Ask Sour Yet?

Arthos Vizsla

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Arthos was very aware that the only reason he had been sent to speak to the other Mandalorians about the mission was because his own Clan didn’t see them as worthy of much respect. So, naturally, that meant that they sent him to work with them because he was the least of Clan Vizsla. He was sent to work with them and show them that even the least of Clan Vizsla was better than most.

The issue was that he had to live up to that, to be better than other Mandalorians while still being considered the worst of the Clan. It was a parody of support and he was aware enough of it to be insulted but also kind of not confident enough in himself yet to openly dispute it.

As far as the mission went, Arthos was actually rather content with it. Track some pirates through a city to their ships, follow them without alerting them and let them lead them back to the pirate base. Once they found the pirate base? Blow it to kingdom come and get the hell out of dodge before the bigger pirate ships had chance to wake up and come after them.

Arthos was confident that his ship, his Yaim, would be able to kick down their doors and get them out easily enough with him behind the controls. The ship had never let him down and he doubted it ever would.

Waiting for the Mandalorian from the Crowholde Clan to arrive in a dive bar was kind of awkward not only because he was a Mandalorian so needed a straw to drink properly. Worse though, they had refused to serve him alcohol.

Sitting in a corner booth, sipping on a cola with a straw was… a terrible impression.


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Reiel Mal Crowholde

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She was supposed to meet a Mandalorian from Clan Vizsla and while Buir had explicitly told her to come to the meeting place either early or on time to make a good impression, Reiel was running late.

Was it her fault that she found herself caught up in a lovers' tiff, with a man accusing the small Mandalorian of stealing his woman (damn, it reminded her of that one time in Corellia)? The situation would have been hilarious if the poor bloke didn't march up to her, towering over and squaring her up, before doing the unthinkable and attempted to yank her helmet off. Reiel would have let him, too, just to give him a glimpse of the face his girlfriend supposedly left him for if it weren't for the Mando liking to keep the anonymity her helmet offered her still. The quarrelling lovebirds, in the end, found themselves apologizing profusely to the irritated Mando once the girlfriend made things clear that no, she didn't even know the Mando who was just asking for directions, and while Reiel was supposed to be paying up for the medical expenses needed for the dude whose arm she had sprained the couple simply let her go.

It wasn't her fault that the dumbass thought he'd get away with trying to remove her helmet, let alone touch it.

The dive bar was quite easy to locate once she got directions, it was just that Reiel didn't think that she would be able to find yet another source of annoyance when a drunk, grinning Zabrak and his equally drunk friends barred her path before she could set foot inside.

“Heeeey, lookie here! Lookie here!” exclaimed the horned fool, raining down spittle on the small Mandalorian. “Have a look-see, you kriffers. Another bucket'ead, ey! And it's a lady! A huge-ass tree and a shortsta– oof! Argh! My jewels!!!”

Oooh, yikes, you're really late, thought Reiel as she shoved past the giggling drunks – but not before kicking the Zabrak where the sun didn't shine after that shortstack comment – and made her way towards the counter to order a drink for her fellow Mando. She hoped they'd accept her apology once she was done explaining why she was late–

“No alcohol,” said the bartender with a frown, “I don't serve minors the hard stuff.“

“I'm not a minor,“
Reiel deadpanned, “and I'm ordering cola. Alcohol's not mine, it's for my–“

The bartender's exasperated sigh and subsequent eye roll cut her off. He waved a dismissive hand at her, clearly uncaring of who and what her armor represented. The sheer lack of respect made Reiel grin in amusement rather than frown in anger, her curiosity growing as to why the old man was acting this way.

“If the kid thinks he could get away with having an adult order liquor for him, then he's still a lot greener than he thinks he is,“ grumbled the bartender before handing Reiel her cola and straw. He was still grumbling even as she turned away, muttering something about the dive bar being a shitty place but still having enough morals not to sell alcohol to ‘kids‘. Cola and straw in hand, it didn't take long for the small Mandalorian to find the person she was looking for.

