Wild Dangers

[Koil Solus]

♠ THEME ♠​

Concord Dawn was known for its harsh environments. It bred a hardy people, arguably tougher even than those born and raised on its sister planet Mandalore. There were more extreme environments on planets like Hoth and Mustafar. But Concord Dawn did not have a single trait that made it more daunting than others. Its extremes were still not to be overlooked or passed off like trivial dangers.

The War Councilor, Koil Solus stepped across the snow covered rock as they made their way through a mountain pass. The northern reaches of Concord Dawn were colder than he remembered. Today he was wearing an insulant undersuit instead of thermal to help deter the dangers of the extreme colds. A long grey cloak, similar in terms of camouflage to the snow and ice covered stone helped as well.

Beside the Silent Badger was his quadruped companion, Archie. The dire badger padded along, running a head every few meters before stuffing his snout into some snow or clawing at patches of ice to find some possible traces of prey. Archie did not seem to mind the cold.

Joining Archie and Koil was also Dalyn. The fellow member of House Solus was cheery in comparison to most members of the Clan but certainly relative to his Alor. They had a ways ahead of them and there were still in dangerous territory. Wolves, mountain cats, the elements, and more were a danger to them. But they were on a trip to deliver some records to an old hermit that would keep the information safe until long after Koil had died.

After a few steps the badger stopped. The hair on the back of Archie's neck stood up and subtle growl caused Koil to halt heir forward progress. The dire badger turned to Koil giving him a knowing look and then made several small actions that told Koil there was no immediate danger but soon enough the two Mandalorians and accompanying badger would be confronted by some wild animals. "What's your wager, wolves or cats? Probably at least five or six I bet." Either option was not going to be an easy thing to fight. Just like its people, Concord Dawn bred dangerous fauna.

Spoiler: Dice

irst roll is to see if Archie detects any dangers with his super smell (Rousing Success)

@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Shivering beneath the thick woollen poncho and the grey cloak wrapped around his body, Dalyn smiled fondly beneath his helmet at Archie in remembrance before turning to address Koil. "5 credits and a tihaar back home says it's wolves. The howling of the damn wind is a sign as my da would say, mark my words. A whole pack of the slathering beas..." his rant faded into silence as the distinct yowl of the mountain cat echoed through the mountain pass. "We didn't shake on it," he weakly defended before reaching for his signature hammer and a pistol.

Born and raised on Concord Dawn, Dalyn was more than familiar with the dangers of the beasts that called it home. Mountain cats were usually solitary hunters, though they'd been known to form loose packs with others of their kind when conditions worsened. A shower of falling pebbles and snow to the left of the pass snapped his attention upwards in time to spot a pair of cats preparing to pounce. Behind him another yowl sounded, and Dalyn turned to place his back to Koils, blaster snapping up to fire at the third cat approaching them from behind.

"Just once I'd like you to bring me somewhere where there isn't something trying to kill us, vod. Just the once."

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Dalyn was always ready for a good time. If that meant sharing a drink behind enemy lines or starting up a friendly wager it was usually Dalyn bringing it up. But Koil did not verbally accept the gamble. He was too focused on searching for any sign of threat and so just grunted in response. It looked like Marauder had picked the wrong beast to expect though resulting in him quickly taking back the bet. The War Councilor smiled for a heartbeat and draw one of his quickdraws.

The wind picked up and brought a wall of high speed snow and cold wind. The cross wind was hard enough at this range but this was probably not the first time these cats had fought prey that could shoot. The Silent Badger's pistol shots on the nearest one missed, scoring the rock as it the others moved around, not stopping their advance like the predators they were.

Spoiler: Dice

shoot the first one (mild fail)
@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Dalyn stepped backwards to press his back to Koil's, knowing from experience that these beasts preferred to go for the neck or back of the legs while their prey was distracted by the others, and pulled the trigger with a put-upon sigh, not even acknowledging the pained yowl as his bolt struck home in the cats flank. Activating the generator in his hammer, Dalyn swung the humming weapon in a threatening display before striking the stoney ground in front of them, the mining hammer turned weapon pulverizing the ground and sending a long crack through the stone from every direction - the cats paused in their stalking, unsure if the pair and their Badger were prey they wanted to pursue.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty... Life Day is coming and my momma needs a new fur cloak!"

@Darasaurus

Spoiler: Dice

54 to shoot one cat, 68 to intimidate the rest.

 

[Koil Solus]

Fighting back to back was the smart choice. Koil was a little unsettled by the slamming of Dalyn's hammer though. It could cause an avalanche or some rocks to fall. Beskar alloy held up to a blaster bolt or two but half a mountain falling on top of him was not something the Silent Badger wanted to test out if avoidable. Still, it seemed the cats were staying back for the time being.

The War Councilor raised his blasters again. This time two blaster bolts flew from each and took down a respective feline animal. The others growled and quickened their pace. The gravity of the situation adding to the tense feeling already brought on by the cold weather.

