Pathfinder

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, Merrin, OTA
WHERE: The city that is not Temba
WHAT: Finding trouble in Exploring Not!Temba
WHEN: Late July/Early August
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: Will match pose preference.



I. Meet Me in the Hotel Lobby
Exploring any place new is a bit overwhelming. The place looks more crowded for all the extra greenery in the form of trees that liberally occupy spaces even taken up by buildings. Cal's suggestion would be to find the city's center and work from there. Ideally somewhere tall would maybe get them a better glimpse of the place so they can have actually see what they're dealing with.

This is essentially how he and BD-1 can be found at the hotel. The state of disrepair is hardly anything to daunt the padawan as he has a look around within. If you don't find him inside, you might find him outside sizing up the stonework or even already in climbing progress as he scales the walls.


II. Not-So Paradise Estate
BD-1's busy scanning every new plant he comes across. There's an abundance of them around this area alone, full of flowers and fruits. Cals picked a few berries as samples, tucking them into a pouch. He'll have to pass them to an agriculture specialist later. But in the meantime it seems that after circling the place, there's really no clear way through to the building framed within.

"Well, I guess that means we cut our own," he says, removing his lightsaber, giving it a lazy spin as he activates it. Eyeing the bushes, he checks with his droid buddy to make sure he won't be accidentally chopping into one completely before he sets to work. Just have to give this hedge a quick trim!


III. There's Always a Bigger...Fish? (For Merrin)
Compared to Temba, this place is absolutely teeming with life. Even without reaching out through the Force, it can be heard everywhere, especially where the trees grow thick. "I wonder how long this place has been abandoned," Cal says quietly as he walks along. The echoes he's come across have been from a time long past, and for how vague they are it makes it difficult to really tell just how long.

His eyes trace the strange stonework that surrounds them. The overall feel of this city seems to be leaning more towards the organic, something artful to the mesh of architecture and nature that's lacking in Temba. Those toppled trees however hardly go amiss.

"Well that's always a good sign," he comments dryly, glancing over at Merrin.


IV. Choose Your Own Adventure
((OOC: Anything else you'd like to do with Cal? Toss up your own starter or ping me to work something out!))

Comments

[out_of_order]

"I thought you guys were always up for a challenge," Cal quips, grinning as he steps closer to the wall. He eyeballs the overgrowth and the wall beneath it before reaching up to start getting his hands in position to start pulling himself. Looks manageable.

[on_repeat]

"Depends on who you're asking," Echo clarifies dryly. Although he feels like he's out of practice, he has to admit Cal isn't wrong. Challenges make things more interesting outside of a simulated situation.

He watches the Padawan get to it, waiting a few moments before finding another spot along the wall and double-checking it for any hindrances. Gloved hands find purchase, pulling himself up after a quick boost from a planted toe in a sizable crack.

[out_of_order]

BD-1 borbles as he clings to Cal's harness, watching as Echo starts to find his own path up. Cal chuckles.

"I don't know, I'd be up for it," he says to the droid before glancing down at Echo again. "Race you to the top?"

[on_repeat]

Pausing to hang off of where he is, the ARC Trooper looks up at the two. Initially, the head tilt is curious as to what the short exchange is about. After Cal asks, he shakes his head, a low laugh slipping past the filter of the helmet's vocalizer.

"You're on."

[out_of_order]

The padawan grins, waiting until Echo's at level with them. "All right, then."

Behind him, BD-1 beeps excitedly and hunkers close to Cal's back. What he tweedles next sounds suspiciously like a countdown, if only because it is. The intent is clear enough, and once it's over, Cal is quick to start reaching for the next position. He's definitely no stranger to scaling walls, that's for sure, but he knows that they haven't hit the hard part yet.

[on_repeat]

Getting into position, Echo shifts, realizing BeeDee is counting down once he hears the tweedling notes fall into a familiar pattern. Every muscle in his body tenses, ready to go right as the droid finishes the phrase.

And just like that, the ARC Trooper also climbs, finding the next closest handhold. Not too bad - not yet, anyway. It's different from scaling clones and offline cannons, but principle is the same. (although not really)

Still, he keeps pace with Cal, sometimes behind, sometimes next to him again.

[out_of_order]

It's a nice change of pace, doing this for a bit of fun and without having to worry about getting spotted and shot at or having something humongous chasing you. He grins as Echo keeps pace with him for the most part.

