Ask Tatooine As a Child of Divorce

[Katherine Stargazer]

There was quite a lot of sand in the place. It was hot, and Katherine was thankful she wasn't wearing heavy clothes. She had been walking since the crash, first crawling, until she found a rock she could use to help reset her leg. It was painful, but she had long learned that anything that wasn't immediately lethal wouldn't kill her in the long run. She rested for half an hour, stood, and started limping onwards until finally, her stride evened out after several hours. It hurt like hell, but she wasn't going to wait around at the crash site.

Dried, sandy blood was smeared across her face and down her front; thankfully, the cuts had closed, but they were still raw. In the distance, she could see some town and adjusted her direction to accommodate. Around the city, she found rockier terrain, dusty but solid, which was a relief after the day of trudging through loose, hot sand.

Her eyes were wide as she approached, staring unashamedly at the various milling aliens as they spoke their strange languages. To herself, she tried to emulate the weird clicking, or the throaty warbling, or the harsh growling. None of it made sense to her, but there were humans here as well. They were people she could understand, though that understanding was stilted. They spoke a near-identical language, but sometimes they used words or phrases that felt out of place. It was strange and frustrating, and she didn't like it.

She moved on without a sound, surveying the buildings as she slowly walked past. She disapproved of building anything on the sand, but she did realize there likely wasn't anything else on this dust ball to work with. She passed establishments with strange signs; they had words she couldn't read, and that made her angry. Why couldn't they have a picture instead of dumb words?

Still, with nowhere else to go and nowhere else to be, she chose a random building with blue color on its sign. She liked blue; it was the same color as her clothes. She moved to push the door aside when it instead slid quickly into the wall, making her jump. She glared but entered regardless, warily watching, though for what she didn't know.

"Hello?"
@Killa Ree @Darasuum

 

[Mysha Kelborn]

The room was lit by a blue central flame of the forge. Hammerfalls, ringing, beat in tune with the pulse of the fire, and a figure stood, bared arms crisscrossed in scars, and dressed in a tank top, leather apron, and tough leggings. Thick gloves covered her hands, but at the door hissing open, a helmeted head raised to the voice. Setting the hammer down, she also set down the vambraces, staring at the female.

"How can I help you?" the voice was crisp through the helmet, but not unfriendly; the woman was covered in blood, but she didn't seem like she was bleeding. And what was with the outfit? Not that Mysha could judge; she was dressed to combat the heat of the forge and the outdoors.

"I'm no medico, but I can maybe patch those wounds?" the silvery helmet nodded to the woman's body, hands on her hips casually. She seemed jumpier than a womp rat in a loth cat playhouse. Perhaps Kotii could sweet talk her. If he bothered rousing from her bed, that was.

@Shax @Darasuum

 

[Kotii Solus]

Spoiler: Music

Sometimes it felt great to do nothing. Kotii was feeling that way as he lay splayed out alone in what little existed of a bed he had shared with Mysha. The noise was more than the man was used to and he had gotten enough sleep by the time the Armorer had gotten back to work.

The stop of the hammering, followed by voices, made the Mandalorian decide to finally get up. Pieces of his armor and plates were mostly discarded. Some needed maintenance, others he had just left off for comfort until he needed them back on. With his helmet donned, Kotii arrived at the forge to see a young girl that looked to be injured to a degree.

The mostly red plated Solus looked the youth up and down thoroughly but could judge where, if any, weapons were hidden on her. But without any face obstruction on her part, Kotii could tell she was a teenager, maybe early twenties. But she was fairly tall if the man had to judge. "Something happen?" He asked to nobody in particular. Maybe Mysha already had an idea or perhaps the stranger would open up some details about what brought her to the forge in her condition.

@Killa Ree

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Bing bong, the noises were loud in her oversensitive ears before they abruptly stopped. Her eyes tracked over the woman, looking curiously at the strange helmet, but instead, she was drawn to the forge. If her eyes could shine, they would be positively sparkling as she took in the pulsing fires. It was beautiful, enough for her to almost miss what the woman said.

