How to Skin a Wookie

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena quickly marched through the halls of the Knights Obsidian Citadel on Geonosis. She was finally home again, after a string of several missions that had her hopping around the eastern side of the galaxy. Her hair was matted, her (own) armor was covered in dried blood of those she'd slain, but it had been a success. Everything she had been tasked with doing, she had done. The reports were sent in long before she even broke atmosphere, but that was not what she was after now.

The woman always had a knack to find people when she wanted to, unless they were family. She'd checked the Knights Obsidian plans, made a few calls, and quickly enough that the Dominus was within the Citadel that day. The mere knowledge had been sufficient to get her to skip over rest, as there was something very important that she wanted to give him.

Her body was entirely strapped with weapons; Madalena was a walking armory more often than not. But in her hands, she held a little package. And that package was personally addressed by name - [member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"].

Grinning from ear to ear, the Pathfinder came to halt before the office door, and she knocked. Her heart was pounding both pleasantly and wildly. She hoped the unofficial and unannounced present would be wanted and accepted.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

The smell of cafe filled Cardinal's office.

It was a smell he had almost forgotten due to his busy schedule. Now, more than ever, it was needed. The Dominus Prime had gone a few days without sleep due to the impending war with The Jenari Empire. Once The Confederacy decided on war The Dominus' work load would triple. However his work had finally come to a stopping point. With most of his soldiers preparing for deployment there actually was not much for the Dominus Prime to invest his time into. So a hot cup of coffee would be the first distraction. He sat in the middle of his office, his legs crossed while he stayed in deep meditation. Originally he intended on just pulling himself into a center of focus, however his exhaustion needed to be seen to. He could feel The Force nourishing him, bringing him energy in small, steady streams.

Unlike normal, Cardinal was not clad in his armor. He had stowed it for a few hours, to allow his muscles some measure of relief. He wore a brown leather vest and black jeans that hugged against him terribly. His choice in attire was still questionable, however the older man did not seem to pay it any mind. Anything was better than that damned armor. On his homeworld armor was always seen as a sign of weakness, showing that the warrior was incapable of defending himself. As a younger boy Cardinal would never wear his armor, instead he often fought in nothing other than groin cover to protect one of his more vulnerable spots.

His eyes opened slowly as an almost peaceful expression came over his face. It was quickly replaced with it's natural solemn state. Cardinal made his way back over to the coffee pot in the corner, not caring to say a word. The plants that lined his office almost seemed to shift as he moved, like they were responding to the man. Many of them actually were. He took hold of the coffee pot, pouring a cup just as a knock erupted from his door. His brow rose in question, while he set the pot back down on it's base. Most of the Knight's were enjoying a few days of furlough that the Dominus had gifted them, though it was not like the headquarters had been completely vacant. "One second." Cardinal called out, sipping his cup and enjoying the warm rush to his chest. He made his way over to the door, running a hand over the control panel. Quiet, even eyes met a sight that was...surprisingly welcome. He could see the smile that never failed to cause Cardinal's own mood to rise. Though he did not smile right away, by the tone in is voice and how it differed from a moment ago, he was happy to see Madalena. "Knight Antares. Come in."

The two had not spoken to each other much since the Unity day celebration on Ropagi. It had actually been a day to breed a new relationship between them. Madalena had taken it upon herself to befriend Cardinal and even he could not lie, he quite enjoyed her as well. "Here, have a seat." He held a hand out towards one of the chairs near his desk. He made his way over after closing the door. "Is everything ok Madalena? Want some coffee? Pot is fresh...well it was a few hours ago." Her name was still odd on his tongue, but he did prefer it to simple titles.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

He did not know she was on the other side of the door. The Sithling giggled to herself, doing her very best form bouncing on the soft part of her feet as she waited, hearing him move inside the office. Ugh, she hated being made to wait when she had surprises for people. One of the worst things ever.

But when the door finally opened and her green eyes befell on his orange, her grin got even wider. Yes, he called her Pathfinder Antares. He had to. Just like she would never refer to him as Cardinal where others could hear. No. With open doors and ears at every corner, it was a simple "Greetings, Dominus," even though it was hard to hide the little bounce in her voice. Then again, she tended to be bubbly around quite a bit of people, so if any eavesdroppers were around, they probably would not take any special note in that.

Once inside the office, she waited patiently for the door to close while she took the seat that had been offered. Their first meeting had been on Felacat, the interview that had gotten her through that door into the Knights Obsidian. It seemed almost like a few lifetimes ago. Here she was, in a seat across him again, and this time he was even offering coffee.

"No thank you," she replied, "I adore the smell of it, but I'm not a huge fan of the taste."

Allowing the muscles of her back to slightly relax in the chair, only now did she realize that she was, in fact, still mission-dirty. Oh well. There were droids that could clean that up later on. There was more important business to attend to before that.