Her approach was a little hurried, and when she took the seat across his in the booth Reiel – in typical Reiel fashion – was already smiling at him beneath the cover of her helmet. The smile widened at the sight of the Mando sipping at his cola with a straw. The smaller Mando between the two placed her own on the table and slid the straw into the bottle.

“Hello,“ she greeted him, soft voice rising a little louder than usual so he would be able to hear from the rowdy, background noises of the bar patrons. “I apologize for my lateness... you wouldn't believe what held me up. Come to think of it, I wouldn't even believe it myself. Oh, sorry, where are my manners? I'm Reiel Crowholde. You're Arthur of Clan Vizsla, is that correct?“

She most certainly didn't mishear Buir when he told her the name of the other clan's representative.

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Arthos Vizsla

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The bartender was talking to the Crowholde he was to meet and he could just tell by the way that the bartender was getting animated that it was another conversation about how he wasn't going to serve him alcohol. Arthos himself hadn't actually asked for any alcohol but he had made the mistake of asking for "a drink". Apparently, when asked in a bar, that meant he was asking for alcohol rather than anything else, as though it suddenly became the only "drink" possible to get in the Galaxy.

"Hod Ha'ran shits in my dinner once again..."


Already he could feel the potential scorn that the other Mandalorian would hold for him over having tried to obtain alcohol like some kind of common teenager out for some jollies. Arthos was out here to do the work of a Mandalorian warrior and he so longed to be treated as such and already he could feel the chance slipping through his fingers.

And she was only just approaching.

"...s'alright."
he muttered quietly when she apologized for her lateness, taking a small sip of his cola through the straw, "Probably something important don't worry about it."

Arthur?

Kark they hadn't even cared enough to give her his name right? What did that say about how the Clan viewed him if they were giving his name out wrong to other Mandalorians? How was he ever going to make a name for himself if he wasn't even being sent out under his own name?

Worse? He was so nervous...

"Hehe... y-yeah that's me..."


... he didn't even deny it.

Who was he to correct such a decorated (literally and figuratively) Mandalorian when he barely had enough armor to call it armor? He couldn't even rightfully call it Beskar'gam.

"So you good at tracking?"


Gods he was terrible at this too.


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Reiel Mal Crowholde

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Reiel had to lean forward a bit just to hear him, frowning in annoyance at the ruckus the patrons were making. The Mando across her was either soft-spoken like her, or he was disappointed about her tardiness. She was so close to apologizing again but hearing him assume about her being late because of something important prompted a muffled giggle from the small Crowholde.

"It wasn't important, to tell you honestly," she told him, voice tinged with embarrassment. One hand lifted to awkwardly rub at the back of her neck, fingers slipping past the space between her helmet and backplate. She knew she didn't need to elaborate but something about the way Arthur held himself made Reiel want to do so. "I, uh, got caught up in a lovers' tiff. Some guy thought I was stealing his girlfriend when in fact I was just asking for directions..."

Speaking about it to a Mandalorian she hadn't met before only served to make the encounter embarrassing rather than irritating.

The way he responded to the name piqued Reiel's interest even further. The awkward laugh and the stammer meant that he might be nervous about the meeting. Arthur was holding himself just fine, but she could notice the subtle tremble on his fingers while he held his drink. She was not one for assuming things, but there was something about the way he behaved that made her feel as if she'd done or said something wrong. Arthur himself made no direct indication that Reiel did, but she'd spent quite a while in the bounty hunting business and being a chief of security for an important ISC delegate for her to not turn a blind eye to her own intuition. She'd spent years around other sentients that she'd practically developed a sixth sense when it came to any wrongs she might have unintentionally made.

Arthur asked her a question, but Reiel didn't reply immediately. Instead she quietly stared at him for a moment, helmeted head slowly tilting to one side as she studied him.

"No," she lied at length, blatant and obvious. "I'm a terrible tracker. I suuuuuck."

