Private Down, But Not Out

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

The Jedi's eyes were closed, but he was not asleep. The warmth of the sun on his dark skin had woken him earlier, and in the short time of wakefulness since then, he continued to rest his body while his mind processed what happened the day before.

They were patrolling the western fringes of League Space, a routine run in a quiet region that should have been empty, save for uncharted worlds such as the one they stood on now. Reports from the RTL suggested the area was safe, but he supposed any number of these unexplored planets could harbor pirate bases or hideouts. Hell, he'd even wager that more than one crew could operate on the same world and never know the other existed considering the sheer remoteness of it all. Elias wasn't a Core-boy per se, but even Genetia - in all its relative remoteness - was connected to the greater galactic grid. This place felt utterly alone, infinitely far away from civilization. If he hadn't taken a durasteel rod to the abdomen, the Jedi Master might have found the jungle peaceful.

"Time to get up."

Valery's voice made him ease open his golden eyes. The morning sun was bright, but he welcomed its rays. As his eyes adjusted, he eased up from the forest floor where he'd fallen asleep.

"How long was I out for?" he asked, shifting to a position that would make getting up less painful. His wound burned like hell, but at least it wasn't red or puffy. No fresh blood, either. He was relieved, but only for a moment. It may not have looked infected, but Elias knew better than to leave it uncleaned. He nodded when Valery mentioned finding a stream.

"I need to clean this," he said, "before it gets any worse." He paused, taking a moment to breathe in the jungle air. The distant call of a bird brought a small sense of comfort to him. He looked to Valery with a sheen of concern on his face; No matter how bad off he was, Elias would always put others before himself.

"How are you faring? Were you hurt badly?" he asked, nodding to her bare arms. Elias wasn't sure he'd seen Master Noble without vambraces before. The cuts looked painful, in need of wrappings or at least a cool splash of fresh water to clean them.

"I'm... sorry I got us into this mess," he finally said.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Well, I don't exactly have a working clock..." Valery began with a smug grin, "But I'd say at least 8 hours or so. Maybe even more." The sun had gone down and risen again while he slept, and while she wasn't quite sure how long day/night cycles were on this planet, it had felt like quite a while. A good sign, in her opinion, because that rest would be important for his healing process. The only other thing they needed was-

"I need to clean this,"

Valery nodded in agreement, "We need to clean the wound but also have enough to drink. Food is something we can go without for a while, but we need enough water. I'm pretty sure you lost a lot when you were bleeding badly." She stood up now and looked around with a calm smile. As bad as this situation was, Valery still felt at home within jungles and forests. So hearing the birds chirp, and feeling the wind blowing through her long hair helped her be at ease.

"I'm fine," Valery lied, sort of. Her arms were cut up and her ribs were hurting a lot more than she showed as well. They were at least bruised, but perhaps broken, which made her worry some about internal bleeding. But that wasn't something they could easily address, so she didn't want to make it something he'd worry about as well. "I'll clean these cuts when we find some water, and it'll be okay."

Slowly, Valery sat back down for a moment and grimaced from the pain in her sides and chest. "And please stop, we both knew what we were getting ourselves into by signing up for this mission." She flashed him a smirk and leaned her head back against the tree. "I'm just glad that I'm at least stuck here with someone like you. Someone I can really trust."

She glanced his way once more, that smirk still on her face. "So quit trying to kill yourself for me, alright?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

He returned her smile with a sly one of his own. His intentions were that thinly veiled, huh? ‘Killing himself’ was Valery’s spin on things, though. Elias rather thought he was taking on the close-calls and high risks to make sure she made it out alive. She would have done the same. If they both survived, it was by the grace of the Force. If he didn’t make it, well, it was a long-overdo sacrifice to atone for the past. The wounded Master wasn’t attentive enough to notice Valery’s wincing, but he did allow her a moment to rest before stepping closer and offering a hand.

“Let’s find that river, shall we?”

With how dense the vegetation seemed, coupled with the downward slope of the terrain, Elias figured they would find some form of fresh water at the bottom of the valley. Luckily, it wasn’t too steep for either of them to descend in their current state of injury. Elias kept close, careful neither to take the heroic lead nor fall behind his companion as they followed the path. The farther they ventured from the clearing made by their vessel, the thicker and more wild their surroundings became. It reminded him of Genetia, sans the crystal-blue oceans that lay at the edge of every island and archipelago. Who knows? Maybe this world had oceans of its own.

