Coyote Ugly

[Keira Priest]

Ashrah​

​

It seemed like a lot of work for four people, three of which were ever truly around, what with the fourth always out on missions. But they built with the hope that one day it would be home for more than just those that remained, and rather house an entirely new generation that fought for Mandalore and her people tooth and nail. In order to accomplish that they first had to finish what they'd started, something that would take time, not that they didn't have that in excess when they weren't otherwise preoccupied. The planet they chose for rebuilding was intentionally out of the way, newly discovered and sparsely populated so as to deter visitors and ensure a quiet place to return at the end of the day. That, and two of the four weren't particularly fond of outside company. Details.

Keira had initially drawn up plans, and her brother had quickly pointed out issues with security which were quickly rectified - not that he was ever around anyway, she'd pointed out - but he'd waved that off with the assertion that it didn't matter, because they all needed to be safe anyway, and besides, it wasn't like she was home constantly either. Most prominent of the design changes that had been made was that of a tower dominating the center of the homestead, one that would serve as the pillar and command center for their clan. An idea she'd cleared nearly immediately, understanding the need for such a thing and knowing full well his quiet persistence.

Things were coming along nicely, with certain sections already livable and others well on their way. For once the majority of the family was home, which meant her, Ginnie and Asha, as it almost always did. The two of them hadn't had the opportunity to become acquainted before, so now was the time for that, if anything else. There was also the matter of the undermining of authority that had to be dealt with, though she was far from the sort to bring the hammer down. She knew full well Asha liked to bicker with and poke at Alkor, but there was a time and place for all things, and the battlefield wasn't one of them, especially with children involved. Mandalorian though they were, authority was to be undoubtedly respected in certain scenarios.

That talk would come in time. For the moment she was scrolling through a list of supplies while she waited for her sister and fellow clanswoman to arrive. She and Ginnie had only connected twice since her return, and she hadn't spoken to Asha yet, though from what she'd been told the woman hadn't changed in the least. This would be quite the clash of personalities, but family was family, and as always it was more than blood.

[member="Ginnie Dib"] | [member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Alkor Centaris]

She looked over the manifest as heavy equipment thrummed all around her, but Asha's concentration never wavered. She was used to working under duress. Whether on the battlefield or hard at work tending to the ins and outs of clan life, the bright blonde gave her all to every effort.

Consequently, that often also meant giving every bit of her opinion even when it might not be ideal. Her last bout of bickering with the brother of [member="Keira Verd"] was nothing short of a fiasco, but it ended amicably without any harm to the children. When it came to life around the homestead, Asha was as much "mom" to every Verd child as anyone else.

Her eyes moved over the figure in front of her once more, and she inhaled sharply. "Where did we come up with this kind of money?" she asked, more than slightly aware of their situation in recent months. Every Verd left had struggled to make ends meet until Keira stepped up, and they were still reeling economically. The idea that they could afford any of this without the Empire lining their pockets was...

...well, it could take them years to repay.

She saw Keira in the distance and smiled softly. The woman was like a rock in the middle of a turbulent sea, unmoved by even the harshest of elements. It helped her to stay strong when times got tough.

"Where is that di'kut brother of yours?" she joked lightly. " Is he planning to leave all the heavy lifting to the girls?"

[member="Ginnie Dib"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Asha was going to be the death of Ginnie Dib. The caramel skinned Kiffar glanced over at Asha’s constant checking of the lists and threw the throttle to accelerate.

[member="Keira Verd"] was her only hope to prevent vodslaughter. It felt like the lifetime it was since Ginnie got any quality time with her Vode, and she wasn’t about to let a perfect blonde ruin her chance at reconnecting…

… especially now, before the baby on the way made life more about it, than her. Maybe that was why Asha’s voice hit Ginnie’s ears like someone was taking a vegetable grater to them… in her mind, Ginnie was for the seventieth time, attempting to practice her ‘Rhae and I are pregnant’ speech.

“Give you three guesses and a bullet on your fourth, Ash. We’ve been active in the Mando’ade’s battles, that gives us our cut. We earned it.” The homestead in sight, Ginnie shut down the throttle and veered to a stop, flicking the controls to send the back end of the speeder truck toward Keira.

“Kiki, we made it!” Ginnie hopped down, and smirked at Asha, feeling much better now that the journey was done.

“That di’kut of a brother of ours is on Ryloth. Alkor is probably doing something remotely useful. Possibly killing!” Stepping to the back of the speeder truck, Ginnie set the hydraulics to lower the gate-hold and cracked her neck on either side.

“Us girls? Do you want me to leave you a box?” Standing beside the supplies, Ginnie cracked her shoulders, elbows and wrists, rolling them out before getting into a stable stance.

Inhale. Her arms lifted until her thumbs touched her shoulders.

Exhale. Her arms pushed outward, fingers outstretched as the sum total of supplies (sans a box for Asha) levitated and hovered above the ground.

“Oy! Kiki! Where’d you want these buckets of bolts!? Don’t hurry or nothing!”

[member="Alkor Centaris"] [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]