Reiel took a sip of her own cola, gaze still trained on the Vizsla Mando. She then stood up seconds later, beckoning for him to follow as she made her way out of the noisy bar. Now out in the open the small Mandalorian would finally begin to properly see the height difference. She took one step away from Arthur, neck craning up, up, up to look at him.

"Holy kriff, you're kriffing tall!"

She wasn't probably making a good impression, but she was so impressed with the way he easily towered over her for her to care. He could probably yeet her off so easily if he decided she wasn't Mando enough for him. And besides he still seemed nervous. This was the first time he would work with her, and if being friendly, open, and honest would help him calm down then Reiel would gladly do so – she was told by her clan that it was in her nature to help, after all.

The small Mandalorian then composed herself, clearing her throat then stepping back beside Arthur again. She gestured for him to take the lead while politely saying,

"Can you give me a rundown on the nature of this meeting, Arthur? Thank you."

Reiel knew the nature of this meeting, she just wanted for Arthur to speak to her to help him calm his nerves.

But there was one thing she didn't know, though.

She still didn't realize that the mistake she'd been worried about was her getting his name wrong.

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Arthos Vizsla

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Huh she had been stopped because someone thought she was the man who had stolen their girlfriend from them? That probably said something about how insecure the boyfriend character was really. From the outside, Arthos would have to say that Reiel wasn't much to look at - so long as you completely and utterly ignored the armour she was decked out in. If you ignored that she cut a rather small and unassuming figure honestly.

Had she been a man he would have been very surprised that she was not a race of famously short peoples.

"Well I... that certainly sounds... distracting?"


It did kind of sound distracting but Arthos was also trying to judge whether or not Reiel had resolved the problem with a liberal application of violence. Because, contrary to the opinions expressed by one Vizsla, most of the clan he called home could be expected to resort to violence when things got in their way.

Oh.

"I can track people okay."
he admitted as if it was some kind of egregious sin to not be great at it, despite what Reiel had just said about her own skills at tracking, "Y-yeah my height helps sometimes. Lets me see over crowds."

Of course he didn't catch onto the fact that Reiel was lying about her tracking skills because he was already rather nervous about even being on the mission with her. She had a number of respected people who spoke highly of her and here he was, an absolute unknown kid from a clan that no one seemed to actually like or respect.

"Ah of course... well we're here mainly because of the gentleman in the far corner with the respirator."
he explained without looking away from Reiel, "Human with burn marks. He's a pirate starfighter pilot around these parts and he's going to lead us to their secret outpost. Do you have a ship or do you need a ride?"


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Reiel Mal Crowholde

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"Just 'okay'?" she pressed but really didn't expect an answer. Reiel took another sip of her cola, gaze still firmly locked on her fellow Mando. He didn't even call her out on her obvious lie, so she hazarded a guess that he was still nervous. About the meeting? Working with a Mando from another clan? Would it ease his nerves if she told him that Clan Crowholde was some kind of a sub-branch of the Vizsla?

"That's more than good for me," the small Mandalorian assured Arthur before he could make any further comment about his tracking skills.

She listened attentively while he spoke about the mission, not bothering to glance over her shoulder at the human he was referring to. Instead her eyes flicked up at the grimy mirrors behind him, pinpointing their target's direction though the reflection. Arthur's own gaze remained trained on her, prompting an approving smile from the small Mandalorian.

"Good head on those shoulders," she muttered almost absent-mindedly. "Already know when to look and not to."

Said human in a respirator shuffled from his seat and rose up to leave.

"I have a ship. Thank you for the offer, though," Reiel said with a smile. Depositing her empty bottle of cola on the corner, she once again made a gesture for the younger Mandalorian to lead the way, intent on making him lead the mission. She didn't know how much experience Arthur had, but it would be for his benefit to give him more by leading an older Mandalorian.

With her hands clasped behind her and the way she scrutinized the younger Mando, she probably looked like a teacher who was about to evaluate a rather anxious student.

