How to Skin a Wookie

[Scherezade deWinter]

"You mean Psychometry?" Madalena asked, "I've read about it before, it just seemed like something too advanced for me to try out yet. I'm better with the physical and blood related stuff rather than the mental ones." She nodded to the rest. Learning from experience. It made sense in more ways than one, but she wasn't sure she wanted to remember where each scar was from anyway. Not everything was worth remembering.

"They sound a lot like a bunch of Sith Warriors," she said with a smile as Cardinal explained about the Sandali. "Which world was that?" If the clan existed, or at least existed when Cardinal was already born and spent his earlier years, it sounded like one worth visiting as well.

"So the spear is close-range," Madalena nodded, feeling the weight of it again, following Cardinal's movement with her eyes. "No javelin-like tossing." Carefully, she put to memory what he was doing, how the spear moved in his hands until it was close to her throat. He was right. She hadn't expected that.

The grin on the Sithling's face went wide. While the focus was on their spears and hands, she shot her leg out, aiming to kick Cardinal behind the knee to unbalance him, and tossed the spear from her left arm into the right. It paid to be ambidextrous. While she doubted she would actually land a hit, especially so soon, she was still careful. The point was training, not stabbing your boss.

Mid-motion, she realized she still had to adjust to the length. While it was a short spear, it was still a spear, and longer (and lighter) than the swords she usually carried. The point of the spear wasn't anywhere in position to cause any actual sort of damage, though its grip length was good enough for more than a few dry hits. Or at least would be, if she could any through.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

When Madalena said the Sandali sounded like Sith warriors the man chuckled a bit. "Actually the Sandali extremely respected the Jedi way. Although their culture was built on war and combat most of them did not fall to the Dark Side." Cardinal explained. When the question of where the Sandali's home came up, Cardinal shook his head. "I don't know and I'm not sure I will ever know."

Cardinal took a step back and nodded at Madalena's words, yet he quickly reversed himself. "Well this spear can be used in different ways but the warriors of the Skor clan never threw it. It would have left us disarmed." A hard slam impacted the back of Cardinal's knee, causing his leg to shoot forward, however the larger man was not as put off as would be expected. He watched Madalena switch hands with the spear and his own would come down in a fast arch, slapping the base of her spear and creating a notch in the staff. "You'll get used to the length and you'll appreciate the distance you can gain with a spear."

With a brief smile Cardinal batted Madalena's spear out of the way before stepping forward, closing the distance between them. "The goal is the heart!" He said, aiming his spear for a jab at her chest. There was the control and discipline so if the woman did not move or block his attack it would stop just short of her chest, but the force was fast and impressive. With his long arms and strong physique the spear was an impressive weapon, however it did create large pockets of openings as he moved. No matter how fast he was, he could not protect his neck while he attempted to lunge forward.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Never throw the short spear, or you'd be left disarmed. Madalena couldn't really get behind such a notion; she usually fought with at least twelve blades at any given moment, and even without them, she had the Force to fall back on, but she thought she understood what Cardinal meant.

Regarding the reach with the length of a spear… Well, that was something that would be easier to test outside of her small ship. For now though, she called the spear back into her hands after Cardinal slapped it out of them.

As his own spear came towards her heart, the Sithling's middle twisted and she moved back, just narrowly avoiding the pointy end. Did she think he'd actually hurt her? No, not really, not now, but mistakes could always happen.

Madalena let the spear drop from her hands then, and just as she used the Force to control her Czerka knives, so did she do now, moving it with telekinesis to slide between Cardinal's back and "knock" on his back. Just between the third and the fourth rib. Gently.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

The Dominus stepped forward, pressing his assault forward. He chuckled softly as he felt The Force move around him. He felt the soft tip of a blade press into his back and he could not help but smile. "Well done." He said, yet as he glanced down, Cardinal took notice of the spear that laid at Madalena's feet. It was brief, instant, yet in the next moment the spear would fly into the air, pressing softly against Madalena's abdomen. "Better not to drop your weapon where an enemy can get to it." Cardinal lowered both spears. Placing one over his shoulder while the second flew to his extended hand.

"I'm considering reforging this spear." He said, holding up the ancient spear of his people with an expectant look. "It's my weapon of choice." Cardinal walked over to his bag, kneeling down so he could stow his spears back inside. The weapons inside were mostly odd-shaped or non-traditional to the galaxy's standard. The Dominus mostly used sword, but it seemed there were a few maces in as well.