’You need fresh water before going for a surf,’ he reminded himself. He looked to Val, taking note of how confident she seemed in the jungle.

“Your boy, Cailen, he talks about you often. You trained on New Cov, in the jungles there?” Small talk wasn’t his favorite, but he’d almost exclusively interacted with Valery in official capacities. What he knew of her he’d learned from Cailen. He felt it was time to change that.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

After finding just a moment to rest, Valery looked up at Elias as he offered a hand. She looked at it for a few seconds, then grabbed it to pull herself up with a softer smile on her face. No matter how challenging this would be, she felt certain that they could get through it together.

"Yeah, let us," she agreed before she started following him downhill, and through the forest. Even though the situation wasn't all that great, Valery felt at ease as she carefully made her way down. Forests, jungles, or just nature, in general, is where she felt most comfortable. Perhaps strange, given the fact that she lived on Coruscant with her family.

But that was just to make sure they were all close to each other as much as possible.

"He does?" Valery asked with a chuckle. "Well, he's right. I grew up on New Cov, and while those jungles are very dangerous, my Master taught me how to survive in them. As I got older, I'd spend more and more time there, even alone." Which wasn't something her old Master always appreciated, but he learned to let go eventually. A lesson she still hadn't quite learned herself, at times.

"What about you? I don't think we ever really talked much about anything outside of Jedi duty." Much like him, she figured it'd be a good idea to learn more about him.

"Cailen also speaks very highly of you. Rightfully so, of course, but I don't think he speaks badly of anybody." she snickered a little. "The kid is such a joy to be around."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

"There's not a mean bone in that lad," Elias mused, chuckling along with Valery. "He reminds me of my own Padawan, Orson... but I suppose that would be more Jedi duty, as you say..." He laughed to himself as he kept his eyes on the slopes, watching carefully where he stepped to avoid any undo tumbles or falls. It was the last thing a pair of stranded Jedi needed. He pondered what to talk about, ultimately settling on his own upbringing.

"I come from an ocean world, Genetia," he said as he imagined the rolling seas that covered most of his homeworld. "Perhaps you know it? It's a bit out of the way as far as the Alliance is concerned, but most of the surface is covered in oceans. I grew up on one of the larger island chains, in a community of Lightsiders. The Spinners, we call them."

"My mother was one of them. They were like sages, full of legends and stories of our past. Some say their words were powerful enough to shape the very course of our future. The will of the Force itself was laced in their tongues, and their prophecies were regarded as a matter of 'when' rather than 'if.'" He looked to Val for a moment, curious to see her reaction to such a thing. She didn't strike him as an esoteric Forcer, but he didn't write her off as closeminded either.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"I've not actually been to a lot of ocean worlds, so I can't say I've visited it before, no," Valery admitted. Recently, she had been to Glee Anselm for a smaller assignment, and she had been to one or two others in the past. But her duties rarely brought her to underwater territories, even though she quite enjoyed visiting them. They were so very different from what she was used to, yet beautiful in their own way.

That's likely what attracted her to them so much.

Elias then explained more about his homeworld and people, and Valery just smiled a little, "It reminds me a little of the Voss and their mystics if you know about them. They guide their people through visions, so it's all tied to the future and believing in destiny as well." She paused and chuckled.

"I don't exactly believe that there's something as powerful as that, but I do deal with visions a lot. My daughter has a special gift and receives them very often. They don't always come true, but they have shown us things that did happen."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Elias grinned at the mentioning of her daughter. He hadn't kept tabs on Valery or her husband, but it made great sense that their child would be so gifted considering the abilities of her parents.

"You must be very proud of her," he said, stepping past a dense thicket of underbrush. "Gifts like those are wonderful blessings."

And as if on cue, another blessing bestowed itself upon them: Running water. Elias' eyes widened the moment he noticed that familiar sound, fresh water rushing over rocks and roots. There was a river at the bottom of the incline, just as he suspected.

"Do you hear that?" he asked Valery, looking to her with almost boyish excitement.

"Water."

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"I couldn't be more proud of her, and not just because of her gift. She's... such a great kid. I love her with all my heart," Valery smiled like an obsessed mother. If she were given the chance, she'd be able to shamelessly rant about her husband and kids for hours, but she was trying to keep herself controlled right now.