Spoiler: Dice

shooting two of the attacking cats (success)
@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Grinning savagely behind his helmet as two more cats went down from the War Councillor's blasters, Dalyn twisted his head to crack a joke - most likely an entendre about Koil's quickshot - when he spotted a cat on the ledge above them preparing to pounce. Everything happened at once; the cat leapt through the air toward Koil, Dalyn's blaster hit the ground, and the Singing Badger took the stance a pro shockball player would be jealous of and swung the hammer with both hands.

The hammer crashed into the wild cat with a thunderous crack, instantly caving in its chest and sending the beast flying in a mass of splintered bone, blood, and fur into the remainder of the pack. The cats hissed and yowled and bolted, leaving their dead where they lay. Scooping up the blaster where hed dropped it and holstering it with a flourish, Dalyn swung the hammer up onto his shoulder and turned to face Koil.

"Man, talk about giving those cats a pou... no, I'll stop. That joke is beneath me."

Letting out a bark of laughter he reached down to scratch Archie behind the ears as the dire badger began gnawing at one of the fallen felines innards and gestured up the path.

"Well, that was bracing. Shall we go find your hermit before the wolves show up next, or are you itching for another fight?"

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Koil had adjusted his aim. His trained crimson eyes watched the movement of the feral beasts. Their animalistic snarling not bothering him as he sighted down the twin quickdraw blasters. Yellow bolts shot forth from the weapons. They took down not one, not two but three of the feline quadrupeds. They stopped in their tracks and fell into the snow covered mountain side, lifeless with smoke rising and quickly being dragged away by the uncaring wind.

It seemed that the pack of cats had bitten off more than they could chew with the two skilled Mandalorians. Out of the nine, seven lay dead in various states. The most gruesome was the onee that Dalyn had just crushed with his hammer. Koil's eyes lingered on the blunt force trauma it had received.

Hearing Dalyn talk he looked over at him and then down at the dire badgers. They seemed to be more at ease now that the cats had run off. It was cold out and prolonged time out in the elements was not ideal. "Let's keep moving."

Spoiler: Dice

shooting moar cats (Rousing success)
@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Continuing the trek through the mountain pass, hammer still slung over his shoulder while whistling a jaunty tune and looking out over the splendor of the northern wilds. Archie seemed to be in the spirit of things, marching along in front of him with his head held up high and swinging this way and that in time with his feet. Turning back to look at Koil, Dalyn grinned and gestured for him to join the line up, his whistling replaced by loud humming that seemed to echo off the rocky walls of the mountain pass.

Archie suddenly cut short the merriment with a growling chirp, pawing at the ground in front of a fallen tree that served as a bridge over a fissure through the stone. It was a tight gap with several sharp looking outcroppings etched out of the stone; at the base gurgled a thin stream bloated by the snowmelt.

"Oh, you big baby! It's perfectly safe! Watch!"

Archie whined as Dalyn strode past him, took three steps along the trunk of the tree, and then flinched as the wood groaned beneath his feet.

"... today is just not my daargh!"

Dalyn fell through the log and halfway into the fissure with an almighty crash, his ankle getting caught and twisting on a branch as he scrambled for a solid grip.

"Anytime now, mate!!!"

@Darasaurus

 

[Koil Solus]

Koil was behind Dalyn when he crossed. The man dropped and Koil flinched and tried to keep him from going down. But it had happened so fast. The War Councilor leaped over the gap and skidded on the other side before scrambling back to the edge to get his eyes back on the man.

"Dalyn! Are you hurt!" The War Councilor looked around for any sort of tool to use to help get Dalyn out of his situation. The man was voicing his own frustrations though so at least he was not going quickly as he scrambled for a hold. "Use your jetpack!" It seemed obvious. But maybe Dalyn had broken an ankle or damaged his jetpack. Still, maybe he had panicked and forgot that he had that ability.

Spoiler: Dice

also doing unsteady terrain (Barely success)
@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

"Just my ankle and my pride... kriffing log."

Grasping onto the rotting wood that seemed to disintegrate between his fingers, Dalyn had only a moment to fear the fall into the fissure before Koil spoke words of wisdom. He had a jetpack. Reflexively smacking himself in the visor at his own stupidity, the Singing Badger only had a breath to realize his mistake before falling the rest of the way through the log. Slapping the controls on his wrist as the sensation of free-fall grabbed his stomach and pulled it toward his throat, Dalyn's pack activated and sent him spinning skyward in a spray of wood chips.

Coming to a halt midair, the Marauder pulled a loop to grab Archie from the other side before flying across to join Koil. Setting the dire badger down, he gingerly tested his weighg on the twisted ankle before grimacing and deciding it wasn't bad enough to just muscle through.

"Next time, lead with the jetpack suggestion. And why are we even walking to this Hermitage? We can fly!!!"