[Open] Rain or Shine, It's Renn Faire Time-- okay I'll stop

[on_repeat]

WHO: Echo and youuu?
WHERE: Temba Rain Fare
WHAT: He's never been to one of these things, it'll go accordingly
WHEN: During event
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTES: I know I haven't said anything of late, but feel free to have your character recognize Echo from all the patrolling he does off-camera and we'll work from there :]

- - - - -


Well. It was different.

Maybe something to be wary of at first, but upon closer inspection it wasn't very threatening at all.


Candles & Costumes

You know those rare moments where someone was operating outside of their normal parameters? It was kind of like that for Echo as he walked the 'fare' grounds with his helmet tucked under his arm, his expression both piqued with curiosity and unspoken questions every time he stopped to observe the activities available.

One thing was for sure: he was never a crafts-y person. While the candle-making might potentially end in disaster, costuming was (somehow) a safer venture into the world of Rain-a-seance or whatever it was called at the moment.

Throw Echo a bone here. He was either trying his best with the wax or obviously hyper-focused on trying to sew two pieces of cloth together like whoa.


Training Grounds

This was more his speed.

When he wasn't examining and testing the weights of the weapons available, the ARC Trooper went to work figuring out where he landed with each of them.

Swinging the sword around felt a little off since he was used to ranged weapons, but he did it anyway, striking one of the dummies a few times before drawing back to make some mental notes. Archery and throwing knives were closer to what he already knew, so why not use it to his advantage while he had the time?


Bonfire

Echo hadn't spent every night by the bonfire. There was no reason to. But the few times he did, he stayed for a few hours longer than usual, watching the flames dance as colors flickered and shifted with each bundle tossed in for effect. And whenever the lull was evident, he threw one of those bundles in, quietly pleased with himself once the colors returned.

However, he didn't engage in any light conversation one of those cold nights. He sat off to one side, attention drawn away from the fire and onto a thin, tablet-shaped material projecting an image he hadn't seen in a long time, brow drawn together as he silently studied the faces looking back at him.


Or Wildcard it up! Bust out a prompt, do some dm-ing or something, I forgot how to people! HUZZAH! (x3)

Comments

Bunfire

[small_compromise]

"Who are they?"

The girl settled there beside him, setting her little clone trooper doll between them. She peered over Echo's arm at the holo image, wishing that she had the one she'd found in Hunter's kit of the squad.

"I know that's Rex... And there's you, obviously," she said, smiling faintly, if perhaps a bit wistfully.

[on_repeat]

Eyes flickered, glancing Omega's way as she tried to get a better view of the holo. He didn't even hear her walk up, but he refocused on accommodating her, holding the image closer.

"Yeah," he chuckled softly, then pointed out the other two clones. "That's Commander Cody. He was in charge of the 212th under General Kenobi. I met him the same time I met Rex. And that's Fives."

And he paused, staring at the face again for a moment longer than expected.

[small_compromise]

Omega looked at the faces of the troopers there, alike but at the same time different. She studied the professional, slightly stern expression of Cody, Rex's more casual stance. She looked at the man Echo had said was Fives, glancing sideways at Echo as her own expression softened.

"You were close," she observed. "Were you part of the same battalion?" The colors hinted enough in that, but they were also ARC Troopers.

[on_repeat]

He tried to smile. Tried to laugh. No sound came from the soft sigh he exhaled instead. "Same as Rex. He's the one who took us in after our first assignment.

"Same squad, too." It was a detail he hesitated on saying aloud, but it slipped out all the same. "We went through training together."

[small_compromise]

The girl nodded slowly in understanding. It was a common story shared by many a clone. They were created for war. Loss was practically inevitable, painful as it was. She picked up her doll, scooting a little closer to Echo.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, resting a hand on his bracer.

[on_repeat]

He didn't expect Omega to scoot in and try to comfort him. She didn't have to. A knowing look was shared, his resting hand curling into a loose fist.

"...That's how it is," Echo stated as much, letting it taper off into a worn whisper as he set the holo image aside.

It was common knowledge. It was an ache he lived with -- one that dulled but never truly faded away, remembering each of his brothers as they were when they were alive and well. But he shouldn't be thinking about this. "I should be the one saying sorry. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves."

[small_compromise]

But she did. She'd do it for all her brothers if it seemed they needed it. The Echo she knew was sterner, wary but direct. The things he'd endured had worn him down to edges and angles. This was the first time she was actually hearing about some of the difficulties he'd gone through, the loss of a brother. Omega couldn't bear to think about how that felt. Already one of their brothers was set up against them. She wasn't about to lose any more of them.

