The Epic Adventures of.... Run beeeeees!

[Rhianna]

Rhianna was taking the day off. Deservedly so, she had not had one to herself since arriving on Ossus. Once she had seen how everyone was pitching in, turning what had been little more than a landing strip into something like a settlement, she had jumped in, helping wherever she was not in the way. Which most days turned out to be in the mess hall, they were always grateful for an extra pair of hands to prepare food for so many, and Rhianna did not mind the work. What she had not done since her arrival was to just spend a day wandering around outside the perimeter of their growing camp, familiarizing herself with the unique land and the creatures that they shared it with.

Fortunately, she knew someone who had..

With that thought in mind, the previous evening she had posted a notice in the mess hall and another in the dorms, near to the rooms designated for the younglings and padawans in case any of them wanted to join in her 'wilderness hike'. That was what she had decided to call it. Anyone who was interested in joining the new Jedi Knight was welcome to come along on the excursion, and she fully expected them to be gone for most of the day.

Not really knowing what they might find, Rhianna stowed a few useful items into her travelling pack. Just in case they came across anything she might want to bring back to camp to study, as well as a small medkit, just in case of any unforeseen mishaps. It was her experience that it was better to be prepared. Once she had everything, including her staff which would be serving as a walking stick today, she unfastened the simple ties on the tent and stepped outside into the morning light, tipping her face up to the sun and stretching.

"It's going to be a beautiful day..", she predicted, turning back to the tent and poking her head back inside with a grin of mock impatience. "If you hurry you might see it."

[Hwooroc]

Did he have everything?

Hwooroc sat cross-legged on the floor, an island in a sea of gear that was supposed to fit into his bright yellow backpack. Rations? Check. SatNav positioning compass, check. Flashlight? Check. One hundred meters of paracord? Check. Bug spray? Check. Telescoping fishing pole and mini tackle box? Check. Camera? Check. Strike-anywhere matches? Check. Mess tin? Check. Sample jars? Check. Doctor Arlan Solbourne's Unabridged Botanical Field Guide - Ossus Edition? Check.

The kid wookiee paused in his inventory-taking, making sure to earmark a few entries he'd already read over. He wanted to make sure to be on the lookout for the pinwheel blooms, as they should be in season this time of year! Okay...got it. After making a few notes in his journal, Hwooroc carefully began packing meticulously. His yellow backpack bulged and strained with the cargo, and after a little gentle stomping, he was able to get it to zip. Hworrfling in mild triumph, Hwooroc turned to his most important piece of equipment, carefully turning a screwdriver into a circular piece of metal that looked like an oversized necklace pendant. It was a Droxian Manufacturing XT-3. A "droid" in the barest sense of the word, it was a bare-bones protocol unit. A translator designed to handle only a few pre-programmed languages. Hwooroc bought it stock, and lovingly made sure to pre-load as much Shyriiwook-to-Basic syntax as the memory banks could handle. While a few of the Jedi understood him, he was clearly frustrated by the majority who could not, and at last he'd be able to keep things from getting lost in translation.

Hwooroc's tongue poked out of his snaggletoothed mouth as he finished fine-tuning, wwrrfing in deep concentration until a blue diode glowed in the center. His face brightened into a smile, and he carefully set his tools aside in his travel toolbox, and slipped the translator module over his neck. He paused, clearing his throat, and then.

"Gnnaffgnnaff."

"Testing, testing."

His smile broadened, and he fist pumped the air.

"Hwaauuuuu!"

"Super. It works."

With that most important task tended to, Hwooroc grunted, hefting his immense backpack onto his shoulders, taking care to slide each arm in and cinch it tight before running to catch up with Rhianna and the rest of the padawans on the field trip.

[Wyl Staedtler]

This was all a little disconcerting. Well, perhaps not all of it because suggesting that going for a hike in the environment which his daily life played out in was ridiculous. More accurately it was Rhianna who was disconcerting, the impossible fact of her presence here. Wyl felt as though he'd been thrust into the past without the comfort of being caught in a familiar place, and his inability to draw easy words to his tongue made him linger at the edge of the group in an uncharacteristic fit of reticence. It was true that escaping structured lessons for a day had been a large motivating factor for his signing up for this wandering excursion. It was also true that the opportunity provided him with a much sought after chance to get close to Rhianna without looking like an awkward nerd. Validity was a great cure for vulnerable self-consciousness.

Averting his eyes from the woman (easier said than done), Wyl reminded himself that he had no reason to feel shy. There had been a time when Rhianna had been a pillar in his life. A figure caught somewhere between a mothering presence and the first, dramatic love of his young boyhood, he'd spilled his guts to her without hesitation. Absence - on both their parts - had altered the shape of things but it hadn't erased them entirely and though there was a strange and tremulous bundle of nerves knotted in his stomach, the overwhelming sensation of seeing Rhianna again was a heaving wave of relief. Too many people had been mere brief interludes in his life. The fact that she wasn't one of them gave reason for hope.

Of the gathered Padwans, Wyl was one of the more modestly kitted-out. He'd seen no need to stretch his survival warrior legs on a day excursion, and beyond a few extra ration bars tucked into his pocket and a canteen with built-in filter, his utility belt held nothing more than it's usual commlink and a compact coil of duracable that had proved to be so incomparably useful in a thousand various situations that the teenager had sworn never to be without a length of the stuff. He could easily have simply been going about his normal schedule - but he wasn't, and the small, startling difference made Wyl shift his weight from foot to foot in anticipation. Cautiously, as though he hadn't made up his mind about what he was doing as he did it, Wyl raised a hand and offered a slight wave to Rhianna over the heads of some of the younger attendees.

