The Shadow Cove [LM9, Closed]

[Daunt]

The beach was trapped between two perpendicular cliffs and the entryway was so narrow that for all but the closest approach it would seem as seamless rock. The sunlight barely touched the ground here, only around noon, when it was directly above the crevasse, otherwise Daunt's hideout was covered in shade, preventing bolder vegetation from ever growing in this place. That moment of illumination was about to happen soon and give some sheen to the hut built of a skeleton of some large sea mammal who had got trapped in the cove and never found a way back, and of dark driftwood, over the past two weeks. There were many crab scuttling about, long done with the stranded sea mammal.

The hut was an extra as the boat was liveable, more like a resting and cooking place. Daunt had shifted to seafood lately, hunting with a harpoon in the nearby waters. For lunch there was a wholesome cephalopod, now being fried.

[Dapper Dog]

“I am so glad you know how to cook because I don’t have the patience for it,” she said watching him work.

“So…. We should probably talk, who’s that Mandalorian… the one that I am pretty sure is a woman. Never can tell with those helmets and all.”

[Daunt]

"We should talk about great many things, Lyla." He agreed with a nod. "If this is one that troubles you most, let's clear it out."

He cleared his throat. "Yes, she's definitely a woman." He looked at her. "I won't lie to you. This whole issue of not following my instinct is new to me. Before you I hadn't been in any kind of relationship and just fucked whenever there was a shared mood for it without adding a bigger story to that. Well, I kind of had been that one time but hadn't been aware of it since it had long been left unspoken."

He rolled his shoulder and rolled the meat over the fire. "But you've made it clear it's something that you won't have any of, so I can mend my ways for your sake. I've already done bigger things for you and you for me to agonise over this. If it hurts you, it won't be happening."

[Dapper Dog]

She brightened and said, “Thanks I wasn’t sure if that was fair, but I know how I feel, and it makes me crazy to feel that way so thank you. I guess I never had that thought… everything had to be just right so I never even thought about that kind of stuff until you came along.”

“Thanks, that was easier than I made it out to be in my head, what did you wan to clear the air about?”

[Daunt]

He left the fireplace for a moment to hug her.

"Since we're sticking together for good or bad, babe, I think we should at least think about how we're gonna stay ahead of the curve. We've both defied our masters, yours is the most dangerous man in the galaxy and I think mine is easily in top five. That's a bit to thick and we need to devise a plan to make it a game of our own fashion a bit more."

[Dapper Dog]

“Yeah, I guess he is, I think we need to stay mobile, I don’t ever keep more than I carry in a hurry and I still have access to a few dead drops I can use for supplies for us. It’s kind of like what I currently do just now with even less support and more danger,” she mused.

“I was thinking we fake our deaths or maybe keep to the outer rim or areas controlled by the Hutts to tie up Imperial entanglements.”

[Daunt]

"Hutt Space is a not a bad call, but they'll sell us out at the earliest opportunity, so it's not a failsafe solution. And faking deaths will only go so far. We lose our reputation and can still be found through the Force or Bounty Hunters." He frowned. "I had a vision of fighting Vader. I feel it may have been prophetic."

He shook his head. "The thing is, to have a shot at surviving longer we probably should consider joining the wider rebellion more seriously. But not with all those Jedi since neither would they have us nor would we bear with them, I think. So let's make our own cell, the Black Cell."

[Dapper Dog]

"Sounds like fun, the Black Cell it is," she agreed.

[Daunt]

"I'd like to find more people with reasons to take it back against our enemies that share our approach." He mused. "I was also thinking, can your father find us through the Force? Would a place that is strong with the Dark Side obscure or highlight our activities to him?"

[Dapper Dog]

"I'd like to find more people with reasons to take it back against our enemies that share our approach." He mused. "I was also thinking, can your father find us through the Force? Would a place that is strong with the Dark Side obscure or highlight our activities to him?"

“Most likely the opposite if we went to a place strong in the dark side… better off steering clear of those locations as for finding me or us through the Force… if he can then he can, he still has to send people after us and for now Lord Vader is busy hunting Jedi or whatever plot he is pushing forward,” she said honestly.

