Varina converted the common area into her workspace. She wasn't making any real mechanic changes to her armor. Instead, it was all about painting the blank canvas that'd been left for her. There was still so much time before the next mission... a whole day!

(Hope it's alright that I didn't get to post here before dayflip )


Having finished bringing in the supplies for the next couple of days and doing the preparation for tonight's meals, Raven went to sit down in the common area to do some work herself... only to find that Varina had occupied the space thoroughly.

Chuckling, she found a free chair that wasn't occupied by the younger Mandalorian's stuff. "Adding your personal flair to your beskar'gam?"

"I think that's, like, an unwritten tenet in the Resol'nare," Varina said. She narrowed her eyes at her datapad and then looked at her paintbrush. "Did you ever paint it yourself? I can't believe I have to waste some of my paint by thinning it in water. But apparently it's going to look all blobbed up otherwise..."

She looked around for something to test her theory on. "Maybe it's just a way to get us to buy more paint."

"I did in fact paint the details on my armor myself... it's something of a hobby of mine, actually. I painted some of the symbols in the training arena at the Enclave actually." Raven smiled warmly as she spoke, glad to see this side of Varina. "I have some supplies if you need more? Like, sealing-spray, brushes, paint."

"Symbols, eh? I haven't even though of that yet... just the colors and all that." Varina sighed. "That's going to be, like, super hard." She dabbed her blackened paintbrush on a paper towel then began darkening the armor plates. "I think it's going to have to wait until after our big mission tomorrow."

She paused on her work and looked over to Raven. "You ready? I mean, of course you're ready, but..."

Raven nodded, trying to peek a look at Varina's datapad for an idea of what she was going for. "The mythosaurus symbol, and some of the older Taung symbols. Many decorate their armor with clan symbols, if that's something that catches your interest."

At Varina's question, she leaned back a bit more in her seat. Her sigh was silent but could be percieved by the way her shoulders rose, and fell. "I'm ready to get this over with. I... hmmm... just been a lot to think about lately. I'm happy Praxton's recovered so well now," he had accompanied their return to Bellionas after all, "but I feel I traded one sadness for another. Dex and I..."

Varina had missed most of the arguing that night. "... I don't know. I just hope she hasn't left for good. That I have failed her that much."

Varina's design, coupled with tabs upon tabs of tutorials, was rather rudimentary. She had several variations of the color scheme but there was a consistent color scheme: black, purple, and gold. "It's been awhile since I've really studied the symbols," she admitted a bit sheepishly. "I used to just want to choose them based off what looked cool. Still... kind of do?"

She scratched the back of her head. "Dex, huh? Can't say I know much about her but I think I heard something or other about that whole thing." Comforting others wasn't exactly in the delinquent handbook. "I, uh, think she might come back though? You always knew I was going to, right?"

"Just don't go using symbols of other clans, and you'll be fine," Raven assured her.

Even if comforting wasn't in the Delinquent Handbook, something about her expression showed that Varina's attempt was kind of effective. "You're like a very independant Nexu, Varina. You come and go as you wish, but... I hope you know that you can always have a safe haven with the Enclave. Maybe not a home as such, but... it has people that care about you. Like me." Her hand, without its usual armored glove, ran through her raven-black hair.

"I just hope Dex knows that too. Maybe she just needs some time, to think about it. I don't regret what I did, my choices," she clarified, "but... I regret that it hurt her. That I failed as her teacher."

"Ah, yeah, I don't think I'll do that. I dunno though, it's rather tough to find the right thing. Don't really feel like I'd go around with Ordo emblazoned on me."

Varina smirked. "Yeah, I guess I am the Nexu who comes and goes. Sometimes I wish I was a little worse at violence though. Kind of hard to stay away from the frontlines if I have the skill, you know?" She patted the leg and put on a strong face. "Tomorrow morning's the surgery, by the way. Might be a party there, I don't know..."

She sighed. "But yeah, I'd hope Dex knows. I don't think there's a way for people to agree on everything. To tell you the truth, I'm more in her camp on the whole thing, but you have my support nonetheless." She dunked her drybrush into the water and tapped out the black repeatedly to clean it up. "I don't think you failed her if she's able to take care of herself, you know?"

"... Maybe you got a point there." She hadn't really thought of it like that before, and thinking about it, Varina and Dex probably had more similarities between them.

Her furrowed brows easened up, and Raven straightened her own posture. "Oh, you're going through with the procedure? Good, good. Your mother... will she be there, since it's a party? You two speaking again now?"

"I'm right pretty much most of the time," Varina said, coloring in the purple with a big grin on her face.