"Everything is great, Cardinal," she smiled as she looked at him, "just back in from a few short missions. Dead slavers, dead people that oppose us, trail of corpses somewhere… Don't remember what that was about-" came some quick recounting of her deeds, "but anyway. About two or three planets ago I found myself on Nal Hutta. I think that was the slaver mission. Not important. What's important is, did you know their whole ecosystem is supposed to be completely wrecked because of the Hutts?"

Grinning like a cat who found a bowl of cream, she finally set the package that had been in her hands on the table, and removed the dark purple fabric that had been shielding its contents, resting against two sticks of wood that held it up so that the fragile thing within would not break.

"Anyway, so I'm walking through the swamps trying to calm down a person of a species… Okay, not important for now," her excitement was oozing out with every word. Madalena could almost never quite sit still. Not when her mood wasn't bad. She was a buzzing source of energy, both to herself and to those around her. "And then I find this!"

With a squee, she revealed what was underneath, in a little pot with soil.

"So I know that plants and flowers are not necessarily the same thing, but I found this beautiful little living flora on a planet it wasn't supposed to be on. I wasn't even sure it was going to survive over a week on my ship. Had to tell Baal several times that his wasn't food. I'm not sure what it is, but I thought…"

Only now did she quiet down a little bit, looking away as she bit her lower lip before returning her gaze to Cardinal.

"It's a present. For you. For your collection, I mean."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Madalena almost caused Cardinal to break into a slight laugh. She was so very excited about something. The Dominus had no clue what had his partner and friend in such a good mood but he was sure he'd be finding out pretty soon. When Madalena said that she did not care for the taste of coffee, the Dominus nodded with a silent smile. It was small and reserved, but it was there. Cardinal was well aware of the mission that Madalena had just returned from. Although he would never admit it, he did keep an eye on the tasks she was assigned and her progress in each mission. There was a mixture of reasons why, yet most of them came back to a single answer. When it came to the topic of the Hutt's homeworld, Cardinal nodded at Madalena's words. He sat down behind his desk, taking another deep sip from his coffee cup and eyeing Madalena closely. "We took a mission to Hutta about a year ago. It's a pretty horrible world."

As the young Knight explained a bit further Cardinal was still not following. He had NEVER seen one of his knight's come back from Nal Hutta with such a....positive attitude. In fact he didn't know many of them to come back from any mission this happy. As she set the package on his desk, Cardinal arched a brow, watching closely before chuckling a bit. "There isn't a Hutt's head in there is there? I prefer them stuffed, not fried, you know?" He made a rather interesting joke, although the list of things Cardinal would eat probably did include a Hutt or at least it's spawn. Madalena removed the paper and it seemed as if Cardinal's office got slightly brighter as she revealed the small orange flower.

It sat in a healthy pot of soil and had a lively look about it. Cardinal stood up, leaning over his desk to get a closer look. "Amazing..." He said, his hand hovering over the small flower with an expression that held a mixture of amusement and wonder. His mind fluttered as he wondered just what all stories this small flower could tell. As his finger brushed against it, Madalena would feel a sudden surge in The Force. The flower's pedals seemed to shimmer under his touch and for just a moment Cardinal seemed a different man, younger and his face seemed to fill with a light he seldom showed. "It's for me?" Cardinal asked, looking up at Madalena with an eager tone. Cardinal grabbed the small pot, holding it in his hand while he rounded the table toward's Madalena. "This is a wonderful gift Madalena. Thank you." It was unexpected. No, it was not just unexpected, it was something that had never happened before. The closest thing to a gift The Dominus had ever received was his greatsword, a gift from his brother and Master.

Cardinal's arm wrapped around Madalena, pulling her close into his chest. He smelled, oddly enough, of fauna and flora. As if he had spent a day running through the jungle or moving through a thick brush. The hug was strong and perhaps a bit more than Madalena may have bargained for. He did not restrain in his strength, instead he released it, nearly lifting the woman off the floor for a fraction of a moment.

Cardinal set the flower pot one his desk before wrapping his other arm around Madalena. "You didn't have to do that Madalena..." The hug lingered for a moment before Cardinal stepped back, bending down to take another look at his latest addition.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena felt the surge of the Force, her glowing eyes concentrating now on Cardinal a she wondered what exactly that was about. If he was using a specific power, she could not recognize it, though the small movement of the flower's petals hadn't gone unnoticed.

But his face… That made it all worth it. Totally worth it! She was happier than before that she'd managed to keep Baal from eating it now. Proud that she had managed to keep the flower alive all the way until she got it to Cardinal's office, especially since she had nothing that resembled green hands. When he asked if it was for him, she nodded enthusiastically like a Disney princess, the smile never wavering off her face.

And suddenly, there was an arm wrapped around her, and Madalena found herself pulled into half an embrace. A second later Cardinal's other arm wrapped around and she closed her eyes, her own arms coming to wrap around him as well as she enjoyed the closeness of it. It didn't matter that it was a harderhug than one might have expected; Madalena did not exactly have a fragile body, and there was something beyond comforting in the embrace. She leaned her head against the tall man's shoulder and inhaled the scent of him; not of the blood, not of the species, but of the man that was all of that and none of it at once.