[Sirdi Kōhō]

Sirdi was one of the taller, older attendees was crouched down in the bunch. A young Wookie tread by with heavy foot. Another Padawan waved violently. Each member of the group unique, but drawn together by a simple flier. Rhianna’s posting was placed throughout the camp. Dorm hall walls were adorn with the quickly drawn together ad. Her mess hall famed face was renown throughout the settlement, and most wouldn’t pass up the chance to know more about her or at least get out of the confines of the small trail carved out for them. There were only so many conversations a patron at the cantina could have before the argument on the best blaster rifle or ale became redundant.

Recently, the tall, older attendee acquired a gig at the juke joint; he manned the bar occasionally. Extra credits and free drinkers were always useful. Behind the cantina counter his ears would perk to the groans of any settlement advances or current affairs. Despite serving refreshments, he felt ever closer to the Jedi struggle in the bar room. So, when one of the customers left behind the adventure ad, he was quick to look.

It’s what led the young man there; stooped over his rucksack, double checking his inventory.

A comm. link, few military rations, canteen, a vibro-dagger and a Corellian apple smuggled from the mess hall was all he needed. All packed atop each other in the canvas rucksack. After a quick look-over, he yanked at the sack’s string, buckled the bag and grabbed the right side strap, then lazed back into the crowd. He was a head or torso taller than some of the younger participants. Most over-packed, their bags hunkered over them like a nosy younger brother. Some even hunched to carry the weight. Surely, it was going to be a long day, and they’d need help eventually. The young man smirked at their inexperience; he had trekked strange lands many times before. There naivety was adorable.

However, one of the younger seemed aware. Sirdi walked beside him. In the few weeks the former rebel cook walked the settlement, he hadn’t seen the Padawan. Most Sirdi’s time was split between his ship and acclimating to the new life. The bar job was a way to get out there – like this little shindig – and it only seem fitting to elbow the waving young man.

“Ay,” Sirdi began. His accent was from the fringe; he was a fringer, and the quickness his tongue lashed and mouth enunciated revealed his fast-paced past. “Ye gunna wave all day o’ go up to her?”

The 23 (Galactic Standard) year old recruit full lips curved at the side while he side-eyed the smaller man. “N'way, whatcha name, where ya from? I’m Sur-dee,” he extended a hand across his body to the brown haired Padawan, his body still pointed forward.

[Vaikhari Twiceborn]

"It's going to be a beautiful day..", she predicted, turning back to the tent and poking her head back inside with a grin of mock impatience. "If you hurry you might see it."

Another figure emerged from the tent, a broad smile on his face. He had a staff of his own and though he wore robes fit for travelling, that was out of habit rather than any special preparation for the day ahead.

Birds twittered in the trees above and the sound of voices carried on the breeze from nearby camps of Jedi. Vaikhari breathed in the morning air, crisp and fresh, then he truly Breathed and felt the ebb and flow of the Force as the world around the tent woke up too.

"This one was lead to believe there would be breakfast," the Guardian said, matching Rhianna's grin with one of his own.

[Rhianna]

A crooked grin remained on Rhianna's features, growing yet more amused at the mention of breakfast. Yes, it was amazing the appetite one could work up after...such restful sleep.

Lifting up onto the toes of her soft leather boots, she pressed a kiss to Vaikhari's cheek, as he emerged into the morning light. "There can be breakfast.", she agreed. Some of the padawans might be still breaking their own fast in the mess hall, she could round them up for the hike from there.

A young wookiee and two other older boys were already waiting. It seemed she was not the only one to find this a good idea! Her friendly blue gaze set upon each of them in welcome, but stopped..on one of the two boys.

Wyl. Her heart swelled with a sudden desire to rush over and hug him to her, gushing about how she had missed him. Missed their adventures! She had known the boy for many years, and had a special place in her heart for him. However - he was much older now and she would probably needlessly embarrass him in front of his peers. So she would shame herself later. She settled upon a return wave, and a look of promise.

"Good morning, young Jedi!", she greeted them. "We can be off on our wilderness hike, as soon as we fill our grumbly bellies for the day ahead!"

[Hwooroc]

Rhianna's mentioning of breakfast perked Hwooroc's attention. He hadn't even noticed he was hungry until now.

"Hrwaawhruuf auwaaghaurr gaarrwharrr au whrruff, hwrooo!"

"I was so busy packing that I forgot about food, oops."

The translation module was still working without a hiccup, just a slight time delay. While technically, Rocky had packed enough granola and rations for two days, he wasn't about to say no to something a little more prepared. Maybe waffles! They were the best breakfast food, clearly. They were engineered to hold butter and syrup. Anyone who thought pancakes were better were clearly wrong.

The wookiee's stomach grumbled. A moment later, the translation module took it's lead.

"Untranslatable."

Hwooroc laughed.

[Vaikhari Twiceborn]

The young Wookiee's laughter split Vaikhari's face into a grin. He stooped for a moment, scooping a small pack out of the his tent and hefting it onto his back. The base of his staff sank into the soft earth as he took a few steps out towards where the rest of the hiking party was gathered.

“We may find breakfast on our hike.”

The Guardian came to a halt beside Rocky, glancing down conspiratorially at the young Padawan.

“Or breakfast may find us. This one has heard there are many creatures to be found on this world.”

[Rhianna]

"It is true." Rhianna agreed. "There are many nutritious foods to be found in this area. Plant and animal alike."

She could see the disappointment beginning to form on the young Wookiee's furred face. He clearly had his heart set on something warm and plated.

"Perhaps, Rocky could run ahead to the mess hall and see if there are any others who would like to join us?", she smiled. If he didn't stuff his little face while he was there, she'd be surprised.

"We'll walk slowly until we get there." Rhianna smiled.