Misery's Mask

[Sreeya]

A knife whizzed through the air, wedging into the trunk of a tree. This was followed by another knife, and another, all in quick succession. They all found their mark, each followed by a sharp exhale of breath. The figure throwing the knives was blindfolded, a toned, tattooed arm extended out where slender flingers released the last knife. Only the lower hemisphere of her countenance was visible, lips parted as exhaustion began to set in.

It was dusk, the skies a bloody shade of red admixed with purple and orange hues. Clouds had begun to gather rapidly above, churning and twisting. She was oblivious to it, her entire body coated in a layer of sweat. The entire day had been spent training, both from her time within the Mandalorian military and all her years as a bounty hunter.

Those that knew her knew this was the place to find her. It was a small lake with a copse of trees around it. There was no sound but the soft trickle of water and the gentle rustling of leaves. This was far away from any city and any trace of civilization. It was where Talia found solitude, and it was also where others knew to find her whenever she fell off the radar entirely.

Talia was adorned in a black tanktop and loose fitting cargo pants, her copious amounts of tattoos on full display. There was raw, unbridled energy from a full day’s worth of training. Various blades and swords lay on the grass next to her. At the moment, she focused on hand to hand combat, moving much like a dancer. She moved with swift precision, kicking or punching after a certain amount of steps. The kata was one she had invented, one that made her appear fluid and graceful, completely detached from the world around her. Each blow would be deadly. She did this all without the aid of sight.

@Arclight

 

[Arcangel]

The bottle sloshed in his hand as he walked, the gentle rythm of his steps swishing the amber liquid. He wasn't sure what hurt more, that he cared, or that he wished he didn't care. Whether his grief at the death, or frustration at the man dead was greater. He grieved for his cousin, but angered at his actions. They had supported him, trusted him to lead them as their Mand'alor. The drums of war beat, grand speeches and declarations. And then nothing. No glorious crusade that would shake the galaxy to its core. No grand battles to put the nails in the coffin of the Sith, not until the lid was already sealed and dirt was bring shoveled on its grace.

His Mand'alor, Ral the... No, there was no title, no deeds of significance. The longest ruling Mand'alor had done nothing. The drums of war had beat for years, only for them to pounce on a dying corpse, when victory was absolute. And even then all the Mand'alor could do was die, in the middle of a grand rousing speech. Maybe that's why he had remained alive so long, so careful to not get into any battles. Caedryn would know, he was there. No threats ever made it to the Mand'alor. No challenge could be issued unless the protectors were all dead, no assassin could break through their web. If they were even significant enough to have assassins sent their way. No, Mandalore was placid enough under Ral the Unnamed, assassinating him would just rouse the sleeping giant. So Mandalore slept while a war raged around them.

The thunk of daggers sinking into a tree perked his ears, drawing Caedryn from his thoughts. Cresting the rise overlooking the copse of trees by the lake. Smiling, he could see why this was where she always went. The countryside, a small lake and the mountains in th distance. Probably reminded her of home on some unconscious level. He knew she wouldnt seek such a place intentionally, but instead be driven to it.

Walking into the clearing, he gently placed his precious bottle down on a stump and took his coat off. Kicking his shoes off, he walked towards Talia raising his arms in a defensive posture. "C'mon, let's go a round. I need to get some of this... feeling... out of me."

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

She paused what she was doing when she heard the rustling of leaves and the sloppy steps of someone that did very little to mask their arrival. Talia stopped her kata, still breathing heavily from training all day. She was drenched in sweat, and the occasional breeze brought her sweet relief. She paused and gazed ahead, watching Caed make his arrival, a bottle in his hand as always. Talia could see a flurry of emotions on his face, and it mirrored everything she felt internally. She had been through this pain before, and she had fully believed Ral to be dead back then. The same pain hit her again, but it was different this time. It was a sort of numbness that hadn't been there before. She found it difficult to cry or muster tears. She found she couldn't fully grieve for him now that his death actually happened.

