Outsiders No More

Kavan had always been willing to do whatever it took to survive, and it had held extremely truth since his crash landing on Dathomir. He had seized every opportunity that came his way, from making himself useful to learning the language, to bite his tongue and bowing to the clan's women as a male who liked living shall. It had been harsh and sometimes infuriating, moreso than every time he had bleed to earn his place; but it had been worth it.

When the Clan Mother's mate had won him after their spar, he had gained some better footing as a slave. He still wanted to earn his freedom even with the matriarchal order that prevailed. He had been working his ass off to get there, including helping during the long travels when the new Clan had been formed, and to help the people that had first tolerated if not accepted him had settled at what was his current home. He sometimes cursed himself for his blooming interest in a certain healer; especially as he had noted that the brunette witch who had a similar inclination had utter scorn for his gender, which was of little surprise considering she had grown up in the same clan as the Clan Mother Anjali. He had nevertheless learned how the men under Elder Matier could learn better standing if they survived certain trials. His aim was to get to this point.

In the meantime, he continued to do his best with tasks, and helped with tools maintenance, heavy lifting, and trap setting even though he was yearning to have a greater part among the hunters. After all he had worked as a smuggler and bounty hunter after his days among the military so he knew a few things about that, and career changes had been a pattern at that point. His physical resilience had also seen him be target practice for some of the warriors; but it was useful for him as well, to improve his own fighting and learn more about the way the natives fought.

This day, he was just on his way back from helping one of the Sisters with building a couple of new rooms in her dwellings for she had chosen to shelter another sister and her newborn in her home. He felt grimy but it had been useful work and he needed to continuously carve space for himself.

As he reached the nearby stream, he heard cussing and muttering, and quirked a brow at the sight of the other foreigner man who had joined the Clan around the same time. They had exchanged some words a few times; but had rarely interacted much. Kavan saw the bucket with several fishes in it, more than he had expected given the muttering; but Spark was visibly annoyed with the pole and nets.

"I thought for a second that the fish had caught you instead of the other way around," he jested.

He had accepted his fate and - temporarily - his place within the Ember Claws Clan.

He had accepted the darkness that flowed so easily through this place, even for all its paradise-like beauty and bounty, and let it flow through him.

And yet, simple fucking fishing equipment was enough to ruin his day as the line and hook repeatedly got caught in the reeds, and the net snared on him, catching his tunic. Every. Single. Time.

While Spark had accepted the darkness that flowed through him, he could not control it... and so, as mundane mechanical tasks like fishing proved a challenge, the frustration that built in him only made matters worse. And so, he was cursing up a blue streak about his fate at the riverbank as Kavan walked up.

He bit the inside of his cheek so as to not snap back at the other slave, at least able to recognize that that wouldn't help matters. Spark sighed.

"Yeah, sure it does look like that," he agreed, dryly. "I think the kid purposely gives me faulty tackle just to make my life interesting."

"The kid" was, of course, Daca, who had seemed to adopt Spark and tried to help him acclimate to life on Dathomir.

"You Corellian always have a flair with swearing," Kavan observed with a smirk. It was a compliment though, especially as Basic wasn't common around this place, and sometimes he thought that as both outsiders, it'd be smart to get to know each other better, even though his endgame was to be as part of the clan as any native Brother who had climbed as high as possible.

"I could see her do just that for the little I have seen," he replied as he waited for an answer before going to clean up a bit further the stream as not to bother his fellow skai man as the locals said.

"At least she's attached herself to the Great Sister who doesn't completely think we're just good as slaves and breeders."

Many women, including young girls, knew very well who was in charge gender-wise, and learned early how to assert dominance over males.

Spark grinned at the compliment on his cursing. He'd picked up a lot of Dathomiri over the months since his crash-landing arrival, but he defaulted to Basic when alone because it was his mother tongue.

The grin turned into a more embarrassed look when Kavan brought up the witches' views on men, especially in terms of being only useful for breeding. Spark coughed.

"Yeah, the kid brought that up with me too. Bought died of embarrassment to have her telling me how I need to be worthy so I can get a mate," he said, reworking the fishing pole's line. "I mean... wow."

He cast it this time successfully, then looked back at Kavan.

It was nice to get to talk Basic again, even though he had developed a liking for the Dathomiri dialects that were now blended in one with the various origins of the clan members.

