?" He added quietly, boots slogging messily through the mud.

The terrain wasn't as bad as Calico had predicted. A few overturned trees and the occasional furry animal were all that were of much note. He was kept cool within the suit, its environmental systems doing their job perfectly. Poor Kira must have been sweating rivers.

"Like sign language?" He mused aloud, slipping his pistol into the holster in its hip. He sloshed through the mud, ignoring the squelching sound it made with every step. The sound of running water came from up ahead, and the mud trail slowly became dirt. Soon, the duo came upon a flowing river. Steeples of white water ran through jutting rocks at many spots. A small clearing, just perfect for a camp, was protected by a rocky alcove next to a three meter tall waterfall. It looked to be cool, and more importantly, dependable. It would do.

"Could be a nice vacation home?"

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

@[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

Ugh... humidity. She hated humidity. It just made the fabric of her robes stick to her sweaty skin and just felt all kinds of nasty. "Yeah, it's a Lorrdian thing," she admitted, wadding through the woody liana vines as she pushed forward through the brush. It might have not been too difficult of a trek, but they were basically making a makeshift trail over an area grown over.

A hand went up to shoo at a mosquito buzzing around her head. A glower came to her face as she batted at it only to sigh. Yep, not the kind of scenario she expected. The sound of running water never sounded so good in her ears.

"Oh thank the Force!" she said with a sigh of relief, a quirk of her lips twisting over her mouth. "Maybe after a good wash the buggers will stop trying to eat me alive!" Too bad there wasn't a force power to deter bug bites.

Her leg was still sore, but the bacta was starting to do it's job. It would be a while however, before it would truly be able to work it's magic. For now, she had to deal, but a little bit of pain never hurt anyone.

"Heh, oh right! Totally. Straight out of better homes and hologardens," she joked moving over towards the rocky alcove, towards where the three metre waterfall roared. Investigation of the area would reveal a sheltering cave, the musty odor of moss and moisture filling it's air.

She took a deep breath, then gave a nod, turning towards him, she said, "Well then, let's make camp." the sooner they did this, the better off they were. Safety and security were paramount when in an unfamiliar world-- no matter how much her scalp started to itch due to the mud.

 

[Revenchent]

This'll do.

Calico appraised the cave in silence for a moment. The draft was certainly nice. He glanced down at his muddied armor and felt a smile tug at his lips. At least he didn't stick out--not that anyone was going to be shooting at them. "Now, you can't tell me this wasn't your dream home Kir'ika." He joked, fumbling with his belt once more.

There were many things on could carry in full kit. He took a few minutes to clear out a large triangular area within the cave of loose rock and other debris, and made sure nothing was had taken up residence before their arrival. Satisfied that the cave was clear, he unclipped the small backpack's latches from his armor and set it onto the damp rocket. "I'll set up two remotes. They'll monitor the perimeter." He mumbled absentmindedly as he pulled out two long, gray bedrolls from the pack.

It seemed the thing could hold far more than what it looked. Two small, bolo-ball sized orbs rolled out of the pack. Calico scooped them up, and set them a few meters around the cave, surrounding the area just below the waterfall. If anyone approached the cave mouth, the duo would know beforehand. "I figure my boys should arrive in a few days. I've got ration packs, and we can hunt if necessary...and a fire, later."

The soldier was, to put it lightly, exhausted. The adrenaline had died down, leaving him with an empty feeling that only food could fill. Even if that food was tasteless and had the consistency of pudding. He plopped down on one of the rocks, helmet set to the side, and allowed himself to enjoy two of the colorless ration cubes. "We can put up a big fancy curtain too, if you want." He joked between bites. "Give it that home feeling. Maybe invite the neighbors over too."

@[member="Kira Liadain"]

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

A smile went tugging at the corner of her mouth as Kira went about clearing out the cave, investigating some more. She caught him through her peripheral sitting down upon a rock while she took a couple of steps forward to go deeper in the small cave.

Her voice could be heard lightly echoing from the dimlit area, "A curtain? Hah!" she began to joke, "What are you going to do? Put your kama up there?" she said in lighthearted humor. Her eyes slowly began adjusting to the low light, and just off to the side, she caught the side crawling movement of tiny freshwater crabs, their tiny black eyes bobbling away.

"Heh, I think the neighbors already made themselves at home," she said with a wry comment over her shoulder, crouching down to get a better look at them. They reminded her of mudcrabs, but they were too small to each. More of a pain for what it was worth. A gush of hot air soon went blowing up to push her bangs away from her face, musing at just what to do.

"Do you have dry kindling? " she asked, coming to her feet again as she ambled her way over to him. A subtle grimace of pain went dancing over her face at the tenderness of her ribs. Once everything was clear and they had a good camp, she'll go use that small waterfall and river to wash off the dirt. But for now; a fire would be beneficial.

One birdnest haired Kira soon appeared before Calico again, wandering from the cave. "Otherwise, we just might need to try and find as much dry wood as we can for a fire in this jungle." her hands went to the ties of her outer robe at her waist, untying the belt as a slight frown coming to her face as she went glancing off towards the distance at their surroundings. The outer robe was as grimy and dirty as it could get. The inner robe was made of a thinner fabric, and would breathe easier.

"With as much humidity and swamp land out here though..... that might be asking too much." she said as she slowly began taking off her outer robe, her shoulders shrugging as she peeled it off.

 

[Revenchent]

"Nothing dry, no, though I do have a blowtorch. It was standard." Calico frowned down at the ground, brow knit as he tried to piece together the appropriate actions to be taken. A rough laugh made it past his lips at the curtain comment. "Well, the red would match these lovely walls." He popped in the remainder of the ration cube, and chewed thoughtfully.

Do we really need a fire right now?

"You think they'll be loud? Late night parties hurt my brain." He sat up straight and strained to get a quick look at the crabs. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, a soft sigh escaping him. "We aren't cooking anything and it's already hot as Corellia's Nine Hells. Do we really need a fire?"

The soldier's gaze drifted out toward the mouth of the cave. If the planet's rotation was akin to that of most--which wasn't exactly certain-- then night would begin to fall soon. The remotes would pick up if anything came their way. Assured, Calico began to remove the plating around his torso and arms, leaving the protective metal in a small pile next to his sittin' rock. The draft of cool air that had filled the cave was welcome as the upper half of the black body suit stuck to his skin. It was perfect for combat, but it was about as comfortable as having a skin tight suit on sounded.

"If you really want to go looking though, we can." He mumbled halfheartedly. Calico had caught himself staring as she discarded the outer piece of the robe, and his head was tilted downward, apparently focused on a small niche in his armor where the joints connected. "I...apologize for not inviting you directly onto the flotilla. It wouldn't have sat well with all the people, but, it would have avoided this." He sat up straight and waved his hand about, face slightly reddened, which could easily be linked to the heat if one had no idea what was going through his head. Kira, of course, likely didn't. "I'll try not to bore you."

[member="Kira Liadain"]