"...blow up their secret base, then fly away before anyone could follow us, correct?" she followed up, the smile on her face extending to the tone of her voice. "Lead the way, Arthur."

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Arthos Vizsla

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Just Okay?

Oh gods she was already looking down on him because he wasn’t as skilled at something that she likely thought was essential to being a strong Mandalorian warrior. The trouble was that he was actually very aware of the fact that he was “just okay” at tracking – on foot. In space he was the best the clan had at tracking ships and cargo but that wasn’t going to be helping him here was it?

So he didn’t answer, just looking down and taking a sip of his soda.

He almost sucked his straw into his mouth when she assured him that it was good enough for her. Was she just being nice? He almost choked on some of the soda he sucked down and tried quickly to gather himself.

“Well I’ll try not to disappoint.”


Looking without looking was how he avoided getting a fat lip when he was younger.

“Learned that lesson well.”
He agreed, “Offer’s open if you want to stick together in the space section of the hunt.”

He picked up the gesture for him to be the one to move up but he just nodded so that she could tell he had seen it but didn't move straight away. Instead he waited until the human was turned away, clearly heading for the door, before making to stand up and setting down some loose change as a tip.

Arthos always tipped.

His helmet tilted to one side slightly as he allowed himself a nervous little smile. He was pretty sure she was teasing him in a joking kind of way so he played along with it.

"If you're good, we'll blow it up."
he joked back a little bit before coughing ever so slightly as he started to follow their target, keeping him a fair distance ahead of them as they stepped out into the crowds, "Just let me link our coms..."

He tapped a few buttons on his comlink at his waist, connecting his helmet coms to hers. They were able to almost whisper and be heard inside each other's helmet with startling clarity now.

"So while we track um... what's it like being a member of Clan Crowholde?"



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Reiel Mal Crowholde

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She smiled brightly up at him even if he couldn't exactly see the way her features lit up at his promise to try to not disappoint as well as the reconsideration for his earlier offer about his ship. Reiel watched as Arthur left a tip for whoever server was lucky to get to their table first, resisting the urge to pat the taller Mando's helmeted head. It was nice and sweet of him to do that, and she felt a little dejected that she would probably need to ask him to crouch down a bit so she could give him a head pat.

The main concern about it was if he wouldn't feel offended by the gesture, being treated like a child or something.

So she resisted the temptation.

"Ah, now I'm gonna have to accept that offer," she complained, but the chuckle that followed assured him that she was only joking about complaining. "I guess that's more wise than splitting up. Why is that giving me the assumption that you're a great pilot, though? Wouldn't be surprised if you are, really."

Stepping out of the bar, Reiel quickly lost sight of the target due to the crowds and her small height. Instead of seething, though, she walked beside Arthur confidently knowing that he was keeping good track and visual of the target. The small Mandalorian visibly perked up when he joked back about blowing up the pirates' base, a laugh escaping her before she could even smother it.

"I promise to be good," she joked back while he set about linking their comms. "You seem like a fun guy to hang around and go on missions with, Arthur. I like you."

It was an honest admission.

With their helmet comms now connected, Reiel glanced up at Arthur before replying to his question. He was trying to make small talk. If it helped him ease his nerves and be more familiar with who he was currently working with, then she wasn't going to begrudge him for it.

"Hmm, how to answer that... I can't just say that it's all great, you know? The clan has it's own flaws, one of them being that of the old timers being too strict to us younger generation. I can't blame them, though – the Alor is a Vizsla foundling, after all. From, um... the Death Watch. But Granddad–" she cleared her throat once and corrected herself, "the Alor, I mean, gave foundlings and those who embraced the Creed to choose between following the Way of the Mandalore or the Resol'nare itself, so that's one of the clan's good points."

She'd been one of those who switched from only following the Way to living up to the standards of the Six Tenets, after all.

