RPG THREAD: Continuing the Hunt

Finally lifting her gaze, Mesh’la brought her head up with a smile mirroring Mav’s. “Really? You’d take me with you? I don’t have much in the way of credits, and I know transports cost a good bit. Haran, I’ve never even been off of Tatooine…” she said, thinking about how often she’d longed to leave the dry and desolate expanses of the desert planet. To go exploring in the realms of the galaxy she’d only heard of in spacers’ tales was an opportunity she wasn’t about to go refusing.

Before she could get too wrapped up in her thoughts of adventure, however, she remembered the other Mandalorian’s whole reason for being this far into the Outer Rim in the first place. “But what about your brother and your clan?”

“Of course, even though I’ve got Owl to keep me company, having someone that’s actually organic around is nice,” he grinned and took another bite of meat. There was good hunting to be had on Endor, and that he knew quite well from experience. Maybe if they were lucky they’d be able to bag a mighty gorax. Of course they weren’t quite as fearsome as krayt dragons, but they came close. He glanced back to his gear as he thought of that and noted the lock of hair he had taken from the first one he had slain. They did posses something Krayt Dragon’s didn’t, and that was that they were far more intelligent creatures; able to fashion weapons and tame beasts they had a much larger arsenal than just their own bodies.

“I’ve got transportation, and as long as you’ve got enough credits to pay for your ammo we’re good,” Mav leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers over his stomach as he presented the reassurance. The meat had done a decent job of filling him up enough, although he’d probably try to snack on something once they went into town again.

Her mention of his brother made Mav pause and he leaned forward as he thought. “Well I have no leads now, but they just might be on Endor…” he glanced up to the ceiling, but to his mind’s eye he was gazing through the vast expanses of space to his home world. “It’s worth a shot at least,” he sighed and stood up from the table to look over his supplies.

“I can understand that sentiment,” Mesh’la replied to Mav’s comment about having an organic for a companion. She’d been alone for so long that she’d started to wonder if she’d always be that way. It was certainly time for her to leave the hut behind. The hermit way of life might have suited her father, but he had good reason. She, on the other hand, was young yet. It would be good for her to do some exploring. Maybe she could carve her own path in the universe and make something of her life.

“And don’t worry about ammunition. We…I’ve got plenty,” she said, correcting herself. Sometimes she still thought of the rural home as being shared with her father. Maybe it was just her way of feeling not so alone. After all, he wasn’t gone… merely marching far away.

A few hours later, Mesh’la had done a fairly decent job of cleaning up the house. There wasn’t much to straighten, as she had kept it rather neat by a matter of habit. The only reason she bothered at all was because she felt it important to take care of things she cared about. Even if she was going to be away for a while…possibly a long while…maybe longer… she would still like it to be how she left it should she return.

When all was said and done, she only had a few bags. One held some regular clothes and the very bare essentials, along with a few small electronics. The other two held weaponry, ammunition, and medical supplies. Slung across her armored back, her father’s old blaster rested, having become her favorite and most prized weapon. Everything fit neatly into the speeder with plenty enough room for the two Mandalorians to travel comfortably.

Hopping into the driver’s seat, Mesh’la took a last look at the hovel, her gaze lingering on a small gravemarker beside a slightly larger one. The first belonged to her biological mother, whom she’d never met due to the fact that she’d died shortly after childbirth. The second was that of her adoptive father. Although many Mandalorians preferred funeral pyres, the remnant of the Runi clan had opted for a burial so that the smoke might not attract the many predators which ceaselessly roamed the harsh Dune Sea.

Finally, she turned away and drove, never looking back.

Mav figured he’d need to actually get dressed before venturing out into the dunes, and the first thing he was going to do would be to rid himself of his unnecessary bandages. The mandalorian figured out where they started and began to unwind them from his torso till he had effectively freed himself from it. Mav took a deep breath as he could finally breath freely without the bandages keeping so tight to him. Knowing he wouldn’t have healed without a scratch left over he decided to figure out just how bad he really had been hit. The mandalorian let out a low whistle as he examined the large scar that ran from the center of his chest down to his left flank following his ribs on the way down. “It sure hit me hard, eh?” he snickered and pulled his jumpsuit up around him. Granted the gash was still there, and this only served to highlight the scar further, it was far better than baking in the sun. The last thing he needed was to have to wear his armor with sunburn. He shuddered at the thought and continued to dress himself with whatever hadn’t been broken in the attack.

