Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
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Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 8, 2016 21:44:20 GMT -5
The tea lived up to the expectations Bekk had held it to, and he was instantly a little sad after the first sip that he was one sip closer to it being gone. The stick that had finally been maimed by the fire got tossed among the logs to finish the job, before the zabrak looked around for a replacement. Sadly he didn't see anything else the proper length he desired in a branch.
What Raasha replied back this time was not really surprising. Bekk figured she had everything she thought she needed with her already. Honestly, she was probably more ready than him in that regard. The zabrak was either going to pick up some new tools from Auntie or hit up some of the secondhand stores around. With the latter he hoped they ones he used to frequent the most might cut him a deal or at least a modest discount.
"I'm not sure. I've only been in space once as a kid. I assume the ship we get will have at least some kind of food on it and a few odds and end. I need to buy or borrow some more tools. I guess you could get some clothes or extra underwear. Something like that. I also need to buy a blaster." Bekk said, actively tallying up what all they'd definitely need to buy. Thankfully all of it seemed doable with their budget.
"Oh, can you still teach me to shoot? Otherwise my blaster would just be for show."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 8, 2016 22:28:10 GMT -5
Raasha weighted it over. More clothes or underwear. Well, she supposed that made sense. If some were damaged it'd take a while to make new ones... He did have a point of sorts. Of course slowly things started to creep into her mind. More tea for one thing. That couldn't be a bad thing to spend credits on. And maybe there were other good things, sensible things... She blinked as he brought up blasters again.
Slowly it dawned that a few days and an eternity ago, she'd promised to teach him.
She smiled.
"Oh yes, not a problem. When we reach summit, I can teach you."
The last rays of light slid down behind the horizon, and Raasha sighed. She wasn't really hungry now. She set down the cup of tea, and slid her boots off, resting them against the stone wall. She slid into her bedroll, and pulled the fur pelt over her side, and then drained the remainder of her tea.
"Tomorrow," She said slowly, "We will have long day. Rest nicely Bekk."
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 8, 2016 23:01:24 GMT -5
Bekk wasn't really tired himself, so it was a bet disheartening to see Raasha want to call it a night so early. Although, he fully believed he'd need his strength for the day ahead, and hastened his pace in drinking the tea and started undoing the clasps on his boots. Laying down would definitely ease the descent into sleep. Having a little something on his stomach would help things out immensely as well.
The zabrak crawled a few feetnover to his pack and rummaged around inside the central compartment, bringing a out a Lyerec stalk when he withdrew his hand. Tea and veggies: the perfect snack before bed. While munching away on the stalk Bekk again tried to reach out with his senses into the surrounding. Amazingly, he was actually about to reconnect with the being he'd touched earlier. Thankfully the creature seemed to have found itself a mealnover than a togruta or a zabrak, and was decent a distance away anyway.
With his snack finished the zabrak laid the cup aside, took off his boots, and slid into his own warm bedroll. Like he'd do the night before, he stood his saber up within easy reach if he needed it in the night.
"Good night, Raasha...sweet dreams." Bekk stated, while trying to shift and get comfortable. Sleep followed soon after.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 9, 2016 9:09:35 GMT -5
Raasha woke up slowly, as she usually did. Her sleep had been a little bit lighter than usual, and she'd stirred several times during the night. She'd stoked the fire and kept it burning, and drifted off again. Luckily it was very pleasant with a good fire. By the time the first traces of dawn appeared, Raasha had added another log, and taken some leftover meat, searing it neatly in her own pan. It was going to be an excellent start to her day, and in a pot she had water for tea boiling as well.
The happy sizzle was definitely her preferred method of waking up. With that said, the fresh snow that had coated the area was also nice. It was still powdery and light, not yet disturbed by tracks or colored by dirt. Everything was clean and fresh, definitely a good start.
Of course the opposite side of the coin was that the pass was definitely now problematic. It'd get progressively more challenging as they went higher.
Raasha leaned over and gently shook Bekk.
"Morning now," She whispered.
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 9, 2016 9:35:01 GMT -5
It was a pity that Bekk's dreams that night were not of his friend, but instead of the beast she'd described earlier. It appeared less as a monster and more as a terrible force of nature, like a foul wind of sharp teeth and warm breath impossible to escape. The zabrak was lucky his slumber was broken during the night by what he assumed was the cracking of the logs. After that he dreamt no more.
