The Cabin

[Kenna Raine]

The last time the couple had spent any real alone time together was the night they had gotten engaged. The days afterwards had been filled with missions with the crew. She spend free time enjoying her free time and planning a wedding. Learning all she could in regards to his culture and what eventually she would be marrying into. Kenna had learned it was important part of whom he was and she wanted to respect it. Instead of planning an elaborate wedding she chose to go for the elaborate honeymoon. One which she was keeping hidden from him the best she could.

Between all of the chaos she was glad they were getting this time together even if it was only for a few days. It would give them a chance to relax and just enjoy being a couple. No training at the cabin this time. She knew how to fish and how to hunt.

"Thank you," she smiled lightly as her hand slipped into his their fingers interlocking. Giving him a small kiss on the check Kenna walked into the cabin. The time with him had been the best days of her life and now that she was free things could only get better. She was allowed to have hopes and dreams.

It was getting late, too late for any actually fishing or hunting. That could wait until tomorrow. Kenna liked the idea of spending the rest of the evening curled up together by the fire.

"Perhaps we could make a fire? I could help collect firewood."

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

It had seemed like ages since the first time he had first brought Kenna to his secluded cabin home in the northern mountains of Mandalore. Or had it only been a day. Some times he couldn't tell. In the year and a half Malcom had known her, she had become a huge part of his life. Having gone from just his personal slave, to now a free woman and his fiance, soon to be wife. It was in this very cabin 7 months earlier they had crossed a line and gone down a road that would bring them together so.

Crossing the outer threshold of the building, he let a fond smile take over his expression has the man took in the familiar smells, sights, and sounds that he'd always been able to attribute to it. But now with something new in tow. His greatest treasure of all, his bride to be.

As she mentioned the fire, he cast a glance to the fireplace which had already been cleaned out and prepped the last time they had been there. Giving a quick nod, he said, "Aye. That sounds wonderful. I'll help you bring in a few extra logs as well." The fireplace may have been ready, but it wouldn't last long with no replacement logs to keep it going.

After helping her refill the basket with spare logs, he got the fire started before settling in on the couch to simply relax with his lover and best friend.

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

Once they had collected the logs and he got a crackling fire going Kenna went to go join him on the couch. Snuggling up next to him Kenna sighed happily as she leaned her head on Malcolm's shoulder. She couldn't believe all that happened since the last time they were here. In all of her wildest dreams Kenna never would have thought things would end up like this. She was not only a free woman but he was her's. Not in the slave sense but is her future husband. Kenna couldn't wait to marry him and she didn't want to wait. She knew how precious life was and she didn't want to fool around waiting. She wouldn't push him though so it was a topic she didn't much brining up to him.

"We should get married here, were it all began." It made sense in her mind. She had been brave that night telling him that she liked him. What happened next was a big surprise but it all worked out in her mind. As they sat there her hand found his to hold her fingers interlocking with his. Kenna could imagine them brining their children here maybe even raising them here. She had always enjoyed children and wanted to be a mom herself one day. It was a possibility now with him in her life and she assumed that he wanted a family as well. "Do you want children? she asked. It would be good to know what it was he wanted. Perhaps children were not something he wanted due to his job.

They hadn't had time really to talk about what they wanted for their future. They had mission on top of missions and she was trying to learn more about his culture. She wanted to surprise him and already know the language. Since she had nothing of her own, she would take his and be apart of the family.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

Malcom turned his head a bit to see his beautiful bride to be and smiled. "If that is what you wish, I couldn't be happier." He said plainly. The normally solo hunter was not used to crowds. And even at an event such as a wedding, he'd be less than comfortable with a huge crowd. So the fact that she wanted a smaller wedding at the cabin he had spent most of his free time as a youth and adult was music to his ears. It was her next question that had caught him more off guard than the rest.

He had been making a push recently for control of the family clan. It was an objective that had seemed near, but still elusive. If he could achieve his goal it might put him in more a position to where the idea of children would seem viable. But as a bounty hunter? His time would be consumed by the hunt. His attention with trying to find his quarry. His main focus trying to capture someone and stay alive. This sort of life had never been very conducive to children. He couldn't actually imagine himself as even a decent father with this career as his vocation.

After pondering the question for a bit, he finally answered. "Yes, and no." His eyes turned toward her in a thoughtful glance. "I would love to have children if I wasn't in this line of work. But as a bounty hunter, I would only be a risk to the entire family. And unless I manage to get promoted and actually gain control of my families clan as the Aliite Buir, I don't see my choice of profession changing anytime soon." While keeping his one hand intertwined with hers, he ran his other hand through her long hair. "Why do you ask?"

