Into the Jungle

[Vilaz Munin]

"Pretty much," Vilaz replied back to the girl as she tried to interpret the Resol'nare, "I kinda live in my armor since I always have it on the go, but I don't have it with me cause I'm conditioning myself. I have an adopted son and I'm teaching him how to become a better Mandalorian than me. I do bounty hunting and mercenary work, and whatever earnings I get I give 'em to the Clans. I speak the language whenever talking to my comrades or my kid. I make sure that I defend myself and my son from whoever decides to screw around with me." The last tenet really didn't apply to him or his brethren, since they lacked a Mandalore in these current times. How can he explained this to the learner? "As for that Mandalore part, we kinda lack one but whenever it's time to war you can bet that I'll be there." And he would always be there when a threat challenged the Mandalorians, and he would stop fighting until he was no longer in any physical state to fight or dead.

After explaining more depth of the six tenets of the Resol'nare, the Mandalorian listened to her explain that she wasn't really a Jedi, per say. Yet she was still considered a Force-User that was full of light. "Well, I bet your sister ain't hearing what you're saying, and you don't have to be proper around me. Only corporate assholes and employers have to call me that," he said, and hoped that his swearing wouldn't cause dissuade Kaili from speaking to him. His swearing wasn't bad as it was in the past, but every now and then he threw in some swearing in his dialogue. Everyone cussed, right? "But, nah, I could never-"

There was rustling to his right which caused him to stop speaking and aimed his crossbow at the source of noise. Unlike the time he shot a bolt at Kaili, he didn't fire as he wanted to lose the bolt in his weapon and harmed a female sentient that was no threat at all. But there was more rustling that surrounded the trio as someone or something were entrapping them in a circle. The Redneck just hoped that it wasn't some intelligent being or beings with modern weapons because him, Kaili, and the droid - if it had any weapons - were outgunned and outnumbered. And heavily.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was quite refreshing to see someone speak so passionately about their home and their beliefs. Well, someone other than the usual friends that Kaili surrounded herself with in her shop. Less talks about enemas and more talk about life lessons and culture. Granted, Kaili was most likely getting all this information because she had more or less asked for it, but that didn’t mean it was any less exciting to learn something new.

“Well, feth it then.” She chuckled. “I alway-”

She didn’t finish her sentence either. The man stopped and so did she. He aimed his crossbow, she withdrew the saber from her belt. She pointed it at the ground without turning it on. Projecting herself as a force user was no way to ensure longevity, if it was a group of sentients. If they were animals, well, sabers were good at deterring them as well. Her fingers tapped at her hilt, the little metal cylinder that packed a punch.

“What do you think it is?” She whispered to Vilaz. “Wildlife?”

Not that the wildlife was any less ferocious or dangerous than men were. Those kind of details didn’t really seem to matter a whole lot if they had you surrounded.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

He could feel his heart racing and he could hear his every breath being exhaled heavily because of whatever "startled" him. By now, if it was intelligent lifeforms with weapons, then either the following would happen. One, Kaili and Vilaz would be shot down until they were dead, leaving their weapons and supplies for the attackers. Two, the person or group that was surrounding them would show themselves and the Mandalorian and the Force User comply to their demands and wishes. Or three, they'd first attack them via close quarters combat as a necessary means to conserve ammunition that could be invested on a huge pack of Dxun's most vicious predators. Neither of those things happened after the the duo reacting with their weapons ready which meant that it was, most likely, some wildlife beasts, waiting for the appropriate time to attack their prey. Besides, some intelligent leader would already call out to Kaili and Vilaz, and ordered them to put down their weapons because of how outgunned and outnumbered they were. Indeed, they were, but if Vilaz had his armor on, then that would even up the playing field as he would use his beskar'gam as a means to protect both him and Kaili from any harmful projectiles.