What did Ral mean to her in the long run? She had told him she loved him after decades, and he was taken away yet again. However, something always stopped her from taking the next step in their relationship. He and all their mutual friends always made jokes about marriage, but it was nothing she had ever considered. Instead of grief, all she could think about was a strange ease of pressure. That alone made her feel guilty, and she sought training to take her mind off it. Seeing the emotions on Caed's face brought some of that back. She calmly watched him set everything down and get into posture.

"You have feelings?" Talia mustered a faint grin as she also got into stance, bringing her fists up. She sized him up for a moment before leading with a quick jab and cross, ready to adjust to anything he threw at her. She kept her arms up to guard her torso, her head lowered to protect against direct blows.
@Arclight

 

[Arcangel]

"Do I ha- Of course I have feelings!" Muttering angrily before spotting the faint grin that signalled she was joking. Hands already held high, he tightened them together in front of his face, her jab impacting his hardened forearms harmlessly beyond some slight pain and maybe An eventual bruise. Ducking her second strike, he used the motion as he straighted back up to launch into a swift roundhouse kick, pivoting on his heel, his left shin whipping up to impact her right thigh.

"Don't tell me you don't feel anything about this. You're a cold hard bitch, but you ain't that much of an ice queen." A mean grin on his face and an angry glint in his eyes as he drew back from the kick, arms up and ready for a counter. He wondered if he struck a nerve, if she was gonna come after him for real this time. Maybe she would, kick his ass, make him stop feeling for a while. Surely the cold embrace of unconsciousness would do what the alcohol hadn't.

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

Talia had always relied and on speed and agility as opposed to brute strength. She was nimbler than her fellow Mandalorians, and that allowed her to be light on her feet. As his roundhouse came in, Talia abruptly jumped back. Roundhouse was a kick that completed a circular arc if there was no resistance in its path. As a result, he was forced to keep going with the kick, his foot sailing through thin air. In order to stop the momentum he would have to quickly plant his foot down, putting him in an awkward stance. Talia used this window to whirl in with a left hook to the side of his body while he was half turned. Her back up and follow up would ensure his second attack never even got off the ground.

"Of course I do!" Talia sighed, "I just... I guess I went through this already and for some reason feel numbed by it," It felt strange to talk about feelings. Especially with someone like Caed. She didn't know why she even blurted that much out, and it left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

@Arclight

 

[Arcangel]

Talia was quick, but so was Caedryn. Even half drunk he was a formidable opponent in hand to hand combat. As his roundhouse kick met thin air, his foot snapped back around, its speedy momentum not slowing for an instant. Whipping his head over his shoulder as his back turned to Talia, he grunted in pain as she delivered a left hook to his side. Instead of trying to regain his footing however, he continued the circular motion. His left leg planting on the ground, he rotated once more on the heel and launched his right leg into the air as his body rotated on the pivot of his leg in a snappy wheel kick. The motion was fast, and if Talia was caught off guard she would be taking a rough blow to the head from the heel of his foot.

"Ha!" he shouted in a mix of pain and laughter. "So the ice queen does have feelings." Coming out of his kick and planting his right foot once more in a well balanced stance. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow, and he was regretting the liquor that sloshed around in his stomach. "Yeah. The first time I thought he was dead... well i had a Deathwatch kill squad on my tail, no time for grief. And after that, I guess I drowned whatever i felt in a bottle." A solemn tone in his voice. He had never taken the time to think on Ral's first death, and by the time he returned to Mandalore, Ral was well alive and in charge. The pain that he felt now was fresh, insistent, and loaded with a volatile mix of grief and rage.

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

Talia cursed as his leg swung back around towards her head. She had no time to duck, but her arms had been up to protect her head. She jammed her left arm perpendicularly to the side to meet the kick, feeling the reverberating pain from the connection. However, it was still better than taking a blow to the head. As the kick collided, she didn’t stop there, hooking her hand around the leg.