Jungle. That was the word. Both spicy and sweet, with an underlying tone of earthy. She was surprised she hadn't noticed it before. She liked it.

She was still smiling when he released her, though the impish smirk was no longer part of it. "Of course I didn't," she said with a little shrug, "and you didn't have to listen to me whine about my problems with my brother. But I wanted to, after I realized what I was looking at. I thought it'd make you a little happier for a bit."

Taking her seat back, her gaze still lingered on Cardinal. "So what have you been up to while I was one?" she asked as she grabbed her water bottle and took a few long sips, "anything interesting happening while I was away?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Cardinal did not spend much longer looking over his plant. Instead he was now scanning his office for a place to set it. There were not many places, due to the fact that some of his more lively plants could very well eat this one. From the plant he could sense it did not need much sunlight and was extremely hardy. Which explained why it had survived on a disgusting place such as Hutta. For anything to survive on that world it had to be a step above the rest. In the end he decided it's resting place would be on his desk. The lights within would supply it with enough to keep it alive and he would be sure to water it before he left for the day. Madalena spoke of their first talk and Cardinal shrugged his head. "No, I did not but I wanted to." He said, before crossing his arms over his chest and clearing his throat.

"Well right before you left you heard we'll be going to war with The Jenari Empire. We've gotten a bit more detail on that operation and it looks like we'll be deploying in under two weeks. I gave most of the order Furlough for a few days so they can rest before hand. That includes you by the way." He said, smiling a bit before running a hand over his face. "I've been buried under paperwork for the past few days. It's been a nightmare Madalena. Everytime Knight's go on mission I have a huge amount of papers hit my desk, this is much worse." He admitted. Cardinal hated paperwork with every fiber of his being, and perhaps even more so than that. It was hard enough for the man to learn to speak Galactic Basic, reading and writing was certainly not his area of expertise.

"I'm mostly done now though. A few last minute forms will need some attention in a while but for now I'm fine." He told her. It was a bit relieving to share the burden of his days. Though it was also a little unnatural to him he did not get to unload often. Other than the members of his adopted family there was not much anyone to speak to anyway. His own assistant, Journey, was an immortal nuisance so just speaking to him was painful. Taking his cup of cafe up from the table, Cardinal downed a good bit of the liquid before exhaling in a moment of relief. He wondered just how long that relief would last, probably not all that long. "Anyway. It seemed like your mission went well." He gestured to her form, carrying any and every blade she could find. Although it may have seemed odd to most all Cardinal saw was a prepared warrior.

"I don't see near as much blood on those blades as I would have expected though." He said, sipping at his cafe once more. The larger man set the cup down and arched a brow, a question coming to his mind. "Are you planning on staying around during your time off? The facilities will stay open, so you know." The truth was a bit different, however the Dominus was as ignorant to it as any other. "Like I said you have a few days if your wanting to go anywhere or do anything. Just report back when you're done so we can keep an accurate count."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

As Cardinal looked for a place for the flower, Madalena allowed herself for the first time to take a good look at the plants that were there. She didn't recognize any of them; but that was to be expected. After all, Botanica in general wasn't on her list of fortes. She could barely remember how mushrooms were supposed to be judged before deemed safe or unsafe. The smile reappeared as Cardinal echoed her words; wanted to. It seemed that they were on the very same page regarding that.

Madalena nodded. Of course, by now all of them had heard about the upcoming war. What she hadn't known was that deployment would be so… Far off? Whoever was tasked with the assignment had better keep the Confederacy's intelligence tight, though an element of surprise was probably hard to have when you had to literally travel from one side of the galaxy to the other.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been thrilled to go t the Unknown Regions. There was something about them that sang to her, something musical and almost lullaby-like. And yet, now that she thought about it, there was something that planted a seed of worry within her. Nothing about the Jen'ari; she couldn't give two actual kraks about those people. Yet the Unknown Regions was where Brayden had gone, and he came back…. Different, after only a few short months. And now if they were all gonna go there… She didn't even have a string of a lead to follow to try to find out what had actually happened to him there.

Still, Madalena managed to keep her face pleasant and the atmosphere light. There was no reason to start whining about her brother again, not now. Now was supposed to be a happy moment, and the bright orange flower was a good reminder of that.

To his note about the blood on her blades though… "I licked some of my blades after usage," the Sithling admitted with the wickedest of grins, "I'm trying to learn how to control the blood riding. It's not as forward as I thought it originally was."

And as for the rest… "I actually have a better idea," Madalena laughed, "if all you've got left to do is some paperwork… How about you bring your paperwork along while we take about two days? There's two weeks to deployment and I think I know exactly what sort of down time would do you good."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

When Madalena mentioned her unique skills the man could not help but chuckle a bit. "Most skills like that take time to fully control." The man leaned back a bit, clasping his hands together as a thought crossed his mind. There were more than a few times where it had taken Cardinal almost twenty years just to master a single technique. He briefly contorted his face at the thought, but otherwise said nothing about it. His attention was on Madalena when she said she had her own idea on what to do. The woman was recommending down time at a time like this? Had this been a week later Cardinal would have outright refused, but there was still considerable time until the Invasion and he was likely to go stir crazy if he did not fill the gap. Parting his hand in a defeated motion, Cardinal chuckled while speaking. "What did you have in mind?"