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

She had a feeling that his line of work wasn't conducive to children. It made sense as they were always on a hunt or some mission. Even she would still do some of the more seduction type ones if they brought in the big bucks. While she would be able to stop if she got pregnant and be a mother he wouldn't. It would be up to him to keep hunting to provide for his family and by doing so make them a target. He wouldn't get the chance to be a father. Kenna would be able to protect any children but they would always be in danger. That was no such environment to raise a family.

If she told him of her dreams of having a family with him it would only put undo pressure on him. It wouldn't be fair to make him work harder to gain control. She knew he could do it and he would make a wonderful leader. Kenna had to support him in the profession he had though. She didn't want him to think that she wouldn't be happy without children. He was enough, she loved him.

Turning her head slightly she kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to be your wife soon. A family is naturally something one would think of. I won't lie, I would like children but our profession doesn't lend itself well to having them. I wouldn't want our children to always be at risk or to never see their father." It was sad to think there would never be little footsteps running around here or the ship. She wouldn't do it though, not like this.

She didn't want to dwell on such subjects. If a family was not in the cards so be it. If occupations changed they could revisit the topic. She wished to instead focus on enjoying their time here. What do you think of going hunting tomorrow?" A skill he had taught her on their first time out here. They could go after something a little more challenging together.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

He gave Kenna a curious look, but nodded. "True, and agreed. I wouldn't want to be away from you all either." They had never really spoken of children before and he felt a little bad now that for the moment anyway, he couldn't give her what she wanted. At least they both seemed to agree that it was not the best life for children. Hopefully he could move out of this life and finally focus more on family and working closer with the rest of his vode in general. If they did have a family, he'd want to be with them as often as possible. Not gallivanting across the galaxy looking for some other scum bag with a bounty on his head.

At the mention of hunting though, he perked up. "Sounds fantastic. Anything in particular you'd like to go for tomorrow?" Malcom really had no preference at this point. He just enjoyed hunting in general. So for now, he had no problem letting her pick the target. He was now simply curious to see how adventurous she was feeling for their hunt tomorrow.

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

She was a little sadden by the thought that they couldn't have a family. Those were quickly brushed aside as he asked about what her hunting plans were though. "I'm not sure, but perhaps something more challenging than last time. I want to show off my hunting skills." She grinned at him before laying her head back on his shoulder. She didn't know what all lived in these forests that they could hunt. An actually predator would make for an interesting challenge for sure. "What walks amongst the trees that we could hunt?"

Kenna had never walked these forests much. Malcolm had never allowed her to go off on her own for several reasons. She liked to believe at this time that it was for her own protection. He trusted her, just didn't want to see her get hurt.

That was for tomorrow, tonight she just wanted some alone time with the man she loved. Before he even got the chance to answer Kenna had started placing light kisses along his neck. If he had any reservations about her idea Kenna was sure that they would fade away. Her kisses had that tendency to be distracting or well at least she knew his were to her.

Kenna was happy he agreed to be married here. She didn't want a big anything just him. She had no family to speak of so there was nobody to invite or plan with. A party though with her new family would be nice so she could meet some of them. She didn't even need to ask if that was what he wanted to. Kenna kinda already knew.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

"More of a challenge, eh?" A smile began to form on his face. He liked the way she was thinking. "Well there are quite a few things skulking the forests of Manalore. Hmm." He reached out for his datapad and pulled up a file on a particularly dangerous species of creature that still roamed the wilds of his home planet. They would have to take the ship to go a bit farther away from the cabin. But he knew of an area where this particular creature still walked if she was truly game.

"The creature I'm thinking might satisfy your thirst for adventure could possibly be the Alii'oya."

Spoiler

"This predator is a pack hunter. So if you think you'd be up for it, we'll have to be careful. There is never just one of these guys around." He was about to scroll through some of the information when she began to distract him. "Mmmm." He hummed lightly to himself as he took in the sensation of her soft lips on his skin.

His free hand stroked her back up and down, but soon managed to find itself just under her shirt in a teasing sort of fashion. He lowered the data pad as his gaze shifted to her. "Somehow I'm not thinking you really have tomorrow's activities on your mind." Malcom said with a smirk before stealing a passionate kiss.

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

Kenna did listen as he spoke about a creature that did peak her interest. A pack predator which meant that there would be at least two around. It would be a challenge for sure and they couldn't underestimate the creature. Sure they would have to be careful out there but Kenna had faith that together they could get the job done. "Challenge accepted," she smiled as her lips returned to his neck.

She had expected him to continue on about what they would be facing tomorrow. Kenna couldn't say she was sad to find out that her kisses were far too distracting and she far too tempting for any of that. The young woman's focus was diverted to tonight's activities, for the moment at least, despite prep for tomorrow being very important. She squirmed a little in his arms as she felt his touch under her shirt. It seemed perhaps she had diverted his attention too.