Once he had stowed his weapons, the man took a seat where he had been only a moment before they started their fight. "Kashyyyk. I did not think I'd be going there unless war called me." In the back of his mind Cardinal knew a war on such a planet would be something he would practically enjoy. The warrior could move through a lush jungle in twice the speed most normal men could and can scale a tree with incredible grace. Of course, the tree would have to be rather sturdy to handle his weight.

"I hope we'll see some Wookies."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Well done. Madalena beamed at the compliment and nodded. No, she wasn't going to leave the weapons next time; most often, she fought with several blades in the air, though this spear thing was completely new to her. Obviously, she was going to have to practice a lot more before it would be a viable weapon for her to use in actual battle, but she was definitely going to add it to her list of weapons.

Her eyes followed curiously as Cardinal returned to his bags, and she took note of the various weapons he had hidden there. A small part of her wanted to gently shove him aside so she could sit there instead and play with all the toys, but Madalena held back with a grin. There'd be enough time to play later on.

As he took his place on the couch again, the Sithling bounced to sit right next to him. Baal came back almost instantly and put his head on her lap, earning well deserved scratches behind the ears and pets, and even a single kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Why is that, actually?" she asked with interest as she looked at him, "I mean, you do get time off. The Confederacy has an alliance with the Silvers, so there's nothing barring you from entering their space, especially if you have no intent of sabotage."

Leaning her chin on her hand, Madalena looked at Cardinal. "So why did you never prioritize this?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Madalena came to sit by Cardinal and the man offered her a welcoming smile. There was something about her that almost disarmed him. It was...unsettling and for the briefest of moments his smile did falter. Cardinal could not understand his own mind on the matter but he decided against saying anything. Instead he leaned over, to run a hand along Baal's back. When Madalena asked about Cardinal's mind towards leaving to Kashyyyk the man shook his head with a chuckle. "Always work to be done. Usually on my time off I don't leave Confederate space." There was more to it than that. Cardinal worried for The Confederacy to the point where he would seldom leave it's borders. It was the hope and wish of his brother that the lands go untouched and he shared that sentiment.

"I prioritize my time for things that matter a bit more." He shrugged, seemingly shaking off the thought.

"I know it sounds kind of obsessive, but Isle- The Vicelord saved my life and more. I couldn't repay that debt with a thousand years of loyalty. All I know is he's passionate about The Confederacy so I will do anything to protect it. When it's finally my time to become one with The Force I'll know I did all I could to even my debt." There was not sorrow in his words, instead a determination and pride that Cardinal gained from following his own specific code of honor. For a man who believed in nothing but self-sacrifice personal ventures seemed so odd.

"But." He interjected, offering Madalena a reassuring smile. "I am enjoying spending time with you. It's nice to be someone more than the "Dominus Prime." He said. "Every time I see someone it's Dominus this, Dominus that...I'd almost forgot I had a name before I heard you say it." He chuckled a bit before glancing down to Baal. "And you as well, my furry friend." He rubbed a hand over the back of Baal's neck before glancing up at Madalena. "See? You even helped me make a friend of Baal. You have some serious talent there Madalena."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

As Cardinal ran his hands along Baal's neck, the little Loth pupper barked happily and jumped from where he was, nestling himself between the two mostly human adults. His tail wagged violently from side to side, indicating just how much joy he was feeling from getting that sort of attention from two people at once and he barked happily once more, drawing a soft laugh from Madalena.


Moving her gaze to Cardinal, Madalena listened quietly as e explained about his free time, the debt he owed the Vicelord, and almost forgetting he had a name.

"You can't protect the Confederacy if you're dead," she said gently, "down time is no less important than up-time. It's where we refill our energies and our drive to be amazing. I could toss some datapads with research on the matter in your direction if you don't believe me."

Or at least, she was going to have to find them first. She hadn't actually done the research, but the knowledge was in her mind all the same. Someday, she'd ponder on that. Now was not the time.

Baal turned on the couch, lying on his back now, his head on Cardinal's lap and his still violent tail on Madalena's.

"You need more friends," the Sithling said with a wide grin, "obviously I can't call you Cardinal while we're at the Citadel or doing Knights Obsidian business. But you need a break from being the big Knight Honcho. And having friends helps with that. I can introduce you to some nice Confederates that aren't Obsidian and you might get along with. Socializing is important for people like us."

