Log:Defiance Guild: Rori Runaway
Rori Runaway
OOC Date: August 9, 2017
Location: Rori, moon of Naboo
Participants: Defiance: Kasia Ashkuri, Tarion Tavers, Trillian Taim, Sapphira Solari, Rheisa Dirleel, special guest star Vraag Rengh, and Hex as GM
The short story: A freed slave on Rori panics and runs into the wilderness. Failboat and Douchecanoe hurry to the rescue!
The long story:
Welcome to Rori! After making arrangements with Queen Ailana Pareja herself, Defiance has established a small rehabilitation facility for freed slaves here on Naboo's less famous, considerably more swampy moon. Some of the slaves at the Lost Circus, those frightened about staying in Hutt Space, have been transferred here. It's very hot and humid on this moon, but this gracious villa is comfortable and atmospherically controlled, a nice place to rest and relax while the Ashkuris and their raggle taggle team of misfits and ne'er do wells check on the people they've brought here. Also along for the ride is one Vraag Rengh, a weaponsmith with business to conduct here, as facilitated by his association with the Ashkuris. Right now, there is a bit of downtime, everyone lounging in a courtyard with plants and fountains. Hex is off somewhere speaking to the gentleman in charge of this place, who seems very Nabooian; responsible and kind and professional and none of the things we are. You garbages. Everything is quiet and nice. FOR NOW.
Vraag Rengh had donned his Mandalorian Armor for the trip out, the olive and green-tan hues of the plates and fabric accented by the thin scarlet line painted around the helmet's visor. On his back is the large powercell pack that maintains a steady supply to the large blaster rifle slung diagonally across his back, while two thin and curved-blade swords dangle within their scabbards from his waist. The man is armed to the teeth, though given the line of work he is in and the nature of his business on this trip, it is likely all to show the prowess of his abilities.
The armorer/weaponsmith is currently leaned back against the wall of a nearby building, fiddling with a Welcome to EditPad.org - your online plain text editor. Enter or paste your text here. To download and save it, click on the button below.
"Just try to keep it covered. But not //too// covered or it'll overheat. But covered enough that it doesn't get wet." Sapphira is giving instructions to one of the slaves who has a window cooling unit for his shanty hut. A window cooling unit that is not working as designed or promised. The redhead, with her hair down and wearing that same purple sleeveless hippie dress that she carried around during their drug-fueled costume party, seems comfortable and sober, today. She smiles to the former slave, a Rhodian, and shakes his hand. For now, the window cooling unit is humming along prettily.
Trillian Taim pulls her flight suit collar away from her neck and fans herself with her hand. It's warm. And muggy. And extremely humid. Trillian feels herself wilting almost as much as her hair, which has turned into a horrible, damp, lanky mess on top of her head. She wipes the everpresent beads of sweat from her forehead and glares angrily at the hazy, overhead sun. "... ugh... it's so ... wet here..." Trillian complains to nobody in particular. Giving up fanning herself and resigning herself to just being impossibly sweaty, she continues helping unload supplies off of the hovercart that they had brought from the spaceport.
Tarion Tavers, bounty hunter extraordinaire, is masquerading quite effectively as a mustachio'd space gunslinger with a suit of heavy armor and a bushy, waxed handlebar mustache. A deliberately combed and coiffed side part of black hair tops his head, and a thick cigar is jammed into the corner of his mouth, unlit. He's just chewing on it, making a show of cleaning the G8 rifle with its ridiculously spacious ammo cartridge, sat there in the corner of the courtyard.
Kasia is also here! Even though her player took forever, I'M SORRY OK. She's wearing actual armor too, for like the first time ever, and she seems fairly uncomfortable with it. "How can anyone do anything in this?" she asks, helmet under one arm as she shifts around awkwardly. It doesn't help that it's not actually her armor, so it's a little bigger than she is, though not by THAT much, just enough that it's made a teensy bit more awkward than it would otherwise be. "I don't know how I let Hex talk me into this."