"I'm just giving you a taste of what's to come later tonight," she winked at him playfully before being pulled into a passionate kiss. Returning his kiss with just as much passion her arms wrapped loosely around his neck playing with his hair. As their lips parted Kenna moved to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "First, I want to learn about what we are going to hunt tomorrow. We need to prepare if we don't want to end up as Alii'oya food." They could continue this later in the bedroom.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

"Heh." He said simply as she then claimed to want to prepare for the hunt the next day. "You tease." Malcom added playfully along with a quick kiss before bringing the data pad back up for them to review.

"Ok. I'm thinking we actually go in full armor tomorrow. The active camouflage will help us tremendously to move about unseen. But ti will also protect us if they do somehow manage to overwhelm us. They may be tough and dangerous, but they can't just nom on durasteel armor and hope to get anything out of it."

Pulling up a map, he looked around the terrain of the northern mountains of Mandalore. "I'm thinking we take the ship on up to this mountain range here. Should probably bring Urz with us as well to get us on the trail at the minimum. We'll prolly need to hike a fair bit along here. But last I checked, this was where a few of the more concentrated areas of these wolves were."

He paused a moment thinking of what they might need. "Should bring our weapons obviously, but also knives, simple firestarter stuff, canteens, water purifier filter, couple light blankets, a couple rations of food, and a small med kit. I actually have a backpack that should fit everything. But we'll be way out in the middle of nowhere on this one. Better to be safe than sorry." Running his hand across her smooth skin, he smiled. "Any other questions I might be able to answer?"

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

It was fun to tease him but she really did need to prep for tomorrow. If they wanted to come back from their little hunting expedition they couldn't just wing it. They needed a game plan of how they were going to go about this. Once they accomplished that, they could go back to tonight's activities.

As he spoke Kenna shifted herself so that she could get a better look at the map and what mountain range they were headed to. It was as he stated in the middle of nowhere. It would be very easy to get stuck out here for a few days if one got lost. Kenna had a feeling he knew these woods and they would be fine finding their way back. Who didn't carry a GPS around these days anyway? If they did get stuck they would have the blankets.

"You said that they are pack animals. How many normally can be found in a pack? Are we talking like twenty in one pack or more like five? Also are they always together or would they at some point wander off alone. Even if one did I'm sure it would yelp and it's family would come running. What is their weakness? Can it be used to our advantage." Kenna's thoughts had drifted away from kisses for the moment to their hunt and how they would be successful. She wanted to know as much about what they were hunting as possible.

"One last thing, have you ever hunted one before?" It was fine if it was but Kenna was just curious to know if he was a pro at this or this was something they would do together for the first time.


[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

He shook his head. "No, nothing that big. Five to ten though is quite possible. I mean fortunately, they don't have armor. So it's not like they will be too terribly hard to kill with a shot or two. But..." he said in a serious tone. "...they are very much ambush predators."

He paused as he thought for a moment. "Have you ever seen holoclips of some big predatory cats? They operate like that. Close in from different directions. Even have a couple farther down a path to continue a chase if the target bolts. Like most wolves, Alii'oya use yips and howls to communicate. Once they spring their ambush they usually all come in at once. The the reason why I'm saying we need the armor. Just in case."

He gave her a glance out of the corner of his eye, curious to see if she was maybe having second thoughts about their target choice. They had been in enough situations that, he felt they could handle it easy enough. But the thought of suddenly going from hunter to hunted could make some people cringe and shy away.

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

The predator that they would be hunting would at the same time be hunting them. It wasn't unlike things she had previous felt like in her life. Kenna was pretty good at being prey but that was nothing to be proud of. She had gotten good at judging slavers behavior and something told her it was similar to that of a wild animal.

"How do we catch one than without becoming lunch? If we kill one certainly the rest of the pack will come after us. I don't think you would allow me to be used as bait so you can get a clean shot so that's out."

Sighing she wrinkled her nose slightly as she tried to figure out how they were going to accomplish this. It was a challenge alright but not some she was about to back down now. They would just have to catch them off guard or something. That sounded tough as well and if there were wolf pups she could imagine them being even more aggressive. There were so many unknown variables.

Leaning back against the couch she sighed again. "Our armor can only save us so much. We have to be smart about this and hope that we find them before they find us. Getting a good night's rest is probably a good idea too."

It was scary thinking she would be hunting something that was hunting her at the same time. She had Malcolm though and it was them against the Galaxy. She trusted him with her life, anything was possible together.


[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

A wily grin appeared on his face as she went over the challenges. "Damn straight. The last thing you'll be in this kind of hunt is bait. And in the end, I would only want one kill....actually two. One for each of us. There is no need to get greedy and wipe out a whole pack. So how do we accomplish this without becoming lunch? Through superior firepower of course!" Tapping a couple more buttons on the datapad, he brought up an image and information on flashbangs. "Lob a couple of these bad boys around when the pack starts closing in and you'll see 'em run for the hills."