Madalena paused herself, realizing what it could potentially sound like. Looking at Cardinal again, she smiled right up until Baal thwacked her face with his tail and she laughed, moving it away.

"And like I told you last time," she added, "you're always welcome to stop by my ship. You're fun to be around, and I'm sure we're about to have a blast on Kashyyyk as well."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

As Madalena spoke Cardinal was not quite sure if he believed that down-time was as important as up-time but he did know rest was required. The man got plenty of rest in his spare time, however he could believe more socialization could not hurt. When it came to Cardinal needing more friends he simply remained silent. He wasn't quite so sure he needed more friends. Perhaps it would have been nice but he did not need them to survive or fight for The Confederacy. Madalena suggested introducing him to some friends and Cardinal simple laughed in response. "Let's just enjoy Kashyyyk." He scratched at Baal's neck. The young Loth wolf certainly seemed to love the attention.

Cardinal looked up when he felt a certain pull. It was something he was familiar with and what it marked. His sunburnt eyes beamed for a moment as he looked over to Madalena. "We're here." His lips spread into a thing smile while he joined Madalena and made their way to the cockpit.

As they descended down towards the planet Cardinal could feel the open rush that came with worlds like this. It was so swallowed by life that The Force almost seemed to actively flow around the world. Closing his eyes for a moment he reached out with The Force, drinking in the world before him. As they drifted closer to the planet Cardinal placed his hands on Madalena's shoulders. "Have you ever seen a world like this?" He muttered. The man stepped aside from Madalena while clasping a hand over his chin. He wondered just what his brother would have thought about him finally veering off his path and actually doing something he enjoyed. There would likely be an insufferable comment in there somewhere, but that was to be expected.

While the ship drifted closer to the planet, Cardinal made his way back into the room that he and Madalena had been in. He was excited, so much so that he could not shake the wide smile on his face. Cardinal muttered something to himself, though it was probably a little louder than he intended. "Leo itakuwa mpya."

Cardinal took his short spear and a small leather tether. After strapping it to his back he would turn to face Madalena. "Show me how you hunt." Cardinal's voice was engaging. His words were half temptation and half challenge as he looked to Madalena with an expectant look.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena grinned when Cardinal announced they were there. Sure, she could take the hint; no more nagging about his need to socialize. Perfectly reasonable, she'd just have to find a more indirect way to get him to meet and hang out with more people. Nothing she hadn't done before to others who weren't overly against it.

Jumping from her place in the couch, much to Baal's dismay, Madalena ran to her room to get dressed. She wasn't in the mood for usual armor wear, but her regular leather pants were definitely a yes. A matching top, the regular boots, and then she ran back to the room Cardinal was going to be sleeping in to pick her weapons up. Within minutes she was ready, armed to the teeth as usual. This was going to be fun.

The look on Cardinal's face once they were outside made it all worth it. "Smell it," she encouraged with a grin. There was an earthy scent to Kashyyk, something that set it apart from other nature-heavy worlds. It was one of the very few ones that Madalena didn't out right dislike.

And now the hunt was on.

Madalena darted forward, Baal at her heel, having no doubt that Cardinal would either be right behind her, or beside her soon enough. The gigantic trees that made up the area were huge, their roots sprawling down, their branches big enough to build villages on. Madalena loved it!

Without pause, she jumped over the railway. She and Baal slid down the roots, making their way the hundreds of feet it was to the actual ground. If Cardinal wanted a hunt, he was going to get his hunt; the ground was where the dangerous beasts were, where giant spiders and other sorts of monsters lurked.

Turning to Cardinal, she flashed him a huge smile as two Czerka knives slid into her hands, "Come on Baal, show Cardinal what an awesome pupper you are," she grinned, "can you find us a big hairy spider to kill?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

The first step onto Kashyyyk had left Cardinal with an almost juvenile smile on his face. It felt as if the entire world was alive and calling to him. The clearing they had settled in would equally work as a camp ground. The man ran a hand over his braided hair with a brief chuckle coming out. As Madalena launched forward into the jungle, Cardinal let out an amused laugh. She was encouraging. The man stretched his body, drawing his back into a deep stretch until an audible pop echoed out. In the next moment his black boots slammed into the ground and he charged forward. As Cardinal moved his eyes almost seemed to haze over, moving at rapid speeds as he kept up with the scenery before him. Every branch, every twig, each vine he encountered was dodged or use with a certain skill.

