Maybe a Different Breed

[Celestine deWinter]

Her hand reached for the fierce animal, letting it take in her scent as she had approached. Six months had passed since Celestine deWinter had come to Dathomir, the birthplace of her father and the, for all intents and purpose, the homeworld of the Cavataio. It had become so, just as the Cosa Nostra was their base of operations, just as the Cult of Petra was their religion. The Morte clan had grown beyond what it had once been upon its founding by her Nona, grown from a mere Dathomirian clan that stood in the middle yet led by the darkness. This was the foundation of her blood - darkness. A scion of Family of Darkness descended from Sith Lords and Ladies. A burden, and a duty. The rancors didn't care if her blood was blue though, they didn't care if she had a duty or that she represented her families or that she had once been a Hapan Pelin'a. They cared to know her, cared for her to earn their trust.

For a typical businesswoman, it was important to understand only the business side of their company. This is what Mother wished for her to learn but to run Streghe Arx, the challenge lay in earning the trust of the rancors before anything else could be done. Father had taught her centuries ago, bringing her here among them when she had been a child. Those rancors had bred though, grew in numbers and lost them, grew again. Generations had changed while the deWinters had slept and now, she had moved to Dathomir, all so she could gain the trust of the new generations. Six months later, her mission had been accomplished.

Dathomir, however, was much changed since so long ago. For one, the Morte sisters had taught Celestine of the changes within the structure - light and dark representative of the planet, protection of the Mandalorians which had eventually ended. Now, when it came to the Mandalorians, Celestine was rather torn. On one hand, her Mother's repeated lessons spoke of them as the family's enemy, a feud going back to the time of her grandmother Shery deWinter. On the other hand, her paternal family had never had such issue, in fact, some of them have even gone to call themselves Mandalorians so her father had served as a sort of quiet balance to her Mother's teaching even as he knew well Asteria deWinter could not be persuaded to change her mind as her lessons ran too deep. Celestine stood in the middle of that, not born of choice in the middle of these two opinions but carrying the name of the ones funding. In the time she had arrived to the planet, all was quiet and peaceful, she hadn't thought too much of it but when the Mandalorians had come, the clan had been in a chaos of their own. Mandalorians were not supposed to be their enemies. The vast majority of the clan, hidden in their mountain, had remained safe with some willing to go shed blood, some of them victorious and some of them shedding their own blood in the process. Celestine did what felt most natural, she had protected her charges, the rancors.

A tentative quiet followed, their presence somehow remaining. The clan returned to their duties. Crops needed to be grown, rancors needed to be fed, trained and bred. Celestine followed their cue. Then, a change occurred. Quietly, the news had spread of the alterations to the ways of these new Mandalorians. They no longer sought to cure those who wielded the Force and their beliefs in no way affected the Witches. Using the Force was forbidden only on their own planet. Dathomir remained under their protection though even with the changes in place. So, Celestine had sent out a message, inviting a small representation. Strenghe Arx would do business with their protectors if their politics had changed. The very action had most likely caused a stir among the deWinters but among the Cavataio, Celestine knew she would be given approval. However, she sent her message as Celestine Cavataio, an alias that was always at her reach.

Now that she was waiting for them, she did so among her rancors. They would protect her with her life if she gave the command but it was a demonstration of both power and product, all in one. A Witch and Jai were sent to wait for the Mandalorian vessel to bring their guests to the valley beneath the Morte mountain. "It won't be long now," Celestine whispered the male as he had lowered his head, nudging her shoulder as he did so. Among the Witches, it was believed that rancors could, to a point, comprehend what they were being told though only to an extent. They had a sort of language of their own though a Witch could only communicate with them through the use of magic or the Force.

[member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Deram Carid"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Dathomir. ​

​

The planet of woe. ​

Yasha’s greatest tactical mistake. Returning to the planet of the Witches was an attempt at an olive branch her armour belied. If she could begin business relations between the Dathomiri and Mandalore, maybe she could continue healing the broken and shattered bond between their cultures.

The fact that [member="Deram Carid"] wanted rancors made it all the sweeter.