The Dominus Prime was mentally preparing for what was to come. Madalena was an exceptional person yet her interests were so vast it was impossible to tell what she would suggest. They could go hunt for fresh Bantha meat on Tatooine or go impale more Hutt's on Hutta. Everything else in between was also a rather open option to the woman. Of course that did make it interesting. It would be difficult to miss that anticipating expression that came over his face.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Most skills did take time to fully control. Usually though, people had someone to guide them, or could find information on the holonet. Madalena had made the attempt for looking for anything similar to what she was capable of. She'd found some common enough knowledge that dealt with Sith Sorcery, but it wasn't quite what she was after. It was statistically impossible that she was the only one of her kind in the 'verse, which meant more knowledge had to be out there, yet until she found it, the Sithling was her own in exploring what she and could not do.

Cardinal asked what she had in mind. Madalena grinned from ear to her. That meant he hadn't rejected the notion of leaving for a couple of days. With a lightness to her movements, she jumped from the chair. Normally, she would have asked him to put some faith in her and come blindly. However, despite Madalena and Cardinal growing closer over recent events, she felt like they weren't at that part just yet. Besides, they were still in the Citadel, and even behind a closed door there were lines that would not be crossed.

"I want to take you to Kashyyk," she said at last, looking at the taller man, "I'm thinking… If you're interested, pack some clothes, weapons, and your paperwork, and meet me by my ship in half an hour? Oh, and if you have specific ways you prefer transferring newly acquired flora. They got some mean things growing over there."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was something about the wide grin that Madalena showed that caused Cardinal to chuckle a bit. He was not entirely sure how this was going to go but he was prepared for wahtever she would suggest. As she jumped up from her chair Cardinal picked up his cup of cafe, taking another treasured sip from the cup. When Madalena said she wanted to take Cardinal to Kashyyk the man almost lost some of that coffee he had just downed. He let out a cough as he pressed a fist into his chest, damn it was a pain when coffee went down the wrong way. Clearing his throat he could not help but repeat what Madalena had said. "Kashyyk?" He asked, with a tone well rooted in skepticism. The thought of going to Kashyyk was, well far from what he had been expecting. Actually if anything he was really expecting a hunting trip to one of the more rural Confederate planets. Kashyyk was well on the other side of the galaxy. Madalena offered to take them both to Kashyyk and all Cardinal could do was lean back, placing a hand over his face. "Kashyyk? I don't know Madalena....I..." He repeated, why did they have to go somewhere so far?

Not that it did not sound amazing. Cardinal had wanted to go to Kashyyk ever since he saw a holovideo about it. There was a mental pause as he rememebered telling Madalena how much he wanted to go to that world. She was wanting to take him. Still holding a hand over his face the Dominus worked the math in his mind. They could be back well before the Knight's furlough ended and it likely would be a rather painless trip. Kashyyk was in friendly territory afterall.

A few moments passed before Cardinal removed his hand and nodded silently. "Ok." He finally said, before showing a smile that was just a bit more than he was hoping to show. "We'll go to Kashyyk." The Dominus was eager, wether he wanted to believe it or not. This was a bit surreal. Cardinal very seldolm went places without orders, let alone somewhere he had never been before. It was a large galaxy and Cardinal had seen his share, but not through a choice of his own.

"I'll....Well I guess I'll get some things together and meet you at your ship. Journey can take care of everything else while I'm gone." The larger man said, downing the rest of his coffee and setting the cup by his pot. Today was proving to be a very different day than what he was expecting. "Madalena." He paused, arching a curious brow at her with a matching expression. "You really are kind , you know?" He said before making his way over to her, wrapping an arm around her once more. "And a good friend. Thank you."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

His skepticism had not gone unnoticed. Madalena just stared at Cardinal, letting him work out the logic on his own. She didn't have to say it, but her offer would not be denied, not without a damned good reason. When he said he didn't know she raised her eyebrows, still waiting for the things in his mind to click and turn that maybe no into a definite yes. After all, he'd told her how much he wanted to go. If not now, then when?

He was going to learn that Madalena wasn't the type to wait for things to happen whenever it could be helped. As long as what she wanted done didn't depend on others who'd slow her down, it was happening sooner rather than later.

And there it was. The click. He said yes, painting another smile on her face. She hugged him back, though this time there was much less lingering than earlier. He received a quick kiss on the cheek from her before she darted towards the door.

"My ship's parked in the Citadel's dock yard. Be there in an hour! I'll take care of provisions!"

With that she bounced out of the office with a little giggle.

Madalena was back on her ship before the appointed time, leaving the door open so Cardinal could walk himself in when he was there. Baal was running around in excitement; he'd been that way ever since she told him where they were going. He was still growing; above her hip bone by now, still has goofy as he had been when she could cradle him inside her shirt. She kissed the tip of his nose before setting herself to unpack the food bags she'd gotten.