As his foot slammed into the hard jungle floor he kept his spear held tightly in his hand. He was eager to see just what this world had. Wide eyes soaked in the canopy of trees that kept them shielded from the full force of the Kashyyyk sun and it was not long until a bead of sweat fell from Cardinal's brow.

His hand reached up as he caught onto a passing branch, allowing him to vault himself in the air, landing a few meters beside Baal and Madalena. As the others came to a stop Cardinal slammed into a tree, his legs bracing against the branch as he leaped back onto the jungle floor. He gave his spear a playful spin before smirking at Madalena. "Spiders?" Cardinal smirked at the thought before spinning his spear and briefly placing it in the tether. He grabbed onto a vine, climbing up with an almost animalistic grunt. Wrapping his arm around the vine he hung there silently, nearly four meters off the ground as his eyes scanned the terrain. Kashyyyk was a lush world that filled most of the view of the surrounding are. "I like spiders..." He muttered with a brief lick of his lips.

Whether it was Baal who saw the shimmer in the distance or Cardinal was not quite clear. Yet in a flash of a moment the Loth wolf would bound off into the brush while Cardinal cut the vine over him, allowing him to slam into the ground next to Madalena. "He's got something. Let's run it down." He said enthusiastically, running forward following loosely after Baal.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

He liked spiders! Madalena beamed at Cardinal, nodding in enthusiasm. There was something regal and majestic about those creatures that she loved too, though not a speck of that beauty would keep her from slaughtering one of their kind. The bigger, the better and more inviting it was for the Sithling and her blades.

Cardinal ran forward after Baal found something, and Madalena quickly joined him. She wasn't just running. With a combination of the Force and the freedom that ran through her veins at that moment, she was quite literally leaping, making huge banana-shaped jumps, landing every few dozen feet or so before taking the next jump, keeping more or less in pace with him.

It was in the middle of her seventh or eight jump that Madalena realized what had been gleaming in the distance; a gigantic spider web, taking over the area from tree to tree, ensuring none would pass through the air. Grinning madly, the Pathfinder spun her body just in time to land against the web, her back now firmly glued to it, though her hands remained free. Baal barked from the ground.

"Guess I just alerted a bigg-butted spider to come have its meal," she shouted to both Baal and Cardinal, "you guys ready?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Long before Cardinal reached the mass of webs he slowed down his charge forward, as did Baal who seemed wary of the silken material. Less wary was Madalena who leaped up and into the sticky grasp of the web. Cardinal could not help but chuckle at how care free she was. Even in the literal lair of the spider she was not worried of what was to come. Cardinal flourished his short spear, giving it a brief testing of it's weight. It had been a long time since he'd handled such a light weapon but it was still familiar to his grasp. His crimson eyes rose to meet Madalena and he gave her a quick nod before scanning over the web. He could not see the spiders that had disappeared into the shadowy canopies only moments ago, but he could sense their presence, their hunger. They sought to make a meal of Madalena. Cardinal pressed his foot onto one of the webs, testing it's adhesiveness. Almost immediately his foot sealed to the silk and he could tell it was not something you'd want to get wrapped into. His spear came down in a fluid strike, freeing his foot from the web.

Click Click Click. Echoed out above them, drawing Cardinal's attention. He could hear Baal's barks of warning as the giant arachinds began to descend from the canopies. The creature's were large and imposing, their spinners allowing them to descend onto the crown of their web. Three of the black creatures began to press their skinny legs against the web, making the long descent down to where their prey was locked, or so they believed.

Those deep clicks caused Carinal to lick his lips once again. Maybe a stew... He mused, considering just the best way to have the spiders served up in a meal. The spiders descent was paced and they seemed to be watching closely for Cardinal, their sickly crimson eyes peering down at him warily.

