Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Temple Times

Cooker was leading the way through the dense brush, Theo right behind her. The trees above them covered almost all light; it wasn't like there was much to begin, they had set out at the break of dawn. They were out in the jungle looking to bring back a nice lunch, the night before they had eaten only sandwiches Xyra had carried over from town. They were walking in almost complete silence, both of them careful where they stepped; they didn't want to make a noise to scare off a potential meal.

They heard the animal before they saw it, a jaedi. They were like Dovish pigs but smaller, less aggressive, more hairy. One could feed at least six people though, they were looking at lunch and dinner. Like they had been doing all their life, Cooker and Theo worked in near silence to formulate their plan of attack. With only a few hand motions, they had decided their next move. Theo split off one way and Cooker the other and before they knew it, they were carrying home an adult jaedi back to their camp.

Now that they had no reason to be quiet, there was nothing stopping a conversation from happening but they had both been quiet. Theo knew what she wanted to say but she was afraid of it going in a way she did not plan. But Theo was a grown-ass adult and if Ava had taught her anything it was the importance of communicating, of speaking candidly.

"Oi, Cook," Theo started, looking at the ground to avoid tripping on a tree root, "are we good?"

Cooker spared a glance from her intent stare on their path, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean like, we just got over the Vaith thing we never really.... Spoke about it openly," Theo said, a bit hesitantly.

"Right," Cooker recalled and shrugged, "yeah we're good. I get it now, the whole you had to lie for the better good. Just loop me in next time and we're fine."

Theo let out a relieved sigh and nodded, "Sure thing."

That had gone way better than expected and Theo mentally checked it off her list of things she needed to do before leaving. It was a short and silent trek back to the house but it wasn't a tense silence, just a sleepy one. They had barely had time to get adjusted to being awake before leaving to hunt and it was wearing on them both, they needed some food. Luckily, as they cleared the thick jungle they saw Xyra cooking away by the fire. Theo and Cooker showed off their impressive hunt and then began to prep it for lunch as Xyra finished up their breakfast.

They ate and enjoyed light conversation, a welcome change from the night before. The air had been cleared, officially, and Theo felt not a trace of tension between them. After breakfast, Cooker and Theo decided to get up and do some training together. They sparred lightly, messing around more so than actually doing any serious work. Xyra spent most of the morning and aftermorning in the hammock, reading. When Cooker and Theo would orchestrate an elaborate fighting combination Xyra would indulge them and be their audience but beyond that she minded her own business. It was comical, almost like a mother letting her children out of the house to play.

Shortly after lunch, while they were all still gathered around the fire, Cooker went into the house to retrieve one of her bags. Cooker sat back down and from it, she pulled a handheld device. Theo's mouth dropped open and so did Xyra's, which told Theo that however Cooker got the contraption was a solo mission.

"That's the handcannon," Xyra pointed out the obvious.

"Won it in a bet," Cooker raised both of her eyebrows, a cocky look crossing her face, "I have 20 bullets too."

"Can we use it?" Theo snatched it from Cooker's hands and inspected it herself. She had seen it briefly during the pirate meeting but this was different. She flipped it over and examined it closely, aiming to figure out how it worked.