As she grasped the shin, Talia slammed her body forward against his. His foot caught and him being in an awkward position meant her forward momentum would easily topple him over. She had her other arm up in case he tried some other punches towards her, but she more or less expected him to flail to stay balanced. The full movement would make him fall on the grass on his back.

Talia slammed down till she fell atop him, recovering from the fall to straddle his hips while keeping his arms pinned. She looked down at him with a grin, “I suppose I had a soft spot for him,” Talia eyed him curiously then, quirking an eyebrow, “Why’d you come here? No one else comes here,” There was no way he was going to feel good with a stomach full of alcohol and her sitting atop him. Talia knew this fully well and enjoyed this thoroughly, still catching her breath from the training earlier, “Did you come here to bitch? Because bitch away. Don’t think I didn’t notice how anticlimactic all of it was.”

@Arclight

 

[Arcangel]

Talia blocked his kick expertly, moving onto the defensive before Caedryn could recover. The world spun as he tumbled back into the grass, her weight coming down on top of his sloshing stomach. Resisting the urge to vomit, Caedryn attempted to recover some modicum of defense but quickly found himself pinned down and straddled, a grinning face peering down at him, eyebrow rising as she questioned him. Coughing, the pressure of her body pressing against his stomach causing no small amount of discomfort, Caedryn attempted to wiggle upwards as his bladder screamed in protest of being squashed. "Ow ow ow." Wincing in pain before plastering a shit eating grin on his face. "Maybe i just came to spend time with you!" Holding the smile for a moment before the facade faded.

Squirming, he fought against her briefly as he struggled with his own thoughts. "I didn't... didn't mean to come here to bitch." His face slacking as the weight of his thoughts and emotions pressed down on him once again. "He was like a brother to me, i followed him, supported his rule." Her words echoed in his mind. How anticlimactic it all was. "And he did nothing." The last word spitting with venom. "Not a damn thing, just sat there on his thrown, coveting the power he was given." Anger boiled in the Mandalorian, as he gritted his teeth, fighting back tears. "And now he's dead, and i don't know whether to grieve or rejoice."

 

[Sreeya]

Talia watched him with her eyebrows raised. It was as if she were flipping through channels watching the wide array of emotions show up on his face. In between all of that, she was half concerned he was going to relieve himself right there. Even sitting atop him, she could tell alcohol was sloshing around in his stomach. When he mentioned coming over to see her, she rolled her eyes.

As he went back to remarking on Ral’s life, Talia sighed. She rolled off him and plopped down in the grass next to him, staring vacantly at the sky above, “Remember when we were all younger and we all looked to him as the big boss leader of our little group? Remember how Prudii was just the little scrawny boy that tagged along behind us?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the memories, “And how everyone kept teasing that Ral and I would get hitched or some shit. You know…for a while I actually believed it. Moira Vizsla….always thought that’d be my name,” She grimaced, “Seems so kriffing silly now.”

She hadn’t hung out like this with Caed for years, and they had both gone their separate ways. She thought about the state of their people now that there was no Mand’alor. Talia tilted her head to look at him, grinning, “So, think you’ll take up the mantle? The title is getting passed around more often than Donar Skirata’s mom.”

 

[Arcangel]

Sighing with relief as Talia rolled off him, yet groaning with regret at the same time, Caedryn grimaced as she spoke of the past. "Prudii... Im glad you killed that traitorous little shit, though he did more for Mandalore than Ral ever did." Shaking his head before rolling onto his side to face Talia, his eyes roaming her sweat soaked form for a passing moment. "You know you could still... nah." Banishing the passing thought of her taking his last name, he hauled himself to his feet with a groan and a wince as his bladder protested once again. "We all believed a lot of things Ral said, and look where that got us." Bitterness in his voice as he ambled the short distance to the knife studded tree, unbuckling his pants as he walked.

