Ask Six Legged Freaks

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied grit his teeth through the pain as he focused solely on the bridge ahead of him. Just a little closer... A little closer... Just as the hunter's heart sank, fearing he wouldn't make it, he felt a sudden force shoving him forward. Klied stumbled forward a few steps and hit the roof of the neighboring building with a grunt, immediately turning over to see Song for just a split second before the Mandalorian disappeared over the side.

"River!" He shouted, and desperately scrambled to the edge of the roof. Peering over the side he sighed with relief as he found the Mandalorian hanging on by her sword. With a forced chuckle the hunter reached out and grabbed his ally once more, using what little strength he had to hoist her up to the ledge. "You make me do this one more time and I'm gonna start charging..." He joked before rolling over on his back, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. The hunter was absolutely exhausted. But their mission was accomplished. Below the few remaining remnants of the swarm were scattering, and villagers were finally emerging from their hiding places to clean up the mess.

Once he had recovered from the madness of the last few hours somewhat Klied sat up, propping himself on his side with his arm as he looked at the Mandalorian. "Your people's reputation is well earned." He praised the warrior with a smile. "I'd love to go on a hunt with you sometime." After a pause he turned over his cycler rifle, glancing at the severed laigrek claw still tied to it. "No bugs though," He clarified, looking back to her. "Think I've had enough of those for a few lifetimes."

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

The Mandalorian struggled up onto and over the ledge, thanks to the beast hunter. Below her, the warehouse had crushed nearly the entire swarm, and although there were a dozen or more stragglers left over, emboldened townsfolk and other hunters emerged to smother them out. The worst was finally over, and with a heave, Song collapsed onto the rooftop, flat on her back and panting beside Klied. She smirked.

“You could,” she said, chuckling. “If I had any credits to give.”

Truly, she would have happily paid him his due. Song had come into the settlement expecting a fight, and if Klied hadn’t been where he was, she’d have been long dead. Mincemeat for the laigreks. A pile of bones and empty armor plates for them to chew on. It was together that they managed to stop the swarm and save the town. That was much was clear.

Once she caught her breath, Song tilted her head away from the star-studded sky and over to the beast hunter, smiling still even when he couldn’t see it. “Yeah. I think I’m done with bugs too. Might stick to just bounty hunting for a while.”

“Though I wouldn’t mind a real hunt with someone like you,” she added, pushing her back off the gravel-covered roof. “It’s not everyday you meet someone who’s singlehandedly stopped an entire laigrek swarm.”

She grinned. Although Song played as much a role in their defeat, she knew it was really Klied who had saved the day. Who kicked the first laigrek off from her, who pulled her from the wreckage of the watchtower, who set and activated the detonators which brought the warehouse down. It was all him. Song was content enough with the fact that everyone on that side of Dantooine could rest easy, knowing the swarm was gone.

Rising back to her full height, she extended a hand out to him, and laughed.

“Care for a drink?”

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

"I wouldn't say singlehandedly." Klied replied with a smile before taking Song's hand and helping himself up. The hunter limped along as they walked towards the stairway down, holding his side and favoring his leg. Neither of them had faired particularly well in the fight. He doubted either of them would have survived without the other there to back them up. He saw no point in being prideful about nearly getting eaten alive. "I'll take you up on that drink though." He answered her question, and gave the Mandalorian a sly look. "Does this mean I get to see what you look like without the helmet?" He chuckled good naturedly, expecting an answer in the negative. He knew enough about Mandalorians to know they took that sort of thing quite seriously.

Once they got back down to the street they were greeted with a crowd of cheering settlers, suddenly they were quite popular with the village. Immediately Klied was put on the defensive, shrinking in on himself somewhat like a germaphobe might as he quietly and awkwardly tried to navigate through the praising crowd and make his way back to the hunter's lodge. Although he appreciated the gratitude, he never did well around large groups of people, and preferred not to be the center of attention. At least that attention was split between him and Song this time. Eventually they'd make it back to the much more active lodge, the hunter sitting down and ordering a heavy drink to help cope with the insanity they'd just been through.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

“Very funny,” said Song, with something that sounded more like a huff than a laugh. He already knew the answer to that question. The only time she’d ever remove her helmet was after death, or after she found her brother’s murderer. Although she was not as much a sucker for tradition as other Mandalorians, her father especially, she knew breaking custom was no simple matter.

Outside, back on the road running through the settlement, she and Klied were met with a crowd of celebrating townsfolk. Where were all these people when we needed them? she thought, darkly, but knew it was better that they had stayed indoors. Thanks to her and Klied’s efforts, not a single life was lost that night. They had singlehandedly saved the town, and she was just glad for it to be over and done with.

Already, she could see the sun rising on the horizon, painting the sky in a hundred shades of pink and gold. She smiled. A new day.

As she was led back to the lodge, a young woman leaned in and kissed the side of her helmet. A mark of cherry red lipstick smeared by her visor. Song resisted the urge to scowl, instead playing along and nodding back to the woman. She nearly fainted. But the second Song was back inside the lodge, she raised a gloved hand and wiped the lipstick off like it were bird shit. Then again, she much preferred to be thrown kisses than handfuls of mud.