The smell of cooked meat was not a pleasant one to Bekk, yet he stirred with only a little grumbling after Raasha roused him in the morning. "Good morning." He greeted cheerfully, as he sat up and eased out of his bedroll. It was a tad surprising to see snow had fallen in the night, but it made sense given the elevation they were at. The zabrak busied himself with putting away his bedroll, putting on his boots and adding the saber back to his belt, before worrying about the food situation.
Just like last night he went into his bag and retrieved several Lyerec stalks to enjoy for breakfast. A chill ran up his spine as a cool gust swept through the area, and he sat closer to his warm friend when he return to her side.
"We have the gear to handle some unexpected snow ,right? Should be a big deal?" Bekk asked, teeth chattering a little after a second gust.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 9, 2016 21:41:50 GMT -5
Raasha was already better prepared for snow. She'd put on her pants AND her boots. What was more, she had hot breakfast to eat, and imminently tea. On the other hand, Bekk seemed to be very cold, as his teeth chattered between bites of his stick-vegetable. She felt a little badly for the poor man, so she nodded softly and fished out the clasps she had, mounting them to the pelt strategically, and passing a hefty fur over to Bekk.
Only belatedly did she realize he might object.
"Is... Is this O.K. for you?" She queried softly, after already putting it on his lap.
The truth was that she still didn't understand him. Were Zabrak herbivores, or was Bekk an omnivore pretending to be one? And if it was pretend, why- No wait, pretend wasn't right either. Maybe he thought he was. But could he really turn away furs? Leather? It was a massive quagmire she didn't desire to wade into, so she turned her gaze back to the pot. It was boiling, so she reused the tea bag from the last night.
"Is going to be long climb. Hard today now. Slippery with fresh snow. And that means much more as we climb."
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 11, 2016 21:16:00 GMT -5
For being fire retardant and supposedly heavy duty it was amazing how little Bekk's jump suit protected him from the cutting wind that kept assaulting him. All that heavy material seems like it should've done at least something. He finished off a lyerec stalk and started another in rapidly succession, as if the speedy chewing would at least warm his cheeks.
The zabrak had just briefly wondering what it would be like to be a bantha at that moment when the fur got thrown on him, and he instantly beamed a smile at his friend. "This perfect for me!" Bekk replied with unbridled enthusiasm, standing up and draping his new pelt over his shoulders. He couldn't help but imagine himself as that mountain beast with this much hair covering him up like this.
I'm definitely ready for it now, just lead the way." He followed up, picking up his pack while speaking. The zabrak silently longed for a hat to lessen the chill to his sensitive horns, but he'd manage with what he had. For once he wished he didn't have any qualms about killing animals, otherwise making a hat from one of the many goats would've been an option.
The sounds of his chewing stalks would continue as they started off higher into the mountains.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 11, 2016 22:28:02 GMT -5
Raasha broke down camp quickly, while she took her own cooking food and held it firmly with her wickedly sharp teeth. Truth be told she'd planned on savoring the meal and the tea, but Bekk was motivated. That alone was a huge boost to her ease of mind. She'd been worried he'd turn away a pelt, and if he had, she'd have utterly lost track of the way he worked. Something as simple as not eating dead animal... That she could understand. Vaguely. In general terms.
She folded up the tarps, putting them back on their mutual packs, and she likewise strapped her bedroll back to the top. It was only a short while later that she moved alongside the Zabrak, her own furs wrapped around her, and her mouth full of leftover meat. It was, essentially, a large cut of steak she held in one hand, while in the other she managed a wooden cup of tea. Her blaster rifle was securely strapped to the pack itself.
All in all she looked remarkably awkward, trudging uphill through snow while eating and drinking. Still, it didn't last long before she'd eaten her breakfast and finished the tea. Then she adapted to the increasingly difficult terrain. She found a large stick for Bekk to use, and likewise she used her own rifle. Supports were needed to keep balance at times. The surface was slippery in areas not covered by snow, which they tended to sink into rapidly. Fortunately it wasn't immensely deep. Merely deep enough to be awkward.
By mid-afternoon Raasha had stopped whistling and softly singing a tune, largely because her full attention was needed to address matters of ropes, of hooks, and of navigating an incline too steep to traverse unaided in winter. After all, they were not the goats.
At the top of that particular incline, Raasha sat heavily on a boulder, and smiled feebly to the Zabrak.
"This is why it is so safe here, the Empire would not like to climb this any more than you might. But... Maybe now, I teach you to shoot?"