He laughed at Spark's words about Daca explaining his situation.

"They learn that early for sure, though at least it's nice not to be somewhere where the mere idea of sex is taboo. Better open-minded barbarians than stuck up idiots."

He paused and shrugged. "Minus the slavery part though. I could do without it, but I sure as hell will do better."

He watched the Corellian casting again and nodded with a smile when it worked just fine. "Well done. If you ever need some help with tool fixing let me know, it's been one of my odd tasks here."

He walked just further down the river so he could take his shirt off and clean up without disturbing Spark's fishing.

Spark wasn't sure if the witches being "open-minded" was what he was comfortable with exactly. He really just hoped they failed to see him as mate material and left him alone. Of course, as he was likely a slave for life - despite his efforts - odds were good he'd have nothing to worry about.

"Well, I'm the one keeping you in business!" Spark said cheerfully. "I break everything they send you to fix, I think."

He chuckled and watched his line. So far, it was dead in the water. Spark glanced in Kavan's direction, downriver where he'd gone to wash up, trying to be subtle about getting a peek at the other man. Then, he returned his gaze back to where he was fishing because he knew better - if he was distracted for even a moment, some monstrous Dathomiri shark he'd yet to hear of would rear up out of even the shallows here to eat him.

Rancor food, shark bait... just don't make me your mate...

Spark laughed out loud at his own little rhyme, and surely scared off whatever fish might have been approaching his baited lure.

Kavan laughed at the Corellian's quip about keeping him in business.

"Well at least I don't risk being bored, right?!"

Part of him wondered how the other man managed to stay alive with his goofy and clumsy traits; but he had seen unlikely people survive ordeals. Spark might just be one of these lucky bastards.

As he cleaned up, he sensed that the other man stared at him, which amused him. He had always been keenly acute of his surroundings, which was why he hadn't fallen prey to the assassin that had got his whole crew before crashing on Dathomir.

"Enjoying the view?"

He was teasing, and having no issue with anyone staring. It wasn't as if he had any qualms about checking people out either.

"I won't tear any limb for you doing that. I'm not a rancor or a sister."

Oh gods. Oh gods, no.

Spark flushed with embarrassment, practically burying his head and neck into his shirt. Despite the fact that Kavan didn't seem to mind - which left the Corellian with all sorts of questions popping up - he was mortified at having been caught checking him out!

"Yeah, well, now the giant Dathomiri shark can jump outta the water and eat me! It'd be fine!" he shouted toward the water, refusing to look again in Kavan's direction. "I'm right here! Just come and gobble me up now!"

Spark's reaction spoke volumes of why the guy might be so ill-at-ease talking about mating or even how the clan was quite open about sexual options. That surprised Kavan, because being goofy didn't necessarily mean being so utterly embarrassed.

He hadn't mean to; but he wasn't going to apologize for what he had said either. After all, he hadn't been the one staring.

He finished cleaning up and put his shirt back on and looked back at Spark.

"One of the sisters grew up in a region that had actual sharks. If you really need one, maybe you can go talk to her?"

Reeling in his line, Spark added another gob of bait, and cast it again. The task gave him some focus, so he wouldn't look at Kavan again.

"Yeah, think that might be for the best...!" he mumbled, mortified.

Spark felt a tug on his fishing line and jumped, nearly dropping it into the water. He gripped tighter and started to carefully reel it in.

"Feels pretty big..." he remarked, more to himself than Kavan, who he was definitely NOT going to look at! "Maybe it's my shark after all. Chomp chomp, awkward Spark gave himself as food for the Clan..."

"Looks like you could use some ale," Kavan quipped.

He didn't interrupt Spark as he worked on the lines and one big thing came up.

"Well you're earning mating points right here," he teased, though it did seem like a real big fish.

He couldn't help laughing at the antics.

"Were you some sort of comedian before your ass dropped in the jungle?"

The mention of ale did force Spark's head to turn in Kavan's direction.

"What? There's ale here?!" he exclaimed. "Nobody told me that!"

His grip slacked on the fishing pole and it started to shift out of his grip. Swearing like a true Corellian, he shifted his grip and reeled the fish in before he lost it and his gear, not even catching Kavan's teasing. If he had, Spark would've been so mortified that he might have just jumped in the water and swam away for good.

