Private Cultural Exchange

[Adonis Angelis IV]

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The rain hadn't stopped all day. Dirt became mud, and the humid air became a fog of heat and moisture. Neither had stopped the two Mandalorians. Their beskar'gam was coated in rain and mud at this point, and Adonis would have to spend hours cleaning the grime out of the joints of his armor. Of course, this was all done in the name of Mand'alor. Aether had asked Adonis and Dayr to travel to the humid planet to establish relations with the local Trandoshan population.

So that's what they had done.

The two of them had spent the better part of the day traveling through the wilderness as the dirt beneath their boots turned slick. Many tribes had made villages along the coast, and many villages made for many different opinions. Adonis had been tasked with the public-facing part of the job, listening to the Trandoshans' grievances and offering whatever solutions he could while preserving the honor of Mand'alor. Dayr represented something much more different. A hunter and survivalist himself, the younger Verd had more in common with many of the Trandoshans they were meeting than Adonis ever would. That he could also navigate the swamps better than the Warden was simply an added benefit.

Dayr had been a Verd for much longer than Adonis had been around. The younger Mandalorian had been raised by Aether, adopted after Mand'alor killed his father when Dayr was still a child. In a way, that made the two of them family, though neither had ever really gotten the chance to know the other. They had met before, certainly, but the memories were few and far between. Adonis knew more about Dayr than he actually knew him. Aether had made sure of that much. Spending an entire day marching through the swamps of Trandosha together seemed to be his attempt at correcting the problem.

Though the people in the villages were angry at the Mandalorians, none had seemed outright hostile. There had been talks of Trandoshans grouping together to protest the Mandalorian 'occupation', and even of war bands actively trying to scare away the emissaries sent by Mand'alor. That had yet to happen to Adonis and Dayr Verd , but he didn't put it past them to wait until they were on their way back.

Though they were both close with Aether, neither one of them had much to say so far. It wasn't awkward, but it had been quiet. They'd bonded over a few stories about Mand'alor, but it wasn't much to go off of. Instead, they had both remained vigilant as they made their way through the third and final village on their trek.

It wouldn't be long until their transport arrived to pick them up.

Tired from the rain and the mud, Adonis turned toward Dayr. Even through his vocoder, the younger warrior would be able to make out the exhaustion in the Warden's voice.

"Do you want to get a drink?" He nodded toward a building with a large sign written in Dosh. Adonis couldn't read it, but the neon lights and loud music spilling out into the street were signs that it was a cantina just like anywhere else in the galaxy.

"I won't tell your dad."

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