The kitchen smelled of fresh meats; she was going to have to take care of them quickly before they went back since they'd been in her fridge for a few days at least. Some would be dried, some would be turned into steaks, and… Mmm. She wondered if she could make stew too. She'd never attempted that before.

She still needed a shower, and to clean her weapons and armor. But that could wait. It'd take a few hours to get to Kashyyk, which left her ample time to do it all.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

It seemed Madalena was not going to relent even if Cardinal had not accepted. So perhaps it was for the better that he went against his gut and merely enjoyed this. It was a chance to see a whole new world that was so much like his home while not being that cursed planet. The man smiled as he held an arm around her, yet when she raised up to plant a kiss on the cheek he fell silent. She raced out of the room before he could say anything so he merely stood there with a stunned expression. It would be a few minutes before Cardinal would turn to a nearby cabinet and begin to shift through it. He had to find the paperwork he would be taking with him. He finally found a small comm link and pressed it to his ears, speaking into it to summon his companion. "Journey. Can you come to my office."

"I'm already here." The small Shard seemed to materialize out of thin air. His blue optic bearing down on the man with that same indifferent appearence. Cardinal would have jumped if it was not in Journey's character to show himself in such a manner. "I'm goin-"

"Yes, yes. You and the Knight are going to Kashyyyk. I am not deaf you know." He began, seemingly uninterested in the topic as a whole. "I'll alert you if you are needed. Not that you're helpful for much around here." Cardinal had become used to Journey's quips so they held little weight against the man. "Thank you."

The Shard made a less than pleasent sound before he continued to float over Cardinal's shoulder, staring at him intently. "Your heart rate is up." The older man arched a brow at the Shard before placing a hand over his chest. It was barely notiable, yet he realized his heart was beating slightly faster than usual. Journey was patched into his biosensors so it only made since for him to notice such a change in the man's anatomy. "Proabably the cafe."

"A cup of cafe barely touches your heart rate. That's stupid." Journey responded, before Cardinal set a stack of papers onto the table. "Do you think I was poisoned?" Oblivious, Cardinal wondered why the Shard was even bringing this up, yet as the small metallic case slowly faded away he was met with little more than he expected. "I think you're an idiot. Enjoy your trip." Cardinal exhaled. Dealing with that Shard was certainly more than Cardinal was ever prepared for.

Some time later.​

​

Cardinal hefted a bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the main docking field. The man had taken a bit of time to re-lock his braids and even pack a few weapons for the hunting experience. As he passed by members of the Knight's Obsidian all of them would pause as they noticed something about their Dominus. He was smiling. Not a simple pleasent expression that came with a warm cup of cafe or a complete mission. No this was more akin to a child at christmas. The Dominus had not hunted a beast for years and just the thought of running through Kashyyyk with the deadly intent of bringing down suspecting prey was getting his heart to race. His eyes were vibrant and took in the ship he had visited once before.

He looked around to see if Madalena was outside, but when she was nowhere to be found he simply climbed the ramp into the ship. "Madalena?" He called out with a curious voice. Pulling his bag down from over his shoulder he would look around the ship with a noticable interest. He had seen the woman's paintings on their first evening together during the Unity Celebration, but it never ceased to amaze him just how detailed she was. He brushed a hand over the pictures that lined the walls before calling out once again. "Madalena, are you here?"

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

The first creature to enter Cardinal's field of vision was not Madalena, but Baal. The big wolfo just jumped on the tall man, licking his face a few times before dropping to the floor, turning around, and running back deeper into the ship. It was more than obvious that by now, the big wolf approved of Cardinal. If Cardinal was a man to ever worry about danger from giant beasts, Baal was not one of the beasts he'd have to worry about unless he did something very stupid.

Madalena appeared a few moments later, laughing a she glanced at Baal's tail disappearing around the corridor. "I'm here," she said with a smile as she looked at Cardinal, her armor and weapons still under gunk from the last mission.

"Come on in!" she grinned, taking his hand and leading him.

The ship she had came with two sleeping quarters. One had been turned into sort of a living room, with a lot of her weapons hanging on the wall when they were not in use, but the small sofa opened into a little bed. There were fresh linens there, ready for Cardinal if he wanted to rest, since she had no clue how many hours he'd been up or anything of that.

The sound of the main door closing was herd, and Madalena yelled into the air. "Set course for Rwookrrorro, Kashyyk!"

Smiling, she looked at Cardinal again. "So we have about three to four hours to kill, I think. That should be enough to get settled. You can use the coffee table if you need one for your paperwork. I need to wash the blood off of me and then clean my stuff. So… I'll be with you in about twenty minutes."

At the mention of needing to disappear into the refresher, Baal showed up again, holding a squeaky toy in his big jaw. He walked over to Cardinal, bumping the toy into the man's leg. "Only if he agrees, Baal," Madalena warned him, "no nagging. He still has work to do."