Beaming as he proudly held up the fish he'd caught as if this was a pinnacle achievement and not just the first of many he'd have to catch, he laughed at Kavan's question.

"Hell no, man. I was a crewer on a cargo hauler that delivered blue milk to various systems. Just a boring, reliable job. How about you?" Spark replied, trying to regain his courage and sass. "Cover model I'm guessing?"

"You need to socialize more," Kavan replied with a dark grin. "There is definitely ale around here."

He watched as the Corellian managed to get the big fish and looked utterly cute and goofy at his success. The fact that the kid had taken a liking to him and that he managed to fish decently might help him survive a few more years. He'd have to develop a thicker skin likely; but that was what life usually required of people, even though Dathomir had extra incentives.

"I take it you crashed your ship and the jungle swallowed it?"

That's what had happened to him after all.

Kavan laughed at Spark's sass.

"You didn't get a proper look earlier. You didn't notice the scars," he replied with a smirk.

"Former military turned merc and smuggler depending on what paid best."

I didn't think I was allowed to! Spark thought, but did not say.

Tossing his fish in the basket provided, he started prepping the line again, focusing on that as he spoke. Things had been so crazy since his rough landing on Dathomir that Spark really hadn't had time to deal with what had happened to him, and how he'd ended up a slave.

"Nah... there was an emergency. We dropped out of hyperspace and I only got an escape pod just because I happened to be standing right by them when the ship started to come apart," he said, adding bait onto the hook again. "The pod didn't really have controls, so I just spiraled my way down... here."

He bit his lip to hide a smile at Kavan suggesting he didn't get a good enough look before, but looked surprised-and-yet-not at hearing what the man did for a living.

No wonder he's adapted well here and is doing okay, Spark thought. It's literally what he knows how to do.

"Aha... no wonder they like you so well then. You've got skills. And, to be fair, you were a ways away. If you wanna play model for me now, I might die of embarrassment, but well, what a way to go..." he teased back.

I'm flirting! Are we flirting?! Spark wondered.

Kavan sharply observed Spark tinker with the fishing pole with some greater success this time. This man was a bit of a klutz but the scoundrel knew that the other slave wasn't useless for he wouldn't have survived that long in such a case.

"Well you got lucky, even if Dathomir isn't really what a man expect to choose to start a new life, right?"

He chuckled and he was amused by Spark's slightly unease at his quip though at least the other man didn't blush.

He quirked a brow and chuckled at the fisherman's unexpected teasing.

"Well now I must compete with the wildlife and the wild women of this unknown land," he retorted sharply although his grin made it clear that he was only teasing as well.

The amount of antics he had got himself into over the years especially after leaving the army had definitely been crazier and more dangerous than this conversation but as much as he was fighting tooth and nail to carve space for himself, he loved a good joke and entertaining banter. One didn't get close friends with his old gang without being down for good times whenever they got them, especially when a bunch of their former friends didn't make it out whether as soldiers or mercenaries.

In one swift movement he took his shirt off and held it with one of his fingers as he held it over his shoulder as if it was some fancy jacket from old times. Tonyh would be having a field day with him right now; but that would only be revenge for all the times Kavan had given his old friend hell for random silly things.

"Seems you're still breathing. The Rancors might outdo me yet again."

Spark nearly dropped the fishing pole, startled by Kavan's suave, playful nature.

"Barely!" he replied.

Spark gripped the pole tighter, knowing the witches would surely exile him if he lost equipment as well as failed to bring in a good haul of fish! And, like it or not, he knew he needed them to survive this hostile world. He yanked hard on the fishing pole, catching a second fish quickly.

Finally! Something I can do here!

He glanced back at Kavan. Spark was tempted to whistle approvingly while the other man posed, but he figured it would be his luck that he'd accidentally whistle a call to bring the wild, toothy creatures down on himself as their meal in the process.

"So... this a free show?" he tried to ask casually, trying to be cool. "Or, are we bartering?"

Kavan watched Spark handle the fish and while at first he had had little expectations of the other foreigner's capability to survive, it seemed there might be greater hope. That was a good surprise. He didn't necessarily sought to make friends but he had been used to have a small tight knit group back in his pre-Dathomir days. And having a fellow off-worlder wasn't so bad.

