The Little Ones

[Alwine Daye]

Location: Citadel, Golbah City, Geonosis
Wearing: Obsidian type Strike Armor | "Executor" Boots Exclusive
Tags: [member="Neela deWinter"]

It was another hot day on Geonosis. Alwine had woken up early and gone through her morning routine before donning her Knight Obsidian Strike Armor and heading off to the Citadel. In truth, there was little that was on her actual to-do list for the day; in the past few weeks, it almost seemed as if life had become… Normal? Or whatever version of normal it was one could have when you were a Lupine with the relationships and connections that the Lechner siblings seemed to have amongst themselves and with those who surrounded them.

Normally, the petite blonde would have gone straight for the training room and spent at least a few hours fighting droids with various weapons, yet today she had another thing on her mind. It was in a recent mission with her brother that Alwine had so tangibly felt once again how horrible their lack of education was. Due to the nature of the missions granted to them by the Knights Obsidian, they were often required to show an ability to improvise on the spot, and yet lacking knowledge, their options of improvisation were more than somewhat limited.

So Alwine had put to mind the need to learn more. To become better. There was a series of tutorials on technological matters that she had access to via the Citadel's Library, and thanks to it being so early in the morning, the place was mostly deserted. Seated herself in front of one of the terminals along with a beginner's kit, Alwine set to work.

Within moments, she found herself frustrated. Her hands, small as they were, could easily cut and carve a chicken in twenty different ways. That was, after all, what she had initially been trained for, for the first nineteen years of her life. Yet now that she was attempting to construct a basic grenade (without the actual explosive bits, yet), it seemed her fingers refused to cooperate. It was a different kind of work.

And three attempts later, her tiny fist came down to smash the entire kit, flattening it against the table.

Sighing, Alwine grabbed a drink of water, and then another kit. It was time to start over.

 

[Neela deWinter]

Wearing: [xXx]
Tag: [member="Alwine Lechner"]

----------------------------------------------


At times, the art of finding information became frustrating. Every once in a while, one target or another had specific weaknesses, or were a species that Neela knew absolutely nothing about or how to handle them, and those were the times that lead the redheaded assassin to the Citadel. Granted, there were other reasons to visit Golbah City. Neela had contacts here of course, but today she was on a mission to learn about some poisonous plants.

So far, she had yet to find what she needed, or wanted really. There was a plethora of information littered about detailing poisonous plants and where to find them, but it wasn't what she was looking for. A sigh parted Neela's lips, and she lifted a hand to rake her fingers roughly through her red locks and grip them halfway through. Her eyes closed for a long moment and she counted silently to calm herself.

Though it seemed she wasn't the only one having issues. A loud ruckus startled her enough to bring her eyes open again, and once Neela had released the locks of her hair she moved quietly to investigate. What she found made her eyebrows loft, and for a moment her own issues were forgotten.

"Looks like I'm not the only one having a rough day." she sighed out as she made her way closer.

 

[Alwine Daye]

Location: Citadel, Golbah City, Geonosis
Wearing: Obsidian type Strike Armor | "Executor" Boots Exclusive
Tags: [member="Neela deWinter"]

Alwine was messing with her third kit when the stranger approached her. All her attempts thus had failed, which on one hand was not that bad considering she was not using actual explosives, yet on the other hand reminding her time and time again how her education lacked and how dangerous to herself she might become while out on a mission and needing to handle thigs she knew little to nothing about. Why did the Knights Obsidian not give proper instruction on these things?! It was maddening.

At the stranger's sound, the kit remains dropped from Alwine's hands and she turned her head sharply in a move that resembled more a wolf than a human, chocolate brown eyes narrowing for a moment before she realized this was simply another patron of the library, and not a potential danger. Taking a breath, Alwine's muscles visible relaxed, her posture returning more to the human side of the slide rather than the wolf, and she offered the other woman (who, as so many, was also taller than her) a little smile.

"I find that new things often are," the Lupine said, "rough, I mean. I have never attempted to put a grenade together before." Glaring at the terminal, Alwine waved her hand, sending the remains of the third kit away and into the recycling bin. "You would think that the Confederacy would have a vested interest in teaching some of its members how to do those things," she said somberly before looking at the stranger again, "but you would be wrong. It appears we are expected to know many things on our own, or learn them on our own."

Shutting the terminal down, Alwine shook her head, letting her blondtresses wave around her face for a moment before she moved to lock them into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"I am Alwine Lechner, Executor of the Knights Obsidian," she introduced herself to the redhead.

 

[Neela deWinter]

"If it's something that their people are in need of knowing, then yeah I would think that an organization with the means to hire proper trainers for their people would do exactly that." Neela's head shook and her arms folded as she really thought about this fact. "Though really, what do I know?" For all the redhead knew, they did have some sort of training program for these sorts of things, and said programs just weren't being utilized. Though that was something she didn't feel the need to bring up in that moment.

