Mountain Sound

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"Al'ika!"

Rawnies voice cut through the white calm of the forest just outside the village. Snow fell slowly in giant white flakes. Calmly collecting on branches and in the white hair of the Tal'verda Alor. She couldn't fit into her armor anymore. The growing child in her womb had become just a little too big.She'd realized with a great amount of disappointment that for now, until her husband could get around to fixing her armor to fit, she would have to go without.

She wore a long, heavy fur coat in place of her white armor. She'd stitched it together herself, hunted the white wolves that had given their skins for it, all on her own. She liked to do things herself. But this time, she needed help.

"Al'ika!" she called again, but when she received no reply, she sighed, readied her bow and strode out into the forest. He was probably out there too far to hear her. Well, Rawnie was never afraid to go into the forest, after all, it was home in so many ways to her. She spent most of her childhood among these trees. She did not mind going after him. Of course, it was also dangerous. That was where her bow came in handy.

She pulled her furry hood up, feeling more and more like the 'snow witch' her brother always compared her to. A witch in these very forests, the stories went, that wore white wolf pelts and put curses on people who did not respect her forest. Rawnie smirked as she walked, silent as the snow itself. Maybe she was the snow witch. She loved this forest. She loved these trees, the hills, the mountains in the distance.

Being born here had been a blessing. One her little baby Galaar would get to enjoy too. ...If she could ever find her cousin to help her build the cradle.

"Al'ika!" she called one more time into the silence, "Aly! It's Rawnie!"

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

The wreck in front of him was... well a wreck. Covered in snow and having been there for years, the old freighter he was salvaging from being rusty, and if he wasn’t wearing a protective suit he might have to see a doctor due to reasons of toxins. Aloysius looked through the hull of the old ship to find some useful metals that he could cut off and take home to be reused for his little project.

He was at a loss of money you see, so he had to make do what he could get. He would eventually need money to make components, but at least for now, he could make the skeleton and hull; letting it lie in the old warehouse he was using. He smiled underneath his helmet at the thought.

It was then he heard a familiar sound in the distance. It wasn’t a secret in what area he was in as he had completed his duty of repairing some climate protected cashes before doing his little side project, but he had still hoped to be alone for the day until he came home.

“I hear you, Raw'ika,” he called her as he placed his finger to manually activate his personal Comm unit. “I will come to you. There are some chemicals in this hull and you might not want to come near them just to be sure,” he followed up as he vacated the hull with a few heavy plates he had cut off and placed on his speeder, and he followed whatever guidelines she told of her location if the personal Comm signal would be nice and keep working.



[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

This really was a project for her brother. Corrin should have been the one to do this, to help her with the building. If she was going to have to accept help, it should have been from her brother or her father. But they were gone. Both of them. She knew where Calico was. Her father was dead. Probably dead for almost a decade by now. But Corrin... He had just vanished. He'd been their Alor before. But he stopped trying to lead. Rawnie had taken it from him, determined to use her new power as their leader to bring them somewhere great.

She could ask her husband to help, but... He was busy with his own things. Probably researching childbirth and medical complications associated with it. She knew he was a doctor, but as he said, he'd never delivered a child before. Apparently that wasn't something that was really covered in medical school. She could go to the next village over and ask mal. But then.... no. Malcom was her ex boyfriend. That would be all kinds of improper. Now she was here, bothering her cousin for his help.

She gave her location and waited, leaning heavily against a tree. She wondered if he'd even see her if she stood still long enough. All that white. It was no wonder she was considered the best hunter in the village. She was camouflaged against the snow.

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

It didn’t take long before him to arrive in his two seat speeder wherever she said he could pick her up. Knowing her, she would probably be all sisterly and hide from him so he could find her, so he chose not to leave the speeder. He wasn’t really in the mood for such things.

When he moved his hands to take his helmet off, the “psh” sound of an environmental seal being broken could be heard. He had a small cough as cold air went into his lungs, but it wasn’t anything bad and he soon followed up with, “Come on in,” his tone being neutral but inviting.