"Aaaah." Sighing with relief as a steaming stream of piss spattered against the tree's trunk. "Well its either you or me, we're the only ones sleazy enough to want something that's been passed around that much." Laughing as he looked over his shoulder to gauge her reaction to his comment. Finished relieving himself, he buckled up and stumbled back to the patch of grass next to Talia, half sliding half falling with an oomph next to her. "Now that i think back, i'm pretty sure i had a romp in the sack with her once or twice myself..." Trailing off as he gazed up at the evening sky, clouds swiftly rolling in.

"Mand'alor..." Rolling the title over his tongue, he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "Y'know ever since i was a kid, Ral was the one propped up to lead. His father led our House until he was murdered, after which my pa took the title. He was never a leader, just a warrior who knew how to strong arm people into subservience..." It wasn't easy thinking back. Ral's death was fresh in his mind, and the death of his father was a scabbed wound that never fully healed. Blinking back tears, he cleared his throat. "I never really considered it... being a leader. Yeah i know i lead the Chosen, more than half of whom turned out to be traitorous sons o' bitches. I guess I'm Duke now, though i spend more time drinking than leading. Just always seemed to stumble into it i guess." His eyes shifting to look longingly at the bottle resting so lonely on its own, more than half full still. "What do you think Talia?"

 

[Sreeya]

Talia quirked her eyebrow as he began to speak but hastily cut himself off, “Were you…just about to propose to me?” She couldn’t help but laugh after staring at him in wonder. Where did her future lie in terms of that? Marriage wasn’t a concept she ever thought she could entertain. It was certainly not something she could envision with Ral, who insisted on the old fashioned family life and probably expected her to pop out a few kids.

She watched Caed get up and walk over to the tree, happily relieving himself as if she weren’t there. If there was anyone similar enough for her to consider in that regard, it was probably Caedryn. He would respect her need to do whatever the hell she wanted, and it would unite two of the biggest clans. Without a Mand’alor, unity was more and more unobtainable.

Talia pushed the thought from her mind, watching as he plopped down next to her, and she heard him out. As he asked what she thought, she couldn’t help but grin, “I think you’re drinking so much because you’re not leading. When you were at the helm, you were a different man. You were someone with a purpose. I can thrive without clear purpose, but you can’t. That’s why it has to be you.”

She rolled over to face him, propping herself up on her elbow, “And if you decide to get involved in this war….know that I will follow you...and I don't say that very often," She barely got the sentence out before the first drops of rain splattered on her face.

@Arclight

 

[Arcangel]

Talia's words rolled around in Caedryn's mind, the truth of them ringing clear even in his inebriated state. He was honestly shocked when she stated that she would follow his leadership. "Insightful advice... not what i was expecting. Figured you would tell me to go get laid and man up or something." Laughing as rain began to fall, clear drops spattering his face. Stumbling to his feet once more, he almost fell face first onto Talia but managed to maintain his composure.

"You got a cabin or tent somewh- shit!" Beginning to ask about shelter before being rudely interupted as the drizzle quite suddenly transformed into a downpour. Hauling Talia to her feet, Caedryn pulled her close as he shrugged out of his jacket to hang over their heads.

"So about that tent!" Yelling over the downpour as his hand shot down and grasped the neck of his bottle of liquor. The makeshift umbrella didnt seem to be doing much help, Caedryn already soaked to the bone. Walking nearly blind, the drunk Mandalorian struggled to stay upright. It was only a matter of time before a quickly formed mud patch rolled his feet out from under him, sending Caedryn flailing into the mud.

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

Talia had to laugh at his words, “I’m pretty sure becoming Mand’alor would allow you to both man up and get laid. Chicks would be lining up for you,” She grinned at him, “If you recall, Ral had a different hussy on him every other day,” She noticed the rain was getting even worse now, the water smearing across her face. The grounds were rapidly becoming muddy and she looked up as he almost toppled over her. He was a complete mess, and the rain certain didn’t help things.