"They're taking too long." Cardinal muttered, before looking to Madalena with an almost wry smile. "I'll go ahead. You just hang out with baal." He did it, he actually did something he did not believe he was caapble of, the Dominus Prime told a joke. Cardinal bent his knees, calling the force into his legs as he leaped up past Madalena. His arms hand hands reached out, catching a line of the silken web as he landed. With his spear hand and one leg free he was still able to lean and allow him some ability to strike out, but when he looked to his other hand it was fastened securely to the net. "At least I won't fall." Two of the spiders paused, gazing at the man with hungry eyes while a third gave him a wide berth, still heading for Madalena. Cardinal paid the spider little mind as one of it's brothers lashed out with a loud set of clicks. It's giant hair leg swatted at Cardinal's shoulder, trying to slap him against the web, but Cardinal slashed out with the head of his spear, cutting through the arachnids leg. As the beast let out a loud screech Cardinal chuckled and spun his spear over in his hand. "You're meaty. You'd make a good stew!" He lashed out once again, trying to find another limb to carve through.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She heard the clicking of the spider as well, heard Baal's warning bark, and all the Sithling could do was smile as she looked in the direction it was coming from. The soft vibrations of the spider webs that held her sent excitement through her curvaceous body, and she kept looking around, trying to guess where the spider would be coming from rather than use the Force to try to locate it. Sometimes, surprises were fun.

They were taking too long? She cocked her head, wondering what Cardinal meant by that, but then he made his joke and Madalena's froze, realizing it was the first time she'd ever heard him crack one. It was a few moments before the corners of her mouth spread into a wide smile again and she laughed, causing the web she was caught in to vibrate again.

The vibrators came into view and Cardinal was now glued partially to the web as well. Apparently he liked to play with high steaks as well, though the thought of spider stew… Actually no, scratch that, Madalena was willing to try it at least once.

Her hands still free, she picked the lighter of out of her pants and turned it on. It was a small flame and she was no elementalist, but, a small flame was all she actually needed. "The fire that burns, Mother Nature's domain. It is great power that I require now. Give me the power over the flames, guide them to where I aim," she mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes at the phrasing of the spell. While she was not a huge fan of spellcasting of this sort, she was not going to deny that they were useful from time to time, though she could probably do with different wording.

The small flame from her lighter burst beautifully and grew into a small ball from which arrows of fire came. Some of them flew to random directions, but Madalena split those that were under her control into two; half towards the spiders, and half towards where the web met the trees to cling to them. It would be a few minutes before the web was entirely released and they all fell to the ground together.

"Hope you're ready for a good exto-skeleton stabbing!" she yelled to Cardinal from where she was still glued, her laughter easy to hear over the clicking of the spider legs.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Cardinal hissed at the spider before him, swinging his spear to slice into the creature's face as it grew closer. As the blade cut into the flesh, the spider gave off a loud squeal. Almost immediately, Cardinal leaned back, only to shift his body forward and lunge directly into the spider's head. His spine tightened in pleasure as he heard the sound of a clean impalement. His lips curled into a tight smile as he muttered. "Ayayaya..." He muttered, before leaning back, ripping the spear through the spider's head. The man let out a brief laugh before he glanced over to the other spiders moving above him. They let out terrified shrieks which caused Cardinal to look down below him.

Fire.

Kark. It seemed Madalena had a more...efficient way of destroying the spiders.

Cardinal looked back up, glancing around for a moment before he realized something. He looked to his hand which was tightly fastened to the webbing before him. He was stuck.

"Oh...This isn't good." While the rest of the spiders attempted to flee from the fires that were slowly moving along the web. Cardinal pushed his feet against the webbing but it refused to free itself from him. Around him the fires were slowly releasing the web from the massive trees they had been attached to. As the web began to shift Cardinal cursed audibly, spinning his short spear around in his hand before launching it into a nearby tree. It would not due to fall on that.

In the next moment a loud snap could be heard, the final webbing had been released. So they fell.

Cardinal had formulated a plan and although he did not like it, it had ended up working. As they fell towards the ground, Cardinal grabbed the corpse of the spider he had just slain. Since it had stuck itself to the web it was close enough to be of use to him. Together they fell towards the ground until finally.....Slam!

The mess of ichor and guts that spilled all over Cardinal was certainly an unfortunate byproduct of his plan. The Spider he had landed on had all but exploded under him, leaving a thick coating of blood and matter on him. When he finally pushed himself up, Cardinal was covered in some of the webbing. Pulling the webbing from him he was forced to keep his mouth closed until he could finally wipe the mess from his face. Once he did, he bent over, grabbing what was left of the spider's corpse and looking up, calling to Madalena with a wry smirk. "Hungry?"