The Mandalorian contingent contained Deram and Yasha, and four Yalilyr. Ambrose and Ka’lo flanked Yasha one step behind her, incapable of leaving the young Mand’alor by herself. It was comforting. As the group was led to Celestine, Yasha pulled off her buy’ce, and held it to her hip. She offered her hand as she approached the fellow woman and her Rancors, they were fantastic creatures, gargantuan and impressive. [member="Celestine deWinter"]

“Celestine Cavataio, thank you for the honour of meeting you. May I introduce Alor Deram Carid? He is most interested in your rancors. How can Mand’alor help?”

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

Deram followed diligently behind Yasha and her contingent. He wore his armor, bright silver and gold covering the surface in decoration, but the matching helmet was tucked under his left arm. Of his usual gear, the tall Mandalorian had little, instead only a pistol on his right hip and a baton on his left. Given this was a meeting, under peaceful pretenses, the warrior felt it prudent to only bring the bare essentials; after all, carrying a full battle armament might send the wrong message, despite how Deram felt about some Force Users.

Nonetheless, the purpose of the visit - at least for Deram - became obvious very quickly, as his eyes looked up to the rancor standing near a humanoid. With a faint smile on his face, the Mandalorian couldn't help but appreciate the specimen before him, seeing the raw power and potential of such a creature. Still, manners and respect were due, and when Yasha introduced the pair, Deram nodded his head in the direction of Celestine...

"I am honored to meet you," Deram said, voice low, eyes holding her own. "Your rancor is impressive. A very fine example of the species."

Perhaps not a great conversation starter, but the tall Mandalorian wasn't necessarily here to speak unless spoken to. After all, while he may be the one interested in attaining some rancors, there were also other elements at play between Yasha and Celestine that were considerably more important to the future. As such, the leader of clan Carid was old enough, and wise enough, to know when to shut up and let the leaders speak...

[member="Celestine deWinter"] | [member="Yasha Mantis"]​

 

[Celestine deWinter]

They had come, the Mandalor surrounded by her protection. They did the same then, the Scion understood as her hand reached up and gently petted the large created at her side. A small part of Celestine wondered what interest Mandalorians had on Dathomir now. The sisters muttered of them being uncalled this time and their interest in particular to a single location even with the fighting. The teenager had wondered but the young servants had seemed almost afraid to speak of it. With her Red Lady education, Celestine did possess the means to extract information out of them yet she chose not to do so to the members of her Dathomirian clan. This is where she lacked the ability to be what her Mother forbidden her to. A Red Lady always gathered information and sought ways to extract relevant details, Celestine choose with whom she would do this. Perhaps in time, this would change but as it was now, her time here was short and though a member by blood to the Morte clan, she was well aware that she was still earning the trust of the Witches which seemed harder to do so than it was with the Rancors even.

A path had been cleared among the large herd to permit her invited guests to approach her and the large rancor at her side, with an acceptable distance between the strangers and the rancors to ensure the creators comfort not to feel threatened by the new arrivals and yet their presence still obvious as the Mandalorians came. Man'alor Heran Rekr, the Witches had warned her, brown gaze falling upon the woman who was most likely her own age as she'd removed her helmet. There were some words in the Mandalorian language Celestin was aware of but these words were not one of them. The other woman addressed her by the name she had given, to which the brunette did not flinch, a hand being extended. The rancor at her side gave a low hiss at the stranger far too close to him and his charge. "Sshh, kik’suyapi, he'yah kik'ipapi," she told the Rancor quietly before diverting her attention to the woman, taking the offered hand to shake it momentarily. "Man'alor Heran Rekr," Celestine spoke in greeting, well aware of the importance of titles. "Thank you for coming to my call," she'd added just as she'd been introduced to Alor Deram Carid who seemed interested in her rancors.

A smile spread as she glanced at the other man, listening to him speak. "He is not mine," she explained. He was a rancor of the herd, older and wiser than most of the ones present now. There was relevance to her words, far more to Dathomirians than to outsiders. He was not her companion, there was no bond made between them and she had no right to lay claim to him so. Her attention returned to the Man'alor, to address her question. "There are two reasons for this invitation, Mand'alor," Celestine told the other woman, "first is, because you are the protectors of our world, you should be made aware of the business we conduct on our planet." Protection, yes, but Dathomirians were a proud nation. It would always be theirs, the rancors', under the protection of the Winged Goddess and the Fanged God, and the ancient ones that had perished. Celestine paid close attention to her studies growing up.