"No, it's okay," she said softly. "I know it's hard... You can't just forget things like that."

[on_repeat]

The ARC Trooper tipped his head. "It's not all bad," he admitted with a ghost of a smile. "The last thing I want to do is forget who I've fought alongside with."

Compartmentalizing made it easier to bear. Without a war to focus on, the brunt of those losses resurfaced without warning, filtering in whenever things became still. Usually this was a topic between troopers, but Omega already sounded like she knew the cost. Knew that it was inevitable because she was also a clone.

She was far too young to lose a brother permanently. Yet he wanted to be sure she was doing okay.

"...Tell me about them."

[small_compromise]

Omega watched the fire just beyond them. She smiled faintly at Echo's prompt, then.

"They're called the Bad Batch. Clone Force Ninety-Nine," she said. Even if she'd mentioned it before, it just felt like the best place to start. "A unit of defective clones- because they were all enhanced in ways that made them different from the Regs- the regular clones, that is," she quickly corrected herself.

She looked around the snowy ground before getting up to pick up one of the thinner sticks that were with the firewood off to the side. Sitting back down, she started tracing out faces, very simple faces, but even then it was obvious the differences between most clones and those she began to name.

"First, there's Hunter, our sergeant. His enhancement is in senses, and he's very good at tracking. And then there's Tech. He's very smart and has information on everything. There's Wrecker, the strongest and biggest of them. He's the one that gave me Lula." She smiled fondly, an expression that faded as she began to trace out the next- a narrow face with a mark over one of his eyes.

"That's Crosshair. His enhancement is his sight, and he's the sharpshooter and sniper. ...he didn't come with us. The others weren't affected by the inhibitor chips- except for Wrecker, but that was later. But Crosshair was. We had to fight him before we left Kamino."

[on_repeat]

Subtle changes in his expression occurred as he listened -- the mild twitch at the corner of his lips when 'Ninety-Nine' was mentioned, the small crease indented between his eyebrows when 'Regs' was switched out and explained, the comparison evident (if the name 'Bad Batch' wasn't a big enough hint already) and accepted easily since it was her time to speak.

The ARC Trooper leaned forward, resting his hands on his thighs as his gaze followed the lines the stick left behind in the snow. He followed mission briefings and strategies in a similar fashion, only this time taking in the scant details of the faces Omega drew. Each one appeared to fit their respective descriptions, his own smile brief before it fell back into a neutral mask.

His fingers curled into his palm, refraining from reaching up to touch the scar that was now partially hidden on the side of his temple. "Wasn't he with the squad?"

[small_compromise]

"He was..." Omega said. "I told them they shouldn't come back after they got sent on a mission by that Tarkin person." It was a little strange relating it to a person that technically had gone on said mission.

"But Hunter wanted to come back for me. They all got thrown in the brig. I was there too. But then they took Crosshair away because his chip was still working. The rest of us managed to escape and were getting ready to go find him...but then he found us."

[on_repeat]

The twinge of concern returned. Echo's gaze lifted to meet Omega's again, his brow set.

"...He tried to keep you all there."

Or worse, if the functioning inhibitor chip had something to do with it.

[small_compromise]

"I don't think they would have let us live." Omega didn't like to admit it, but she'd seen the shot Wrecker had taken. Crosshair wasn't playing games. She absently traced out an Aurebesh '99' in the sand.

"We had to leave him." She knew how much it pained Hunter to do it. They didn't leave their own behind. "Someday, we'll get him back, but right now we've had other things to worry about.

[on_repeat]

Echo frowned. Not at Omega, but at the scenario she went through with her brothers. Despite not saying anything more, he could only assume the stakes were high.

"Never leave a brother behind." A recitation, one that was from a different time. One that was now subdued in its meaning. "That was what they taught us when we were cadets." His tone held no judgement as he looked to where the tablet rested, to the brothers he wouldn't have left behind. "Your options were limited. You all made a difficult choice, but you did what you had to do.

"...That being said, I hope you're able to get him back whenever you can."

[small_compromise]

Omega nodded. "Me too." In that she sounded hopeful. If they just got rid of the inhibitor chip's influence like they had for Wrecker, things would be okay. The squad could be like they were before, well, with one addition. Still, Omega was positive.