"We've got terrifying and strict elders, but the clan is mostly the supportive type. They train you as if they're intent on killing you, but you'll realize that they're only doing that because they love you so much. Every Crowholde does that, either if you're a foundling or not. Even if we came from the, er, terrorist side of the House, everyone came out appreciative, grateful, and just overall loving and supportive, you know."

Reiel let out a quiet, awkward chuckle, face red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry for rambling. That... er, probably didn't properly answer your question..."

Maybe he was expecting a response along the lines of overall Mandalorian badassery, Clan Crowholde-style? If he did, then her rambling must have bored and disappointed him, surely?

"What about you? What's it like being a part of your clan?"

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Arthos Vizsla

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Oh gods, had he just bullied Reiel into accepting a ride in his ship? Kark, that was how some of those creepy old psa vids had started, with someone convincing the other to join them in their skeevy space ship! Thankfully his ship wasn’t skeevy and he was 98% certain that the Crowholde Mandalorian could probably break his hands if she thought he was going to even attempt anything untoward – which he absolutely wouldn’t try anyway, even if he might have made it seem like he was some creep with the ship offer!

Gods he was a mess already though she did ask about flying and…

“It’s in my blood.”
He declared in a mixture of honest to gods pride and only a slight hint of his nerves that usually showed up, “I remember who my people were before Clan Vizsla found me – I’m Ossein. Flying is who we are.”

And being good at it? It gave him a connection to his blood, to the people he was as tightly linked to as the Mandalorians of Clan Vizsla. He’d often had trainers use his heritage as an insult but he had always taken strength from it – there was nothing to say he couldn’t be just as much an Ossein as he was a Mandalorian.

Of course his pride would have been entirely replaced by further nerves and a touch of social anxiety had it not been for the fact that they were currently on a mission. Still, it did nothing to stop the way his cheeks brightened when Reiel said she was having fun.

“W-well I’d be happy to accompany you on more missions.”
He admitted easily, placing a hand on her shoulder to gently steer both himself and her around several small stalls of produce as their prey tried to lose any tails by heading through the market section, Arthos unerringly following his trek without difficulty, “Sorry – we’re going to need to make a cut through a side alley.”

Listening to her explain what her own life as a Foundling was like looking into a funhouse mirror – her clan had found her and did their best to integrate her and his clan has found him and done their best to ensure he didn’t embarrass them. It felt like he was being told about something completely different to his own understanding of what it meant to be a Foundling.

He just didn’t know who’s experience was the odd one out – which one of them had been out of the ordinary? Had his experiences been overly restrictive or was the process used by Clan Crowholde too permissive?

He just didn’t know.

Did he want to know?

“… sounds like Clan Crowholde is a tight knit family I mean Clan.”


As they were about to step out the other end of the side alley, he held out an arm to hold her back and the two of them watched as the target they were following passed by the mouth of the alley without so much as a glance in their direction. He let out a small breath and tilted his head to one side slightly.

“Think I might have to upgrade my own estimation of my tracking skills.”


He very carefully changed the subject away from his own Clan.


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Reiel Mal Crowholde

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The pride Arthur had when he revealed his origin was the first hint of self-confidence Reiel had sensed from the young Mando despite the nervousness he still felt. The fact that his pride shone brighter earned a relieved smile from her. She wished he would find that there was no reason to be so nervous around her – she didn't bite, and even if she did she was neither venomous nor rabid. It was only her self-restraint that prevented her from making such jokes, apprehensive that it might further make the young man anxious rather than relaxed.

Ossein, huh? It was her first time meeting and flying with one. A sudden spring to her steps was the only outward evidence that she now looked forward to the prospect. Reiel followed Arthur down the side alley he'd mentioned while she talked about her clan, the smile on her face turning brighter at his comment once she'd finished.

His observation based from what she'd told him was rather spot on. Despite the divide between the traditionalists and those who weren't, each Crowholde valued one another despite the Mandalorian way they chose. Her grandfather was the only clan member she could ask about the Vizslas, but even then his response was limited to the Death Watch.