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena had been so focused on guiding her plethora of fire arrows that she had not realized that Cardinal was stuck to the web, which was a shame, since had she known, she could've easily directed some of her arrows to free his hands as well. Still, the flames went where she willed them, and as spider webs weren't flammable but rather melted when faced with such a focus of heat, the web began to become undone bit by bit, the stink of the burning cobwebs more offensive than the smell of cheap burning plastic.

It wasn't too long before the web came apart, and Madalena tumbled to the ground along with Cardinal and a half full of spiders. Cardinal had landed on top of one of the spiders, causing it to explode, but Madalena had landed in a twirl of sticky webs, effectively cocooning her. It took her longer than she wanted to admit before she could control her remaining arrows to make an opening for her, and there was still more than enough cobwebs in her hair and on the back of her armor and pants by the time she was done. Still, she was free.

Her knives flew from her, sent forward to do her biding as they cut and slashed off the legs of the two other spiders that had fallen nearby; thankfully, they were smaller, and the knives sliced through like butter. But there was probably a fully grown one still lurking above in the trees, if not more than one.

Madalena looked at Cardinal and burst laughing, seeing him covered in ichor and spider gunk. Walking up to him, she ran her finger along the bridge of his nose, removing some of it, and then gave it a lick.

Her face instantly convulsed like a child tasting sour lemon for the first time in their lives, and she made haste to spit it out.

"Ichor tastes like crap," she said when her taste buds felt slightly less violated, "can you make the meat taste good?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Sunburnt eyes watched as Madalena dispatched the final two spiders. With a hollow shriek they fell to the ground, thrashing in some vain hope to move away from their deaths. When Madalena let out a thick roar of laughter Cardinal simply shook his head, pulling off a thick mass of Ichor from his shoulder. When Madalena got closer, licking at some of the Ichor that dripped under his nose Cardinal watched her with an amused chuckle. “The Ichor has it's uses but we usually don't eat it.” With the spider draped over his shoulders, Cardinal eyed Madalena as he considered her question. “Probably not better than what you could make, but I have a nice stew I can whip up.” He explained.

The forest surrounding Cardinal and Madalena began to shift ever so slightly. A soft pulse of the Force cried out, an indication as to the thick mass of life that surrounded them. Cardinal's eyes closed as he inhaled, drinking in everything that surrounded them with all of his senses. It felt good to hunt, to kill, to live. How long had it been since the former tribesman had sought out prey and took it's life, spoke the prayer of the Sandali, and ate a meal he himself had earned by right of death. He said nothing as his eyes opened, for just a moment it almost appeared as if they glowed a bit brighter than usual. Cardinal glanced over to Madalena before walking over to another of the nearby spiders. It had already passed out from the loss of blood it had suffered. Cardinal hoisted it over his shoulder as well just before he looked to the final one. Soon that one too was in his arms, yet he quickly tossed it over to the woman.

“Buibui.” As they walked along the path that led them to the spiders, Cardinal had finally said something. When he spoke his voice seemed to dip deep into his roots, the deep rough tone he took easily identifiable as his mother tongue. “It means spider in Sandali.” He explained to the woman while still pulling off the covering of Ichor that plagued him. “When I was a boy. We would hunt spiders in the caves on the other side of the river. They were a bit bigger than these. There was one warrior, Jabaqi, he would yell out ‘Bui!’ until they came out of the cave. So we ended up naming him Bui. He loved spiders, he used to try to ride them… He spent a lot of time with the Healers.”

“Every one of the warriors we fought with had some weird ass name. I guess it was kind of tradition?” Cardinal said, not quite sure or perhaps not remembering just why all the warriors had elected to name each other.

It did not take long before the two had made it back to Madalena's ship. Cardinal tossed the ruined spider down onto the ground. A good deal of it's Ichor and guts had leaked out so it was unappetizingly skinny. Pulling his spear from where he had strapped it on his back the man Bent down, looking the creature over carefully. “Let's see here…” He muttered before the spear cut the creature right between two of it's legs. After giving a few paced cuts, Cardinal was able to rip one of the legs out in it's entirety. Cardinal sat down, leaning his back against the spider he was dismantling. “Let's see if it's good.” The nan bit down into the exposed spider meat, that had not yet been tainted by the ichor. He took a healthy bite before nodding up at Madalena. “Not bad, chewy.”