The Warrior's eyes were still aiming at what was in front of him and didn't dare to look at the woman to answer her question. "Probably," was all he could answer before taking a risk that he would love to avoid. His right index finger flexed at the trigger of the crossbow which shot out a bolt into the abyss of green that covered the entire surface of the Demon Moon. Either he would lose the bolt to the jungle, or it would impact on living flesh. Thankfully, it was the latter as a yelp could be heard from the scenery and out came a large boma, charging at the duo with means of killing them. But he wasn't the only one. Four more of its kind came out from hiding to do the same intentions as its injured cousin.

"Son of a gun," the Bounty Hunter yelled as he tossed his crossbow aside, took out his revolver, and aimed it to finish the injured boma. As he fired two rounds from the slugthrower which ended the life of the predator he aimed his gun at the adjacent boma, but found himself getting a tail whip from the creature's long tail which threw him a couple meters away from Kaili, and lost his pistol from the attack. He immediately got up and unsheathed his alchemized knife which was his only current weapon to defend himself. The other two beasts would focus on the Talith girl and charged, at full speed, to their designated prey.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Claws and tusks coupled with muscles. Kaili’s lightsaber kicked to life to lend a bright purple glow to her surroundings. She took a moment to separate herself from Vilaz, if not for her own sake but for his. Lightsaber mishaps wasn’t one of those things that made for the greatest of longevities. By which she really just meant to minimize the likelihood of either cutting the man himself in two, or a limb of his. She focused on herself, on her surroundings and on the force in an effort to sharpen her reflexes. The boma had already thrown themselves at her companion and it wasn’t long after that Kaili would find herself with two enemies of her own.

One charged from the right, the other from her left. Had she been her sister she would have tried to still them. Use the force to instill a sense of loyalty for the young Talith and in turn made them stop. But Kaili was on the opposite corner of that spectrum. She could do that with droids, and that was pretty much it. Prodigal droid maker as she was.

Her legs pushed backward with amplified strength in order to dodge. The two boma collided in each other. Their heads shook before the two of them set off towards her again. Once more she dodged but let her saber be extended for the leftmost’s leg. It wasn’t to kill it, she couldn’t really bring herself to do that, but incapacitation (which in a sense was even worse than death for animals such as these) felt like the most humane alternative.

It whimpered and fell over to the ground in a sprattle. Kaili looked at the ground behind her as she began to back off once again only to set her eyes on the Mandalorian slugthrower. She extended her hand in it’s general direction, pulled it into her hand and called out to the man fighting the other animals.

“Found your gun!” She raised it for the boma that charged her, took a deep breath and made sure she wasn’t locking her elbows. Breath held, finger squeezing at the trigger and... “Nice!” She exclaimed rather excitedly as the bullet grazed her target.

Yeah, she wasn’t exactly ambidextrous. At least not when it came to guns. Shooting with her left hand was about as effective as was to be expected.

“Just shout if you want it back!” She shouted once more as she pushed the boma back.

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

It seemed that his Force Wielding companion was having a better time on dealing with the Bomas than him since their unique backgrounds differed from one another. Vilaz was just a simple man that had a set of abilities and skills that made him more dangerous than a typical, average soldier and Kaili was a special human with access to the Force and a lightsaber that gave her an edge in any battle. And right now he needed a lightsaber or a weapon of a high caliber to end this Boma that he was facing. He had to be lucky in order to impale this beast with the knife if he were to come out with no injuries of any minor or major degree.

Vilaz, with his knife gripped in a reverse grip, began to to step backwards in a slow pace. He had two options. One, attempt to kill the creature while it charged at him and not obtain any injuries from it, or two, dodge out of harms way and retrieve his revolver from Kaili. Vilaz was much smarter than to attempt to kill the animal in close quarters combat with the Fett-Kal knife. Any sentient with intelligence would think the same thing. He was definitely going to go with the latter plan that he came up with.