Baal gave a little whiny noise, and Madalena bounced off into her own room, which was connected directly to her refresher.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was nothing quite like being greeted by a Loth Wolf. As Baal jumped up to greet Cardinal the Dominus let out a laugh while it licked over him. "Baal. I was wondering where you were." The man called out before the wolf finally relented and returned to the floor. Cardinal wiped a bit of slober from his face before watching the giant wolf run back into the depths of the ship. The wolf was quickly replaced by Madalena. Cardinal could not help but point towards Baal with a slight chuckle. "Find him a mate so he can expend some of that energy on making pups." A joke, Baal was likely little more than a pup himself, yet Loth wolves were known to mate early so there was no telling when the pup would be wanting to breed. When Madalena took his hand it reminded him of the Unity Day Celebration. That had been the actual beginning of their freidnship hadn't it? Not long ago, yet already much had changed.

As Madalena spoke, Cardinal glanced over to the area she had supplied for him. More than enough, he set his bag near the couch but not before pulling a few folders out of the side pocket. "I just need to review a few of these reports and sign life termination orders, shouldn't take long." Cardinal glanced over to Baal who returned with a small toy. Cardinal chuckled before petting the Loth Wolf. "I'll play soon Baal." He promised, scratching the Wolf behind the ears and making his way over to the coffee table. Cardinal watched as Madalena bounded off into the ship, leaving him with his work. The Dominus Prime did not care much for life termination orders so he got those out of the way first. They were the unnecessary tether of being the Dominus Prime. Though they were few and far between the Knightly order did suffer deserters. Unlike most orders the Knight's Obsidian was a military organization so extreme desertion could only end in one of two things, life imprisonment or death.

Two orders today were geared towards the later as these two men had sold their armor and even gotten one of their fellow Knight's killed. It was a fiasco that Cardinal had been trying to clean up for the past few weeks. He reviewed the orders and committed the names to memory. Once it was done he exhaled. Every one would pay the price of their transgressions. When it came back to the stack of reports he had brought, they were much less heavy-hearted but twice as boring. Most Knight's had rather routine missions that could best be described as day labor. The most extreme cases took a long time so naturally they did not get the chance to pile up like the more trivial matters.

Cardinal looked over the reports quietly. Baal occasionally brushed against his leg in search of attention and the Dominus was happy to scratch the big wolf's ears until his hands fell off. "I should have told Journey to handle this..." He muttered, noticing these reports were significantly more mundane than he was expecting. It would take almost an hour but finally Cardinal would be done with the damned reports. He stood from the coffee table, closing the folder and pulling it under his arm before drawing into a brief stretch. Running a hand over his head, he cleared his throat before making his way back to his bag. "That was painful." He muttered, stuffing what was left of the paperwork back into one of the pockets.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Find Baal a mate? Madalena shook her head. There was no chance she was purposefully going to do that anytime soon. Baal was still not at his full height, and she was worried about the day he'd be much taller than her. Her ship was no place for a full grown Loth wolf, let alone a pair of them with a litter. That would only become a feasible option after she had a planet-side home somewhere, and if she were to be honest, Madalena wasn't sure she was ready for such a property commitment in the first place.

Still, she just shrugged, and disappeared behind a closed door.

Twenty minutes later, as promised, Madalena was sitting in the room she'd given Cardinal after having pulled up a chair. Her hair was dripping and for what was probably the first time, Cardinal could see her in clothes that were not skin tight; a mere oversized T and a pair of yoga pants. Her armor was on her lap, her weapons on the floor near her, and cleaning rags were in her hands as she carefully made sure to remove every spec of blood and other parts that had touched the green armor.

The two worked in a comfortable silence; Cardinal on his paperwork, Madalena on cleaning her stuff. Baal would occasionally place his hand on either one of their laps, wanting attention, and Madalena would sometimes give him a kiss on the nose before gently shoving him away. By the end of the hour, there was a shallow pool of water around Madalena, but all her armor and weapons were clean and hanging on the wall behind her, alongside those she either rarely used or was yet to use at all.

"Who's Journey?" she asked as she looked at Cardinal, her focus torn away from Baal and her equipment for the first time, "you said something earlier about letting a Journey handle it."

With a little yawn, she stretched out in the chair, letting her hands reach for the ceiling until a soft knack sound came from her spine. It was wonderful.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was something a bit different about having company, even when doing paperwork. It made it slightly less hellish, but only slightly. Cardinal sat down on the couch not far from where Madalena sat and listened to her question with a confused look. It took a moment for Cardinal to realize he had been the one to bring Journey up first when he was speaking to himself. "Journey is my squire and the leader of the Confederate shards." He explained, running a hand over the back of his neck. He almsot forgot that Madalena had not been in The Confederacy long enough to merit a squire, though she was coming quite close. "Shards are aliens that are...well made of shards of crystals. They can control these small mechanical bodies that let them float around and be a general pain in my ass." He chuckled, before scratching at chin idly. "Journey was the leader of a small colony of shards that pledged themselves to The Confederacy. They are very intelligent and skilled in The Force. They can be a bit strong willed at times and don't actually like taking orders, most of them anyway."

