Am Mod

- Archaic Mando'a: Mandalorian Gathering and Games Festival

A week followed since Arminius' revelation to his sons. They seemed different, almost inert. Arminius toughened them into shape, with more sparring and hunting. In his view, everybody has problems; What mattered to him was showing resolve and resistance in the face of adversity, and eventually coming to terms with the problem.

So their attendance to the Am Mod, while not exclusively connected with the boys, was also to get out, have fun, and meet other Mandalorians. Since it was on another continent on Mandalore, Arminius and Athena decided to fly, via their G-wing.

The festival itself was held in the northern hemisphere, where the weather was temperate. There was a slight chill in the air, an allusion to the oncoming winter. It always took place in a large forest clearing; a large mythosaur skeleton, perched atop a nearby mountain, loomed over the site. Doug and Darius looked out the shuttle's view ports, watching the games down below and eyeing the large mythosaur skeleton.

"It's a mythosaur skeleton." Darius said, pointing. Athena smiled and nodded to her son. Doug, meanwhile, looked on pensively.

Arminius and Athena landed the G-wing in a nearby clearing, walking out holding their son's hands. As they got closer, they could make out familiar faces and friends, as well as the events themselves.

"Mom told us about these." Darius began. "Competive events. To show strength."

"It's 'competitive,' darling." Athena said.

"Sorry buir."

They entered another large forest clearing, where Mandalorians watched other Mandalorians taking part in the events. The first event they noticed was the "Stone Put." An Akurian was competing against a Boltrunian; the technique for the 'put' was that the athletes would cradle the 'Braemar' stone between their neck and shoulder, running forward and lunging it up and forward into the air. The small crowd that gathered nearby cheered as both competitors lunged the stone forward, the Akurian's landing just inches ahead of the Boltrunian's. The Argyles moved on.*

A small band of pipers, fiddlers, and harpers were set up. A few Dugs, Biths, and humans made up the band, which attracted a small gathering, though their music could he heard throughout the area. For the first time in days, Doug spoke up.

"Are they wearing skirts?" The boy asked, pointing to a group of Taung and Human Mandalorians standing nearby. Arminius pushed his arm down.

"It's impolite to point at other Mandalorians." Arminius said.

"Those are kilts, darling. Clan tartans. Just like our armour, it's symbolic of the wearer, and the whole clan." Athena said to her son. Doug nodded, and looked on towards the other athletic events.

"Arminius, I haven't seen you since Coruscant!" Yelled a nearby Gamorrean. Arminius turned, and recognizing his friend, went and hugged his old comrade.

"It's good to see you again Vork." Arminius said, the Gamorrean Vork walking beside him back to Athena and the boys.

"Honey, this is Vork, an old comrade of mine from the war. Vork, this is my wife Athena."

"How do you do?" Athena asked, shaking hands with the Gamorrean. Vork made as pleasant a smile as a Gamorrean could, and looked down at the two boys standing on either side of Athena. The boys looked back at Vork, wide eyed and weary.

"They've never seen an alien before or what?" Vork asked, kneeling down and shaking hands with them.

"They're only used to us and the Taung." Arminius replied.

"Ah ha. And what are your names?" Vork asked. Despite his repulsive breath, Vork turned out to be a likeable fellow. The boys took a liking to him.

"I'm Darius."

"Doug."

"May I show your sons around?" Vork asked.

"Go right ahead." Arminius replied.

"We'll see you two later!" Athena said to her two sons, as she and Arminius walked off. In any other culture, parents would have been appalled at the thought of letting some stranger, namely a Gamorrean, baby-sit their kids. However, Mandalorians were different. To them, relations among each other were not of bloodlines, or family lineage. It was about sharing common goals and serving Mandalore. Arminius knew Vork well. They fought side by side on Basilisk, Foerost, and Coruscant. They were comrades in arms to the bloody end. They also shared a great abhorrence of the Echani, and the Jedi.

Vork led Darius and Doug to a few of the other events that were being hosted. After the stone put there was the hammer throw, where a competitor would whirl a hammer about his head, gaining enough momentum that when thrown, would fly a long distance. The two competitors, a Trandoshan and a Wookie, threw their hammers, with the Trandoshan's landing just a short distance farther than the Wookie's. The two shook hands afterwards, prompting Vork to do a double take.

"You don't see that every day." Vork said.

"Don't see what?" Doug asked.

"Uh, nothing. Hey, you kids hungry?"

"Uh huh." They both replied.

"Good. You ever had haggis before?"

"What's that?"

"Um, it's good for you. Like uj'alayi, but better. It'll put hair on your chest." Vork said. The two boys were too naïve to see through the Gamorrean's wiles, so they went along with it. Vork led them over to a nearby food stand, where a friend of his was working.

"Shuk, two orders of haggis for these boys and I! Shig for them, whisky for myself!" Vork ordered to his Taung pal.