Mandalorians weren’t exactly popular back then. Now? Things were different. Better.

Song seated in a booth opposite of Klied, back slumped against the cushioned seat. She was covered in wounds, her bandages still damp with blood, her ears ringing from the tower crashing down over her. Her luck had definitely fallen short that night, but at least she could wash away the pain of it with a heavy drink. Much like the beast hunter.

Served almost immediately, the Mandalorian pressed a small button on her helmet. A drinking apparatus, much like the ones used by masked Kel Dor, and something she had seen used by another Mando. Strange, perhaps, but it beat using a straw.

Taking a long gulp, she pressed the half-empty cup back onto the table and looked over to Klied. “I don’t think I ever thanked you, hunter. For saving my life.”

Another sip, then a pause. “Thanks.”

Song rarely gave out gratitude, having only done it once before that occasion, but she didn’t mind doing it now. At the least, Klied deserved that and more.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied sat back in his seat and tried to put his feet up as he usually did, but put his leg back down as soon as he started to raise it, letting out a pained grunt. Instead he simply slouched over, looking more dead then alive. The kindly Ithorian barkeep brought bacta and fresh gauze for the both of them, receiving a grateful nod from the hunter as he began tending to his wounds more properly. He let out a soft chuckle at Song's thanks.

"I think you saved me once or twice back there as well, things are still a bit blurry." He smiled to her. "No thanks needed. It was a pleasure fighting with you." He picked up his glass and downed his shot quickly, grimacing as he placed the glass back on the table and tapped the wood beside it. The barkeep was quick to help him. The hunter's focus remained on Song though.

"So what's your plan now?" He asked curiously. "I came here for the iriaz but the season is likely to be cut short if the laigreks have had a significant effect on the population. Was thinking of heading to Kalee." It was about the closest he could get himself to making an offer. The hunter wasn't used to going on trips with others for sport. Most of his safaris these days were more like babysitting for rich coreworlders looking for excitement. He thought it would be nice to travel with someone that didn't need to be looked after. Song might even present a refreshing rival on the hunt.

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

“It was a pleasure fighting with you too,” said Song in return, with similar sentiment. They had saved each other multiple times in the chaos of the night. With day finally arriving, grooves of sunlight spilling through the windows of the lodge, it was safe to say the hunt was behind them, and a new one waited for her ahead.

She definitely needed a break from bugs, so her first thought was naturally back to bounty hunting. Another third-rate criminal or spice-dealing smuggler to turn into the Guild. She made easy credits doing it, and it helped pile up her reputation across the Outer-Rim, but she didn’t need credits. She wanted adventure. What Klied was offering her, or at least distantly implying, was precisely that.

“Might join you in on that,” she said, taking another quick sip of her drink. “If you don’t mind the company. I sure wouldn’t.”

It was the truth. Although the two shared little in common other than careers as hunters, and this was their first real conversation following the swarm’s attack, she felt a sense of relief across from the man. Like a distant echo of her brother, back when they used to hunt wild animals in the dead of winter on Krownest. Hunting criminals was one thing, but hunting in the wilderness? A much needed change of pace.

“What do you think?” she said, with the tilt of her cup towards his.

She wasn’t sure if he’d agree, but the Mandalorian had a feeling the two were going to share a lot of crazy adventures in the future, like any hunter of any kind should.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied smiled as Song offered to accompany him, oddly relieved. The thought of having a hunting partner again was surprisingly satisfying. Sure he had worked with others a few times in the past but that was business. This was something he normally wouldn't have done with anyone but his uncle. It was nice to think he might have found someone else to share his hobby with. Of course that all depended on how talented the Mandalorian turned out to be in the wilds. Hunting beasts wasn't the same as hunting people.

The hunter raised his own glass and tapped it against Song's, like a toast. "Sounds like a damn good time." He replied gratefully, and took a drink. He looked out the window at the rising sun, squinting from the harsh morning ray. This night didn't turn out to be so bad after all. It was time for a change in scenery. Right after a few days of recovery that was...

@Feng Mian

 

[Song Wren]

"Agreed."

Glass clinked together. They exchanged a toast, a signature end to their deal and the start of their next adventure together. The Mandalorian could see her and the beast hunter accomplishing wonders in the future. Even if their outing against the swarm last night had gone rather poorly, considering the countless wounds and injuries they shared between them, they still managed to drive out a whole swarm of laigreks and save an entire settlement of innocent people.

It was a good adventure in her book regardless.

As she finished the last of her drink, and waved down the waitress (who was clearly heads over heels for Klied) for a second round, Song glanced out the window alongside him. Outside, daylight shone on the town road, which was littered with rows of dead bugs and caked with their discolored blood. While some swept them aside, or tossed the bodies into piles, she spotted two kids running through the mess.

A young girl chased after a boy with a torn-off laigrek claw in her hand, mimicking the same monsters Song had faced in the night.

She smiled, then turned back to Klied. She was going to need a long nap after that, and days worth of rest and recovery, but the chaos of the night was well worth it. She hoped her brother, wherever he was, was watching her now, and the good she had done.

She knew he'd look on, proud.

@Reyn End Thread!