[D7EM] Stop - Hammer Time

[Garen Saxon]

While Garen had the honor of sometimes being allowed to work in the forge, it wasn't worth interrupting the Forgemaster's work for little jobs. And there were a lot of little jobs, the hundreds of little improvements that needed to be done to bring a piece of equipment from near perfect to, well, a bit nearer than perfect.

At the moment, he was working on his hammer, as usual. He'd put a lot of work into it the last few weeks, and it was really paying off. Less so for the hammer, moreso for himself. Sweat beaded on his brow and his graying temples as he worked in the hot room, making more little adjustments.

Near perfect wouldn't be good enough, he suspected. For what was coming, he'd have to do better.

[Raven Cadera]

Raven didn't have thoughts of working on her gear at the moment. Instead, she was keeping herself occupied with small things here and there, and with the job of keeping the armory clean and tidy being everyone's job... she was making it her job today.

"Morning, Garen," she greeted the older Mandalorian with a nod, her head unhelmeted at the moment. Like many in the enclave, she looked a bit weary. "... Working early?"

[Garen Saxon]

Garen frowned, his hand steady as he made a last adjustment to the piece he was working on. He couldn't break his attention, not even to say hello to a fellow Mandalorian, or it could damage it.

Finally, satisfied, he pulled his hands away. taking a deep breath. He turned to Raven, flashing a brief smile, half-welcoming, half-apologetic.

"Morning, Raven." Garen rumbled. "I am. It's the best time for this sort of work, I find." He glanced back to the hammer a moment, then at the young woman. "How are you holding up?"

[Raven Cadera]

As Garen continued to focus on his work, she was looking over the sign-out list to catch any glaring errors. "Something about starting things early in the day before the fighting, I guess," she remarked with a dry smile.

"Doing good. Holding up and all that. You?" Her speech was a tad curt and too to the point for her. "Been thinking anything more about that droid head the mechanic found?"

[Garen Saxon]

Garen chuckled. "Well, there's that." He sighed pleasantly. "But I also find that bright and early is when the mind and body are freshest, and best for this sort of work. And for fighting, actually." He chuckled again, shaking his head. "I felt different when I was younger, though." He looked at Raven fondly. Ah, youth. It was the job of older Mandalorians like him to look out for them.

As he studied her, though, Garen frowned slightly. He turned his attention entirely away from his work, crossing his arms casually. "Not really, I'm afraid." He said, shaking his head. "Had a lot else going on. Is that what's on your mind?" He asked, giving her an encouraging nod.

[Raven Cadera]

Raven paused, but shook her head. "Not really. I've been... thinking on other stuff." She sighed, placing away the sign-out list and looking back to Garen, giving him more of her full attention.

"Mostly thinking of these other Mandalorians we're fighting against. The ones the Empire has pulled in on this. Who they are, their stories... the circumstances that have put us at odds with eachother." There was a grimness to her weak smile. "Probably a silly thing to think about, yeah, as they're trying to kill us?"

[Garen Saxon]

Garen tilted his head as he considered. "It's not silly at all." He said first thing, even as he continued to think. From there, he was silent a few moments, his gaze distant.

Then he nodded, as if to himself. "I didn't grow up in the Mandalorian culture like a lot of you did. But I've studied it. Seems to me that when we don't ask ourselves why we're fighting, bad things can happen. Holds true for a lot of people. Like the Empire, and the other Mandalorians..." He grimaced, holding one hand out, palm up.

He gave Raven a smile. "I think wondering about why they fight is good, too, for pretty much the same reason." Garen paused briefly, then his forehead creased. "I'm afraid I didn't really suggest an answer, just said it's okay to ask. I hope you don't mind an old man rambling on." He chuckled.

[Raven Cadera]

"I don't mind," she returned the chuckle in kind, though it was a bit short-lived. "And... well, I don't think I was expecting answers. Sometimes you just gotta speak what's on your mind and all."

Raven regarded him for a moment, recalling something he had mentioned to her before. "Mind if I ask you something else?"

[Garen Saxon]

"That's certainly true." Garen rumbled, chuckling softly once more. Even as he did, he studied Raven, his eyes curious.

At her question, he nodded. "Please. Go ahead." He gave a little encouraging wave of his hand, before crossing his arms again, a casual pose.

[Raven Cadera]

She nodded and seemed to take her time to figure out how to phrase her question. A deep breath...

"What would you do if... if you found a family member was fighting on the other side, and wanted you dead?"