She didn't fully know Arthur yet (and still didn't know she'd been calling him by the wrong name, really), but she hoped that his clan looked out for him much like hers did for her. He was a pretty nervous kid but the behavior was far from annoying.

Reiel would call him sweet, but she didn't want to offend.

Her musings about her fellow Mandalorian was cut short when Arthur held her back before she could step out of the alley. One gloved hand instinctively rose to wrap around his wrist, though the touch was surprisingly gentle. Together they watched their target in silence, and Reiel glanced up at him when he finally spoke again.

"Oh, you better," she teased him light-heartedly, "seeing as you didn't disappoint. Told you you're good enough for me."

Reiel didn't miss the change in subject, but chose not to ask again. She wouldn't begrudge him if he didn't feel like talking about his clan – there were still Mandos who remained secretive even when in the presence of their people, and if the young man was one of them then she would respect it.

Cautiously she stepped forward, out of the alley and onto the street. The path ahead led to the nearest spaceport, and the target was casually strolling towards his destination now without a care in the world. There were sentients milling about, only giving the pair of Mandalorians a cursory glance before returning to their own business.

"Ready to show me that legendary flying skills? Because I sure as hell am looking forward to it now," she told her companion with a grin, brown eyes sparkling with excitement like a kid on Life Day.

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Arthos Vizsla

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Arthos would do his best to avoid the feeling of pining he felt for something like the description that defined the Crowholde Clan. He didn’t have anything to really compare it to aside from holodramas and the rest – the kind of fantasies of a truly welcoming and loving family that were often entertained by the people who knew they were incredibly unlikely to ever have them for themselves. He was kind of jealous but also just kind of glad, in a weird way, that his own experience wasn’t a widely held one.

It would all be better once he proved himself anyway so what did it matter how the clan treated him now?

Everything would be better when he had fully proven himself to them.

It all started with little things, like this, like proving to another Mandalorian that his tracking skills were actually better than what he had feared. He grinned a little bit underneath his helmet and gave her a thumbs up.

“I’ll add it to the list so my Clan can evaluate me on it later.”


Oh… oh yes.

YES.

They had managed to trail the guy to the spaceport and that meant that this was no longer just about trailing him – it was about trailing his spacecraft. With much more confidence, Arthos nodded to Reiel and started striding toward his own ship with purpose. It was in a different area of the spaceport to their target’s ship but that was fine.

Just made it look like they weren’t after him.

He gestured to the rather large, almost awkward-looking, ship that was his pride and joy. The rest of his clan preferred sleeker ships and those made by local producers. Which meant that no one had objected when he claimed it. He unlocked it and pressed a hand up against the hull in fondness.

“My baby… AIAT-I Gunship, former Judicial ship. Rated for liquid landings, solid landings and space combat all at once.”
He grinned as he just stood by the ramp, “Welcome to my ship. Welcome to the Yaim.”


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Something changed about Arthur as he led her towards the side of the spaceport where his ship was docked. It was on a different direction from the man they were tailing, and though Reiel trusted that the younger Mando already knew what ship the pirate owned the Crowholde somewhat felt uneasy about losing sight of their target.

That same unease was quickly alleviated by the sudden burst of confidence from her Mandalorian counterpart. It was surprising – in an absolutely pleasant way – to see the nervousness eased off of Arthur's shoulders, and she didn't stop the wide smile from appearing on her face when he seemed to stand taller than he already was, to see the spirited way he walked as the pair approached his ship.

His earlier anxiety was endearing to Reiel, but a confident Arthur easily earned more of her trust and belief in his flying skills.

The sight of his ship made Reiel momentarily freeze from her tracks, brown eyes growing wide the longer she stared at the gunship. Slowly she followed him into the ship, gaze going this way and that while he spoke fondly of the ship aptly named the Yaim. Hands slightly trembling with excitement, the small Mandalorian stopped in front of Arthur with a grin that probably matched his.