"We harvest what we need, and leave the rest to rebuild and stay strong." It still sounded funny to him when he went on about being protective of nature. Especially considering his pention for blowing things up. But then, he could definitely be considered a bit of a paradox at times. Some things simply needed to be preserved while others needed to be crushed without mercy. The trick was knowing which thing fell on which side of that line.

"As for how we get to that point. I'm honestly wanting to go on the offensive for this hunt. Rather than sit and wait for them to come to us. I say we go after them. We'll take the hoverquads out and run 'em to earth. Once they have decided to make their stand, we'll dismount and take the fight to them on foot. Thoughts?"

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

Kenna nodded as he explained how the two of them were going to go about not becoming lunch. She hadn't even thought of using explosives. She had figured that the use of those would only get herself blown up or worse. It was why she had him, he thought of the things she didn't and visa versa. They were a good team out here, partners and one she trusted completly. She had never trusted anyone so completely before. Sounds like a plan," she grinned at him leaning in for a kiss. Kenna's thoughts about later had not changed. They would still get enough sleep, she was sure and sleeping in a little wasn't a bad thing.

"I'll take one out and you'll take the other." She liked the idea of leaving the others to repopulate the pack. The way he respected nature made Kenna smile and warm her heart. She was a farmer's daughter and had always been taught to take care of animals. This would be her first kill too and she was pretty excited to show him her hunting skills.

"Sounds like a plan. I'm sick of always being on the defense so I'm all in on being the offensive for this hunt. " She smiled at him leaning in once again for a passionate kiss.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

"Good." He said simply with a smile as he greedily accepted every one of her kisses. Was their plan a bit excessive? Yes. A bit heavy in the necessary firepower? Absolutely! Malcom however, was rarely subtle. He truly could be if required. But if not totally necessary, he tended to be loud and proud when it came to guns. Though in all fairness, hunting was one of the few areas he had developed a good sense of patience and stealth for.

But if one could go hunting AND get to use explosives...well that was just the best. It didn't happen often. But the next day was to simply be a let loose and have fun kind of day.

For now though, he set the data pad aside and cast another glance to the fire after stealing another kiss. What was it about fire that was so mesmerizing and calming?

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

She was excited about their hunt tomorrow and the challenge it would bring. Explosives as well how exciting and this time they would be doing it all together as a couple this time. Since it was all planned out now they could spend the rest of the evening just relaxing near the fire and enjoying each others company.

Stealing another kiss Kenna scooted closer to him snuggling up in his arms. Sighing happily she looked over to the blazing fire for a moment. Malcolm was her everything, he had saved her from a life as a slave but more importantly she loved him and he loved her. She had been alone in this galaxy for a very long time but now she had him and very soon would be apart of his family. She couldn't be happier.

Leaning up she began a trail of small soft kisses along his jaw line. Since they were done with hunting planning her mind could wander to other things. She had a feeling he would get the picture as to where it had wandered.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

A smirk slowly appeared on his face as she began her teasing trail of kisses yet again. "Now you wouldn't just be teasin' again? Would you cyar'ika?" He finished in mandoa as his hand drifted a "little" farther under her shirt, slowly rubbing her back. It was funny, he knew she had once been quite sensitive of people knowing about her scars. But as it stood, he never really noticed them. She was beautiful to him in every way.

At first, he simply let her go on. But eventually he turned to give her another kiss. He longed to taste her sweet lips once more. He wasn't going to lie, he was very thankful the briefing on the hunt the next day was over. It was doubtful the man would have been able to focus much longer anyway.

[member="Kenna Raine"]

 

[Kenna Raine]

"No teasing this time, my love." Kenna breathed in between kisses on his neck. She squirmed a little at his touch. Her hands lightly caress down his chest as a leg went over his lap so she was straddling him at least for now.

Snaking her hands around his neck Kenna pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. One which seemed to last forever, that she got lost in for a few minutes. A kiss she hoped that would get the point across that she wanted him.

As she broke the kiss Kenna got up from his lap. Playfully winking at him Kenna reached for his hand so that she could take him to the bedroom. There was much more than her little show showed.

[member="Malcom Renolds"]

 

[Malcom Renolds]

His smirk widened to a playful grin as she moved in for a long passion filled kiss. His heart began to speed up with every second she lingered across his lap. She had learned well which of his buttons to push so to speak to get her point across loud and clear. Reluctantly, he released her from their embrace and allowed her to stand.

He soon followed her though, taking her hand in his. As they walked, he moved up behind her, wrapping her in his arms. Moving her long beautiful hair out of the way with his chin, he continued to follow her lead while planting a few of his own kisses along her neck.

"Good. Good. You weren't going to get away with it anymore anyway." He finally replied with a small laugh.

[member="Kenna Raine"]