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Ah. There he was. She smiled, waiting to see if he could see her in the snow. Her father had always teased her about that. She was just so... white all over. She could hide in the snow and never be found if she wanted. But then he took his helmet off. He was getting impatient. Alright. She pushed herself off the tree, stringing her bow across her back.

"Su'cuy, Aly," she greeted, getting on the back of the speeder, "You are needed back in the village. Your Alor needs assistance."

She grinned at that. The Alor, of course, being the clan leader. The Alor, being her. She wasn't quite used to it yet.

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

”Su cuy'gar!” he returned her greeting. “You sure that is the case though? You do not look like you are decked to the brim in gear and chased by assailants,” he followed up with a grin being of the belief that he is going to laugh over what she actually need help with. Either way, he started up the speeder and returned them home. The route he took was friendly to vehicle, so it wouldn’t take them too long to get back compared to being on foot.

The sound of the speeder was quiet, the motor only having a subtle whisper. The only sound they could hear really was the sound of the air and wind hitting the window in front of them. With honestly, the fact it didn’t produce much sound was something Aloysius was proud of.

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

When they finally made it back to the village, the snow had started to pick up a little. They were not expecting a snow storm, but Rawnie knew better than to take risks. The weather this far north could be unpredictable.

"Bring the animals in," she ordered when she got off the speeder to anyone nearby, "Close up shop. Prep for a storm, just in case."

People scattered to do as she said. Rawnie had almost a sixth sense about this sort of thing. She could look at the sky and sometimes just... know.

"And you, Aly," she said, "Follow."

She led her cousin down the street to the longhouse at the edge of town. The meeting place, the building that feasts were thrown, where the clan met in emergencies. Where the Alor was expected to spend most of her time.
She didn't. Sitting up there didn't give her a good enough idea of how the clan was doing. She had to be out here with her people.

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

He quickly parked his speeder in a garage before coming back. Before he left though he wondered if he should take his helmet with him, but decided to leave it there. Aloysius might be crude, but he wasn’t the butt of the joke in the play of life.

When she told him to follow he just waves and did so, though not before giving a friendly nod to the people he passed by. They soon came to the hall, and he knocked the snow off the boots of his suit before entering. There was no reason to make a mess on the floor after all.

“So what did you need me for, Raw'ika? It must be something special if you needed to seek me out yourself instead of sending out a scout or kid in training,” he looked puzzled though not annoyed as when he had first been contacted. Of course that annoyance was something she never saw or head, but that is beside the point.

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

As was common courtesy, Rawnie also removed her tan leather boots at the door before entering. She smiled and nodded at those gathered inside. A great fire was roaring in the fireplace at the head of the hall, just behind the giant long table in the center.

"Don't you know?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, removing her heavy snow covered coat, "My brother is gone. My father is dead. My mother is away. My husband is already busy. That means you are my closest relative at the moment."

The baby in her womb gave her a light kick just then. Playful little ik'aad.

"I only have a few more weeks before little Galaar here is ready to see the world. He needs a place to sleep. You will help me build his first bed."

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

He scratched the back of the head as he thought about what she said. He noticed the obvious that she only family members when any of the people underneath or close to her could help. She probably just wanted to be in the company of family, but why did she have to sneak her way around it like that?

“If you want to be with your cousin just ask instead of being so mysterious about it,” he shrugged to end his sentence, then he smiled as his next brewed, “and I don't mind helping you with that. Do you have all you need in the form of materials, or do we have to go out into a workshop? Oh! And what kind of materials do you want it to be made out of? I can work with most of them. Just remember I am not that great a tailor.”

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie beckoned for him to follow her to the back of the long house near the fireplace where the beginnings of a cradle were already taking form.

"I've already gotten started, but I can't really bend over much, you know? The materials are gathered. I already hunted for a wolf pelt to line the crib with. I just need a hand to get it done in time."