Sapphira's Rodian friend seems glad for her instruction. He nods several times and his gratitude is a bit deferential, but he's learning. He carefully collects his cooling unit and tools, then heads off to get back to work. Shortly after he departs, two figures stride into the courtyard: Their host, a human man with salt and pepper hair, a tidy goatee, and subdued clothing of excellent make, and Hex, who looks busted, like always. Hex looks a little more busted than usual, to be honest; a slightly paler green hue than he should be, sweat beading on his lumpy, gross Twi'lek dude brow. "Kassurra, ai'jouku, we have a problem," he greets everyone. The words are very lightly touched with a Ryl accent atypical for him, which is basically Space French. "The first of which is that I'm dying. Ryma'at. I am sick as hell. /Don't even say anything/," that seems addressed to his wife. "I /know/, ok ka. You look great though, nonna. Hah." His lekku curl in brief amusement, then back to business. "One of the slaves has run away. They have been helping her with some mental and emotional difficulty, but she became frightened and ran off into the swamp. We need to get her back before she gets sick or hurt. /You/ need to go get her back, because I'm already sick and hurt. The swamps are not like Restuss City though, ok ka, they are unsettled, and they can be dangerous. Mr. Rengh, if you want to go with my people, you are welcome to lend your aid, you are not required of course."
Vraag listens to what Hex has to report from his position leaned against that building wall. When Hex directs his comments toward him, Vraag shrugs shoulders clad in the heavy Mandalorian armor and grunts through the vocoder in his helmet, "Have to do something, I guess. I don't mind going out and helping your folks round the girl up."
"Ah," Sapphira says, looking down at herself. She went for light, airy, and comfortable today. But never fear! "Give me twoooooo minutes," the redhead decides, and she skips off toward the house to get some additional clothing. She'll be gone for a few minutes, and then return wearing black pants, a tank top, knee-high all-weather boots, and her weapon strapped to her belt around her middle. She's pulled on her fitted armor beneath it, and drawn her hair up into a ponytail. She's ready to tag along by the time the next round happens.
Trillian perks up as Hex explains the situation. She ponders it for a minute and then looks out over the horizon, shading her eyes with one hand. "... seems clear enough. Hex, should I take the fighter up to do some air recon? I'd take the Stranger, but she's pretty big and moves like a pregnant nerf in this humid air." Trillian looks back over at Hex, biting her bottom lip concernedly. She looks like she's going to say something about his complexion, but instead squashes it down.
"That there sounds like a job for the ol' Ramblin' Ringo," Tarion- er, Ringo announces, getting to his feet with exaggerated difficulty and adjusting his cigar. "Y'all kids go on and have yer party. This swamp ain't big enough to hide one girl from a man of my skills." With a long sigh and a distant, far-seeing squint, he shoulders his rifle, turning toward the entry Hex and host just walked in through. "That's where I'll bring 'er back in an hour or so, I'd stake my life on it."
Kasia ambles over to her sickly looking husband when he returns, smiling at him with obvious fondness that leans toward amusement when he tells her not to say anything. "Alright." Though the amusement fades as she listens to the situation, brows furrowing a touch by the time he's done. Tarion gets a look. "It's a job for all of us, keep your mustache on, Rambler." With that she leans in and tries to give Hex a peck on the cheek. "Don't eat anything while we're gone. Even I'm getting tired of that gel, and I'm not the one who has to eat it."
"Everyone this Vraag Rengh, by the way, if you haven't met him," Hex gestures at the giant, "He is a Mandalorian Mando from Mandalore." He didn't fact check that. FAKE NEWS! "Also a fine crafter of weapons and armor. Trillian, my lia'rukh, air reconnaissance -- ay Kasia do you like that, that's a word with four syllables, babe --" he's so smart "won't help here. The trees over the swamp are too thick. The swamp itself is too deep to walk through as well; you will have to take a number of small boats. Tarion, how much will it cost me to buy off you never gluing hair to your face again, that is so disgusting, ok." He produces a small palm size holo and lights it up; an image of a thin, pretty Cathar woman appears. "This is your missing girl. Her name is Bira. Please be gentle with her, she may not be in her right mind, she does not know where she is heading, as there is nothing out in the swamps, but she stole a boat and left anyway. Good luck, my friends. And Tavers." He hands the holo to Kasia, and then the human host whose name I forget, I want to say it's Joko, steps forward. "Bira was last seen headed west, and she has an hour head start on you. Gather anything you need, my people will lead you to the boat launch when you are ready...."