As he waited for the animal to strike at him with a charge the Mandalorian immediately jumped to his left as he saw the Boma charge at him in a sprint. "I'm gonna need that back," he said to the Kaili as his eyes were looking in the general direction of where the Boma went off to. In a matter of minutes it would be back and Vilaz intended to have his revolver back in his hand before it came back for another charge. He probably wouldn't have enough time to reload his crossbow with another bolt nor would he try it since it could be fatal or critical to him.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was one of the benefits of being a space ninja, perhaps. Quick reflexes at the cost of a need for immense focus. The thick jungle air didn’t help, and neither did the fact that part of her was freaking out about being chased around by a large animal. As much as some would claim the thrum of a lightsaber would bring them a measure of peace, Kaili wasn’t one of them. More often than not, fists were her weapon of choice and anyone who had met her in battle could attest to that. Lightsabers and blasters weren’t optimal for use in enclosed spaces such as a shuttle or any other spacecraft. They had a tendency to cause more than just a little harm, should a stray shot or swing pierce any fragile equipment.

The second boma charged at her again and she rolled out of it’s way, towards Vilaz. Her hand extended itself for the man to get his gun back. As he took it she decided to make sure her other friend, the boma, stayed away from him. Once more she ran towards it before diverting course towards a nearby tree. It was a hard surface that hopefully would stand to catch a hard foe.

The boma charged, Kaili stood her ground.

“I got a bad feeling about this.” She spoke, mainly to herself, as the creature got ever closer. “Very bad.”

She jumped. Her hand caught on to a small branch in the tree and she remained there, dangling back and forth from the force with which the boma had cracked the tree. It remained on the ground for now. Grumbling and whining in what Kaili could only imagine was one hell of a headache.

“Sorry ‘bout that, friend.” She frowned as she looked down at the creature. “Can’t let you eat me, you know. Far too little meat on these bones.”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The Warrior respected the ideals and values that Kaili had when facing a hostile threat such as the bomas, yet disproved them as she wanted to injure the beasts which took more time and energy to do so. He got the idea that she wanted to preserve all life since her mother taught her the beliefs and values of the Jedi Order, but sometimes those ideals wouldn't work at some times. Unlike the ideals of Vilaz, he would kill these bomas as they would stop at nothing to kill Kaili or Vilaz. Yes, it was a cruel thing to do as he understood the food chain, but after killing his first man and staining his hands there was no going back to repent his doings. However, Vilaz would capture if he was able to but that was a rare thing from him as he learned from experience that sometimes showing mercy would just become a mistake and bite him. Such was the life of a Mandalorian, kill or be killed, adapt or perish, no room for mistakes at all.

He found his revolver back in his hands as Kaili gave it to him as he reached to her extended hand and grabbed the weapon from her. Vilaz would then rolled out of harm's way and focus on the other boma that he was dealing with earlier. But his attention was on Kaili as she was dangling from a tree branch which helped her to dodge the charge from the creature. He aimed the slugthrower at one of the legs of the predator and fired a single round. The carnivore yelped and whimpered which then coward away from the injury that it received from Vilaz. He could've killed it, but some part of him made him do otherwise. Very uncommon from not taking the life of a beast that was vulnerable and was under the influence of a headache.

After he had resolved the boma that attacked Kaili, he returned his concentration on the last boma of the pack. From the plants and vegetation, he saw the same creature he avoided charging at him and was met with a slug that was shot out from his revolver. The boma slid down as the projectile penetrated its head and killed him. He looked at the Talith and said to her, "Sorry, if I traumatized you." There was no sarcasm in his tone as his voice was firm and serious. He guessed that the woman had never killed or seen death in her life due to the type of mother that she had. "You need help getting down," the Field Marshal asked his companion as he went to retrieve his crossbow and the bolt from the first boma he killed from the pack they just fended off. He could really use a cigarette to smoke.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

The boma fell dead and Kaili took it as her cue to drop down from the tree. She had received an apology and a question if she required help, but the force was nifty for catching falls too. She caught her fall with her legs. They cried out in agony and her entire body went stiff. The wound wasn’t much happier either, but she managed.

And traumatizing her would require something more than a gun and an animal.

Something like a ship, hundreds of people and her crashing it.