Kat swallowed, beaming a smile. She puffed her chest, spreading her arms in some form of swagger, and made to talk, but the only thing that came out was a heavy rasp. She blinked, cleared her throat, and spoke in a scratchy voice. "That sounds great! Though, I don't suppose you have any water?"

She was happy; it wasn't every day people just asked if they could help you! That was some high-quality hospitality, or so Kat thought. Her good mood took a hit when the man walked in. She could hear his stompy feet before she saw him, so she wasn't surprised when he arrived. Still, Kat gave him a judging, narrow-eyed stare for just a moment before her happy face reasserted itself.

Absently she wondered the heads of these two aliens looked like metal. She supposed they could be helmets, but she wasn't going to assume anything about the strange aliens of Tatooine. "Nope, we're all fine here!" She announced, gently moving to keep both figures in her line of sight. "I'm Katherine. What's that on your heads?" She asked because her absent wonderings had turned into a burning need to know.

@Killa Ree @Darasuum

 

[Mysha Kelborn]

True, it was always set on baking outdoors. The blue flames of the forge dimmed further; she didn't miss how the strange woman's face seemed to close at the approach of Kotii. She nudged him with a hip, jerking her head back to the living space.

"Water, kar'taylir." Turning back to the girl, there was a soft chuckle at the words. It was strange how the girl talked, stranger still she seemed to carry no knowledge of Mandalorians. But she wasn't running; reaching down beside her forge, she pulled out a medical pack and gestured the girl closer.

"We wear our helmets for our religion," she answered bluntly, tapping a hand against it. "We are known as Mandalorians. Our armor is as much a part of us as our own skin; this is the way." A very simplified version of the answer; perhaps the girl would have more questions. She would do her best to answer them.

@Darasuum @Shax

 

[Kotii Solus]

Kotii stood looking between the two women for a moment. It was rare but sometimes people even thought they were machines, droids under these helmets. Then again, Kotii knew that there were some assassin droids capable of that sort of thing though not perfectly.

Hearing Mysha echo the request from Kathrine, Kotii lingered momentarily but went to pour a cup of water. He pulled out a cup and made sure there wasn't any sand or dust on it before going to the faucet. Tatooine had limited water so it was either water collected from moisture farmers or imported from off world. But she was a kid and looked to be a few moments away from sun stroke. The cup was not cold, barely below 'room temperature' but in the forge that was all relative he supposed.

The Armorer explained a thing or two to the youth and the man would remain silent. After delivering the water to her, he looked her over in close proximity. Her eyes were level with his visor, no, he had to tilt his head slightly to look up at her. She had an inch on him even with his boots on.

Continuing in silence, he paced towards the door and peaked his head outside. There wasn't anyone else lurking right outside the forge. But the Mandalorian wanted to be careful since trouble of a different variety could always find them. But the pathways seemed to be no busier than usual. The area outside Mysha's place of business didn't have any strange travelers that looked out of place.

@Killa Ree

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat absently scratched at one of her cuts, peeling away dried blood and smearing new blood over her arm. She glared at the dirt and blood covering her gloves; she took pride in them, if only because they were some of her only possessions in the galaxy. Her nose twitched, and her eyes returned to the Mandalorian woman. Her lips wobbled up and down as she tried to keep a straight face. "Do you wear them all the time? Even in the shower?"

Hygiene was important! It kept disease out of the work camps, and Kat shuddered, thinking of all the weird hair bugs you could get if you didn't wash enough. Still, the ridiculous thought made her giggle, letting the Man return with a nice tall glass of water. She took it from him with a happy 'Thanks!' and sipped cautiously, knowing well the effects of dehydration. Kat stepped closer to the other girl, letting herself be looked over.