(the scene fades out with one of those real cheesy, wavy camera cuts and then back in)
The boat launch is on the far outskirts of the city, where civilization loses ground to the wild. There are two boats like long thin canoes, each can fit three people. They do have a fan-like motor to propel them quietly over the water, but there are also oars in the case of emergency. The heat and wet is ferocious, the air thick with mist. The swamp looks like: 
"I am actually from Indoumodo. A jungle planet in Lost Space," Vraag corrects the sickly little Twi'lek in a low, but mostly amused tone. The amusement felt by one that is fairly sure he can break someone. "But yes, if the girl is gone and in the dangers of the swamp, we should probably be off. Once on the canoe like boat, Vraag stands very still, least his weight capsize the water craft.
Sapphira almost misses the boat, literally, coming in late as she was after getting changed. "Hold up, hold up!" She calls to the others, booted feet smacking hard along the docks before she jumps into the boat. Her own diminutive size means the boat only jostles a little as the girl quickly finds a seat back out of the way, near to the fans in case anything should break.
Trillian looks at the boats and opts for the less populated one. She slips into the driver's seat and looks at the controls. "Seems easy enough..." Trillian looks up at everybody else. "Anybody coming with me?"
"Ain't you ever heard-a swamp monsters, missy?" Tarion questions, hopping onto the skiff with Trillian and eying her position at the helm. "You ever driven one-a these bad boys before? Mayhap you'd best stay home, and let an ol' hand like Ringo chart the path ahead a mite, see? Sure as shootin' bound to be trouble up ahead, and I aim t'be the first to bring back that perty liddle cat-lady and see just how full o' grate she is, so I do." He's looking for a way to start it up, and settles with kicking at the nearest engine with his boot. "Let's get a move on!" Is Kasia coming?
Kasia takes the holo image of the young Cathar from Hex, and gets ready to head out. She has armor on, but also a small pack that probably contains emergency medical supplies, and maybe a few other things. Not too many though, the pack isn't that big. They head to the boats, and she keeps back, watching to see which one she should get in. There's a moment of hesitation before she heads toward the boat containing the TTs. In case someone on that boat needs to get grounded.
Vraag's canoe sinks dangerously low in the water when his fat ass gets on board, but Sapphira is just a little wisp of a thing, and doesn't cause it to sink much lower. Even though she is leaping into it with a scampery lack of discretion. Trillian and Tarion and Space Mom make up the other boat, so each canoe has at least one Adult. You all have provisions, which may include an ice chest full of beer. Starting up the engines is easy, they seem relatively straightforward, and for a little while, the path forward seems clear, ish -- at least, there's only one 'main waterway' through the trees and muck and swamp, and going a different way would mean some definite trouble with the canoes. The fan-like motors propelling the canoes are whisper quiet, easy to steer, but the silence seems oppressive and ominous, the further they get from civilization and the boat launch. Eventually, the waterway opens up, but they've come to a "fork in the road," so to speak. They'll need to choose whether to go left, or right. Swarms of tiny buzzing, biting insects have made this watery crossroad their home, and descend upon the group in a thick, disgusting cloud. They seem only interested in biting the humans, though Vraag does breathe one in by accident. Sapphira and Kasia are annoyed by the pinch, pinch of the bites, but there seem to be no lingering effects. Trillian gets little red welts all over and it's SO ITCHY AAAHHHHHH AHH SO ITCHY NO WHY. The cloud will clear up regardless of whether Failboat and Douchecanoe go left or right.
Vraag's eyes sweep left to right behind the visor of his super awesome, Hex-so-jelly, Mandalorian helmet. He holds his blaster rifle in his hands, keeping an eye out for space crocodiles or hippos, and other than a slight cough at eating a bug, he only grunts in mild annoyance over his shoulder at Sapphira, "Try to be still back there... If you start to turn us over I'll toss you out of my boat."