“I’m good, thanks.” She nodded her head and swallowed the gently brewing flashbacks from the crash. “I’ve seen worse things.” Like friends bleeding out in her arms as she cradled their lifeless body. “I just choose not to kill because I have enough on my conscience as it is.” Like unmarked mass graves discovered when the Galactic Alliance was still an infantile speck on the map.

“You good?” She tried to turn her focus away from the memories. Do like the therapist had told her so long ago. “No horrible injuries you we need to attend to?”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

The arrow was a bit tough to get out from the deceased boma that he had killed a few moments ago. More tough then when he was taking the bolt out of Kaili's shoulder, but that was easy since they were both near-humans and the build and strength of Vilaz's body helped him to take it out. The boma, however, was much more stronger than Vilaz and had more muscles in its body causing Vilaz to tug it out in different angles and methods. Nevertheless, he took it out which almost gave him some nasty blisters on his hand. But blisters or no blisters he could fight and survive just find. He had survived much more than blisters.

The Mandalorian looked at his companion as she jumped back down to the floor of Dxun. He nodded at her and then heard that she had seen worse things. A kid like her already experiencing the bad things of life and reality? The Field Marshal looked at her in a curious face and thought that she probably was tortured by Sith Knights or she killed someone in sometime in the past. "Me too," the Bounty Hunter said to the Talith woman as he understood her and the horrible things that she once experienced, things that were unknown to the Warrior. War cost a lot of things, and the least thing that Vilaz wanted was to lose Mandalorians. He hated it, but he understood that with life there comes death and fighting was something that he liked to do if it had a reason to it. He wasn't the zealous type that raided villages and slaughter innocents. But when someone came in and did a minor hostile operation on Mandalorian soil, then an angry Redneck and a couple millions of Mandalorians wouldn't stop until justice was served.

"Yeah, I'm good. Gonna take more than a boma to make me get a band-aid," he said to her as he wiped the blood off of the bolt with his shirt. "Y'know, Kaili," he began, "at some point, you're gonna have to kill whether you like it or not. Sometimes, you have to put down someone before more people get hurt." He reloaded his crossbow and mentioned her to follow him. After some steps, his face still looking ahead, he asked her a serious question that would take her back to memory lane, "Have you ever killed someone?"

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

A question delivered with pinpoint accuracy. Kaili looked to the ground as if she was thinking on what she was supposed to say. People told her it wasn’t she who had killed all those people, but even still she found that to be the hardest truth to swallow. That having not landed the ship would have resulted in more deaths, that Kaili had minimized the amounts of casualties from the crash. That people didn’t survive crashes most of the time and the fact that the few that survived did so was nothing short of a miracle.

Still…

“Not on purpose.” Kaili frowned. “It’s a long story, but no, I have not killed a man on purpose.”

“Wanted to kill my brother many times throughout life though.” Kaili snickered in an attempt to lighten the mood again. “Always getting on my nerves.”

But the fun times weren’t bound to last. Kaili closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. Or as much of one as she could muster in the thick Dxun air. Her head was spinning.

“I know I will have to kill at some point, but the point still stands.” She looked to Vilaz. “For as long as I can avoid that, I will, but there are exceptions. We all have our exceptions, right?”

“Family, friends. If anyone messes with my family, if anyone lays their hands on my Allyson or on my friend Mara in a bad way…” She shook her head. “Then respect for life has nothing to do with what happens next.”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

He listened to her as she answered his question. He was confused when she answered it at first, but after analyzing her words she did and had killed someone at some point in her past. Whether it was an accident or on purpose, she did the one thing that could never be fixed or reversed in this life which was taking the life of someone. If it was an accident, then maybe someone made her do it. Maybe she threw her lightsaber in a bad angle and took away the life of someone. He didn't know how Kaili accidentally killed someone, but he did know that she took away the life of someone. "Was it pretty bad," Vilaz asked her about her long story of killing someone. He didn't know why he asked that. To a girl like Kaili it was pretty bad in how she did it. "I'm pretty sure some Mandos wanted to kill me back when I was just an nerf herder, but I've changed since then." Oh, yes, he was quite the thorn on the paw for some Mandalorians. His mouth, his attitude, his behavior were very harsh and got on a lot of people's nerves, but those attitudes and habits of him were drowned after being around people and cooperating. His childhood was full of misery which nurtured him to be like that one person he was a long time ago.