There are narrow, horizontal ledges that wind around the building, and Cal assumes they're a rough demarcation for the floors within. He grasps the first one, hauling himself up and onto the next portion of wall. Vines creep across things more eagerly from here on up, both a helpful handhold and tricky terrain to cross.

[on_repeat]

Things he didn't know previously about Cal: the kid can climb.

Those moments where he catches up with him are brief; in the next, he finds the gap widening again, spotting the Padawan when he reaches the ledges. He follows suit, pulling himself up and over without hesitation to not lose ground.

The vines look sturdy enough, heavily tangled as they are. Staying on Cal's heels, the clone finds his next handholds, digging his boots into other spaces.

[out_of_order]

It's not the first time he finds himself missing the climbing claws he'd scavenged back on Dathomir, but this is still easier to scale than a cliff face.

Some of the better places to grab at are a bit more spaced than one might consider comfortable to reach. Cal gathers himself before half pulling himself upwards, half pushing to launch himself with that extra boost to reach the spot he'd eyeballed. Flakes of rock and debris scatter as his hands take hold, fingers slipping to leave him dangling precariously single-handedly for all of half a second before he's throwing that hand back up to grasp at the wall again, this time finding better purchase.

[on_repeat]

Concentration is a big deal; if it wasn't as precarious, there would be a lot more banter happening between them.

A huge difference between training and the real thing, Echo thinks, arms locking when they're supposed to, legs either hanging or swinging up to a protrusion for support. The noise brings his helmet around with a jerk to see where Cal dangles, holding his breath until the young man finds another handhold.

"Everything okay?"

[out_of_order]

"Yeah- just fine," Cal calls back, making sure his grip is secure before he resumes, digging the toes of his boots against the wall as he pushes off to reach for the next promising ledge. "Careful, might be slippery because of the dust and everything that's settled into these cracks."

There are windows where the stone-carved trees wind close, and the padawan pulls himself up to brace against these, pausing long enough to try peering inside as BD-1 scans the intricate work. There's not much afforded for the view because of the stone-made screen, but it's interesting.

[on_repeat]

Echo keeps an eye on him before continuing, giving the Padawan a nod while he reaches upward. "Roger that." Now that he knows, he's inspecting as much as he can within viewable range.

He feels his boot slip a little after a time, his grip tightening as he pulls himself away from the last foothold. Hanging around isn't what he has in mind, but the pause leads to him swinging up to grab onto the ledge, grunting as he gets over the mess.

Settling into another serviceable crevice, he exhales, legs braced as he dusts his palms off. "How long have you been doing this, anyway?"

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs a little. "I had a tough master. His training regimen was always kept interesting. But while I was on Bracca there was a lot of dangling from ship frames and hulls, and a lot of the time the way you got up to a place wasn't always guaranteed, much less still there if you planned to go back."

He starts to climb again after the brief respite, but not for long as he scans the walls above for suitable purchase.

[on_repeat]

Echo chuckles, half in disbelief while expecting as much. "No wonder...how are you not an ARC Trooper?" He knows it takes more than just skill and improvisation to be one, but the foundations are all there.

Right, they're supposed to be racing each other to the top. He's not sure how much of it is still one, casting a glance over the side to see how far they've come. Blowing out a breath, he gets back to it, catching onto curling vine and feeling for another hold.

[out_of_order]

The padawan grins to himself at Echo's marveling. He's sure a lot more goes into being an ARC Trooper- they were the cream of the crop, weren't they? "Hey, I'm not even a full Jedi yet. Takes more than climbing skills," he laughs.

Although improvisation would come in handy here, given most of the more obvious places to grasp look to be on the opposite side that Cal is. The next ledge is broken on his side, and there's not much in between left to hold onto. He hangs on as he looks up and then across the wall towards the adjacent edge, where there seems like more things to grab at least.

BD-1 beeps something and the padawan flashes the droid a grin. "You know it," he says. Then he swings himself to the side, digging the side of his boot into the wall as he starts to run along the grooved surface provided by layering vines. He jumps about mid-way, grasping at the next ledge up and within reach.

[on_repeat]

"Not even a full Jedi yet," Echo casually echoes while boosting himself up to the next closest point. Given he's seen his own General and Commander in action, he feels like Cal's selling himself short. Despite trying to think a few steps ahead, a question bothers him to speak up again. "What else do you have to do exactly- "

It cuts off right as Cal leap and runs - runs - cross the vines. Whatever comes out of the clone's mouth is verbalized confusion failing to form into an actual expletive. One can just imagine how wide his eyes are behind the dark visor staring where he lands, slowing shaking his head once the shock wears off.