Sapphira's got her hand on the accelerator, pressing downward to speed the boat and lifting to slow it down, testing and getting a feel for it. She looks hard toward Vraag and his complaints, even as she smoothly turns the boat to follow the left path. "Your boat, is it?" she asks, wrinkling her nose in distaste at her boat partner. But really, there wasn't a //good// boat choice was tehre.
Trillian jumps in her seat again, as another sting raises a painful welt on her arm. "Kriffin' bugs..." she mutters under her breath, as she feels another pinch. This time, unconsciously, she jerks the airboat to the right as she takes her hand off to slap at the welt. Whatever invisible stinging thing biting her continues to bite her blithely. Trillian regains control of the boat quickly and shifts her itchy, itchy shoulders. "... sorry... my bad... I have it, it's all under control..." she reassures her passengers. Trillian slows down as they come to the fork in the road. Watching as Sapphira steers the boat to the left. "Guess we'll go... right?" Without waiting for an answer, Trillian gooses the accelerator, pulling the airboat into a sharp curve to the right.
Tarion is being eaten alive. His hands are covered in blood, driving the ruse of 'Ramblin' Ringo' from his mind. He keeps swatting but the bugs keep landing. He peels the mustache off and throws it overboard, followed by the wig, with a "GAH, IT'S INFESTED!" He's definitely rocking the boat. He's not paying enough attention to anything else to berate Trillian for doing a fantastic job of piloting.
Kasia is totally fine, there is the occasional waving of a hand to swat away insects, but she's not getting any of the welts that the rest of the people on her boat are. She lets out a little yelp as the boat is jostled, one hand reaching down to cling to the edge of her seat so she doesn't topple out of it. Or into the water. The water is so gross. Why does Hex do this to her. They come to the fork, and she's just about to say something, lips parted and everything, but they they swerve off in to opposite direction. There's a little sigh, but then she presses the comlink button. "Alright, we're not together anymore, but if anyone runs into trouble, /say something/ so that the other boat can come back. Alright?"
The two canoes sail quietly along their separate paths, however ill advised that might be, through the mist, around the soggy logs peppering the green-scummed water. Low hanging branches reach out as though trying to grab the swamp-farers, and thick swaths of moss hang wetly from ropes of vines criss-crossing the waterway. There is no obvious sign of the missing slave girl and her craft, though perhaps there are some clues for those looking closely. Sapphira is doing her best to navigate Failboat through the waters, and thus far, she is succeeding -- a waterway opening out ahead might even connect to where Douchecanoe sailed off to. Vraag abruptly notices that there is a mid-sized black snake curled up at the back of their boat, near the fan. Will he kill it, or tame it and wear it around as a cunning scarf?
Vraag turns his head to regard Sapphira, his expression behind the visor of his helmet every bit as sour as Sapphira's. Something else catches his eye, though with the helmet Sapphira likely wouldn't be able to tell. The Mandalorian takes the time to hook his rifle onto his ammo pack, then turns and begins making his way back along the canoe. He draws one of his finely crafted swords as he goes, the blade black and honed to a razor's edge. He is quite close to Sapphira before he draws his arm back and lunges with a stab, skewering the snake and tossing it into the spinning fan of their boat. As the scaled flesh connects with the quickly spinning blades, it sprays a finely chopped snake body and a lot of blood over both Vraag and Sapphira. The Mandalorian doesn't seem to mind as the scarlet liquid runs across his armor, and only mutters, "Yeah. It's my boat."
"What the frick?!" Sapphira has no idea there was a snake there, or anything else for that matter other than Vraag who, apparently, she has no hope of getting along with. One hand shoots up from the controls to rub over her face, smearing off some of the snake blood. She looks at it, then at the remains of a piece of snake bod, then at her hand, then at Vraag again. Vraag, who just swiped the sword within inches of her lovely un-snake-like flesh. "Well you'd better sit your ass down if you want to stay on //your// boat, big guy. One turn and your weight'll tumble you right off." She gives him another bright green glare and then turns her eyes to the watery path in front of them again. Her cheeks are flushed with displeasure.