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 13, 2016 16:16:16 GMT -5
By all rights Bekk should've hated continuing the uphill march to the summit. His horns literally had his head chilled to the bone as things progressed, and vegetables sadly didn't seemed to be a meal that stuck with you during strenuous exercise, so while Raasha whistled and sang he joined in with the crunching of more stalks. Still, the experience itself was keeping keeping his spirits very high as things went on.
The sense that this was just one part of his journey to becoming a Jedi gave the Jedi a conviction that kept him putting one foot in from of the other, and then there was Raasha. Between her soothing singing and her very presence, Bekk just had an extra kick in the pants to keep himself from verbally complaining, as well as mentally focusing on the negatives. They had to reach the summit sometime, and the descent to sea level would start shortly after.
When they came to a stop to rest Bekk was busy contemplating his growing attachment to the stick Raasha had given him, while idly poking a patch of snow, when she spoke up about his shooting lesson. The zabrak was already beaming a huge grin as their eyes met, and he began nodding before enthusiastically replying.
"Sure, let's do it. Never seen a rifle that one before, by the way. I assume it's a custom job, for a true marksman? Or markswoman in this case." He gushed, obviously excited to pick up a new skill.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 13, 2016 17:53:32 GMT -5
Raasha smiled a little. He was cute with the compliment. The rifle wasn't custom, she'd simply purchased it from a shop years ago, and the scope as well. It was an Aratech model, her mother had recommended it highly. Of course the truth was that most any rifle was good enough provided it hit where you aimed. She'd even learned to use slugthrowers too, but this was something the had the feeling she could teach more easily.
The slender young woman set down her pack, threw down her pelt over the snow at the top of the embankment, and carefully adjusted the power setting down to economy. She kept the safety on neatly.
"OK, so lie down here. Look down at slope, see the boulder?" Raasha pointed. Gently she nudged Bekk down onto the pelt, and crouched carefully next to him. She handed him the rifle.
"Keep finger away from trigger until ready. Put cheek to pad, no like this," She nudged and adjusted him carefully to her satisfaction, seeing that he kept the scope away from his eye. Recoil was very light, but there was no sense bumping his sensitive eye. "Safety is..." She lightly switched it off and on again, "Here. And with scope..."
There wasn't really a point to explaining. if it had been a slugthrower then it would have been complicated, but all the blaster bolts did that the scope had to compensate for, was just slight scattering in the air. At this range, it wouldn't be too bad.
"Line up rock in scope, an' you pull trigger softly."
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 14, 2016 22:08:45 GMT -5
Bekk couldn't tell if he was more nervous now or when Raasha's grandmother was preparing to tell him his destiny, but his hands were feeling clammy even before he touched the rifle. The shooting itself wasn't a problem exactly, more just the pressure to succeed in front of his friend. The figurative weight on his shoulder felt almost tangible enough to keep him pinned in place on the fur.
Still, the zabrak absorbed the lesson well, following Raasha's instructions to the letter. The only thing left to do was show how fast a learner he may or may not be. No pressure at all. The artic temperatures betrayed Bekk's irregular breathing with quick puffs of mist, yet he still steered himself for the shot. Ironically, he decided to hold his breath while following through, with his shot suffering for it.
The lack of oxygen didn't seem to register to his mind until the nanosecond he went to squeeze the trigger, as a short pang of suffocation stole his attention for just that moment. Bekk yanked the trigger as he let out a short gasp, pulling the shot up from the sudden jerk, resulting in a blaster bolt in flight an inch higher than he'd intended.
Bekk had imagining just nailing that boulder square in the center like he'd intended, but the shot grazed the top, with nothing but a skidmark showind he didn't exactly miss entirety. However, in this Case he wondered if failing outright would've been to for him. Time to reflect on failures, and what not.
"Well....I hit it, barely, but I hit it. Also, do you have a method for breathing during the shot? I think that's what messed me up."
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 15, 2016 19:52:27 GMT -5
Raasha watched expectantly, crouched in the snow next to Bekk. There was... Well, a lot to do. He didn't have the rifle neatly tucked into the pocket. He wasn't particularly stable with it either. But what she very definitively could say was that she couldn't explain it in Basic, and further that it wasn't going to be all that bad. Fine points like that took years to truly develop, it'd just confuse him now, and so she simply watched him and waited until he pulled the trigger. Pulled was a relative term, as in honesty he jerked it. The shot landed what Raasha could only assume was off the mark. Namely, it scored a groove in the top of the boulder.