They had real danger to worry about.

Luckily, though, it seemed they had some luck on their side as well — the sound of rushing water quickly reached her ears. Having grown up inside jungles, Valery very easily picked up on important sounds. From predators stalking her, to the sound of water where it mattered the most.

"Oh, I heard it alright!" Valery smirked and followed the sound, until she was able to make her way down the incline to reach the water. Without wasting a second, she washed off her bloodied arms, and splashed her face with some water. Her lips had dried up completely, and she really needed the cold it provided too.

"Rushing water is relatively clean, so we could try to drink it. I'd boil it if I had something to store the water in. Starting a fire is easy enough for me." It was her pyro side grinning now.

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Val said… something about boiling the water first, but the words registered just after Elias had slumped to his knees and feverishly watered his parched lips with handfuls from the river. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea, given their remoteness and the inherent risk of illness, but Elias figured if the water was moving and clear enough to see the bottom, his belly would thank him for the drink.

A few more healthy gulps to loosen up his dried throat muscles, and then he was off. He removed the tattered shawl that once was a shirt and eased his feet into the cold current. At first, the water that rushed against his skin made the cuts feel as if they were on fire. But after a few moments of adjustment, the stinging pain gave way to cooling relief. Elias couldn’t help but chuckle at their situation. He took general handfuls of water and soaked his dreadlocked hair, then his beard. Streaks of clean skin peeked out from beneath the dirt and blood that covered his flesh like a grim veneer. Soon, he began to look more like himself, though with a few extra scars by which he could tell the story of how they escaped a pirate attack.

His eyes drifted to the distress beacon resting by the shore. There’d be plenty of time to tinker with it later. For now, Elias pinched his nose, and dunked his head into the cool embrace of the river.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"...Or just drink, I guess," She rolled her eyes and after cleaning up her bloodied arms, decided to drink from a clean spot of water as well. Even if it wasn't entirely clean, she could still use the Force to flush her system, and prevent any mild diseases from affecting her. Whether or not Elias could do the same, she didn't know, but she wasn't his mom. He knew what he was doing, and if he got terribly sick, it would have been a risk he was willing to take.

Valery's gaze then drifted up to see Elias take off what remained of his shirt, before moving into the water. She blinked, glanced back at the emergency beacon once more, and understood. It was going to take some time to figure out the beacon, so it would be far more comfortable to get cleaned up and make sure none of the cuts would get infected at the same time.

"You certainly look a lot better now," Valery joked before she decided to take off her top as well. It meant revealing the cuts and bruises along her ribs, but she figured that he already knew that she had been hurt too. Her boots then came off as well, and slowly, she eased her way into the water to rid herself of dirt and dried-up blood.

"Ugh..." she shivered, "I didn't think the water would be so cold." She chuckled and wrapped her arms around herself for some warmth.

"Are you feeling a bit better?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

"Better? I feel like I've been born again, Noble!" Elias said, shaking the water from his hair. The knot he usually wore the black locks in had long since come lose in the flowing water, leaving a thick mess of hair atop his head. He laughed from beneath the mop, pulling it back and halfway securing it in the back. Then, he noticed the wounds on his friend's torso. He knew she'd sugar-coated her injuries after the attack, but he hoped she'd have been better off than what he saw.

"That looks... rough," Elias said, scrunching his nose with a wince as he wrung out the ends of his hair. The trouble with abdominal wounds had more to do with what was going on inside rather than out.

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

He noticed.

Valery chuckled softly and removed her arms from around her waist, so she could look down at her bruises. On the outside, it already looked rough, as he put it, but the real trouble was inside. She wasn't sure if ribs were just bruised, or if something had broken, but she was going to need medical attention as soon as they returned.

"I didn't mention it because there's nothing we can do about it now. I'd rather worry about the things we can control," Valery explained before she splashed some water on her left arm, and rubbed along it to clean off some more dirt.

"Unless you have healing abilities I didn't know about, of course." She shot him a smirk and decided to lower herself until she was under as well. She then came back up and squeezed some water out of her hair, before looking back over at her friend.