“I don’t think facing Vader is a wise decision he is powerful and deadly, even to his allies.”

[Daunt]

"Then we might go to the furthest fringes of the galaxy where the Empire has not really reached yet. I don't know where such places are, but I bet they still exist." He shrugged. "Does Vader have any weaknesses?"

[Dapper Dog]

"If he has any, I do not know them," she said honestly.

[Daunt]

He accepted that with a nod and a turn of the skewer. "Have you had any chances to actually see him acting on your father's orders?"

[Dapper Dog]

"I have not been around for any of their talks, that is done in private," she said honestly. "Why the interest, because it's not healthy."

[Daunt]

"Call it premonition. I can't get that vision out of my head. It keep returning, that heavy breath and the fight itself." He looked down. "I stood a very slim chance to not be overpowered only because I leaned on my anger and hatred, my lizard brain. But you have now given me the thought that fighting fire with fire isn't the best approach. It gets me confused."

[Dapper Dog]

“Lord Vader is more than just fire, he is super heated plasma… I don't know how to explain it,” she said honestly.

“My father is stronger but Lord Vader is beyond most of us, just… if you follow this vision remember who will be here waiting for you.”

[Daunt]

"I'll have it in mind. But then, I crave for some defining moment that could make my life more purposeful. I don't want just to run and hide, Lyla. I want to assert myself. If I live through an encounter with someone like him, the life beyond may take a defining turn."

[Dapper Dog]

“You don’t need an outside force to dictate your life, Daunt,” she said curiously.

“Like meeting you and the changes you have brought to my life didn’t define me. You have to find your own direction, I’ll help you but whatever you are seeking he can’t give it to you anymore than my Father or these Jedi. We define who we are.”

“You are not without direction. You are Daunt a mighty warrior, lover, and hunter. You will carve your own destiny, and I will carve mine and even if shine briefly, we will leave our mark.”

[Daunt]

"But I need challenges to forge and test myself. Other than that, you're likely right." He started portioning the cephalopod, cutting off the tasty bits for her first, onto a wooden board. "We'll recruit some more people, find a ship and go out to the Outer Rim to found the cell and consolidate it for the kind of disruptive violence we both enjoy."

"But as far as plans and leaving mark go, do you want children, Lyla? I haven't pondered it before but that may be one of the logical consequences of us being together and committed. Living a dangerous and probably short life raises the issue of soon or never. On the other hand, I don't know if being parents could work for us. Neither of us has a healthy template and we'll have more pressing things to take care of."

[Dapper Dog]

"Children?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't know, I guess one day... I mean probably, maybe? Not like tomorrow... but yeah children would be a big change for us. Is that something you want?"

[Daunt]

"I don't know, but you got me right for being a horny type and since you want all of that just for yourself it can well happen whether we plan it or not." He shook his head. "Someone put it in my head yesterday by asking these questions." He presented the board to her and added some prepped seaweed salad as a side-dish onto her board. "But since it's neither now nor tomorrow, let's leave it at that. Let's eat."

He then changed the subject. "I haven't thanked you yet for your timely intervention with the Disciple. Your sabrework was quite impressive. I still have a lot to learn."

[Dapper Dog]

"Lots of practice and mistakes," she admitted.

[Daunt]

"That's the inevitable path to it." He agreed. "Thing is it looks like we might have started with the wrong one. Now Vandil looks to be out of reach. I wonder if the Wall holds a grudge or would accept a helping hand in getting a different future."

[Dapper Dog]

"We did what we set out to do, in the end there will be another boss that's how these things work and he might and if not then we find others, it's a big galaxy, we will find our way," she said warmly.

[Daunt]

He smirked back, helping himself to the tentacle. His sharp teeth tore it up quickly despite it's chewy texture. "I think about a world far away that has been a tested criminal refuge, with some infrastructure in place, but beyond the reach of the Empire or the Crimson Down for the time being. I'd like to do some hostile takeover so that we don't have to build everything from scratch. We'd need people for this initial push. After that, those that don't want to stay with us can be weeded out."