Trillian continues gunning the boat down their chosen path of doom... i mean... adventure. High adventure. In that... we must have been high to choose this path... At least, the faster she goes, the less likely the cloud of bugs will feast on her. Trillian looks at Tarion, and then Kasia, but they seem pretty fixated on watching the two sides of the river, so she continues to just make sure they don't crash into anything. Huh... is that a banjo I hear? No... must be my imagination...
What Trillian missed when she was busy gunning the boat as quickly as she can was the tiiiiiny scrap of white fabric fluttering from the end of a branch up ahead. Tarion, who's managed to ignore the prickly rage of the rash spreading across his face long enough to remember that there might be a reward to earn out here, scans the scenery just in time to pick it out. "Ah! A CLUE!" The boat is moving fast but that doesn't stop him from scrambling to the edge, leaning waaaay out while the boat travels at speed and clutching for the thing, which he grabs somehow and twists his body back over the center of the boat. "Hahaha! I got it!" he cries, springing upward with surprised delight. Right into a low-hanging branch, the poor fool. Clutching the clue, he collapses in the bottom of the skiff-canoe.
Kasia is indeed pretty fixed on watching one side of the river, eyes narrowing. "Hey, do you see that?" she asks, pointing out that same scrap of fabric that Tarion dives for, who then learns the hard way why you don't stand up in boats that are moving, especially in the gross jungle. "Kriff. Trillian slow down, there was something." And then she goes to check that the dude in the mustache disguise wasn't just killed by a low hanging branch.
The good news is that Sapphira finds a path for Failboat through the waterways, and they manage to rendezvous with Douchecanoe, in time to see Tarion get clocked by a branch and pass out. He's ok, he's just having a little nap. His skull is quite thick. The bad news is that everyone, quite completely everyone, fails to understand that the water is clearing up... and then it seems to be moving, not stagnant... and then it seems to be moving faster... and with surprising abruptness, the two canoes sail right over the edge of a small waterfall, wheeee! These are Naboo craft, and quite sophisticated, so they land in the green-scummed pond below without tipping over. The rest of you are a lot less sophisticated, and you all fall out, straight into the water. Tarion remains in his canoe like he's on his way to a viking funeral. Up ahead, a third boat can be seen through the mist, run aground on a muddy bank. It appears that something has bitten or clawed it.
Vraag is a big guy... like really big, ladies. As such, when the inevitable waterfall causes their boat to float out into empty space, the Mandalorian's weight causes the front of the boat to shove down under the water and begin to sink for a moment. Certainly long enough for the heavily armed Vraag to go overboard. Pitching off into the water, Vraag can feel the ground beneath his feet, as well as the flow of water keeping him shoved beneath the surface.
Sapphira doesn't swim. We've proved this on several occasions. So when the nose of the boat dips down and their forward momentum suddenly hauls them to a downward-sloping stop, the redhead is flung forward from her seat after the Mandalorian. He's already off the boat by the time she tumbles to the nose, though, so as the front of the boat starts to rise she reaches out, grasping for the edge with one slender, pale hand. And she's got it. So while she can't swim, she can at least cling...and let out a string of Nar cuss words that echoes across the swamp. Green slime clings to her cheeks, her body, and her hair is now turning this awkward, unnatural color as a result, like fading copper.
Kasia is so busy making sure that the dumb bby didn't kill himself, she doesn't notice the waterfall, or perhaps, placing her trust in the person steering the boat. NEVER AGAIN. As it always does, nature betrays her, and before she really can comprehend what's happening, she's tossed over the edge of the boat and into the water. If the armor she's wearing didn't have huge holes in the helmet, she might be kicking herself that the helmet is presently floating away with Tarion to Valhalla, while she's left in the watery mucky hell, but it has huge holes in it so she'd just have a harder time seeing while trying not to drown. Which she manages not to do, because as has been previously established, she's a very strong smimmer, and even in the armored getup, manages to make her way to solid ground. Eventually.
