Private Bygone Days

[A'Runda]

Location: Tatooine
Tags: Madalena deWinter | Braze

The galaxy has become so chaotic now. So many new borders and boundaries shifting and clashing where they wouldn’t before. His role as a warden of the sky had become far more needed now. Outlaws, Corrupt Authorities and Robber Barons took advantage of these treacherous times. Using the chaos as a ladder to uplift themselves.

For A'Runda, chief among these upstart empires was the Black Sun Syndicate, an organization that has outlived republics and empires but has now seen itself thrusted into the role of a galactic superpower. Creating many new problems for the justice seeking nomad.

Another of these new factions was the High Republic that was now the interstellar authority that found Tatooine within its sphere of influence. A’Runda himself had a hard time remembering when was the last time a galactic faction claimed the desert planet. Still he used his homeworld as something of a base to routinely retreat and plan his own incursions into the stars.

Currently the tusken has just gotten done with a bit of a trek through the desert with his dewback companion. Once he had returned to his ship his Jawa friend came scampering out of the vessel, clearly agitated. Cursing and waving around some old piece of technology from within their ship.

“What’s got you in such a mood friend?” A’Runda asked the Dute as they scampered up to the mounted tusken. The Jawa began to explain that the piece of technology had been beeping non-stop for hours in their ship while he was out getting some fresh air with their dewback. A’Runda narrowed his eyes from behind his red goggles. “Hmm, well let me see.”

Then the Jawa tossed it up to him before marching back to their ship. “Be lucky I didn’t scrap the thing for parts…” Dute muttered as they left.

With the piece of beeping tech in his hands now A’Runda looked over it. Having a hard time recognizing what it was. Likely forgotten as some piece of dusty junk. Wiping it down some he noticed a flashing icon, depicting a pointed circular symbol. Something he hadn’t seen in quite a long time now. “Madalena?” The tusken questioned before fidgeting with the device a little more and ceasing its beeping. Could it just be old tech malfunctioning? A’Runda by now has seen and done enough to know that true coincidences are exceedingly rare in this galaxy…

 

[Madalena deWinter]

A'Runda Braze

---

Tatooine. Krak Tatooine. If there was a planet Madalena disliked enough to vote for the supernova'ing if its mere existence, this gargantuan ball of dust was it. The two suns, endless sand, and… Well, did you really need more reason than that? Sure, there was a whole family history wrapped in these dunes too, but right now the same twin suns baked the desert in unrelenting heat, and she was doing her best not to let it get to her without dipping into the Force.

Her old and trusted speeder (X) ate the distance between her and Mos Espa in smooth, fast bursts, the wind tugging her hair into a wild halo that occasionally whipped her cheeks like tiny glass shards. Debt was debt, be it in credits, artifacts, or blood, and the leader of the Wild Hunt had never been forgiving on such matters.

But then the beacon had gone off.

It was buried so deep in her comm panel she'd forgotten she'd kept the signal active. Forty years, and not a single whisper from it. Who in the nine hells would expect it to chirp now, of all places? She didn't frequent this wretched planet. But yes… She knew who it belonged to. Some things you never forgot. Some things you never wanted to forget. Her fingers had hovered over the controls, and for the length of a single breath, she'd nearly convinced herself to ignore it. Nearly.

A quick flick of the speeder's front steering yoke thing, and she was carving a new path through the dunes. The death of a few Hutts could wait. The Force had a strange sense of timing, and when an old sort-of-disciple's mark lit up after years of silence, you didn't just let it blink itself out. There had to be a reason for it to happen on this day, in this time.

The signal grew stronger.

And then she saw him, silhouetted against the sand on a dewback, some bit of tech clutched in his hands like it might explode. Her lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile as she throttled down, letting the speeder hiss to a halt just behind him.

She swung off without ceremony. The scars on her face, remnants of the day her face had quite literal fallen off her because she'd caused something ancient to detonate without proper gear, caught the sunlight, stark against the faint, constant glow of her green eyes.