When the small blonde introduced herself, Neela was honestly a bit surprised. To be honest, she had been expecting to be told to piss off. Most people who came to places like this, and were engaged in activities such as Alwine had been didn't typically like to be disturbed. And it was clear on the redhead's face that she had not expected to actually be engaged in conversation.

"I'm Neela," she stated in reply. "And I must say, that's a pretty fancy title you have there." she smirked, and extended a hand to shake in greeting.


[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Location: Citadel, Golbah City, Geonosis
Wearing: Obsidian type Strike Armor | "Executor" Boots Exclusive
Tags: [member="Neela deWinter"]

Shaking her head, Alwine also shook her head. "Job description," she explained, "not an actual title. I believe it is what is called, an entry-level position."

Sighing, Alwine looked to the disconnected terminal again. She had truly hoped she would have been able to make some form of advancement with putting the things together. But perhaps, she had been running ahead of herself. Perhaps what she needed was not to put it together with a manual, but to begin with a theoretical explanation of what part meant and did what, and then quiz herself on her memory to ensure she remembered it properly, and only then put it together in order to construct a grenade.

"If you are not from a backwater planet as I am, you probably know more than me," she said to Neela, and offered a little smile. "Where I am from, women we barely allowed to learn how to read and write. It has been challenging to make up for that deep lack of education."

Flipping the terminal back on, Alwine shook her head again. She had to try. Once more.

"What brings you here, Neela?" she asked, and motioned for the other woman to take a seat. They could work at the neighboring terminals. And perhaps talking with another while attempting to do things would make the next failure easier to bear.

 

[Neela deWinter]

"Job description or no, it's still fairly impressive to hear aloud, I assure you." the redhead smirked just a little and shrugged a shoulder over the matter. Neela personally had no fancy title, or job description. While 'assassin for hire' rolled off the tongue quite nicely, it wasn't something that you just opened up and announced yourself as to someone - anyone, typically. There were small circles of trusted people for a reason, after all.

Though it seemed that Neela wasn't the only one with her fair share of problems, not that she ever really thought that she was. Still, the idea of a place still existing where anyone was treated less than someone else didn't sit well with the redhead. While she did her best to steer clear of such things, to think that girls had to grow up somewhere not being educated the same way as boys was frustrating - and Neela didn't even have to endure it! However, she was smart enough not to go off on some tangent about it either. Just because someone brought up something like that, didn't mean they would appreciate negative comments about their home and/or people.

She had learned that the hard way, more than once, before finally learning to keep her mouth shut.

So instead, when asked about why she was here, Neela sighed and took a seat. "Botanical research." she answered simply enough. "I've got a friend with a particular nasty beau on her tail, and we'll just say that I'm in search of something that will get him to back off indefinitely." Neela crossed one leg over the other, folded her hands together, and placed them against her knee. "So far, I haven't found anything that will do much more than give him a bad rash or keep him in a lavatory for a few hours." her head shook once. "Not ideal. Especially considering he is the vindictive sort that will automatically suspect foul play and take it out on my friend."


[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Location: Citadel, Golbah City, Geonosis
Wearing: Obsidian type Strike Armor | "Executor" Boots Exclusive
Tags: [member="Neela deWinter"]

Impressive. Truth be told, Alwine had little use of thinking of it in those terms. Title aside, she knew she was an impressive person. There had never been a question regarding that. Yet all her life she'd needed to hide it, keep it securely tucked away. Work hard to not be noticed, so that her family and specifically her brothers would remain safe. But she understood well enough that the other woman meant it as a good thing. There was no veiled threat in her words or demeanor. And so, she thanked her with a nod and a little smile.

Her hands worked as she waited for Neela to respond to her question. A small part here, another part there, and suddenly Alwine stopped working, her full attention on the redhead.

"I like plants," she said with a proud smile now, "it was one of the first things I was taught to do with the Force. It has saved me on more than one occasion, and has helped others often enough."

There was also the rest. Something to battle others. Alwine motioned for Neela to bide a moment as she returned to the terminal, calling up the files of the day the Confederacy had taken Monastery over. It was done before she herself had joined the Confederacy, before even her brother had. But she knew of what had happened that day. Knew about the little Sith that had spiked the entire water supply of the pirates so that when the Confederates arrived, their enemy was quite literally poodoo'ing their pants.

"Here," Alwine said as she printed the name of the laxative that had been purchased with Confederate funds for that mission, "this has already proven to work. Someone I know used it against an enemy and it was very successful. You should be able to find it at any pharmacy."