“Yeah I have a-“ She winced as the drizzle turned into a downpour. Her hair was quickly matted to her shoulders, her clothing completely soaked, “Damn it!” She accepted his hand as he hauled her up, glancing back at all the knives in the tree, “But those knives! They’re precious and-“ She growled as he drunkenly covered them both with his jacket, “Oh sure, pick now to be a gentleman you drunk shit,” Talia couldn’t help but laugh shortly after the comment, thankful for the temporary shelter, “There’s a tent just a little bit ahead.”

The tent was just a few feet away and she felt Caed slipping from next to her. As he fell, instead of reaching for him, she swiped the bottle from his hand, letting the rest of him land with a thud. Talia simply looked at him and burst out laughing, taking a long swig from his bottle, “You know, you did manage to cheer me up after all!” She let him struggle in the mud for a moment before helping him to his feet, almost slipping herself in the process.

As disgusting as he was covered in mud, Talia wasn’t going to make him stay outside. She unzipped her tent, thankful that it was big enough for at least four people. It was intended for her and all her supplies. Talia quickly plopped inside, grabbing a cloth to use as a makeshift towel. She handed it to him shortly after, still dismayed at all the mud in her tent, “I suppose we’re stuck here for now, “She took another swig from his bottle before handing it back, “That..is strong. What random farm hick did you steal that from?”

 

[Arcangel]

The mud did nothing to soften Caedryn's fall as the breath was knocked out of the mighty, if a tad bit drunk, warrior. Struggling to regain his footing, he realized that the bottle of liquor was no longer in his hands. Pausing his squirming to lament the bottles loss, his weaving vision cut through the sheets of rain to see Talia standing over him, laughing raucously before taking a swig from the bottle she had swiped from his hands. "Well at least you had the good sense to save the booze." Muttering in a grumpy tone as she hauled him to his feet. Following her the last short bit towards her tent, Caedryn stood outside in the pouring rain for a moment while she climbed inside, letting the heavy rain carry away as much of the mud as he could handle before he began to shiver in the cold.

Stepping inside the tent, he ducked down and stripped the muddy, soaking wet shirt from himself before throwing it into an empty corner by the door where it landed with a loud plop. "Sorry about the mess." Stripping out of his dripping pants as well, which followed the shirt into the corner. Thanking Hod Ha'ran that he had decided to wear skivvies that morning, he caught, fumbled, and recovered the already half wet makeshift towel that Talia had thrown him. "You wouldn't happen to have any men's clothing around my size in here would you?" Rubbing down his damp skin before cleaning the mud off his hands, neck and face and out of his hair the best he could.

Eyes casting about the place, he spotted a small heat lamp, which flickered to life and began to radiate warmth in the cozy tent with the press of a button. "Farm hick? That ain't no country moonshine babe, that's premium Vizsla double grain whiskey... ya'know, Vizsla moonshine." Reaching out in a lazy attempt to snatch the bottle from her before flopping to the ground. Looking around for a blanket, he noticed the rather large amount of supplies in the tent, enough for a few weeks worth of camping at the least. "How long were you planning on staying out her anyways?"

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

Talia rolled her eyes as he had no qualms with stripping down to his underwear. She made a point to look away, dismayed that she was stuck with being soaked still. She very well couldn’t nonchalantly toss her clothing off like he had. She grinned as he explained about the drink, “Moonshine is moonshine,” She dried off as much as she could, plopping down on a bedroll as the rain continued to splatter against the tent. The sound was almost soothing, and she had fallen asleep to it many times before.

“I was going to be out here a week at least. Sometimes I just…stay here,” She shrugged, “Being a war hero and then Mand’alor can get very exhausting. Sometimes I like just unwinding somewhere away from everyone else,” She tilted her head to look at him, quirking an eyebrow, “How did you remember about this place? I think we were kids when I told you about my secret hiding spot..”

For how long she had known him, Talia had never taken the time to truly look at him. He had always been Ral’s cousin when they were children, and he was more in his shadow. He had become his own person over those years, and even then she hadn’t been around him. There was determination and strength in him that Ral hadn’t possessed, and she could tell not having a goal was enough to destroy him, “Why did you come to me of all people? I’m probably the most irrational of us all. I’ve been winging everything so far and hoping for the best. Sometimes I’m surprised to find myself still alive,” She sighed, looking over at her small collection of lightsabers, “Being the galaxy’s enemy has been taking a toll on me.”