With his articles sorted out, seeing as they were all he had brought along save one last thing, he turned to face it. His beloved rifle rested against the wall, it had been in his possession for as long as he could remember. The rifle was by no means a blaster, but rather a slugthrower. In some eyes this would have made it immensely inferior, but Mav valued the positives of it. First of all, it was far more durable than a blaster rifle, and second it did not give away a position like a blaster would. This stealthy aspect of it was enhanced even further by the silencer he mounted on it from time to time. The rifle was wrapped up in cloth here and there to help break up its image when he lurked in some foliage or sand given the planet. It had clearly been through a good deal of fights and the old wooden stock showed it; nicks and cracks were present all along the stock, and the barrel had lost its sheen. Yet none of this detracted from its lethality, which was once again made active as Mav loaded rounds into its magazine.

The mandalorian slung the faithful rifle over his back, signaled Owl to follow after him, and walked out of the hut after Mesh. Soon he felt wind against his face for his helmet was tucked between his legs while Owl hid within it. The poor thing could never stand to venture even a little bit out of a container now when riding a speeder.

Upon arrival into town, Mesh’la tucked and tied her hair back, securing it snugly inside her helmet. They had arrived at the Mos Eisley spaceport in no time at all, it seemed, but there was no stopping now. One had to remember the past but not dwell on it. It was necessary to make the most of the future by living in the present.

Approaching the ship that Mav had pointed out, she felt a knot twist in her stomach, a mixture of anxiety and excitement. She was leaving behind all she had ever known to take a trip with someone she had just met about a week ago. But hey, she could take care of herself, right? It was time for her to move on, and that was exactly what she was doing.

As the loading ramp descended, Mesh’la eased the speeder into the bay, which seemed to stretch nearly the entire distance of the ship. There were almost no walls in the freighter, giving the inside a much larger feel than what one gathered from the outside. It was impressive, if a little boring architecturally.

Climbing out of the seat as she shut off the vehicle, she grabbed her packs from the backseat and waited for Mav to exit, looking at him through her visor. “Lead on,” she said simply, cracking a smile as she noticed Owl come peeking out of the dashboard console only to zoom around the empty space, emitting happy hooting chirps and beeps.

The mandalorian jumped out of the speeder and took in the extensive space the freighter provided; it was by far more preferable to the hut he had spent the past week in. Mav sighed and plucked out his gear from the speeder. The mandalorian had slipped his helmet back on, if not somewhat lopsidedly for ease of carry while he clutched his chest plate in his left hand, and rifle in his right. The chest plate was tossed onto the armor workstation along with the helmet while the rifle was slung onto his back. He whistled absentmindedly as he poked around the ship till he was satisfied; it was just as he had left it, which meant there had been no intruders thankfully.

“Make yourself comfortable I guess, though I don’t exactly have many guests myself,” he shrugged though certain she would understand seeing as he had spent the past week on a makeshift bed. The mandalorian jogged across the expanse of the ship to the cockpit to start a pre-flight check. Mav tapped the monitors with his finger as he skimmed through the readouts while the engines warmed up. Satisfied that the check would continue to run well without him, Mav turned from the readouts to face Mesh, “I’m guessing you haven’t flown much, though I’m not much for it myself. Too bad it’s a necessity for me.”

The mandalorian turned back to the readouts as the check gave a confirmative beep. Mav started the lift off and before Owl could give another hoot the ship was lifting off the ground. The ship went flying off into space and soon Tatooine looked like little more than a clear ball filled with sand. The nav computer began to calculate the jump that would take the trio to Endor, and as soon as it did the ship gave a sharp lurch and jumped to lightspeed.

Mav glanced over to Mesh who was looking rather worse for wear. A look of concern made its way onto his face as he tilted his head in perplexity. “You don’t look so good,” he could hardly say otherwise, “I’d say try taking a seat, but you’ve already done that.” The mandalorian glanced out the viewport and sighed. He’d have to try to calm her down, especially if he didn’t want to risk the bile she was clearly holding back getting all over his deck.