"I'll be fine though. I don't feel that bad anymore. So let's get dry and keep moving?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

Elias nodded, gave his dreads a final twist, and shuffled his feet across the riverbed to join her. He gestured for her arms, and if she offered them, he would hold them from below with his left hand while his right began to mend the minor cuts and scrapes. He’d picked up a few tricks from his friends on Bogano, but little more than basic healing skills unfortunately. Nothing that could touch broken bones or internal bleeding.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more,” Elias said, “but I suppose it’s a good thing you feel better already.” If she had sustained serious trauma, he figured she’d be getting worse. Unless, of course, stoicism was masking her true injuries. Whether accepting of his aid or not, Elias smiled gently and moved by her, to the shore. He scanned the river in both directions, curious if any natural shelter would present itself. Fixing the beacon was only half the battle; Waiting for a rescue would be the real challenge, and they’d need a safe place to rest should nightfall arrive before help.

“What do you think?” Elias called back over his shoulder. He was fashioning the ripped shirt into a shawl, if nothing else but to protect his skin from the sun.

“Stay here, or find shelter?”

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

When he gestured for her arms, Valery gave them up to heal the smaller cuts and injuries. It'd prevent them from getting infected later and it gave her just a bit of relief from the pain she still felt. Luckily, her strength was also returning, so she could suppress the more serious pain in her ribs through the Force.

"Never knew you could heal, but thanks," Valery said with a friendly smile. She then turned around, grabbed the top of her tunic, and wrangled herself back inside, so that they could start moving again. It wasn't dark quite yet, but she didn't know what planetary rotations were like here. So she wanted to be ready before it was too late.

"We should find shelter nearby. If there are predators out here, they likely drink from the water here too, so we shouldn't stay too close." She chuckled and hopped up to her feet before offering him a hand up. "Maybe a cave or something that keeps us out of wind and rain."

"Then I can start a fire, we get food and we can maybe make a start on that beacon. What do you say?"

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

“A lovely camping trip with Valery Noble? How could I refuse?” Elias jested as he slung the battered beacon over his shoulder. Truthfully, he hated caves. He’d been through more than his fair share of bad experiences underground, between sea vipers in the coastal caves on Genetia to the rabid rockrenders on Sullust. But he knew how vital it was to find proper shelter, and quickly.

Elias took the lead down the riverbank, relying on his keen senses to scope out potential sites.

“I’m not really much of a healer,” he admitted, nodding to the freshly mended cuts on her arms. Thankfully, they weren’t deep enough to scar badly.

“What I did there is about the extent of my knowledge. Herbalism, that’s my strong suit.”

It was a dying field of study among the Jedi, but one Elias found great comfort and fulfillment in practicing. Watching a seedling sprout and grow, absorbing all that you pour into it, until the day it’s finally ready to transform into something great… it was comparable to watching a youngling grow into a Padawan. After the moment of thought passed, Elias looked up to spot a peculiar break in the brush. He pointed to it with a wide grin. With any luck, it was a small cave, or at least a shallow basin covered by trees and stone.

“Looks interesting. Wanna check it out?”

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[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Oh shut it," Valery said with a roll of her eyes, but also a smirk tugging at her lips. She knew that he was just teasing, but she never liked it when people treated her as someone special. Which, of course, Elias understood as well and it's exactly why he was poking fun at her thay way.

Valery would remember it.

"Well, it's more than I can do in terms of healing. So I appreciate it," she said with a kind smile and a gentle dip of her head. "But I'd love to see more of your work with herbalism sometime as well. I'm sure you work with some fascinating plants?" As a Jedi, she wouldn't be surprised if many of the plants he worked with had special properties.

Not that she knew much about it, but she was always eager to learn more about the Galaxy.

Elias then spotted something promising up ahead, and after pointing it out, Valery nodded, grinned and began to move. Fairly quick, she was able to spot the relatively small cave - it was big enough for both of them, but not a whole lot more. Luckily it was close to water and it'd give them some room to work on the beacon.

"Do you want to set up the beacon there? I can already collect some firewood or other supplies we need."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

The ‘cave’ was more akin to an alcove, but the natural rock shelf was perfectly deep enough to provide shelter from the elements. Elias ran his thumb over a fern-like plant near the entrance, admiring the fleshy greenery.

“There’s no shortage of interesting specimens, that’s for sure. This one reminds me of fetherfern. It grows wild on Bogano,” he told her, reminiscing about afternoons spent harvesting them from the marshy mesas.