Splash, into the pond! Gross. Trillian manages to knock herself on the noggin as well as the canoes go over the waterfall, with the end result that she snuggles up with Tarion, and they're oblivious to the danger surrounding everyone else. And danger it seems there is indeed, beyond pond scum and indignity. As Sapphira and Vraag fall into the pond, it suddenly whips to life with... something... creatures, it's hard to tell what at first. At first it just looks like a roiling splashy mess of sleek bodies, but after a moment it becomes clear that these are long, serpentine animals with huge, wicked teeth. One is about Vraag size, and one is about Sapphira size. They have cloudy, piggish eyes and seem to be covered with both fur and scales, acting as though in a panic. But then again, you did just fall into their living room. Home invasion! Some ways away on the bank opposite Kasia, a nest of bright yellow eggs can be seen built of mud and leaves. They're just protecting their babies!! Unfortunately that means trying to dismember Sapphira and Vraag, the latter of whom finds a ferocious wound being chomped out of one of his legs. The water colors red with blood, and it mingles poorly with the green pond scum.
So preoccupied is Vraag with trying to escape the churn of the waterfall, that he doesn't notice the angry creatures at first. Only when they start chomping on his ass does he growl out a stream of bubbles and attempt to lash out with his elbows before going for his swords.
Sapphira has a hold of her boat, and she is strong enough only to lift herself slightly out of the water to look around. That vantage point is enough to give her a glimpse of Trillian and Tarion, both out like little lights. All she gets is a glimpse ... and then she's sinking back into the water, just as blood and bubbles start to churn from nearby. "Boat's all yours, asshole," she informs Vraag, who likely cannot hear her nor would he care at this point in time. Sapphira abandons the ship, quickly paddling toward the other boat. It takes her three tries to pull herself into it, and after a quick check to make sure Trilly and her ex-husband are alive, she takes the reigns, so to speak, and begins to move then towards shore.
Kasia made it to the edge of the water without any trouble, and she's feeling slightly less hateful toward nature when she turns to look out at the water and see that it's attacking someone that isn't her. Not great, but at least nothing has taken a bite out of her. Yet. There's still time. When she turns back to the gross stuff out there that some people might call water, her hand goes to the blaster she's carrying, unfastens the clasp or whatever holds it closed, and takes aim. A little more time is spent aiming than some people might need, but she's still not the best shot ever, and she doesn't want to kill anyone with friendly fire. Thankfully, she doesn't, striking the terrible protective parent monster badly enough that it's probably not gonna make it. Suck it, nature.
While the water comes alive with teeth and fury, something else is moving across the bank, by that precious nest. Stripes slip in and out of reedy foliage and a pair of hopefully familiar horns rise up out of the weeds. A quiet lament sounds in the back of Rheisa's throat as she surveys the damage and also the fact that the wreck survivors are swimming to the /wrong/ embankment. wrong, because she is over here, nice and dry...ish. It's eel farm, all over again. The slender reeds part as a thicker, hollow 'reed' pokes out and she sucks in a monster breath before launching at whichever flash of fur and scales seems most vulnerable in that moment.
A Tasmanian Devil in Mandalorian Armor and two Mandalorian Swords comes to life when the evil beasties begin to feast upon the luscious ass of Vraag Rengh. The large half-human draws both of his swords and begins to twist and turn in the nasty ass water, stabbing and slicing both beasts until the water is tinted with blood that is not his own. Only once the beasts are very much dead, does the man's survival instincts relax enough for him to realize his need for air, and begin to struggle for the bank.
There is basically a tornado of swords in the water right now, which means that Kasia is definitely not going anywhere near that to assist anyone. What she does end up doing is wading out a few steps, ugh, to catch the boat that Sapphira was driving before, trying to drag the thing around so that it too comes up on the shore, rather than float away beyond their reach. She doesn't want to have to walk back.