“How about I show you uh…” he paused and ran over just what things of interest he could possibly show her on the freighter that might calm her nerves, “the… trophy rack?” He blinked, by no means did he intended to have that come off in a boastful manner, though he did take great pride in it. The mandalorian got up from his seat and beckoned her over towards one of the few walls on the ship. Arrayed on it were various parts of a variety of fearsome beasts that he had fought and slain in his wanderings. Among it were rancor claws, Nexu teeth, and a piece of hide from a gorax (part of the same gorax’s fur made up the lock of hair on Mav’s armor). The mandalorian sighed, “If only I had gotten something off of the krayt dragon to put here… I did kill it right?” he blinked and looked over to her.

Taking in a few deep breaths, Mesh’la forced herself to think about other things, one of which was how amusing she found Mav as he was trying so hard to distract her. Yet, it seemed to work, as she swallowed and managed to stand, albeit shakily at first.

Blinking it off, her steps gained steadiness as she walked over to the trophy rack, genuinely interested in what he had on display. She found she had no clue what half of the items were, and she had to repress the slight twinge of jealousy she felt upon realizing that he’d certainly had more adventure in his fewer years than she’d had in hers.

As Mav mentioned the Krayt dragon, Mesh nodded quickly to answer his question, still not trusting her voice for the moment, and reached into a side pocket as if inspired. Drawing a small black pouch from one of her many belt pockets, she held it out to him. This time, she spoke, thankful that her words came out solidly. “I didn’t see who killed the beast, but I assumed it was you, since you had the blaster and the wound to prove your fight. I meant to give this to you earlier, but I forgot with all of our destination planning,” she explained.

Inside the bag, a perfectly formed Krayt pearl glistened as it hit the artificial lights of the ship. “It wasn’t like that when I grabbed it from inside the dragon… it was still in the process of becoming perfectly round, but I polished it down as best I could,” she added.

Mav cocked a brow as she fished into her belt and withdrew the black pouch. She couldn’t have; if what he thought that what that might just be was what it really was… It couldn’t be, surely not! The mandalorian thought with growing anticipation and uncertainty. However, with all his racing thoughts he was still left in awe by what she revealed. An incredibly emerald toned krayt dragon pearl, and that must have meant he did indeed kill it with that last ditch shot and not just made it flee. “W-wow…” he gingerly touched it, as though it would shatter at the slightest nudge. Satisfied that this sign of courage wouldn’t break into a million pieces he lifted it up to admire it in the light. “Perfectly round or not, this… this is still a Krayt Dragon Pearl,” Mav gawked at it before settling it down on the rack next to the Gorax pelt.

“I can’t thank you enough for retrieving that for me, it’s a bit of a tradition to take a trophy from the first creature of a species of predators I encounter. He beamed at her, “It wouldn’t have been fitting for my trophy from a Krayt to be of the second one I have slain.” The mandalorian chuckled before backing up from the trophy rack and nodded to Mesh to indicate that she could do whatever. That armor wasn’t going to repair itself, and it was a good thing he had some extra leather to repair the suit with.

As Mav went off to work on his armor, Mesh’la glanced at the Krayt pearl once more, confident in her decision to let him have the rare item. It was extremely valuable, and she knew that it could have made her enough credits to last a long while, but if there was one thing that her father had instilled in her it was the sense that there was something honorable about hard work. Mav had earned his prize; she would make something of herself yet.

Wandering around the ship, she found the setup fairly interesting. All along the furthest reaches, things lined the interior of the hull. There were no real walls except for where she assumed the refresher was housed. To fill the blank space in between, there were workstations of various sorts, and other displays. There was even a nice little kitchen.

Even as homely as the place was, the wide-open center coupled with the chill of the black made her shiver in her armor. Tatooinian nights were nothing compared to the cold vastness of space. Thank goodness for temperature regulators aboard ships, she thought, though this one could do to have its degrees turned up a few notches.

Finding a set of couches, she settled onto one, stretching out and putting her arms behind her head. She had only meant to lie there for a few moments, but ended up dozing off. Curled in on herself for warmth, she didn’t stir again until they were exiting hyperspace, the still unfamiliar lurching waking her up instantly. Bewildered, she forgot where she was for a moment until she saw the backside of the trophy rack and remembered the events up until a few hours ago.