"Secondly, as the representative of Streghe Arx, I have invited you with an offering of conducting business with your Empire. We operate in farming and rancor breeding and as our protectors, it was only fair to extend the first hand of business to you, if you are interested, that is." Her eyes diverted to Deram Carid for a moment, noting his particular interest towards the rancor just moments ago though he possessed a solid understanding not to directly engage a foreign Rancor. In that sense, Celestine was sure the Mandalorians and the Dathomirians had an understanding of beasts in a similar way even if the former had less experience with them than the Witches did. Her attention returned to the Mand'alor though, this conversation primarily held between the two of them.

[member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Deram Carid"]

(kik’suyapi, he'yah kik'ipapi - remember, no fear)

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“You’re welcome. Least I could do.” Yasha glanced through the herd of Rancor, feeling the strength of the beasts around them. The Dathomiri were brave to breed such monstrous beasts. Although Yasha did not understand the entire bond between Rancors and the Dathomiri who bred/trained them, she would be as respectful as possible.

Enough blood had been spilt on Dathomir, and now it was time to make amends. Celestine’s use of the term ‘our world’ was not lost on the young Mand’alor, nor was it rebuffed. Dathomir was very much its’ own planet. Through her time with Rekali, Yasha learned that her responsibility was to give such cultures and planets the place and space to be their authentic selves.

All else was folly. No one should convert on the edge of a beskad.

“Yes, I appreciate knowing Dathomiri businesses are expanding and conducting your trades. I want to strengthen the planets under the protection of the Empire, and it is my hope we can work on that, today.” Yasha nodded, looking again to the massive beasts around her. The Yalilyr moved closer still, and Yasha smirked.

If they only knew.

“When you say farming, I imagine your agricultural surplus could be sold to Mandalore? In exchange we can work out a fair deal. I know Alor Carid’s looking to purchase a few Rancors, aren’t you, Carid?” Yasha punched him on his shoulder playfully, smirking at the man’s interested eye.

“Mandalore needs food and an increase in agricultural territory. While we continue rebuilding Manda’yaim, we are bringing into our fold refugees from Khorm and Ploo. They all need to eat and I would have none in my dominion go hungry. Safety of person and access to food and shelter are mandatory inalienable rights in my eyes. I am certain you can understand such rights, Ms. Cavatio.”

[member="Celestine deWinter"] [member="Deram Carid"]

 

[Celestine deWinter]

The other girl's response was quick but Celestine didn't miss the air of respect she held for her surroundings. She said nothing to it but silently, she approved. Respect was exactly what the magnificent beasts deserved for a great many reasons one of which stood out strong - they were dangerous. No matter how one phrased it, tried to put it in fine wrapping or words, Rancors were beautiful and strong monsters who could easily strike if they chose to. It was their intelligence and loyalty that made them stand out from the average large mindless monster. They were loyal to their clans, to their families, to their Witches. Mandalorians were strangers to them but they would not lay a finger on any of them for as long as Celestine didn't ask them to or the strangers did anything to harm her or them.

Her words were greeted with interest. Mand'alor Heran Rekr appreciated knowing and wished to contribute. She waited until she finished, noticing again her interest at the Rancors before she would speak again. "I would hope for that. Streghe Arx has a long way to go still," Celestine shared, her words showing agreeing to the Mand'alor's desire. She wasn't a fool, she knew when her Mother had sent her Dathomir, it was a test. A whole other company lay in wait for her but only if she proved herself. Though she was the only child of her parents, her Mother could be merciless when it came to her upbringing. She would not just give her the Red Lady based on who she was, no. Celestin had to earn that right. She didn't mind though. Having Streghe Arx under her control was a unique chance for her to get a better understanding of her paternal roots and to build friendships with the beasts more than ever before. Celestine deWinter planned on taking full advance of her experiences and the company's growth.

Mand'alor required clarification on the crops, interested in taking the surplus and intended on offering a good deal. Celestine gave a respectful nod to the statement before the other woman suggested that her companion wished to purchase a few. She continued still, explaining the need for her planet and refugees from Khorn and Ploo requiring substance. She could understand, though on a far smaller scale, the woman's desire to ensure the safety and access to food for her people. "Of course. Company's farming exclusively for sale so yes, we can come to an arrangement," she agreed. Farming was not a foreign action on Dathomir, all clans grew their own food, including her own. The farming down by the employees of the companies was strictly sold out. Some would wonder about the method but as all things, this too was conducted through magic and a tested out system.