Most of her wounds were, if dirty, already scarring over. It wasn't quite a visible process, but Kat had always healed quickly, but lack of proper care tended to leave some pretty heavy scars in place of the wounds. Scars that covered Kat's body, predominantly her back. "It seems a bit silly for your religion to make you wear armor all the time," Kat said. Tact was never something she was taught. "Why do you need to wear it? Are you afraid of people seeing your bodies?" She continued, smirking humorously and pumping arms, flexing her biceps.

Her gaze kept finding its way to the forge in the middle of the room; the blue flame's specifically. "Is Tatooine where Mand- Manda- Mandibulorians come from? Do you wear armor to keep safe from the suns?" She asked, trying the new word. "What's in the medical kit? I've never seen what's actually in one! What's-" She kept going, babbling questions without waiting for answers. Most were common sense questions, but Kat honestly didn't know what things were or why things were the way they were.

She stopped when the man walked to the door, standing in the way of her only known exit. She didn't have anything against him, she didn't know him after all, but she wasn't about to let herself be trapped here, even if she liked them both. "Something wrong?" She asked with a mere veneer of the levity and happiness she had possessed now in her voice, watching both Mandalorians like a hawk.

@Darasuum @Killa Ree

 

[Mysha Kelborn]

She could bear the questions patiently. Truth be told, most aruetii seemed disconcerted about this kind of life, if not outwardly puzzled. Her lips twitched at the notion of showering in her beskar'gam, but she allowed the woman her questions. "No, we don't wear them in the shower. We wear them, because it is our culture. Armor is part of our identity. Different colors mean differing things. It would seem silly to outsiders, but," she shrugged, "I am proud to be part of my culture. It is my tie to my people, both those that have passed and those that live."

She let out a chuckle. "And no. There is no shame to show our bodies... merely, no need to." She gestured to her own outfit; she wore only the helmet, but her arms were left bare, showing deep green skin. "Our kind comes from many places. Some were born in Mandalorian space. Others are foundlings; we often adopt."

She spoke with measured calmness, yet watched both of them with the sharpness of a seasoned veteran of combat. Still, seeing the woman nervous, she turned her head to Kotii, slightly shaking her head.

In Mando'a, she sounded as if she was scolding him.

<"Do not make her nervous; she is no threat, I think.">

@Darasuum @Shax

 

[Kotii Solus]

The blank T visor of Kotii's helmet looked at Mysha as she scolded him. He was not even trying to intimidate. Rather, the Mandalorian was just making sure the area was safe for all of them.

Satisfied, he turned away from the door and walked to one side of the room and leaned his back against the wall. "You tell me, Kid. Injuries like that..." He gestured to the scars, cuts and bruises the girl was not able to hide. "...you in a fight recently? Make some enemies maybe?" If she was dragging trouble wherever she was coming from, he wanted to know.

The Mandalorian crossed his arms and his head tilted slightly as he regarded the youth. She might just be some poor gal drifting from place to place. If she needed just water to get by before moving on that was fine. But an outsider with nothing but persisting questions was suspicious.

@Killa Ree @Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat visibly relaxed when the man moved away from her only exit, her chipper mood returning in full force. "If by recently, you mean something like three days ago, then yeah, I was in a fight!" She said with a smile, unashamed. She thought back to the run through the forest and shivered. It was harrowing, and only a few of them had made it out by the end. She pointed at her new wounds, "Still, these aren't from that. I crashed out in the desert last night, everyone else had broken necks or something, so I had to crawl here on my own." She was sad that her comrades had died, but she wouldn't dwell on it.

"And a broken leg wasn't going to stop me from surviving!" She exclaimed with cheer, patting her formerly injured extremity. "Couldn't just let myself die in the desert, you know!" She wasn't injured, she thought. Still hurt like hell, though.

"So, are you both green?" Kat questioned curiously. She could see the woman's arms just fine, but the man seemed like he was covered head to toe. In this heat as well! He must be baking. She snorted then because calling them 'the man' and 'the woman' seemed impersonal. "And what are your names! Come on; I introduced myself; it's only polite to do so as well!" She grinned.

@Darasuum @Killa Ree