She knelt, patiently, and waited for him to say something. Fortunately he stopped, and decided to evaluate what he did wrong. Breathing was part of the answer.
"Outhale before shot," Raasha advised, "Also, when you squeeze, do that with whole hand, even."
She patted him on the shoulder.
"One time more."
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 16, 2016 17:59:42 GMT -5
Somehow Bekk would've felt better if Raasha would've followed up his failure with a round of yelling. Being yelled at was a large motivator with him oddly enough, and having his friend answer a mistake with understanding just made failing them feel that much worse about messing up the shot. The zabrak slowly nodded to her good advice and hunkered back down for another shot, dead set on doing her proud.
Making a mental checklist in his helped Bekk prepare to succeed with the same calm demeanor as filling out a repair work order. Steady hands? Check. Target zeroed in? Check. Breathing regularly this time? Fucking check! The zabrak would check off squeeze trigger smoothly to a few seconds after doing so and sending his second shot down range. It only took a fraction of a second for the bolt to scorch a place in the center of the rock, and even less for the a huge smile to appear on the shooter's face.
"Yes!" He yelled, after quickly rolling onto his back and thrusting his fists towards the sky. Bekk continued to chuckle to himself for a few seconds while basking in his success, before shifting to his side to address Raasha with a toothy smile.
"Looks like second times the charm. Gonna need some more practice before I try it on any Akuls or Stormtroopers, but thanks again. You've added another skill I'm at least decent at to the list." He rambled off while idly drumming his fingers rhythmically on his stomach, having a final chuckle at his own self deprecating comment.
"So, uh, besides the big snow apes, do you people have any other legends or stories you have about creatures around here or you know... Tales about anything really? Bekk added, hoping to hear a good story to pass the time, but fumbling not to potentially sound insensitive to her culture or like a stammering idiot. He'd settle for just avoiding the former.
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Post by Grand Moff Poobah I on Apr 16, 2016 21:16:31 GMT -5
Raasha covered her mouth to avoid very wide and mirthful laughter. It wasn't that he'd done anything wrong, merely that the way he responded to doing things right was... It was very animated, like seeing a happy bird dancing about on a tree branch in spring. It was comical, and somehow awkwardly funny. He did seem to be done with it though, so Raasha smiled and returned the rifle to her possession. She adjusted the power setting back to medium, flicked the safety on, and slung it back over her shoulder once more.
As Bekk asked his question, she started to pack up the pelt again, gently pushing Bekk off of it. She wasn't inclined to delay too much, largely because it was quite cold, and also because if they pushed hard, they could reach the summit by nightfall.
"Tales?" Raasha queried, before remembering it could also mean stories. "Ah yes, there is one I always liked when I was little."
She began to trudge upward, recounting the story as she moved.
"Many long ages ago, there was beautiful young woman from a village in a green plain. Many plants grew, and there was much game there. She was very lonely though, because there were no other villages nearby to find a mate in. She searched for many years, and then she was discover another one, a young man who was search as well. He was from a village in the sky. The two fell deep in love right away, but their tribes argued over where the couple should live. In the sky with him, or in the plain with her."
Raasha stepped over an ice-encrusted tree root and continued her narration.
"Then the wise women talked together, and they said the young ones should live in both, and so they created the mountains."
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Mr. Slender
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Poster of the first Non-Admin Character
Posts: 290
Posts: 290
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Post by Mr. Slender on Apr 16, 2016 22:12:38 GMT -5
Bekk was quick to throw his all important fur cape back over himself after the lesson officially concluded, and was ready to move out only a minute after getting from off the ground. The pride from picking how to shoot fairly quickly started to sadly fade as the journey continued; although, the promise of a good story from his friend evened things out. At least until the tale turned out to not be what he was expecting.
The zabrak had a sinking feeling that his friend was trying to make a very pointed statement with this legend of two people eerily similar to them in several ways. Bekk's cheeks flushed as he rolled all the implications around his mind, nearly tripping over the root Raasha did due to his own mental distraction. Sadly, he still didn't know how to tackle feelings that may or may not be present, so feigning potential ignorance was his only real option given the circumstances.
"That was a beautiful story." He stated at the end, looking off into the distance for a moment before speaking again.
"Any particular reason that story really resonates- I mean, any particular reason you like it so much?" Bekk spat out, doing his best to make sure he understood perfectly. It didn't really occur to him that he could come off as blind if all this was a real pointed jab. Instead, the trooper turned his attention to keeping the conversation going.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that time spent in Cover City is very lonely for you?"
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