How to Skin a Wookie

[Scherezade deWinter]

Taking the bowl from Cardinal, Madalena smiled as her fingers wrapped around it, enjoying the warmth it had to give. As Cardinal had not said anything about it being spicy, there was no reason for her to be suspicious of the fact it was, and she took a sip from the soup, her face reddening almost instantly. "Oh boy!" Madalena laughed as she reached for her water flask, taking a few good gulps. It was a shame she had no cucumbers; those tended to be better with taking spicy down. She repeated the same actions a few more times, and by the fourth or fifth sip the spiciness no longer required her to get aid, and she could properly enjoy the soup that was given to her.

"This is wonderful," she said with full appreciation as she took another sip, "maybe I should have you cooking regularly in my kitchen," she grinned.

Madalena continued to sip as she listened to Cardinal's childhood tale, her eyes growing wide with the realization that Cardinal had decided to run a giant bug. She even made faces at the sound of it, but let him continue without interruption. Her gaze moved to look at the faint scars on her feet, eyes widening yet again.

"Wait wait wait!" she said as e made it sound like the story was over, "did you get to ride one then?"


[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was no mistaking the smile on Cardinal's face when he heard Madalena say she enjoyed his food. The man did not cook much, but what he did cook was usually pretty good. He drank down a bit more of the soup, chewing the spider meat as he could find it.

When Madalena asked if he had ever gotten a chance to ride one of the colossal insects, Cardinal nodded, though he ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Eventually. It took me more than a few tries.” He remembered the days with some interest, still there were many things he did not enjoy when it came to digging in his past. “Before the Sith captured me….well I kept one of the beasts as a pet. I used to ride his mother and then she…” The man paused when he realized how messed up the last phrase sounded. He chuckled a bit, before shaking his head and clearing his throat. “Anyway, she had an egg that she raised away from the brooding pit and it hatched, so whenever I'd go find her to ride her, her spawn would usually be nearby. It took a long time before she let me go near him. The first time was not pretty.” He admitted.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

He did! He did get to ride one! Madalena did her best to listen to to the tale of how he kept one of the beasts as a pet, did her best not to disturb him with more silly questions about said tale, but when Cardinal began to speak about how he used to ride the beast's mother…

Madalena first snorted. She was really doing her best to keep it in, to not burst into laughter. Yet the more he spoke, the more her mind went back to those words. She pressed her lips together, trying to keep a serious face, but the battle was lost before it even started.

"Cardinal Vi'Dreya, Dominus of the Knights Obsidian, Rider of Mothers!" she finally half screamed out, no longer able to contain it within her. The laughter burst from her and it was loud and free, and a few moments later she had to grip her stomach as the muscles began to ache from the ferocity of the uncontrolled laughs that were still coming out from her.

By the time she'd managed to calm down, her face was wet with tears, and her stomach really hurt. There was a silly grin on her face as she looked at Cardinal. "How was the first time?"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

The next morning​

​

Cardinal let out a deep yawn as he drew his back into a tight stretch. The morning mist was thick in the air as his eyes fluttered open. It was refreshing, to awake surrounded by greenery and wooden columns. He'd strung up a make-shift hammock with a number of vines he'd found in some of the larger trees. The thick green vines were like rope and supported his weight well, even after a night of being severed from their bases.

The man's arms reached to the heavens as he let out another shallow yawn. The Sandali man began to roll out of his stretch and in the next moment his legs had found nothing but air. Just as he flung his body into the air, Cardinal took hold of the vines he had been sleeping from. He hung over where [member="Scherezade deWinter"] had been sleeping and kicked at her own hammock with a sharp whistle. "Madalena. Let's go get some fish." He said in a rather sleepy voice. He wiped his eyes before glancing to the side. Even from here he could see the lake that sat only a mile or so from where they had slept. "I'll show you how to swim today, so let's get over there, loser cooks." He said, jerking his head towards the lake.

Cardinal pulled at the vines in his hands, tugging at them until they snaped in half. Letting go of the vines, he was flung towards the lake, giving him a nice shift into the morning air to wake him up.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Sleeping had been rough. Madalena had actually feared falling asleep on that vine there, not wanting to wake Cardinal up in the middle of the night because of her nightmares, so she'd called Baal over. Baal was mostly nocturnal anyway, and he made certain to wake up her up every half an hour, helping her avoid REM sleep entirely. It was not the best of ways to go about it, but it was the only way she could think of that didn't include bringing an alarm clock to a place where predators would hear it.

She moaned unhappily though when her hammock was kicked. It was only ten minutes since she'd last fallen asleep and she was obviously very tired. The thought of food though sounded nice. It was rare that she got to eat fish, trusting methods of preserving meat much more easier to swallow.

Getting up, another groan escaped her lips, and she stretched her limbs out a little. Normally, announcing a competition was enough to get her going, but she was tired enough to not actually want to dart out of her place, instead opting to walk towards the lake.

The walk did her good; every few steps she woke up a little bit more, and within minutes she was already jogging rather than walking. It didn't take her too long to get to the lake, though it was Cardinal who'd arrived first.