"Anyway their colony is very small so only select members of the Knight's Obsidian are allowed to have them as companions. I actually didn't want one but appearently Journey refused to work with anyone except the leader of the order. He felt anything else was an insult." Cardinal walked over to Madalena. He took notice of what she was wearing, it was different from her. Usually she wore skin-tight clothes that showed off her curves. They were mildly distracting yet Cardinal was able to place them in the back of his mind. Now she wore things that seemed to be a bit more comfortable. The Dominus Prime reached up to run a hand over her armor with a soft chuckle. "I hate armor." He muttered, before glancing down at Madalena. "I grew up thinking it's cowardly and just too much upkeep." Cardinal showed a rather brief smile before looking to Madalena expectantly.

"We have a few hours until we reach Kashyyyk. We could get some training in." Even in rest Cardinal was a focused individual. Perhaps it was a flaw but the man could not tell. He turned to see Madalena's set of armor that had been given to her by the Knight's Obsidian. Now that the Dominus thought about it she never seemed toactually use the armor. "You prefer this over your strike armor?" He asked, gesturing towards the hexagonal armor set. It did not bother Cardinal much at all seeing as how he hated the fact that he usually had to wear his armor. "Oh, but before we do anything I wanted to show you something." Cardinal made his way over to his back, unzipping it and digging through it. The bag had a rather generous array of swords and short spears, most of which were rather modern except one that the man produced. It could only have been a little over a meter long and had a few noticable knicks on the blade but the spear Cardinal produced had an elegant simplicity to it. A Phrik blade with a dark green handle, Cardinal eyed it before holding it out for Madalena to see. "It's not as effective as my sword, but it's fast and very light."

"That is Kuumwa, or Sting."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Squire? Confederate shards? Madalena's curiosity was piqued and she looked at Cardinal with interested eyes. She knew what Shards were… Sort of. But she kept listening, wondering when she could meet this Journey person, add the scent of him to her collection of species that she'd locked down based on her blood hound abilities. After listening though to how Journey ended up being paired up with Cardinal…"So basically, you're working for him," she said and gave him a cheeky grin.

At the mention of not liking armor, Madalena raised an eyebrow. She couldn't recall him ever not wearing armor, at least, not before now. That was a grand thing to come clean about, she figured. She could understand what he meant though. "I was the same for a long time," came her own admission, "but I got tired of collecting scars."

Now that they were on her ship and she was in just the T shirt, the scar on her arms showed; the scars of many battles, most of them long enough ago for the scars to appear in their permanent final stage. It was the same underneath her clothes. Everything except her back, scarred. Her back… Smooth and clean as that of a baby's.

"I don't really like the strike armor," she admitted with a shrug, "I mean, it's great and stuff. But I feel more comfortable in my own. It also has a very different psychological effect on the battle field. The green glow combined with the eyes and the lightsaber really does some of the work for me before I get in with the pointy sharp stuff."

He wanted to show her something?

Her gaze followed him as he made his way towards the bag, the amount of weapons in it almost making her drool. She wanted to take them all out of the bag and play with them, see how sharp each was, what the balance was. The girl just loved her weapons.

And out came the spear. She jumped from her chair so she could take a closer look, her eyes going from the blade to the handle and back. "Kuumwa," she repeated the word, "what language is that in? I don't think I recognize it."

Holding her hand out, the Sithling asked for permission to touch and hold it. She'd never thrown spears before. The ship wasn't the place to start, but just holding it for a bit would give her at least some sense of how it could be used in hands like hers.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Madalena's cheeky response left Cardinal with a brief chuckle. "Some days it feels like that." He said. Although he would not admit it Cardinal did enjoy having Journey around. Some days the small Shard was just enough company to be worth the pain in the ass. When Madalena said she grew tired of collecting scars, Cardinal smiled at her. "Each scar is a memory. A story telling the world how you cheated death when it tried it's hardest to claim you....Or just a bad mistake in a stupid plan." He held his hand out, taking Madalena's arm and tracing his finger over a few of the faded scars. The Dominus eyes would seem to flicker all be it briefly as the Force surged between the two. Through his mind an image would flash and he would vividly see a beast, clawing it's way to eliminate the woman who stood beside him. "They're nice." He smiled, before finally letting her arm go. Cardinal's own arms had their share of scars. Though most were faded and it had been some time since a blade pierced his skin, those he had were rugged and wide, as if coming from a far more vicious weapon than a blade.

Cardinal could understand wanting your armor to be just right. Perhaps if he had been more involved in the construction of his armor he would appreciate it more. The man placed a hand on his chin while considering her words. "As long as you are defended, that's all that matters."