Tossing the leg back onto the spider, Cardinal glanced over to one of the nearby trees. “Lets make a fire.” The man stood up, before glancing down at himself. Still covered in Ichor he glanced back to see the print he had left on the back of the spider. Cardinal paused before pulling at the leather tunic he wore. His bronze skin had some traces of the green liquid but he quickly worked to wipe it away with the cleaner parts of his tunic. “You come here a lot? Because of the Jedi?” He tossed the tunic next to the spiders before turning to the nearest cluster of trees he could find, picking of a few large sticks.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Ichor is not food," Madalena laughed, "check."

At the offer of stew, her mouth watered. While their small trip thus had been a short one, there was nothing like a good enemy killing to work her appetite up. But when Cardinal closed his eyes to inhale the jungle, her own eyes focused on him, a wide smile on her face. She had taken a gamble by offering to bring him here – and so far, it seemed it had paid off. He appeared to be loving it, and she was having a tremendous time seeing him so happy.

And Baal too, of course.

Spiders in her hands, she blinked. Buibui? What did that mean? He knew she did not understand his language. Thankfully though, he told her what it meant before she could ask about it. With it came a memory, drawing another smile from her.

"It sounds like a good tradition to have if I'm any judge," she smiled, "we didn't get to do stuff like that on Coruscant. Anything that isn't the Underworld there is so clean and proper that if you want to see an insect you actually have to travel down into the slums. My parents had a fit every time Brayden and I made the attempt."

En route to her ship, she glanced backwards, wondering for a moment if it wouldn't have been better to just start a fire in the jungle. Sure, jungles were humid, but she was sure that between the two of them they could get a proper burn going.

"So what was your weird ass name?" she asked as she hopped on a tree trunk, her legs kicking almost childishly into the air as she did so. She was pretty sure To'Kala was not a weird ass name that he was referring to. So there must have been something else, because everything about Cardinal screamed warrior from almost birth, and she was not about to ask if it had ever been any different.

The Sithling called one of the spider legs to her through the Force, looking atit. Cardinal had done the cleaning, but she was still not completely sure. Weren't spiders supposed to be nasty? Closing her eyes, she lowered her head, and sucked the meat out of the leg.

Madalena opened her eyes.

"What…" she said in amazement, calling another leg to her, sucking it dry in moments. "I did not expect spider flesh to be this yummy," she said with a mouth full before swallowing. And as she was enjoying the spider meat in her mouth, Cardinal had offered to make a fire. She nodded to him, taking another mouthful of the strangely sweet yet not too sweet meat. "Hey can we find some spider eggs? Omlettes sound good right about now."

And to his question, she nodded again, though this time she chewed properly before swallowing.

"Yup," she answered with a smile, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, "My best friend is a Master of the Order, and the Silvers have their headquarters here. He also lives near it. He's like family to me, the good kind family. So if I'm not scheduled to work, I'm usually her roughly half of my free time."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

It took no time at all for the man to erect a flame not far from their own ship. Cardinal had taken to cleaning and stripped the spiders as best he good. The damned things were huge but the meat on them was sparse and precious, especially these which were not yet full grown. He cut at them with his spear, an easy and steady had that showed some experience, yet the result was not as good as he had hoped. He was out of practice. Still, in a short time he had a nice stack of meat to be placed in the stew. They'd brought what they needed to cook, which helped them save some time. Before long the stew was under way and the man stood over it with hungry eyes.

“My weird ass name…” He muttered, pursing his lips as he struggled to remember. It had been a long time ago. Finally his lips pulled into a soft smile. “Witu.” He said, glancing up at the woman as she kicked her legs over him. His mood was good and it reflected in his tone and even his body. He seemed younger and more full of life than ever, even if there was still something missing. “Among my village I was one of the smaller warriors. I couldn't stand to be underestimated so I took to...extremes to prove that I was just as much a warrior as my brothers. They would say the things I did were Witu, Wild. That's how I got my name.” The story brought fond memories of a life decades past, but even now Cardinal smiled at the thought of his younger self.

When Madalena tried some of the spider flesh, the man nodded enthusiastically. “Right?” He said in agreement. He recovered his spear before looking to the woman. “Sure, there are probably some back near the web. If they didn't burn to bits.” He said, with a chuckle. He gestured for Madalena to follow him, listening closely as she spoke of the Silvers. His ears did pick one thing up that made him wonder. “A Jedi friend? Now it's not often you see a Sith and a Jedi be friends. Of course the Galaxy is a strange place so….not entirely surprising.” They continued on for a moment before Cardinal could not keep from speaking. “So this friend….like a boyfriend?” He asked, not quite so subtly as he may have thought. Though his own mind was oblivious to it as well.