 

[Arcangel]

Watching Talia as she tried to dry off her soaking wet clothes, Caedryn stifled a laugh, only a small chuckle escaping his lips. "I won't peek if you wan't to change... least not more than once or twice." A drunken grin plastered on his face which he hoped conveyed that he was joking. Flopping down next to the warrior woman, the only place in which to get comfortable, he snatched the unlabeled bottle out of her hand, an exaggerated look of hurt on his face. "Well excuse me. This is good moonshine! Not something that can be said about all moonshine." Swigging the bottle while laying down was hard, but he managed well enough.

Closing his eyes, he lay there listening to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the tents canopy, and the sound of Talia's voice as she spoke. Both soothing sounds, surprisingly. "It's a nice place. Beautiful when its not doing its best to give you a shower..." Sniffing, a slight scent of body odor had wafted his way being in such close proximity to Talia, who had been training all day without rest. Making an obvious display of sniffing loudly, he continued. "Which was good judgement on natures part, you need one. A shame we didn't stay out there longer." Smiling at his own joke with his eyes still closed, he fully expected a punch to be forthcoming. "My minds a steel trap. Not a detail escapes me... Unless i'm blackout drunk, which has been happening more often lately..." Trailing off, it wasn't something he was proud to admit, but he was self aware enough to recognize when you're drinking on Mandalore and wake up on Kirima, that one might have a problem.

Propping himself up and opening his eyes as she spoke of how the galaxy had taken a toll on her, he turned to look at her. Really look at her. As far as he was concerned she was the toughest woman, no, the toughest person he knew. But beyond that, he could see that it had taken its toll on her. Beyond the tough exterior was a woman who was tired. Tired of fighting, yet willing to put herself out on the battlefield time and time again. He wondered if anything would make her settle down, or if she was too wild to be tamed. He wondered if he would even want to see her tamed. "Who else would i come to see? Ral? Dead. Kex? Haven't seen the man in ages. Besides, like attracts like, who better to talk to about my grief than you? We're two swords forged of the same metal. Irrational, wild, passionate. Swinging wildly against a galaxy that would try to break us. Except you didn't break. I did." Looking sadly at the bottle in his hand, he was torn between drinking from it or tossing it, but ultimately settled on drinking. Wiping his mouth off with his forearm once done, he passed the battle back to Talia, looking at her with a dopey, drunken look on his face.

@Sreeya

 

[Sreeya]

Talia couldn’t figure him out no matter how hard she tried. He dipped into profound ideas, only to come back up for his usual drunken blabbing. Through it all she only watched him with curiosity, surprised at the comments he ended with and the parallels he drew between them, “You think we’re alike?” She had to laugh at that, taking the bottle from him. She began to feel the effects of the alcohol already, her feeling buzzed and the sounds of the rain comforting her, “What’re you going to do after you take up the mantle?”

She quirked an eyebrow at him, “What’re you going to do to take the mantle? I don’t think you can waltz in and just declare yourself Mand’alor. You saw how seriously people took Ral...” Talia grimaced as she recalled how she had only thought up until fighting Prudii, not gazing beyond to understand what that meant in terms of a new title, “Have you thought about going balls deep into this war?” The Sith and Jedi were beginning their battles in the Core, and the Mandalorians had stayed out of this thus far, “One last push to kick the shit out of Sith?”

Talia smiled sadly as she remembered all of their brethren that hadn’t made it thus far. Ral was only one of the many men and women that fell before Mandalorians could truly make an impact on the galaxy, “I want to make history, Caed. I want us to get in the fray and make it a fight they’ll talk about for ages. It could be exactly the moment that pushes you into the title and lays the foundation of a new era,” Talia whistled as she finished speaking, “I should drink more often...could become a motivational speaker.”