"And yeah, my mom's going to be there." Her voice failed to remain casual; she was definitely worried. "I guess we're on speaking terms. She was recently here actually. Just missed her."

"I did? Pity." She had spoken to Reibelle earlier, so she hadn't missed any opportunities there. "You're speaking though... that's good. I'm proud of you, Varina."

That they were speaking was a big step up from punching and stealing. So she was proud of Varina's progress. "... I will be talking with her later, after the raid, about some important stuff. I think maybe, you might be of help there?"

"I dunno what there is to be proud of. She kind of came here herself. Thought she came for her rifle but she wanted to talk." She looked for Raven's and then shrugged. "Both of you got nice ones but I think I'm going to stick to my blades from now on. Might be superstitious but, you know..."

Varina sighed, both due to her impending situation and the new one that'd been proposed by Raven. "Huh? I don't know what you expect from me. Sorry, that's a little rude but... my mom and I? I don't really know how to talk to her that well."

"I'm proud that you've moved on from punching and actually to talking," she said in an almost teasing manner, smiling warmly at Varina as she spoke.

Maybe it wasn't a great idea, but maybe... "Perhaps, but I can tell you're her kid in that neither of you are good at talking with the other. After the raid, when we get back, I need to talk to her about a cache of beskar and weapons that is likely to be in the crater. It... it is owed to my clan, that I find it, considering it was paid for in the blood of my family and the shame that now hangs over the name Cadera. I was hoping you could help me talk to her?"

Punching her mom. That hadn't been her proudest moment. Might be the time she felt the most shame besides losing to Manny in kissing a girl. "That and the other fights have really got me thinking," Varina said, putting aside her painting tools. She stared at her brand-new helmet, a shining example of a Mandalorian. A warrior. "I don't know if you remember how I didn't want to be fighting so much anymore. The thing is, I'm just... naturally like that. Combative? I don't know. The aftermath still grosses me out but I'm always just ready, you know?

"I think the same goes for my mom. She's just better at handling it." She sighed. "So for the cache, I'm not sure. Maybe she'll feel good about it after we take down Carid. Might have to give up anything we'd otherwise salvage from that. I can't really answer whether or not she'd respect the fact that it's your family's, given my situation."

Listening, Raven nodded. "I understand. Thank you for the insight regardless, Varina," she spoke sincerely, patting the younger Mandalorian on the shoulder.

"Maybe you and your mother are the same there. I don't know her well enough to say, but... what separates a Mandalorian from just any other warrior, is that by the words of the Resol'nare, we have a reason to fight. We fight to protect ourselves, and our family - either through blood or bond. You know that I would never force you to fight alongside me, you followed of your own free will, and... I'm honored that you have. That you're there by my side in this. I just hope you don't feel forced, I guess is what I'm trying to say?"

"I think you might as well be calling my mom a dar'manda. And that, well, wouldn't be good." Varina shrugged, not too invested in her mom's honor. "She isn't exactly the woman who stuck around to protect her family, you know?"

She sighed. "I don't feel forced by you. But by circumstance, sure? I'd never be able to live with myself if I didn't try is all." She ran a hand over the intricate grooves of her armor. "If I was better at forging armor, then maybe I'd have an excuse to hang back and let the rest of you handle it. But my best skills are scouting and stabbing people."

Raven frowned at that, but reminded herself that Varina hadn't known too much about her encounter with an actual dar'manda. "I would never call your mother a dar'manda," she corrected with a firm voice. "... I don't agree with what she did to you, but... I don't know her reasons or what transpired. Perhaps she did what was best, what she thought was best, given the circumstances, but that's not my place to speculate." A sigh. "Sorry..."

She watched Varina for a moment. "... Thank you, though, for being with me. But I have to ask, what would you rather want to do with your life? You know there is a place among our people for those who aren't on the frontlines. There might not be glory found in it, but there is no shame."

Varina shrugged. "I'm not going to go around accusing my mom either. Just thought about the whole family thing... mothering wasn't really in her blood is all."

She smirked at the question. "Thing is, I don't really know. Maybe I just want to be lazy and lounge around all day instead of scrounging up whatever I can find. But productively? I can't fix people or things, I can't represent anything important. Like I said, I'm good at finding things and killing people." The teen looked back at her armor, resigned to her supposed fate. "So that's what I'll do until an enemy tougher than me comes along."

"Being a parent is hard," she said, a touch solemn. "It's not for everyone..."

Scooting over to Varina's side, Raven put an arm around the younger Mandalorian in a sisterly hug. "Just know you don't have to be alone in your choice. You have me, the Enclave, and friends outside as well too. Family is more than just blood, after all, and you can choose who you want your family to be."