With a yawn, she stretched and stood up, making her way back over to the cockpit. Sitting in the same seat where she’d had her first nauseating experience, she picked up her helmet from where she had left it and looked out the viewport. Just coming into focus was a somewhat colorful moon, which seemed to be orbiting a large gas giant. As they broke atmosphere, Mesh’la could tell that the “Sanctuary Moon” was indeed teeming with life. It was almost surreal in comparison to the harsh desert wastes she had known.

"Wayii..." she breathed, a quiet whisper of awe.

Mav was rather pleased with the end result, and he should be seeing as the hide he had used to fix the under portion of his chest plate was one of the best he had ever harvested. The mandalorian ran his finger along where the razor sharp barb on the krayt dragon’s tail had struck prior and despite his attempts at cleaning he couldn’t quite get all the blood off the camo-colored plates. Sighing in submission to the pesky stains he fitted on the chest plate and admired the comfortable fit. “That’s more like it,” he voiced to Mesh, though when he got no response from her he turned to find out why.

The mandalorian smirked as he noticed her snoring away on one of the couches and he gave a sigh as he slipped off to the kitchen. There was some rancor meat he had in storage that he planned to make a burger out of.

A few burgers later, along with some extra hours Mav noted the dull jerk as the ship exited hyperspace. This transition clearly did not go unnoticed by the other passengers as he watched Mesh stir, and Owl dart through the air towards the viewport. “Endor, it’s so nice to be finally going home,” he sighed and admired the moon as they neared the surface.

Within the ships nav computer was the location of his old home, and the way to get to it as well. The ship settled down with little complaint on the soft underbrush, though Mav had to adjust for plant growth and land further away from his old home. “Looks like we’re going to have to take a hike, and forget the speeder it won’t squeeze through trees well enough to get us there,” he shrugged and slung his rifle over his back.

The mandalorian lowered the ramp and, without waiting for Mesh, walked on out. The forest had undoubtedly changed since the last time he had been there, but then it always was. Things grew, things died, it was an endless cycle that continued to reshape the small moon. Thankfully major landmarks that were used for navigation had changed very little.

These landmarks aided the mandalorian greatly in his navigation and soon he was finding himself in very familiar territory. It did not take much more than an hour or so till he reached the base of a very large tree. Then Mav turned his gaze upwards and looked to the large tree house situated in the branches above. “Well, well, well would you look at that; it is still up there! Of course I can see the vines had their way with the exterior, but the interior should still be in perfectly good order,” the mandalorian nodded to him and walked over to a small control pad sticking out of the ground on a stand. A soft whine echoed around the trees as a lift descended down from above, “After you,” he glanced back to Mesh and followed in after her.

The mandalorian was visibly shifting in giddy excitement as the lift neared the top and brought them continuously closer to his old home. “Just a little bit longer, and don’t look down,” though he never looked back to her; he was far too inclined to continue gazing up towards the house situated above.

The lift calm to a sharp halt, but Mav had remembered to expect it and compensated for the quick jerk. The old house was of an interesting design for it circled around the tree trunk like a large wheel, and had spokes that ventured to neighboring trees that indicated various assemblies. He knew them to be used for various things, one was his room, another belonged to brother, and yet another was an airspeeder garage.

The first thing the mandalorian did when he stepped out onto the balcony that surrounded the house was to walk out to the railing and gaze out at the forest below. Such an open expanse of forest and he had ventured through so much of it and yet so much still remained to venture through. “Well this is my home,” he spread his arms to the forest that surrounded them.

“Too late,” Mesh’la muttered in response to Mav’s somewhat delayed warning. Steadying herself against the house itself, she followed the younger Mandalorian until he abruptly stopped, evidently to survey the surrounding woodlands. She would have followed his gaze had it not been for the fact that she was still recovering from the last time she had made the mistake of looking down. Instead, she focused on the dwelling, waiting until he was ready to go inside.

Deciding to only look up from now on except when walking over something particularly perilous, Mesh noticed the different ramps that connected the main house to the different rooms, and hoped they wouldn’t have to venture over there. The walkways were far too thin for her liking…

Mav shrugged as she declined the offer to gaze out over the forest and, sensing her discomfort, motioned her to the front door. The fact that it was still locked when he reached it made for some reassurance to the mandalorian as he tapped in the lock code. With a clank it disengaged and he pushed the door aside.