"Still works," she said with a grin, her gaze focused on the device, "I'm just as surprised as you are."

 

[Braze]

TAGS: A'Runda Madalena deWinter

Braze had a bit of time to kill while a certain someone racked their brain over how to handle a rather tricky dilemma. He wouldn't solve it for them, at least, not yet, but he could do something else in the meantime. The very least he could manage was to bring A'Runda a replacement for his missing blaster.

And so, he'd set himself to the task, chasing the man's trail through little more than word-of-mouth and the faint ripples of rumor. Each lead carried him further across the sector until it finally led him here, this quiet, dusty stretch of nowhere.

From the cockpit of his Ashwing, he spotted a familiar silhouette against the landscape. A slow grin tugged at his lips as he angled the fighter down, the vessel's sleek wings catching the light in a glinting flash. He descended with the easy precision of a pilot who knew his ship as well as his own heartbeat, dropping lower and lower until the dust swirled beneath him.

 

[A'Runda]

Location: Tatooine
Tags: Madalena deWinter | Braze

A’Runda’s body tensed some and his posture straightened like an alerted animal as the speeder approached and halted behind him. Looking back towards her the lenses of his goggles greeted a harsh glare from the two suns above followed by the large lizard he rode atop to turn towards Madalena. The beast of burden let out a brief howl at the sudden intrusion. Almost readying itself into a defensive posture before A’Runda reached down and gently patted the dewback and murmured something to it in his native tongue.

The tension in the dewback eased up before it slowly lowered itself onto the sand as A’Runda dismounted from the steed. As his boots touched down onto the sand the tusken marched over to the woman. She wasn’t some ghost or apparition from his past. She was actually present, physical, concrete. The harsh appearance of his mask hid his actual expression, yet his body language carried a certain sense of determination.

A’Runda showed no sign of hesitation as he closed the distance before reaching out and grabbing Madalena. Hoisting her off her speeder in a forceful yet friendly, warm embrace. A muffled chuckle escaped from under his mask.

“It’s been far too long Madalena… I had… I thought…” A’Runda wasn’t actually too sure what he’d thought. All I knew was that they’d just disappeared, both her and her sister. It’s been many years now. Madalena and Scherezade were some of the few friendly faces that helped him get accustomed to galactic society.

Oddly enough it seemed like the galaxy was about to get a whole lot smaller for the Tusken as another began to arrive. Leaving the Tusken to inevitably ask himself if the two of them were coming together. The Tusken recognized the boy’s ship. It wasn’t hard to miss. Now he was getting to see two important people from his life. One old and the other new.​

 

[Madalena deWinter]

A'Runda Braze​

---

It was hard to surprise Madalena. The Sith Sorceress had been pulled from one dimension into another, had leapt into yet another to blow up an old relic and lost her face (temporarily) in the process, and had spent decades beyond the galaxy's edge (at least two generations, by anyone's count). And in between, she had lived, gathering more experiences than most mortals could fit into a dozen lifetimes. Like almost being forced into marriage with a warlord outside the known galaxy not so long ago. But that was a story for another time.

So to say that A'Runda hugging her was a surprise would be a severe understatement.

Her glowing green eyes widened for a moment before her muscles relaxed, and she hugged him back, a happy smile spreading across her scarred face.

Her glowing green eyes widened for a heartbeat before her muscles relaxed, and she returned the embrace, a happy smile spreading across her scarred face. Old memories surfaced, fragments of long-ago conversations about Tusken ways and beliefs. She was fairly certain that physical touch, especially across genders, had been off the table back then, even if completely platonic. But it had been forty years for most of the galaxy, and even then, A'Runda had shown a willingness to question the truths he had been raised with. Perhaps the changes were even larger than she had dared hope.

"You thought I was dead," she said when the hug ended naturally, stepping back to give her old mentee space. Her grin curled impishly. "But you're not dead either."