"I never thought I'd see one of these again!" she exclaimed, excitement blatant in her voice. "Keeth – one of my clanmates – pilots the exact same thing! And–" an amused cackle "And he calls it the Frog! Get it? Because it's amphibious–"

Reiel's words tapered off into a mirthful chortle, one hand lightly slapping Arthur's chest.

"Kad preserve us, I'm sorry I got a horrible sense of humor–"

Trying to gather her wits as quickly as she could, the small Mandalorian's shoulders still shook lightly with the last vestiges of her mirth and unabashedly gave Arthur's chest a pat this time as if to apologize for her shitty humor. Reiel cleared her throat once before taking a step back and dipping her head to offer him a respectful bow.

Buir taught her to respect any Mando who showed pride for their craft and she would gladly extend the courtesy to the Ossein Mandalorian before her. Arthur had been nervous earlier, lacking the self-confidence she knew Vizslas possessed. But now, in his ship, he seemed a different man.

"I look forward to flying and tracking with you, Arthur of Clan Vizsla. I hope to learn from your methods, so please take care of me!"

Raising her helmeted head once more, she couldn't help but add, "Just so you know I'm smiling so wide right now, my face might split or something."

Could he blame her for giving her the opportunity to experience flying with an Ossein firsthand, though?

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Arthos was a different person when it came to his ship and flying in general and he knew it – it was hard not to know it. Even his own Clan had to, begrudgingly; admit that he was skilled behind the controls of his ship. Given how hard it was earn any kind of praise from his Clan, Arthos knew that it meant he was probably a lot better than they actually gave him credit for. They probably just didn’t want him to get a big head over his skills.

Especially as they always told him that skill behind the controls of a ship were not true Mandalorian skills and that he needed to work harder to be a warrior on the ground.

Or in the air with a jetpack but not a ship… it was confusing. All he knew was that his skills were not suitable for a true Mandalorian and he needed to work harder to fit in with what they knew was the correct way. They knew The Way and he had to obey and let them lead him.

“I know it’s not very in keeping with The Way but my skills behind the controls of this baby will really help us.”
He urged her to believe that he could contribute even with a skill so un-Mandalorian, “We had best hurry before he is too far gone to catch up with.”

He might be confident in his skills but there was no reason to be over-confident. As much as he might be a good pilot, they were chasing down a damned pirate pilot. Though her own enthusiasm was infectious as he grinned underneath his own helmet but he didn’t dare speak against her by laughing at the joke she had made. His Clan didn’t appreciate him laughing at them even when they were joking so all he managed was a weak little chuckle.

When she looked at him he ducked his head slightly.

“S-sorry, that was pretty funny is all…”


They needed to get a move on – both because their prey might otherwise evade them. Knowing that she seemed so enthusiastic about the chase through space as he felt helped with some of his nerves but the fact that it was going to space was also helping his confidence. He grinned underneath his helmet and hurried her onto the ship.

Flicking through his pre-flight checks with the fluid ease of someone born to fly, Arthos felt his own shoulders relaxing as a tension he hadn’t been aware of drained away. The ship began to ascend and he kept an eye on their prey on the scanners.

“Reiel, please man the short range scopes.”
He instructed her, “I’m going to see if I can get on his tail without him being aware but if I can’t, you should be able to get a frequency for his engines that means I can track him.”

Almost immediately the pirate began to bank and swerve, causing Arthos to curse loudly in Mando’a about the progeny of the pilot’s mother.

“Shrak! We’ve been made… Reiel, man the guns. We need to scare him into thinking we’re going to blast him, see if we can get him running scared.”



@Forsythe Crowholde
 

Reiel Mal Crowholde

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His apparent amusement at her joke brought another grin at Reiel's face, though it quickly disappeared when she thought about his comment with regards to his flying skills and his skills being not keeping with the Way of the Mandalorians. Confusion crossed her features. What did Arthur mean by it?