“You can dry the flowers and brew them into a really nice tea,” he explained. “It’s great for calming your nerves.”

Elias smiled fondly, pulling his hand away from the leaves as if bidding farewell to an old friend. For all his youthful antics, the Rebel Jedi was truly a gentle man. He turned to Valery with the beacon in hand. As much as he’s like to rest, there was work to do while the sun remained above their heads.

“That sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ll take a crack at this, see if I can’t get a signal out.”

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

"Maybe I should visit you on Bogano sometime soon, and you can brew me a cup?" Valery suggested with a smile, hoping that it wasn't too much of a hassle to make the tea. "I never drink coffee or sugary drinks, but a good cup of tea..." she let out a soft sigh and looked up at the sky for a moment. Right now, she'd really love a cup to help keep herself calm and relaxed. But alas, they were still in a tougher situation and had to remain focused.

Valery then briefly walked up to the small cave, looked around, and nodded, "While you work on the beacon, I'll make a fire and maybe see about getting us some food." She shot him a grin and disappeared into the bushes. For a few minutes, everything remained quiet, until the hum of a lightsaber was followed by a small tree coming down.

She didn't like doing it, but she needed some wood and it was the easiest way.

"Alright, this should be fine. It's not overly dry wood, but..." she plopped it down and snapped her fingers. The pile of wood was instantly set ablaze, and she smirked victoriously. The finger snap was obviously not needed for her use of Pyrokinesis, but it was a way to warn others, or just a bit of fun to her.

"Do you uh, eat meat?" Valery then asked. "Before I get some fish or a small animal, I figured I'd ask because I do eat meat myself." She blinked at the way that sounded in her head, then cleared her throat. "I'll also get some water to boil, so we can drink something that's guaranteed to be clean."

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Valery Noble
Stranded in the jungles of an UNKNOWN PLANET...

“We’d love to have you,” Elias said, easing himself to the stony ground. The puncture in his side stung like fire, reminding him that he very much still had an extra hole running through him.

“Takes a good haul of petals, but the younglings love to go out gathering. Our resident herbalist is quite good with them,” he added, thinking fondly of the stories they’d tell him when returning from the mesas.

Elias slid a small pocketknife from his boot and gave it a flick, drawing its blade from the hilt. Carefully, he began to pry at the beacon’s case, until it separated with a pop. With critical eyes, he meticulously inspected the circuitry, cursing himself for ditching the technology lessons as a Padawan. He knew enough to fix basic problems, but this? This was work better suited for Cailen Corso and his much tinier hands.

He’d just begun to trace the issue - a faulty wire, torn free during the crash - when Valery returned from the forest. The sudden light from the woodpile made him tense up, but he was grateful for it.

“Impressive,” he said, nodding to the quick work she made of the campsite. Elias didn’t know about her pyrokinetic abilities. It seemed there was much more they stood to learn about one another than he thought.

"Do you uh, eat meat?" Valery then asked. "Before I get some fish or a small animal, I figured I'd ask because I do eat meat myself."

Elias peered up to Valery, looking at her through his eyebrows with a smirk on his lips.

“I’ll happily eat my fill of whatever you bring me,” he said with a sly chuckle.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

Uncharted World

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Elias Edo

Valery blinked when he called her use of Pyrokinesis impressive, but those thoughts faded quickly when she awkwardly brought up their food situation. Elias was quick to pick up on it, and commented with a sly smirk that briefly caused Valery to avert her gaze. She then rolled her eyes a little and cleared her throat again, "Right, I'll uh, see what I can find." Turning back to him for a moment, she offered a smile.

"Seems you're making some progress with it. Can it be repaired or did we drag that thing along for nothing?" She asked, clearly hopeful that they hadn't risked their lives for nothing trying to retrieve it. But whether his answer was positive or not, she stepped out of the cave and wouldn't return until about an hour or two later.

Completely soaked, her boots and pants covered in dirt and her clothing torn in various places along her body.

"I've got us plenty," she said, as she showed off her collection of fish and a few other smaller animals. Valery didn't really realize she looked like she had been in a survival situation for weeks, but it hardly bothered her. "How are things here? You feeling okay?" She asked as she plopped down and brought up both her hands to move her now much wilder hair from her face.