Forty years. By her reckoning, most Sand People rarely lived beyond fifty or sixty. Yet A'Runda did not feel that old.

Behind them, the ship touched down. Madalena arched a brow in curiosity before glancing back at him. No panic. No worry. He knew whoever was aboard. A'Runda had… friends? Another reason to smile.

And to say nothing. Let her friend find his words, and let his friend, whoever they were, do the same.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: A'Runda Madalena deWinter

​

Braze eased back the hatch and climbed out of the cockpit, boots clanging softly against the hull as he perched on the wing. A sleek Verpine rifle rested across his lap, its intricate design almost out of place against the scorched dustscape stretching endlessly before him.

The half-Echani tilted his chin skyward, squinting against the merciless blaze of the twin suns. A faint grimace tugged at his lips as memory surfaced, raw, angry burns from his last misadventure on this decrepit sandblasted dust ball of world. He tugged the dark hood of his black cloak into place, the heavy fabric casting a welcome shadow over his pale features.

From his post, he watched the Lady, silent and contemplative, the rifle idle in his hands as the desert heat shimmered around him. He wanted to know who A'Runda 's lady friend was.

 

[A'Runda]

Location: Tatooine
Tags: Madalena deWinter | Braze

Listening to her complete his sentence A’Runda nodded his wrapped head slightly. There weren’t very many people he’s seen from when he was younger. He’d never really kept in contact, not that he even would’ve known how. It had felt like a lot had changed and yet nothing had. After all she still found him here on an old world he was much too attached to.

There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he’d wanted to say. But now he couldn’t quite find the words or how to express any of it. Maybe it was still just all very sudden for him.

As the other ship touched down and he noticed the pale ‘former uli-ah’ emerge from the ship A’Runda looked back at Madelean almost expectantly through his goggles. Silently wondering if they had come here together. But I got the sense that she didn’t know who the boy was.

Turning his body to face Braze, “Aargh…” A’Runda welcomed in his native tongue. “You look to be doing much better since we last met.” It was true, as the last time he found Braze he was as dry as bantha jerky. “Have you made your gaffi stick yet and come to show me your craftsmenship?” Braze had earned the right to do so during their last visit to Tatooine.

A’Runda then turned back to the woman. “Madalena, this is Braze. A spirited young Jedi from the NJO.” After saying that out loud he wasn’t sure if she’d know what the NJO even was. Did the tusken find himself in the unique position of being more knowledgeable on current events than his friend?

Looking back to Braze he spoke up to the Jedi. “Braze, this is Madalena, a close friend and guiding force when I was younger and new to the galaxy along with her sister…” After mentioning her sister he paused for a moment. Wondering if Scherezade was still alive as well.​

 

[Madalena deWinter]

A'Runda Braze

---

Madalena watched the interaction between A'Runda and Braze silently, her glowing green eyes full of curiosity. She followed A'Runda's words quietly too, opting not to remind him that she knew the languages of the Sand People as well as most of those who were spoken on Tatooine.

And then came introductions. Braze. Madalena nodded her head in greeting, a small smile spread across her lips. A'Runda had friends! That meant that the last years hadn't treated him as badly as one might have worried they had. She was glad for him. It was always the connects they made that made them last.

"Scherezade's alive too," she confirmed for him, "and back in the galaxy proper as well."

Because that stupid girl had decided to pull them all in from the galaxy's edge. But that was a story for another night and another bonfire.

"So what are you doing here, A'Runda?" she asked, and her voice was deep like properly aged wine, yet still maintained an almost child-like cheerfulness to it, "in this specific part of the desert. Are you hunting Hutts again?"

 

[Braze]

TAGS: A'Runda Madalena deWinter

“Have you made your gaffi stick yet and come to show me your craftsmenship?”

"I came to bring you a new rifle.... not not yet... I have some ideas but I haven't put them in to creation yet. " He offered simply. he looked to Madalena deWinter curiously and then back to A'runda.

"I wasn't aware you had any, lady friends... " he murmured.