The house was homely, although equally Spartan for in addition to the mandalorians’ typical style of limited furnishings they had also taken a deal of the possessions with them when they left. Yet despite the removal of some furnishings, a few essentials still remained in foresight of just a thing like this occurring. There was a decently sized table, a few chairs and couches, another kitchen, along with a holo-projector.

“Well, once again make yourself at home,” he spread his arms and let them drop into a shrug, “because I think you’ll find it more hospitable than the ship as long as you don’t look down.” The mandalorian snickered and stalked off to check through the kitchen to see if any foodstuff remained.

It had been to Mav’s dismay, although not entirely unexpected, that there was in fact absolutely no food to be had at all. That meant he’d have to go hunting, and hunting he would do. This still left some important materials unavailable though and he’d have to barter to get them. The only thing was though that those he’d have to barter with were the furry little natives of the moon: Ewoks. Figuring he could get some hunting in through the morning as well as later go try to trade for some supplies, he allowed himself to relax.

It was when he while he lay in his hammock that an idea occurred to the mandalorian. It was a most devious prank to pull, one befitting a child half his age in sheer cruelty but that required the complex skills of a hunter. After having spent a week in Mesh’s company he figured he had a decent gauge of when she woke and that gave him his window of opportunity. Granted he was not about to do such a feat without ample sleep, but he’d still have to wake early enough to do it. Settling down to sleep Mav set his alarm to the time he decided would be necessary.

The morning came and the trap was set. Tucked in the branches above, and lacking much of anything that could possibly weigh him down and upset his precarious position he did his best to maintain some modesty. The leaves hid his lithe figure well as his muscles remained tensed and coiled as the time on his chrono ticked down.

The mandalorian heard the footsteps long before he saw the door open and his pulse began to quicken. She was nearing the trap that was of such childish deviousness that he almost felt embarrassed to partake in it. One step he saw the mandalorian woman take, and then another, but it would only take one more- and there it was! Mav’s sly smile burst into a full grin as he watched her foot slip right onto his trap. A tug on the cord that ran discreetly up towards him pulled the loop she had just placed her foot into tightly around her ankle.

The mandalorian shifted slightly over to the weight that rested ever so carefully on a nearby branch. The cord that had just been secured about the woman’s leg ran all the way up to this weight, the very same weight that he had just tipped off the branch. The falling weight quickly began to pull at the cord tied to it, which in turn went over the branch and down to the hapless woman below. The pull would yank the woman off her feet and she’d, as Mav had figured with some hasty calculations, be pulled up to eye level with him before the weight settled. Once she was there he had but one remark to give her, “Good morning.”

Having been determined not to look down more than necessary, Mesh’la made her way slowly across the crosswalk over to the main house. As the rope pulled tightly around her ankle her first instinct was to reach for her weapon, but before she could even touch the blaster she was suddenly several feet higher in the air and the forest was upside down in her field of vision. A cry of surprise issued from her lips, which reverberated through the forest as her helmet fell from her hand, landing somewhere far below in some bushes.

It took her but a moment to recognize the cocky “good morning” and where it had come from. Seeing the devilish smile upon her partner’s face only set her off further. “You Kowakian son of a monkey-lizard! Get me down from here so I can kick your shebs!” she shouted, disregarding the fact that threatening him probably wasn’t the best way to get him to set her free.

She swiped at the air before her futilely, for the barely-clad Mav was sitting just beyond her reach, his impish grin fit to burst into laughter at any moment. “C’mon! Lemme down!” she pleaded, less loudly and more frantically as she broke her vow not to look toward the ground again.

“On second thought, down might not be the best choice of words…”

Her face began to match the color of her hair as blood rushed to her head. Curling upwards, she grabbed first at her ankle, and then at the rope, trying to climb to the branch above.

Mav could barely suppress the victory cry that tried so desperately to escape his lips. The trap hadn’t just worked, it had excelled. The mandalorian’s grin grew till it looked like it could not possibly stretch any further. “You want down…?” with a swift leap he snatched another branch, this one facing the weight and pulled against it. With a rapid jerk the weight came up and Mesh had a brief fall till the cord snapped tight again, “Well you should have said that to begin with!” The whole act had simply been complying with her demand to be let down after all.