She looked towards the chair sitting beside the fireplace where a ball of yarn sat with two long knitting needles. She even knew how to knit. It was what she'd taken to doing with herself now that she couldn't really hunt anymore. Knit things for the baby, sharpen her knives, make sure her people were managing, getting enough food, preparing for the harvest and the coming winter... She was busy.

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

He looked over the objects placed on the floor and from what his eyes saw he could tell they had been prepared already and just needed to be put together. Whoever had dumped them on the floor, he was not sure about though, but in the end, it didn't really matter to him.

Aloysius went over to pick up a nearby table, and started to assemble the crib. Screwing the respective bars into the panels, then putting the panels together with the base of the bed. As he did so he kept the conversation going with his cousin: “So what has been going on outside of our cosy outpost and home?”

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

While her cousin worked on the crib, Rawnie took the seat by the fire and started knitting with the thick white wool. Not a skill many of her people had, but it was a useful one. Good way to make gloves and things. Baby clothes too especially. Cheaper to knit clothes than use good material that otherwise could be used for someone who won't just pee through it.

"War," she answered simply as the fire crackled, "War. Death. Space wizards. You aren't missing much here."

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

“I am a Mandalorian just like you. How am I not missing out by not partaking in that?” With his back turned he smiled, and he took his hand to knock one joint of the panel onto another making a loud noise in the process.

“Don't you think I should be doing other things than helping the youngsters learn the tools of the trade when it comes to mechanics without having to do mercenary work?”

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie laughed quietly to herself at his childish eagerness. She wore her gloves as she knitted, both for warmth, and to hide her battle wounds.

"It's true," she relented, "You are past the age that we usually go to war. Are you in such a hurry to die for glory, Al'ika?"

She was going to knit a jumper. Yes. A little warm jumper. And a hat. She would make the hat next.

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

“Seems like being in waiting has made you more homely. It makes me look forward to when your child comes of age and I can have my old Rawnie back,” he joked as he finished putting the crib together before she could start knitting her next piece of attire.

He placed the crib on the floor, then leaned his behind on the table he had used before and crossed his arm in a resting position as he looked at his cousin: “Well, admittedly I am more the person who want to see my craft stand the test of time, and all those cheesy things. Build one war machine or harvest module only to improve it when it eventually breaks, gets out competed, or destroyed by an enemy combatant.”

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie raised an eyebrow at her cousin, setting her knitting aside.

"Oh? You think that just because I am a mother now, it means i'm not the same Rawnie?" She stood up, walking over the examine the crib, "Don't be a di'kut, Aly. I could still beat your shebs into the ground, even with a child."

She smirked, taking up a square cut piece of wolf pelt and placing it along the inside of the cradle. That would serve as the mattress for the baby. Firm, yet warm. And the fur was easy to clean as well. Force knew how messy babies were.

"So you want to build, hm? Have I ever introduced you to my old friend Malcom? You probably met him when we were kids. He's the boy I used to play with from the next village over."

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

“You forget which one of us is better at grappling, and made the other tab out, Rawnie,” he retorted with a small grin, then he gave her a familiar pat on the shoulder.

“Malcom?” his eyes opened slightly in surprise, “Wasn't he your first man? I at least remember hearing that rumour, rather than having meet him as a child.”

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie snorted in response.
"Yeah, but do you remember? Every time we had an archery contest, I would trounce you."

She patted down the fur mat in the cradle, imagining a swaddled little blue child laying there. She smiled.

"Mal? Yeah. He and I were together a few years ago. Could call us childhood sweethearts, I guess," she laughed, patting the ever growing baby bump, "Things change though. He's got a new woman. I got Lor. Now we're just friends."

[member="Aloysius Tal'verda"]

 

[Aloysius Tal'verda]

“Well hopefully neither of us lands on a jungle planet and has to cover ourselves in mud and turn the tide to make the hunter into the hunted,” he shrugged, and for some reason the story seemed familiar to him even if he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

“That's sweet to hear, Rawnie,” he blinked, “So why did you ask if you had introduced me to him?”

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]