Still walking forward, he looked over to get a glance of Kaili as she admitted that she would have to kill. He had a lot of exception to kill. He was a Mandalorian, after all, and he could live with the blood that stained his hands as long as there was a logical reason to it. The factors that Kaili noted down were one of the many reasons he killed, but in times of war he barely took in any prisoners of war. His aggressiveness would cause him to not show any mercy at all to his enemies even if they surrendered and pleaded him for mercy. He doesn't kill surrendered enemies for the heck of it, he does it because he felt it was the right thing to in order to avenge his fallen Mandalorian brethren.

"I like those exceptions. I share those views as well, but I have more exceptions that just those. The moment you try to screw around with me, don't ask why you deserved it." He then asked her, "So what's this story about you accidentally killling someone?"

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

She nodded even if Vilaz might not have seen it. The crash was pretty bad and had left her traumatized for the better half of a year before she was even willing to undergo the therapy necessary to move on. In a sense she was still in recovery from it, but at this point it was nothing compared to how it used to be. There was no doubt that the effects of her trauma would take more than just a year to get over.

“I uhh…” She snickered in hesitation. It wasn’t murder, just felt like it. Right? “I crashed a ship.”

“The whole bridge had died. It was just me, and I wasn’t enough.” Deep shaky sigh, hand moving up to wipe away the humidity under her eyes. “Out of a hundred, only a dozen of us made it back. I had to watch as friend after friend bled out and died, observe as the wildlife attacked the remaining survivors.”

“I was not good enough and it got people killed. Now I just work on droids from the safety of my home. Kept myself locked away for almost a year before starting to reach out for the galaxy again, but even now it’s… Hard.”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

So it was bad when she nodded at his question. No kidding. Vilaz wanted to know the degree or level of her murdering the victim because there was a whole different level of defending oneself and just killing someone for sport and the heck of it. Was Vilaz traumatized for killing the many men and few women in his life? Yes, he was but once he knew that he did it for a reasonable cause and just. Now, he felt no guilt or remorse when taking the life out of someone when it is for would bring the greater good from the aftermath. The Redneck heard the girl speaking and paused with a snickered hesitation. He didn't blame her at all for stopping in her sentence. Many didn't had the strength to talk about it at first, but after a breath or two they would continue the story and Kaili's story seemed pretty bad when she finished her line. He stopped in his tracks and looked at her as she told him that she crashed a ship that contained hundreds of lives on board and why it happened. It didn't seem like murder to him or to any logical sentient, but that couldn't be said to the girl.

What Kaili did was a whole different level.

"Ain't your fault that happened, you know. If you didn't move a finger on that ship, then I wouldn't have shot that bolt at ya a couple minutes ago and I'd probably be digested," he tried to make a joke, but when it came to that he was very bad at it. "So don't let that beat you up. You tried to do something good, but damn reality blasted you down." He hoped that his small lecture would help her and hope that it didn't sound like what a typical psychologist would say. He motioned her again to follow him as he continued to walk and said, "We're almost there, and we better hurry cause that saber ain't gonna help ya when it's night time." Because beskar surely didn't help Mandalore the Indomitable when he died on Dxun.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Yeah.” She muttered under her breath. It wasn’t her fault, she was aware, but it didn’t make it any less painful. “That’s what my psychologist used to say too.”

She sighed. The adrenaline was wearing off and with it the wound began to tickle again. Tickle and burn like a bite from an infernal little pissant. Her fingers darted themselves against her shoulder and neck to try and itch the wound without touching it. All she managed to do was irritate it further. She hissed a silent inhale of pain. Her head turned to try and get a look at the wound. There was dirt around it. Part of her wanted to panic, but she knew that wouldn’t do either of them any good.