"Guess I'm cooking," she smiled, looking at the waters. She didn't trust deep waters. It was hard to, when you couldn't swim.

Looking at the nearby trees, Madalena yanked off a branch that was straight enough to serve her as a fishing spear, bringing one of her knives out to sharpen its edge. She could hunt for fish in primitive ways; and maybe standing up to her knees in water would quiet her beating heart a little bit.

"Never bothered to check if the fish here is edible though," she warned with a chuckle as she stepped her toes into the waters and fought every instinct to back away immediately, "guess we're about to find out what's safe to eat and what isn't!"

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Cardinal led the way to the waters, eager to see the distance close between himself and the lake. When the route finally came to a close, he found himself staring over the waters of Kashyyyk. This particular lake was exceptionally beautiful and it stretched for miles until the hazy figure of a coast could be seen on the other side. The large man gazed down at the waters with a content expression. The morning mist that rose from the water made the lake practically abstract. Still Cardinal did not turn from it. His hand found a thick vine, which he used to lower himself down to the waters below. The cool, nearly cold, feeling of the water on his feet caused a shiver to rise up his spine, but he did not stop there.

He turned, looking to Madalena with an expectant look. "The waters are perfect." He said, with a wry smirk. They were cold. As could be expected of any morning waters. In a few hours the sun would rise and the waters would begin to release the chill that the night had put to them, but not yet. He waded deeper into the water, glancing back at the woman from time to time. He saw the makeshift spear she had taken in hand and chuckled a bit at the sight. "We're going to swim first, breakfast can wait after you float around a bit."

He held a hand out to her, offering to guide her into the deeper waters. The land seemed to gradually decline into the water, so she would not have to swim just yet, but she would have to dip her body a bit more.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Her toes were in the water. Her toes were in the water. Madalena looked up, the worry all too easy to see on her face. Everything inside her body told her that this was wrong, that one misstep and she would be swept beneath the streams and turrets to drown and rest until the end of times beneath the waters. The beauty of the lake did nothing to quench that feeling.

For a moment, she considered backing out. She knew, she knew that she'd never actually backed out of anything in her adult life, and this would be a first. A bad sort of first, where she would appear weak in front of someone who was both her friend and her boss. But what could she do? She was a city girl much later turned Confederate, and water was not like land of air.

Madalena looked up, only then seeming to register Cardinal's hand and face. She couldn't turn back. Not when he was looking at her like that and offering to help. Carefully, she set her spear aside, and took his hand instead, willing the anxiousness to cease. "If I drown to death, my wolf inherits everything," she said, attempting to make a joke. It wasn't funny. She was petrified.

Closing her eyes, Madalena took another step towards Cardinal, not realizing until it was too late that her bare foot connected with a moss-covered rock under the water, and she lost her balance, arms flailing as she fell forwards, onto Cardinal.

[member="ToKola Bakari"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was certainly something to be said about Madalena's entrance into the waters. It was absolutely hilarious. In fact, had Cardinal not already seen just how much she was fearing this venture, he probably had let her fall into the waters and have a joyous laugh at it. But no, today he would not give this woman a heart attack. He stepped back a bit, but his arms flew forward so he could catch her before she was fully submerged underwater. The waters would rise to her chest, but no higher as he made sure to keep her steady.

"Careful, it's pretty rocky right on the bank so you'll need to watch your step." He told her, his hands pressing into her waist to steady her. He could not help but feel how soft she was, so much so that he still had not let her go. Of course, he quickly realized he was lingering for a moment longer than he intended and finally let her go.

"The water feels really good. Kind of cool, but good." He said, before patting her shoulder softly. "Now, a good thing to start with is floating." Cardinal chuckled before leaning back, allowing himself to float onto the waters. "See? All you have to do is lay back and relax your body and you can float on the water." He even waved his arms a bit so he would float around Madalena.


[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

There might have been a small yelp involved as she fell forward, stopped only by the fact that Cardinal had caught her and kept her from falling straight into the water. Eyes wide with fear, she suddenly realized that the water was actually reaching her chest. She was a tall woman. That meant… They were in deep!

Cardinal's hands around her waist would've normally elicited a flirtatious response from the curvaceous woman. Now, she simply prayed silently that he would not let go, her own arms coming around his shoulders, hanging on for dear life. She did not feel like a beautiful mermaid in that moment; more like a swamp beast, trying not to die.

By the time he'd let her go, Madalena wasn't sure if an eternity had passed, or the span of a single breath. But she was pretty certain that they could've gone on for longer, because now she was standing in the lake, water up to her chest, and she could feel the water ebb and flow beneath the surface, trying to move her body. She liked having full control of her body. She did not like that.

"How can you relax in this?" she asked, the shocked expression open and easy to read on her face.

But still, she had come here to try, so try she would.

Closing her eyes, she attempted to mimic his moves. All Cardinal had done was just lean back. So… She leaned back, only to sink hard into the water. A moment later she jumped, screaming as water snorted out of her mouth and nose, her hair matted against her face.

"Am I broken?" she asked with no small measure of worry as she moved her hair away, "I did the same thing you did! Why didn't it work?"


[member="ToKola Bakari"]