When Madalena took the blade, repeating it's name the older man chuckled a bit. "It is Sulu. The language of the Sandali." It was not likely that Madalena would know of the Sandali. They were an old, yet proud, race of warriors that was only known to frequent one planet. They were also Cardinal's ancestors and it was their laws that ended up creating his clan. "The Sandali were the ancient warriors of my father's father. Although I think most of them have died out now. This spear was one of the few in my village that was passed down from their line." He tapped the tip of the spear before smiling at Madalena. "Have you ever used a short spear before?" He asked, the sly smirk on his face betraying him before he knew it. Cardinal produced another matching spear from his bag and stood to his full height, gesturing for Madalena to join him in the center of the room. "Here, I'll show you something."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Each scar was a memory. Madalena looked down at her arms, where the current most visible scars were. Many of them were old enough to a point where they looked pretty much like they always would; scars that happened because she had no protective gear and had not gotten to bacta or kolto on time. But… Not all of them came with memories. Only with a few of them she had distinctive memories, knowing where she'd gotten them and from who or what. It felt… Odd.

She remained quiet, following Cardinal's move with her gaze, as he took her arm and traced over the scars that adorned it. The mere touch was enough to send a rising heat from beneath her skin and she blinked in slight confusion, her attention distracted only by the rise of the feeling of the Force in the room. Even Baal was eerily quiet. "Thank you," she whispered as her gaze returned to the scars? Nice? Was that something you said about scars? And "what did you just do?" The inquisitive woman asked, looking at his face again. "I felt the Force at work," she explained herself.

The language for the spear's name. Sulu. Madalena nodded, committing it to memory. She'd never heard the name before, nor did she have an inkling as to what the Sandali were. "Where are the Sandali from?" she asked, "what was the village like?" Cardinal had said the magical words. Ancient warriors. That was enough for Madalena's interest to be spiked and to open the door for a whole lot of questions about those people. She knew all about ancient warriors. Well, not entirely true, she knew a lot of about story crafting for ancient warriors, which was something else, but if there was something that was real? That was rooted in history and not in childish fables? She wanted to know more about it all.

To the question of her having used a short spear before, she shook her head. She'd never even used a long spear before. Not that it kept her from getting speared when things got bad enough on a battle field, but that didn't count since that was only being on the receiving end of it. On the giving…

Cardinal's smirk was contagious. She was smirking right back at him, standing with excitement in the center of the room. "Is this safe to use on a ship this size?" Madalena asked with some concerned mixed into the excitement. The last thing they needed to do was breach the hull. The spear was in her hand and she twirled it around like a staff, feeling the balance of it. It felt good. It felt like something that belonged in her hands, though that wasn't a hard thing to do since almost every sort of weapons belonged there.

"Baal, get out of here," she gave her beast companion an order. No. Baal could not be around and potentially get speared. Her own body as a rag doll was fine. Her friend? No. Not as long as she had any form of control over the situation. Thankfully, Baal complied immediately.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Madalena was understandably confused by what Cardinal had done. It made sense since the man had not explained the technique in any great detail. "Everything in the galaxy is tethered through the Force. Even our memories and the things they are attached to. Although it's never an exact skill you can use this technique to read the memories of a certain item or even a scar." He said, gesturing down to her arm with the tip of his spear. "Sometimes in meditation I use the technique to focus on my short comings in battle. I can vividly remember just why I earned that scar, so next time I won't bare one."

When Madalena asked about the Sandali, Cardinal paused as he searched his own memory. In actuality the true origins of the Sandali as well as a detailed history of them was never accessible to Cardinal. Even as a guardian to his clan he had learned only bits and pieces of the truth.

"The Sandali were shadow warriors born on a world torn in The Force. They believed that only the strong could truly understand the power of The Force." Cardinal rested his spear on his shoulder while his eyes seemed to fade off into a distant memory. "The Sandali warriors were considered some of the strongest the galaxy had ever seen. I think my clan was all that was left of their bloodline, but im honestly not sure." When it came to the topic of his village, Cardinal could only think of one word that best described it. "Feral. The Skor clan believed in blood and battle. Every enemy who was killed brought honor to our clan and our ancestors."

"We were the smallest clan, but the most dangerous." Cardinal said, not lacking in a bit of pride.

They moved to the center of the room and Cardinal tapped the spear over his shoulder softly. "Perfectly safe. The Sandali used short spears so they could capitalize on speed while still using their strength in powerful jabs." Cardinal stepped over to Madalena and tapped the tip of her spear softly. "The spear is meant to be used in extreme close quarters. Mixing it with hand to hand combat makes for a deadly combination." Cardinal stepped back in front of Madalena and held his spear out in a defensive stance. His spear ran parallel to the floor and in a flash he twirled the smaller weapon with a good degree of skill. "Get used to the weight, learn to let it flow as if it was a whip." As he whipped the spear around, allowing his hand to slide down the base of the spear it would become obvious the weapon almost seemed to mesmerize it's opponent as it moved. Cardinal stepped forward and locked his arm around Madalena's spear arm, his own spear rising up and baring toward's the woman's throat. The movement was slow and deliberate so she could see the movements used.

"It's a perfect way to bypass enemy defenses, especially when they are not expecting you to engage them with a spear. Not like this."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]