Thrashing, churning, bloody froth...it's something fresh out of Rheisa's nightmares. Tohg'na'ki! She shouts something unintelligible when the underwater violence gets more messy, pacing franticaly near the water's edge. Then pieces start to float up, followed by a tangled mess of hair and...Mandolorian. Oh thank goodness. She plops back onto her tush, muck soaking in through the hide 'skirt' before she cam even twist around to pick up an egg. She doesnt care. The egg gets turned thoughtfully over then pressed against her cheek for a listen. "You bring boats this side, yes?" as she wipes the shell 'clean' on her top wrap and experiments with the best angle to work her fang(s) into this thing.
Poor animals! Their nest is unguarded now, and pieces of their bodies mingle with the pond scum, no match for Vraag's fury of blades. Everything is suddenly and abruptly quiet; Sapphira guards the cozy and sleeping Trillian and Tarion, Kasia has rescued the escape boat. The canoes are undamaged, and should be easy to use to ferry Rheisa across if need be. From nearby, just up the bank from Kasia, comes the quiet sound of someone crying. And if the team should investigate, there at last is their missing Cathar slave girl. She is wearing simple, nice Naboo-style clothing in shades of white and gray, muddy and torn now, and her fur is a pretty red-gold color. She is crying into her hands, brokenly.
Vraag appears, the crown of his head and helmet rising from the water like Chuck Norris in a late 80's to early 90's military film. Slowly the large human stalks from the water, still holding his swords and covered in blood and goop from the nasty water. His eyes sweep from Kasia to Rheisa, then in the direction of the crying. He walks down the bank, his footfalls heavy and still holding his weapons until he can spot the Cathar. He looks at her for a beat before finally sheathing his blades and saying, "You have some explaining to do, girl."
Kasia hears the crying too, and turns to hurry along once the boat is secured, coming up on the crying Cathar just in time to hear the words from Vraag. "No," she replies in a tone that sounds stern, maybe even a little chiding. "She does not. She doesn't have to explain anything, but," and here her tone gentles, turning back to the Cathar. "Bira, will you come with us? I know you're afraid, but we're here to help you. If you're unhappy here for some reason, we can find you a different home, somewhere that's a lot better than being out here. Alright?" She slowly extends one gloved hand to the Cathar, no sudden movements, trying very hard not to spook her.
For the record: swamp danger eggs smell like sulphur and taste like ...well. Not bird eggs. Rheisa chews obligingly through what's inside, hungry and in need after her long climb down and around the watery shortcut. A raspy, purple tongue hastily slurps her gooped fingers clean, then she scoops up just two more eggs and tucks them wherever she deems safe on person. One eye watches the activity on the opposing bank, montrals watch her own ass, and feet lead her about a hundred yards downstream to where a fallen, half sunken tree could have potential to help her across.
For a moment, it seems Vraag might have made things worse, as the Cathar slave looks up and glares defiance (Defiance!) at him with wide green eyes. "I will give you nothing, /Mandalorian/," she replies with hissed emphasis on the nature of his armor. "Nothing! There is nothing left that you can take from me!" She looks like a creature trapped and cornered, someone who would have no chance if it came to a contest, but perhaps believes herself out of options. Someone who looks like she's going to run, going to fight, and likely to make a mess of things if she does either. Kasia is familiar with this demeanor, actually! But her words seem to help, even though the girl isn't quite relaxed yet, and doesn't yet take the hand offered. "This home doesn't matter. None of it matters. Nothing is left for me."
"I know," Kasia's tone is gentle in the face of the Cathar, that hand still outstretched. "I know that it feels like it doesn't matter now, because some bastard out there took it all away from you, and that's unfair to you, it's unfair that you have to try and figure out how to build something again. I wish that you didn't have to, but it is possible now that you have the choice to. I know it probably seems like a lot, but start small, first you can decide whether you're coming with us, and then you can decide what you're having dinner, the more you do it, the easier it'll become. Which is easy to say, I know, but you're not alone in this, if you need help, we will help you."