When they arrived back at the web, a good deal of it had been burned away, however there were a number of spots where large webby spheres laid untouched. Cardinal grabbed a few of them, holding them carefully as they made their way back. “Man if these things pop I will be in a world of chit.” He said silently. There was no telling if the spiders inside were ready to come out and he was not eager to find out. “So who taught you how to fight and hunt?” He asked curiously. “You're as good a warrior as any and your hunting is on par with mine. I guess I'm impressed.”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Witu," Madalena repeated, grinning all the while. It sounded almost whimsical; not a name that she would have guessed the large man had ever been called. Neither could she truly believe he'd ever been among the smallest in anything. But she could easily see how he might have done the crazy things; one did not become the Dominus Prime if they played too safely, even if it was sometimes easy to forget that the man she was currently camping with was over a hundred years old.

"I'd love to hear about some of the wild stuff you did," she grinned before taking another bite from the spider, chewing happily on it.

Yet when Cardinal asked if Josh was her boyfriend, Madalena almost choked, coughing violently as pieces of spider flesh made their way out of her mouth and she spit to the side before recollecting herself.

"Oh Force no," she said, her cheeks blushing, "I had a tiny crush on him when I was twelve and he was best friends with my brother. But that's all there was to it. Over the years we got closer and closer and it's just mutual best friend status, nothing sexual or romantic or like that. I can't imagine my life without him and I want him there until whatever the end is, but just like that – as my best friend. We were childhood friends and he just went Jedi and I just went Sith and neither of those things are reasons to give a friend up."

It took her more than a few moments to recollect herself entirely. It wasn't the first time she'd faced such a question regarding her relationship with Josh, and usually she had no issues explaining that no, it wasn't romantic or sexual, just pure and deeply platonic, so why was she stressing over giving the wrong impression now? It was silly. That's what it was. Silly.

"I don't know," she responded to the last question, "I grew up on Coruscant and there's no hunting there. But when I joined the Confederacy I just picked up some hunting gear and the next thing I know it's almost like second nature sort of a thing. I also did some Force and combat training on Coruscant but I didn't know how good I was at it until I became a Knight Obsidian."

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Once the two got back to the fire, Cardinal handed the eggs off to Madalena so he could see to his stew. It had been composed of various pieces of spider, some nearby growing roots, and some odd crimson spice that Cardinal had tucked into his pocket. As he stirred the stew he would take a glance at Madalena, watching her with a smile. His eyes fell to her waist and backside more than he'd admit, but he could only smile at her. In time the stew was prepared and Cardinal was filling them two bowls of the off-brown liquid. It was incredibly spicy but had a nice body to it. Cardinal held the bowl to his lips, drinking from it healthily before exhaling happily. “Ah!” He said in appreciation for his own cooking.

Pressing his back to the base of a tree, there was no mistaking the calm feeling washing over the man. He was not nearly as rigid or pent up as he usually was, no. He was relaxed in his own element.

“So I struggle to remember...” He said, scratching at his chin. “But when I was younger our village was right next to this cliff. On the underside of the cliff were these huge insects that crawled on four legs and are stuff like fruits and berries.” Cardinal chuckled softly, before looking to Madalena. “So I decided I was going to be the only warrior to ride one. The warriors in my village usually rode some type of mount but these bugs were faster than anything we had.”

“Well to get to the bugs you have to get into their hive under the cliff. My bright idea was to tie a Vine to a nearby tree and swing into the hive. Well, it worked.” He said, picking a stick up and painting a picture in the air for the woman. “I leapt off of the cliff, under it, and smack into their nest….in their brooding pit.” He scratched his chine before setting his bowl to the side and leaning forward. On either side of Cardinal's shoulder were two, faded scars. Razor thin, they were barely noticeable but there. “I got stabbed by about a hundred of their karking kids. You see their feet are like spears, so when something gets on their nerves they just trample it. I got trampled a lot...but luckily the younger they are the more dull the feet.”

“My friends laughed, very hard, for a very long time. That I do remember.”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]