“Now seeing as you’re in a rather fickle mood I’ll just let you stay and cool off for a bit,” he laughed and shifted on the branch so that he was hanging upside down in such a manner that he mirrored her predicament. “Guessing that you won’t try to get down from there without my help I think you’ll be perfectly safe where you are while I go fetch your helmet,” the mandalorian winked tauntingly at her before dropping down to a branch below. “Oh, and Owl will keep you company while you wait,” following this he whistled to get the little droid to float up to them. It bobbed around Mesh’s head as Mav proceeded to climb further down.

Once on ground level he poked around the bush till he found the helmet he was looking for. It had landed softly in the bush, although he still had to fish out a few leaves within it. Mav was casually walking back to the lift when he heard a loud thump, and then another, and another. Footsteps, Mav’s breath caught in his chest as it dawned on him what those footfalls belong do. If what he thought it was, was what it really was he was way in over his head standing around on the forest floor clad in little more than his undergarments, “Osik!” The mandalorian broke into a sprint towards the lift and called it down. Thankfully the house had been built up as high as it was just to avoid this particular beast, and if he could just get onto the lift before it came crashing on in he’d be fine. If he had only brought his rifle with him he could have taken it on right there, but alas he was lacking it and was mostly defenseless against such a foe.

Much to his relief the lift came well in time and he was being carried up to the house above. It was not a moment sooner that he reached the top that what he had been anticipating burst into the clearing underneath him. “Wooh! Look at him!” he looked over the side of the railing and watched the mighty Gorax stomp around, clearly hunting for the mandalorian that had been there just a short while earlier. “Gonna have to go after you, but I’ve got a burc’ya out on a string right now,” he smirked down at the clueless Gorax and returned to the hut where Owl was still obediently bobbing around Mesh’s head.

Feeling like quite the utreekov as she dangled helplessly dozens of feet from the forest floor, Mesh’la watched Mav rapidly descend to ground level and pick up her helmet. Owl bobbed and hooted ceaselessly around her head, but she made no move to attack or otherwise stop the droid. It was just following orders after all. Arms crossed, she swung gently from her position, like an unnerved pendulum of armor plating.

The echoing plod of the mighty Gorax tore Mesh’la from her plotting of how to get back at Mav. Because of her current state, much higher in elevation than the jungle boy below, she could get a visual on the beast first, and wondered if Mav was going to need her help. He had lived here for most of his life and obviously knew his way around, but it still looked like the lift might not make it down to him in time. Wearing nearly nothing and bearing no weapon, she wasn’t sure how well a fight between him and the Gorax would turn out.

Clutching her blaster, she brought it to bear upside down and looked through the sights as the very large being broke through the cover of the trees around the dwelling. The turbo lift brought Mav back up to a safe height just then, and she relaxed a little, but still held onto her weapon. She didn’t know if the thing could climb, but she wasn’t going to instigate it to try if it would otherwise go away. It was one thing to go on a hunt, but another thing entirely to try and fight while dangling from a branch like a treat on a string.


((utreekov = idiot/fool))

Mav glanced up towards Mesh as he walked over towards the rope that was dangling nearby. The weight was still fastened to it, but that wouldn’t be the case for long. While holding onto the rope he released it from the weight that had previously held it down and he felt the sudden weight being shifted onto his grip. He had to hang on a bit tighter than he had expecting, for he had never taken into account how heavy she’d be with armor on and winced against the strain before slowly easing her down.

After a bit of careful rope work he managed to get her down to a few feet off the ground and at this point he was just about stretched out as possible. Arms in the air like a mad man he couldn’t do much else but release and let her drop the last few feet onto the platform. “Didn’t quite measure the rope right apparently…” he shrugged and stretched to loosen up his muscles. “Now you stay put while I go hunt down that Gorax, got it? Unless you want to come along…” he winked and made off to his room to gather his supplies.