As for the Rancors, it was a different subject. "Rancors for sale are individually bred. We don't sell our full grown rancors. This part of the business is under the direct scrutiny of the Councils of the planet. But yes, those specifically bred can be purchased at an early stage to ensure proper bonding." Selling a fully grown Rancor to an outsider would be a mistake for them. Not just because they were highly valued and important for breeding but because a new owner was required to bond with the animal in order to gain their trust.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Fantastic.” It did Mand’alor the Infernal a world of good to conduct business with another woman close to her own age. The Galaxy was made for, and would eventually be left to women like Celestine and Yasha… so why not create the universe they wanted?

Food for Mandalorian mouths, and an arrangement for more was the success she needed in this day. Deram’s rancors were the key which opened the door.

“Then we shall put in an order for rancors and I shall petition Dathomiri hospitality when the appropriate moment comes and the rancors’ keepers should be in attendance. Dathomiri Rancors would do well on Mandalore.” The more time spent around the beasts, the more Yasha began to understand what she’d read on the Dathomiri Clans using them for mounts. They seemed symbiotic in a way, and while Yasha was incapable of understanding, she could appreciate.

“What would Streghe Arx ask of Mand’alor in payment?”

[member="Celestine deWinter"]

 

[Celestine deWinter]

An agreement between them was fast approaching. There was a still quiet voice in the back of her mind, sounding much like her Mother reminding her she was facing a Mandalorian. They were dangerous, distrustful, horrific. THrough it though, the sound of her Father broke through reminding her there were those among them who were Mandalorians. Auntie Squeak was Mandalorian. And Nona often worked with them. Father was her balance to the deWinter voice attempting to cloud her business mind at the moment.

Her weight shifted slightly on her feet, her fingers interlocking as the Mand'alor agreed to her offer, requesting an order of Rancors. She would even petition their hospitality at the appropriate moment. Celestine gave a slow nod to this.

Now, what did Streghe Arx ask her for this deal? "We're certainly in need of credits but for the protection, you do provide for the planet, I'd be willing give you the first two orders for beskar and the following orders 25 % off," Celestine paused for a moment before she would continue. "Would this be plausible?" The fact of the matter was, she required armor and she knew all too well, no matter what the deWinters thought of the Mandalorians, their iron was a remarkable piece of metal. If the Mand'alor was fine with the deal, or even in a slight modification, Celestine would be pleased.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Was it right to be trustful of the Dathomiri? Dathomiri were not the easiest to believe, nor was Yasha’s past with them an easy thing. Calls of wars, feuds, murders and distrust were rampant.

But that was never going to change, until some of them opened the doors. Ember taught her that.

“We normally keep beskar close to our chests.” Yasha said with a smirk, fist beating her chest plate. “But for Dathomir, we can make that deal. You will also require goran’e, beskarsmiths to forge the metal. It is useless to those who cannot properly manipulate it… I know just the person who could help you. She’s an old friend, her mother was Dathomiri, her father Mandalorian.”

Food for her people, rancors for her planet were worth the investment of black iron to the deWinter girl. Let the dark days be closer to done. Yasha held out her hand, for an agreement.

[member="Celestine deWinter"]

 

[Celestine deWinter]

They normally kept their beskar close to their heart, the other woman had said. Celestin responded to it with a simple nod. That was why this deal was being offered when it was near impossible to obtain and expensive as a planet would be. Not quite so but the thought applied. The smirk on the Mand'alor's face told her that there was still a strong possibility she wasn't being denied her request.

For Dathomir, we can make that deal, the words finally came, bringing a smile to the young woman's face. She would receive her beskar and not only that it seemed. She would also receive the goran'e, which she didn't know what was and the beskarsmiths to forge the metal for it would be useless otherwise. Celestine would trust the Mand'alor on that. And she would introduce her to a woman whose Mother was a Dathomiri, who could manipulate it properly. "That would be wonderful," Celestine answered.

A hand came forward from the woman, Celestine's dark gaze shifting towards it before she moved closer. The elder rancor behind her growled but a small gesture towards him let him know it was okay before she'd take the extended hand to shake on their deal. A deal between a deWinter and a Mandalorian. Somewhere in the galaxy, grounds were shaking by this event. If not in this realm, not another but the Cavataio that she was, made the agreement based on a business mind.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]