"The Misfit. One and only!"
Lunch at last.
A grueling hour and a half had passed after he had set out to track down and catch a meal for the both of them, but the young Mandalorian had finally returned to their little campsite in the lush forests of Kashyyyk; the thick bushes rustled and twigs crackled as the young Misfit appeared from the brush, dragging behind him a plump carcass of an Arrawtha-dyr in one hand, and using his makeshift spear -its tip slick with blood, streaked down the shaft, now relatively dry- like a walking stick in the other. Although tired, hungry, covered in earth and grime all over the young man would not withhold a warm smile at the sight of his beloved, Ara, as he made his way to the campfire.
“Apologies for taking too long, love,” he said. Requiring its assistance no longer, the spear in his grasp was cast aside, before he set the dyr beside the fire. ”The local wildlife forced me to take the more scenic route back here,” he added as he reached down and drew a vibro-knife from his right ankle sheath. ”A pack of Katarns. I’ve managed to spot them at a distance,” he explained with a mumble; a shallow, exhausted sigh followed as he measured up the dyr at a glance in an attempt to figure out the most optimal spot to start skinning it. ”Thankfully, they were interested in hunting a passel of sathogs, and not me.” he added with a nervous chuckle, as he couldn’t help but run a lengthy list of plausible scenarios that would have had the chance to occur if they had taken an interest in him instead.
Many of them had unsavory results.
With a simple shrug he rid the unpleasant thoughts of what might’ve happened from his mind, and focused on the task at hand; he began with initial cuts around the bends of each leg, and joined them with longer cuts along the interior of the legs that later met the field-dressing cut on the deer's belly.
Although trained to survive in the wild when he was but a Foundling, his relative inexperience of the practice would show as he went about the task of skinning, butchering and preparing the animal, but after a few moments their lunch was sizzling over the bright red-orange dancing, crackling flames, spit roasting.
Crouched as he remained beside the fire, he absentmindedly wiped away the dirt and blood from his hands and face, onto a piece of cloth as he oversaw the cooking of their meal; his thoughts led him adrift from the reality around him for a moment.
The moment was rather appropriate for the surprise he had in mind, he thought, and thus began looking for means to create an opportunity to present her the gift he had fashioned for her.
It was not long till a hearty smile emerged from his lips after coming up with a potential diversion. ”I think it could use some more seasoning. Wouldn’t you agree?” he muttered to her as his gaze shifted from the roasting dyr and at Ara’s visage in anticipation of an answer. Although he utilized the fact as a diversion to give himself the opportunity to make a surprise for her, he was quick to realize the absolutely mouth watering fragrance of the cooking meat could be even better with a little bit more spice.
As soon as she’d voice an agreement, and turn around to go and fetch more seasoning, the young man would reach for his backpack leant against a fallen log close to the fire as silently as possible, and place a small box covered neatly with a glittering Life Day gift wrap on the tree-stump across from him beside the fire, and return to his previous posture over the fire before she’d return, checking on the slowly roasting dyr.