She had to focus on something else.

“So, by won’t make it through the night do you mean bigger beasts?” Mind ran through the list of lightsaber resistant predators. Only one really came to mind “Terentateks?”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Well, he sounded like the typical psychologist. And what he said was reiterated not only by the girl's psychologists but also her parents, siblings, and other extended family members. He wiped off sweat on his forehead and could feel that his energy was being exhausted by the humidity and the miles that the two have walked. They were nearing the fort which was a relief, but there could be foreign forces inhabiting the fort. That could be a problem for the two since this world's only rules were survival of the fittest. No one could be fully trusted on this moon since many would only betray those so they could have a better edge against the native and foreign beings of Dxun. But Vilaz wasn't that type of man. He wasn't going to throw Kaili into the den so he could escape his inevitable death. What type of honor would he had, if he would've done that? Definitely not something he could live with.

He heard Kaili's question and the Mandalorian was bout to give her some history of Mandalore the Indomitable. He hoped she wouldn't be bored with his lecture. "I mean that we're gonna have our shebs mauled just by the numbers of beasts. So glad there aren't any of those terentateks around these woods. A great leader of the Mandalorians known as Mandalore the Indomitable died here on this moon, and he had some tough armor on him. But he died cause of the number of animals that attacked him. It's why this moon is dangerous cause once you kill an animal another beast is gonna spawn outta nowhere and come hunting you down." Once giving her that piece of information he asked her, "Ever considered becoming a Mando? It's not as bad as you think it is."

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Outnumbered wasn’t one of those situations in which you wanted to find yourself, and if her guide was correct that was exactly what the two of them would find themselves if they didn’t reach the fort before nightfall. One could only hope this fort held some sort of perimeter defenses of its own, but at this point Kaili did not dare get her hopes up. All she really wanted was a first aid kit, some bacta to get her wound treated or by the very least cleaned properly. It still burned, the humidity wasn’t helping much, but at least it still wasn’t bleeding.

“Can’t say that I have.” Kaili shrugged and scratched her nose. “It’s a warrior culture, but I am far from a warrior. Have no real urge to become one either, I just play with my droids and sit by the fire as the world around me goes to hell.”

Unflattering, but most likely true. Kaili didn’t have any urge to become a person of war, yet she wasn’t one to prevent it either. It was just an impossible state; peace. Something you clinged to in between the bouts of Chaos. Her mind was far from at peace and it most likely never had been. Her temper had gotten her into trouble before both as a kid and an adult, and to risk using that was bound to turn her into something she wasn’t, or couldn’t live with.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t respect it though.” The young woman let on a short snicker and thoughtful smirk. “Pretty sure I wouldn’t be calling my girlfriend -- well, girlfriend -- if I didn’t.”

“She, uh, works for Clan Rekali as Ember Rekali’s first mate. I guess this trip is for her as well, in a sense.”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

Another question that he knew he shouldn't have asked. The girl wasn't a Jedi, but she grew up and adopted the ideals, beliefs, and values that her mother taught her and preached about. It was hard for him to turn away from the ideals and values that shaped him into the man he was today and pick up the ideals of the Jedi which contradicted the ones he followed, and vice versa for Kaili. The Field Marshal gave a small snicker after hearing her comment of her staying in her room, playing with her droids, and watching how the whole Galaxy goes to hell. Vilaz was one of the many instigators that turned the Galaxy into a violent place to live in. Whether it was pursuing a bounty, being a paid soldier to fight battles for an employer, or fighting wars that were waged from or wage on the Mandalorians. Did he regret those actions that he committed? Absolutely not because they all had a valid reason on why he made them.

"Well, you keep on sitting by the fire cause it's gonna get uglier everyday. And you can thank people like me who keep on making it even more messier," the Redneck said to his companion with no hint of sarcasm in it.

