Private Beyond the Beskar

[Veyla Krinn]

The following morning arrived with the familiar bite of Concordia's cold.

A pale sunrise spilled across Kelita, painting frost-covered rooftops in muted gold while smoke from the forge district drifted lazily into the still morning air. The city had already begun to stir. Hammers echoed from workshops that never truly slept, merchants assembled their stalls, and armored figures crossed the streets with steaming mugs of caf before another day's work began.

Veyla had been awake long before dawn. Her armor had been inspected, cleaned where necessary, and fastened piece by piece until every strap and clasp sat exactly where it belonged. Her spear rested across her back, her blaster remained holstered at her hip, and a small pack carried little more than water, rations, and a basic medkit. Whatever today became, she intended to arrive prepared.

The Broken Mythosaur was considerably quieter than it had been the previous evening. Celebration had given way to the slower rhythm of morning. A handful of familiar Mandalorians occupied scattered tables, exchanging stories over caf instead of ale. More than one offered her a nod as she stepped inside, returning each greeting before ordering two mugs.

When Kallous arrived, she slid the untouched cup across the table toward him.

"Morning, Kallous."

She waited until they had both stepped back into the crisp mountain air before continuing.

"I thought we could head up into the foothills." She nodded toward the snow-capped ridgeline overlooking Kelita. "There's an old quarry a few kilometers outside the city. It's quiet, open, and nobody goes there anymore unless they're looking for solitude."

A faint smile touched her lips as she adjusted the strap of her pack.

"Figured it'd be a better place to start than the middle of town. Less chance of someone interrupting us."

Without assuming anything further, she started walking toward the northern gate, matching her pace to his once he caught up. The route gradually left behind the ringing of hammers and the smell of forge smoke, replacing them with evergreen forests, cold mountain air, and the crunch of frost beneath their boots. Wherever today's first lesson truly began, she would leave that decision entirely to him.

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous had stayed the evening in a barracks that had been provided to him for temporary use. His new job had yet to be completely finalized and as such he was still, effectively, homeless. It was, weirdly enough, not a strange concept to him. He'd been an exile twice before, living alone in the wilds and without human contact for months at a time. Though this was certainly a little different, and a lot more manageable. As such he was able to wake some time before dawn, slip on his robes, clip on his lightsaber, and depart for The Broken Mythosaur where he was meant to meet his new and first apprentice.

Kallous already had an idea of how to begin. First he would need to get a baseline for where she was starting. Clearly with the force she was a total novice, which was something he could work with. The fundamentals were drilled into him from a young age, and he was confident that he would be able to pass them on to her pretty easily. Though as far as combat went she was a mandalorian. He had no doubt that she was a formidable foe at range, but when it came to force users ranged weapons were nowhere near as useful as one might hope, they could still be lethal, but to a trained adept blasters were nigh useless. He was well aware that the Mandalorians already had a solution to this in the form of slug throwers, but those proved to be less effective overall and had the disadvantage of requiring ammunition, which was weighty. So, he decided it would be a good idea to get an idea of how dangerous a melee combatant she was, to see how well she could hold her own against a lightsaber weilding opponent.

But, first things first, he needed to meet up with her. As he understood it, she already had a place in mind.

So he stepped into the establishment he had been in only the night prior. He hadn't expected a bar to serve breakfast and coffee, but apparently they did. And according to Veyla it was good too. He didn't need a meal, but when he approache Veyla and she offered him a mug, he could't refuse. He took a sip of the bitter black liquid, and sighed contently.

"Good morning to you too Miss Krinn." He wished back, thanking her for the coffee.

They had their beverages in a comfortable silence, sipping them down before stepping outside again where Veyla explained where she intended for them to go. A few kilometers out, an old quarry. Spacious, private, perfect. "Yes, I imagine the city watch wouldn't much appreciate our duelling in the streets for practice."

As they walked, and the city streets gave way to forest foliage, he finally asked the first question. "Allow me to ask. What kind of training have you recieved for close quarters fighting? I'd like to know what you've been taught, what kind of habits to encourage and which I should help you break."

Veyla Krinn