Meanwhile, Rheisa has strapped the blowgun over her shoulder and is standing at the trunk end of what thankfully is a tree and not granddaddy swamp danger. Headtails turn furiously bold in color, stiffening in posture as se summons the courage needed to reunite with the pack. She gingerly eases forward until hands and knees and smushed into the sodden wood. Her crawl forward is slow going, cautious, and reeking of fear. Scary water...scary water...scary water... A timid little song sparks in her throat. Probably a prayer to water demons.
Emerging from the area that Kasia and Vraag have come from, Tarion Tavers returns onto the scene, rubbing at a large knot on his forehead and scowling fiercely as he approaches this little congregation. "/Or/ you can decide to hell with all this," he offers as another alternative, giving the Cathar an appraising glance. "And come with me instead. You look like a smart girl. I'll get you out of here, and take you somewhere you can get rich. Like on my ship, you can clean it and sleep at the foot of my bed." She's a cat-person, isn't she? "See the galaxy! It's a win-win." A smirk has settled in under the shade of his hand as he keeps rubbing his head with the back of his hand.
Bira was juuuust reaching for Kasia's hand, cautiously, maybe a touch hopeful. The nice lady said she can decide, that she can choose for herself. And this does go a long way toward convincing her, just that little promise: you can choose. She takes the hand, and rises to her feet. Bira is indeed very pretty, which probably did her no favors in her life as a slave. Then, of course.... Tarion speaks. Oh, that Tavers. He isn't awful enough to totally erase Kasia's success, but Bira does dive behind the other woman, unhappy. "Don't touch me! Don't speak to me!" she hisses at Tarion like an angry kitty, which, she is. "Don't you ever speak to me!"
Vraag does not say anything as Kasia cuts across him to try and console the pesky Cathar. Instead he turns away from the pair and reaches up to unsnap his helmet and lets his tangle of wild black hair fall free. As Tarion moves over and begins his flirting, the Mandalorian shakes his head and hollars to Rheisa, "You alright?"
Kasia stands up a little straighter and turns, arms spread slightly in the way one sometimes does when acting like a shield for the person behind them. "Tavers, stop it. Apologize to Bira." She twists around enough to look back at the Cathar behind her. "I'm sorry about that, he's an idiot. Feel free to ignore what he says, he won't actually do you harm." Because he knows he'd lose a paycheck if he did. She doesn't add that part, though. "I'll make sure he's in a different boat from us, alright?"
Just a few more knees-over hands, Bira, and you and Rheisa can hiss at have/badmouth Mr Tavers together...Rheisa sadly misses sight of the girl's reaction, because she is staring worriedly at the spindly bit of limb that doesn't quite touch the bank. She's gonna have to go in, but her dunk comes sooner than anticipated when the rotted wood gives way and *sploosh!* Togruta in the drink. Her beam turns to choking gurgle in just over a foot of water as she lands like a drunk turtle. Magical powers of levitation aka fear vault her right back out and onto the bank. "Am okay!" She meekly calls, buried for the moment in a pile of leafy detritus that was not as solid as it appeared half a heartbeat ago. She just needs a moment, maybe. One hand feels around to ensure her precious eggs are still there.
"Apologize for what?" Tarion replies, confused, his brow furrowing, but the look that Kasia is giving him suggests that he better toe the line or risk losing his precious paycheck. "Uh. Well, I um... sorry? Yes. I am /sorry./" Is that the first time anyone has heard him say that word? It might be. "I was caught up in your beauty, Beera, captured by its gravitational pull like a fighter drawn by a tractor beam." The smirk is back. "But don't worry, I'm a consummate professional."
Bira does not like Tarion, nope nope! Her ears fold back and she looks away from him, despite the apology, cringing as though sick, for whatever reason, when he praises her appearance. There's a little tiny nod-nod when Kasia promises the bounty hunter will go into another boat, but other than that, she's dropped into quiet obedience. The rest of the canoe ride home is pleasantly uneventful, and when they return the villa, concerned helpers take over to make sure the wayward Cathar is alright. She doesn't say anything else for the rest of the ride, but the feistiness she showed Vraag and Tarion seems to have gone out, and for now at least, she seems unlikely to flee again. It is a job well done, with no casualties except for Vraag's luscious ass, but this girl might be one to check on later.