"This Galaxy lacks a whole lot of respect. I think when people finally understand that, then this Galaxy won't be as hellish as it is." He listened as she talked a little about her romantic interest and was surprised that she was dating a Mandalorian, or at least that was what Vilaz assumed. "There's a bunch of us dating some light-side Force Users. I don't understand that. What gotcha interested in her? Her moves? Her armor?" He made no comment about her girlfriend being Ember's first mate, but he would compliment of her doing this trip for her. "That's very noble of ya and very brave to pick this planet for your girlfriend. I thought you'd go to Mandalore or Concord Dawn instead of the Demon Moon."

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

They were walking through the jungle at a decent pace. Not slow, not too fast and the conversation wasn’t half-bad either. Maybe it was because it didn’t follow the same pattern as always, there wasn’t any casual mention of the weather or a the uttering of small trivial facts about one another. They were discussing real topics, so to speak. Allyson, the Mandalorians and the meaning of life. Maybe not quite the latter, but it felt like it was only a matter of time before they did.

A small chuckle parted Kaili’s lips as Vilaz asked her why she was with a Mandalorian.

“I’m all about the looks, totally. It’s all about the lips and hips.” The sacrasm was noticeable to say the least. She chuckled again and wiped the stupid grin off of her face. “No, no, it’s a far simpler reason than that.” The woman shrugged. “She’s been there for me when I needed her, helped me get back on my feet from the… Crash.”

A frown twitched on Kaili’s lips. It was still hard to talk about it; the crash.

“And trust me, had I known about the humidity this time of the year, I might just have gone to Mandalore instead, but hey, I’m here now.” More of that dry wit. Kaili had to get out of the pit of remorse. “What about you? Do you have any plus-ones?”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]

 

[Vilaz Munin]

A small chuckle came from Vilaz as she noticed the sarcasm in Kaili's answer of to why her romantic interest was a Mandalorian. The woman then explained to him a much more legitimate answer to his question. That answer gained a lot of respect and praises from the Mandalorian. He saw that most people were with another just for gains and benefits rather than the real deal of love. He knew that there was a bountiful amount of shams that were with someone just to gain political power, wealth, and whatever lust they wanted to persuade just by being a parasite and play with emotions of the one that they "loved" supposedly. They were unlike the romance that Kaili and her girlfriend shared with each other. But what could Vilaz say about love and romancing? He never at all in any chapter of his life dated or romanced with anyone whom he had interest with. His reasons of not dating anyone was because it would make him weak and produce a new flawed factor in him which could be used on him. He did speed dated once, but that didn't produce any ambitions for him to go out and search for his soul mate.

"Was she part of the crash," the Redneck asked to his companion when the Talith told him that her girlfriend helped her get back in a stable psychological state. He had to stop with asking questions that were related to that trauma of Kaili, for her sake.

"Plus-ones? You mean if I got a girl or something?" He was unfamiliar with urban slang or whatever slang Kaili was using, yet he did know rural and country slang due to his raising on Concord Dawn. "And what type of slang is that? Jedi slang," he said with some humor in it.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“No.” Kaili frowned. “She was not.”

Eyes closed, deep breath. She pushed it aside. They had more interesting, technically urgent things to talk about if not something that was more interesting. The Mandalorian knew about Kaili and who she was and Kaili in turn had learned about the Mandalorian and his culture. Didn’t mean she had a full grasp of who the man behind the crossbow was though. She was intrigued. Part of her had, after all, expected a brute with an itchy trigger finger. She was glad to be proven wrong.

“Yeah, a girl,” Kaili let the silence lingered as she contemplated the next part. Would she? “... Or a boy?”

She silently snickered to herself.

“It’s just, you know, regular slang. People around me use it all the time. I don’t really know where it’s from, it just exists, you know?”

All things considered Kaili wasn’t entirely out of touch with her inner child, or girl.

“So, do you have any significant other? I don’t mean to pry, of course. If you don’t want to answer, then you don’t have to.”

[member="Vilaz Munin"]