As far as Reiel was concerned (and as much as her Buir taught her) any skill that were honorable and helped a Mandalorian accomplish their goal made them a child of Mandalore. Hunting, fighting, tracking, even flying either a ship or with the use of one's jetpack. Did someone from his clan tell him that being an excellent pilot didn't count as a Mandalorian skill? If so, how could they say that? Even her Grandpa valued such skill and would – though rarely – give genuine praises to the best pilots in Clan Crowholde. So how could someone, if someone did say it, that a particular skill of Arthur's wasn't exactly in line with the Way?

Was it because of the younger Mandalorian's heritage as an Ossein? Because if that was their only reason then they could go – pardon her eloquence – kark themselves. She was sure that Arthur was using his piloting skills for the good of his clan and that made him a better Mando than those who probably looked down on his skills.
She wanted to ask who told him – or even taught him – that his particular skill was un-Mandalorian (although it wasn't exactly the term he used, ah, who were they kidding) so she could someday give them a piece of her mind if by some miracle they met. Reiel, however, chose to keep the thought to herself for the meantime out of respect for her current companion. Quietly she followed his instructions, but before she could sit down the younger Mandalorian let out a curse.

Swiftly she changed course when Arthur told her that the pirate seemed to have caught on the fact that he was being followed as she made her way out of the cockpit. As she slid down behind the controls the small Mandalorian thought about what gave them away. Eyes in their target and one of the dual light laser turrets aiming too close for comfort, Reiel fired a volley at the enemy craft, the bolts barely skimming the topside of the other ship.

She rarely missed a shot on purpose, but considering the fact that they needed the target to lead them to their base then Reiel just had to make do even if it slightly irked her.

The pirate's ship swerved to dodge each shot, every movement appearing as if each had been close calls. However Reiel knew that the target might soon caught up that she might have been missing on purpose so she let one graze the underside of the ship, leaving an ugly line of carbon scoring against metal.

“I'm sorry!” she blurted out, though not because one of her shots didn't exactly miss. “I held us up too long back in the alley then at the spaceport! Maybe that's why he caught up...?”

She had no idea if that was actually the reason why, but as far as she knew Arthur did excellently at tracking their target without being detected. Naturally, even if the reason didn't fit, Reiel had herself to blame.

@Nefieslab
 

Arthos Vizsla

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Ahead of them, the starfighter was unable to fire backward at them but it's pilot was far happier with the idea of collateral damage than they were. He displayed this by immediately opening fire on a nearby fuel storage pod that exploded with fiery intensity just as the Yaim was supposed to fly close to it. Cursing loudly to himself, Arthos held onto the controls of the ship tightly as he banked and weaved through the debris and the worst of the fire. No doubt the ship's plating would be carbon-scored but he wasn't going to cry about it.

They hadn't blown up and that was all kinds of good as far as he was concerned.

In a show of slightly more confidence than Reiel likely expected from him, Arthos shifted the speed output of the ship and spun into a horizontal spin on a dime, avoiding another set of debris that had been a shuttle owned by some hapless local. As he was doing this, Arthos grunted and shook his head.

"Reiel - don't focus on unknown failures. Focus only on the victories you can achieve."
he parroted to her some advice he had been given on many occasions by his clan, "Doesn't matter what happened, all that matters is we make sure we win!"

Winning was all that mattered.

It had been drilled into his head from such a young age that he wasn't even sure if it had started by some throwaway comment from his birth parents or the clan after they Found him. What mattered was that he was able to keep going, that he still had a chance to win. All he needed to do was ignore the debris that had once been a passenger liner... the pirate was hoping that they would lose heart if he killed more people.

He didn't.

"Reiel, when I tell you give me as detailed a scan of the ship as you can..."
he told her, "On my mark..."

Right before he spun the entire ship around on it's axis to avoid a particularly big piece of debris... or appear to anyway. In reality the debris clipped the bottom of the Yaim, sending it spinning in a way that appeared to be entirely uncontrolled, just as planned.

"Now!"



@Forsythe Crowholde
 
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