Once he had gotten fully geared up in armor, followed by slipping on his dark green cloak, Mav slipped back out of his hut and nodded to Mesh. The mandalorian pulled out of a pouch various sorts of ammunition and he sorted through it on his palm. He’d need ones with high stopping power for the job, though efficient penetration wasn’t too much of an issue. Poison against such a large topic wouldn’t be horribly effective either, but incendiary would be excellent. After deciding on ammunition he gathered up ten rounds and slipped each into his rifle’s breech one after the other. Working the bolt and sending a round into the chamber he glanced at Owl and motioned for him to stay with Mesh. “Owl will stick with you in case I need to split off for a bit,” and the ventured onto the lift where he waited for her.

Mav offered one last smile before slipping on his helmet and engrossing himself within the hunt. It was as if he was a totally different person at these times, silent and calculative. He was hardly prone to rash actions or kid-like grins. It was rare for him to talk at all, unless necessary (or in this case: provide tutelage). As soon as he entered this state he ignored any revenge Mesh had cooking and no longer saw Owl as a pet but rather a spotter, his comrade none the less though.

The mandalorian made his way into the forest in search of the Gorax that had just recently stampeded through the area. He would lead the way towards the beast, and hopefully Mesh'la would be quiet enough not to attract its attention too early. The creature would make both an excellent source for food to restock on, and it would serve other uses in barter to obtain the other things he required.

The large footsteps had given away where the Gorax had been. They were large and deep, and also surrounded by pummeled foliage. “Easy tracking, want to lead?” he glanced back at Mesh and paused in his walking to give her the opportunity to overtake his position. Of course the mandalorian would be putting his focus far ahead of where she would be having hers, but such was the way he’d make sure she didn’t wind up in a horrendous predicament in the forest. This was especially important if the Gorax had pet hounds that were on the hunt as well.

The minor sounds of the forest, while he heard them, did not bring about his attention like it did for Mesh. They were all natural to the forest and did not indicate anything special; it was like a flow of water or a sound of a breeze. It was only when irregularities like if that water should turn into a torrent or the breeze turn into a gall that the attention must be brought to bear.

Mav pulled down the enhanced optics that were mounted on his helmet and began to sweep the forest in silence. Everything looked in order, but he wasn’t quite sure if they were gaining on the Gorax or not. He tried to see as far down the tracks as possible, but didn’t see the beast. Then Mav adjusted his search to see if he could find pet hounds that the Gorax might have, and this brought up something peculiar, “It might have pet hounds, be careful they don’t notice you.” The mandalorian slipped his rifle off of his back quietly and hugged it against him as he maneuvered.

“Sure,” she replied, feeling a little under confident but determined not to let that show. Stepping forward, she pursued the tracks silently. It seemed to be getting them nowhere. Even though the tracks were fresh, the Gorax was so large that it could cover great distance in just a short amount of time.

Mav had hardly issued his warning about the hounds when two simultaneous howls erupted from either side of the trail. Mesh’la spun to one side, blaster aimed, just as twin boar-wolves came from both their right and left flanks. Although not nearly the height of their master, the wolves were nonetheless forces to be reckoned with. As one rounded on Mesh’la, the other charged at Mav.

Backing up quickly, Mesh’la fired shot after shot at the beast, her plasma bolts piercing the morning air with brilliant streaks of light. It swung a great heavy paw at her, and she had to duck and roll forward to avoid being hit by the claws. Crouching under the animal, she fired into its belly, which caused it to roar in pain. It was the one backing up this time, but it snapped at its armored prey before it was out of range. Mesh’la had to weave around it to avoid being bitten.

Running to the cover of a nearby tree, she found a hollow bit and slipped inside where the monster’s claws and snout would be unable to reach…or so she hoped. Readying a fragmentation grenade, she made sure that Mav’s battle with his own wolf was far enough away before launching it at the animal that had started sniffling and growling at her hiding spot. Upon detonation, the grenade further opened the blaster wounds Mesh’la had made in the beast’s stomach, killing it instantly. She could hear the sounds of battle beyond the carcass, but had inadvertently trapped herself within the tree.

Reaching out, she kicked violently with her armored boot, trying to move the dead wolf enough to free herself, but to no avail. Even pushing on it with her hands did not work. It was much too heavy. Sighing, she took a seat, hoping for a quick and victorious end to Mav’s encounter. There was little else she could do.