"Jedi." Spoken like he's exasperated, yet it doesn't hide the grin in the way he says it.

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs breathlessly as he hangs on there for a moment, glancing over at Echo with a grin that probably matches the hidden one beneath the ARC Trooper's helmet.

"It's been a while," he admits. Not that there have been many reasons to run across the sides of walls, but he's glad to get the practice in. Of course, he's pretty sure that's not a normal part of any Jedi's regimen outside of Master Tapal's training.

[on_repeat]

"Yeah?" His brow lifts. "...Good thing you made it."

Clambering onto another portion of the ledge, Echo steadies himself between the wall and the vines. "Still, I've never seen anyone do that before," he says, still impressed. His helmet tilts downward with a slight huff. "Fives would never believe me."

[out_of_order]

Gathering himself after the brief respite, Cal makes to pull himself up to the next clump of vines. "There was more of something to step on there, at least," he says. "I've had to run across some cliff walls and ridged metal walls before, for longer stretches."

He glances over again, head tilting. "Fives?"

[on_repeat]

"Like breathing," Echo adds, missing a step and correcting it quickly so that he isn't dangling. Debris scatters as a result; the clone stares down after it, considers the drop, and sobers up so that he doesn't do it again.

He answers eventually, hooking an arm around a few entwined vines in his path.

"...The other surviving member of Domino squad." It's said with a sad smile, the line tightening as he refocuses on the climb. "Captain Rex brought us into the 501st after our first assignment. Then we were promoted to ARC Trooper shortly after defending Kamino from Separatist invasion."

[out_of_order]

Cal sucks in a sharp breath as he hears Echo slip below, craning his head around to make sure he hasn't fallen. He has a hand ready to grasp for the ARC Trooper, but Echo's managed to catch himself at least.

Although he can't see it, he can sense that blend of emotion, the fondness and regret. Domino Squad, that was the squad Echo had originally been a part of. He can still recall the fragments of memories he'd caught, back when they'd been trying to get out of the caves. "You moved up pretty fast," he says, smiling faintly. "I'd heard good things about the Five-Oh-First."

[on_repeat]

Reaching Cal's level, Echo breathes a soft laugh. "Yeah. Fives was impatient, but I'll admit it felt like an eternity waiting for Commander Cody to say the word." He may be an ARC Trooper, but he's proud to serve as one of the Boys in Blue. "They're one of the best battalions out there. And some may say we're a little unorthodox, but..."

Despite not finishing the sentence, it's a given as to why the 501st is the way it is.

[out_of_order]

Given the reputation General Skywalker had, Cal's not really surprised. I've heard it said that one's troops are a reflection of their leader," he chuckles. There's a brief pang of wistfulness as he thinks of his own master and the troops of the 13th Battalion.

Smoothing out his expression, he refocuses on continuing the climb, starting up again once Echo's caught up. It's not that much farther up now, and he can feel that familiar burn in his shoulders and the rest of his arms, especially from staying in one position for a while. At least he shouldn't be completely exhausted at the top, the brief spots of rest helping in that.

[on_repeat]

Had his hands have been free, one of them would have touched his chestplate in a rare display of mock offense, fingertips pressed and splayed in a motion he might have done before around his brothers.

Instead, the ARC Trooper maintains subtlety, head tilting back a few degrees. "I suppose it's true of some troopers," he replies, obviously diverting the comment onto those who can't verbally defend themselves at the moment.

The grin lingers, soon turning into a tight jaw clench for the remaining leg of their climb. He doesn't miss the burn or the muscle spasms that come with the activity, trying another vine to grab onto after the first one snaps off during one of the other previous placements, swiftly pulling himself two steps from another mishap.

Digging his fingers into another groove, he looks up. "Almost there."

[out_of_order]

That gets another laugh from Cal, even as he continues to work on clambering on up. "Uh-huh," he says, the smirk evident in his tone.

"Do ARC Troopers do a lot of climbing?" he asks. Echo's been handling himself pretty well for a free climb, not that Cal doubts the soldiers needed to be ready for any sort of terrain. With the top of the roof in sight, he nods at Echo's words, eagerly moving ahead in another spike of adrenaline.