He laughed and casually put his shirt back on. "This one was on the house. I could have said that you owed me an ale but apparently I'm the one who knows where it's kept!"

Spark grinned and shrugged. "When you're right, you're right!"

Of course, he also wondered what ale on Dathomir would possibly taste like. Spark frowned to himself, thinking he probably didn't want to imagine after all. For the moment, his side of the conversation dropped off as he concentrated on fishing. It had started out a challenge down here, but - for the moment - things were going okay and he wanted to capitalize on the momentary good fortune!

"So, what're you up to anyway? Besides showing off?" he asked.

Kavan laughed and knew he needed to be on his way for he had to help with a hunting party that was leaving soon. And he wasn't one to give up on an opportunity to prove himself in the clan.

"I was cleaning up after doing some construction work at one of the Sisters' home. And I need to go gather my pack for a hunting expedition."

He looked at the fish Spark was gathering.

"I guess I'll leave you to the fishes; but we can get you some local ale when I'm back next week? Unless the Rancor had you as snack and I get too many bones broken to properly walk for a while?"

While he said that in jest, he was keenly aware that anything could happen on Dathomir. Joking about dire things had been a coping mechanism since his days in the dratted military.

Spark nodded, then looked pensive. He glanced quickly at his basket of fish and figured he had enough caught for now.

"Any chance I could tag along with the hunting party?" he blurted, speaking quickly before he could talk himself out of the idea.

Spark did his best to look confident at his ask, knowing it was a big question to ask of Kavan given his past track record. But, he knew as well as Kavan did that being able to successfully hunt was a vital skill set to have in the clan. And, if he was stuck here, the Corellian at least understood that he needed to do whatever he could to fit in.

"Please?"

Kavan was quite surprised when Spark suddenly asked if he could join the hunting party. He honestly had no idea how well the other man would do, despite being decent at fishing.

"I have no say in the matter; but you can talk to Enjo. He's the Great Sister's second in command for hunts now. And even if I tried to put in a good word for you, not only does he hate off-worlders; but he especially hates me since the the Great Sister won me, albeit by accident, as a new slave a few months ago."

He patted the Corellian on the shoulder.

"Didn't I see you with that kid who adores the Great Sister though? Isn't Daca her name? She might be your in if you want to join. Even as a child, she's pure Dathomiri and a girl, so that would work in your favor."

Spark's shoulders slumped, thinking, Of course I'd think he could help me, when he really has no more power or clout than I do... well, that's not true, he DOES have more clout, considering that I have zero...

But, he nodded at what Kavan said.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm Daca's..." Spark paused, then shrugged, "...playmate, at best. So, I doubt she'd see any value in having me hunt."

Frustration rippled through him at his situation, and he again felt that dark undercurrent of energy course through him. It wasn't unpleasant, he found, but it was unnerving as he didn't know what to do about it, if anything.

Kavan's senses picked on the darkness rippling from Spark, which surprised him as he hadn't necessarily expected the other foreigner to be gifted. The more he used that, the better off he would be. The former military had definitely been embracing it since crash landing on this planet.

"Utilize this, even if you think that it's getting you nowhere. She's the Great Sister's ward, and that has clout around here. Also, that fish you got, make sure to speak to Sister Adeva. She has the bark and definitely the bite; but she generally takes care of provisions for hunting expeditions. Getting in her good graces can help you get closer to being part of the hunting parties, especially as some more fishermen and fisherwomen have opportunities now that we've moved."

There was only so much Kavan had power over but he had been observing the internal politics of the Clan and leveraged what he could.

"Also, make sure to learn as much of their language as you can. I know they have a few dialects mingling, but whichever you get used to will already be a huge step forward."

Spark lifted a brow, looking skeptical, but listening all the same. What Kavan said made sense, of course, but he suspected all of those things were easier for Kavan to have accomplished... just because he was Kavan, and he was Spark. Kavan was smart and suave, resourceful. And Spark was... Spark.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll keep seeing what I can do."

If nothing else, Spark thought, Daca and I do have fun. But as she gets older, for how much longer will the status I have with her last?

He lifted both brows, lost in thought. Spark sighed, shook his head, and looked back to Kavan.

"Anyway, thanks. I better get this haul of fish back."