"Coming right up Vork…"

***

"More shig boys?" Vork asked, shoving another piece of "pluck" into his mouth. The two boys said nothing, only giving Vork mute, unfeeling looks, as though they had just been dropped in a vat of Bantha poodoo and not given a proper cleaning afterwards.

"Juice…would be good." Darius said, sitting at a wooden table with his brother and Vork. Doug looked like he was about to pass out, pushing his 'cleaned' plate aside and allowing his head to fall on the table.

"Hmm, I guess it's an acquired taste." Vork said, as Darius drank more shig. He helped his brother back to sitting in an upright position.

"Well, I'm satisfied. Ready?" Vork asked, finishing off the last of his haggis and swigging the rest of his whisky. The boys dimly nodded, still sapped from their ordeal with lunch.

"Good. Hey, we can get to the next weight throw event. It's similar to the hammer throw. Its good fun, you guys will like it."

"Is it good like haggis?" Darius asked, making a jest to their Gamorrean comrade.

"Um, better. Its good exercise."

"What's that?" Doug asked, refraining from pointing and instead nodding off in the direction of another event.

"Ah, that's the weight over the bar. The competitor throws a big heavy weight over a horizontal bar. If you ever do it, make sure you don't let it fall on you. It hurts. A lot."

"And that?" Darius asked, nodding as well.

"Caber toss. Watch for yourself boys. It makes for one hell of a show."

The three sat down on some nearby tree stumps, watching as the two competitors went about with their task. A buff, blonde, human female held a long, vertical log in her hands, as she ran forward and lunged it ahead. The point of the caber toss was for the competitors to throw their individual cabers, enough so that it would complete a full revolution in mid air, landing in the 12 o'clock position relative to the competitor, thereby "turning the caber." The human female, throwing it forward, managed to make the caber revolve 360 degrees in mid air, landing in the 12 o'clock position. The human Mandalorian who had gone before her, impressed by her victory and his loss, went up to her and shook her hand.

"Wow." Doug said, stunned that such a feat could be accomplished. Darius and Vork's attention had already moved on to the nearby battle circle, as Doug joined them.

"Who's fighting?" Darius asked. Vork shrugged, as a Rodian, in full Mandalorian armour (modified to fit Rodian physical characteristics), approached.

"That's my son, Grieze, fighting one of the Fetts. Titus, I think his name is." The Rodian said, walking over to the battle circle to cheer his son on. Darius and Doug looked at each other quizzically.

"Do we have another brother?" Darius asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should meet him." Doug responded.

"You two have fun. I'll be here." Vork said. Doug and Darius stood up and walked over to the battle circle. It was uncommon for Mandalorian children, under the age of 13, to fight in a battle circle. However, in the Am Mod, anything went; it was held to celebrate Mandalorian values, and in this case, put Mandalorian children's training and minimal combat experience to the test, against other Mandalorians in their age group.

Doug and Darius crowded around with other Mandalorians to watch Grieze and Titus spar. They were using only their fists and feet; a child Mandalorian using a weapon against another was completely out of the question. Mostly they were using their fists. Titus relentlessly threw punch after punch at Grieze, who was doing his best to block each oncoming punch. After another punch, Grieze, having bided his time, dodged to Titus' side, grabbing his arm and throwing Titus to the ground. Grieze moved to stomp him, but Titus, unpredictable and fast, rolled away, quickly regaining stability and delivering a sweep into the back of Grieze's heels. Grieze was knocked onto his back, and Titus moved in with his fist to the Rodian's neck. For a Mandalorian child, Titus knew the rules quite well, and did not even move to make a killing blow. The battle circle sergeant stepped into the ring.

"The winner of this match is Titus Fett." The sergeant announced. The crowd cheered, as Titus helped his comrade to his feet and shook his hand. Two new duelists entered the ring, as Titus walked away. Darius ran up to him, as Doug walked.

"Your from the clan Fett?" Darius asked as he approached. Titus turned.

"Yah, I am."

"Me too. I'm Darius." Darius said, shaking his hand.

"I'm Titus." He said, as Doug approached.

"Who are you?" Titus asked.

"Douglas Fett." The boy responded. Titus looked stumped as he turned and walked, with Doug and Darius walking beside him.

"How did I never meet you guys before?" Titus asked.

"Well, kind of a long story." Darius responded, mimicking as best he could what an adult would say. Darius and Doug hadn't had the chance to socialize with other Mandalorians, so they took their cue from what older Mandalorians were doing.

"I don't care, tell me." Titus replied. Before Darius could respond, Doug walked off. Sitting on the sandy beach of the nearby lake was the girl he had met before, at Oidhche Challainn: Boudica Sirona.

"Hey, where you going?" Darius asked, annoyed. Doug didn't respond as he continued walking, as Darius looked off and found his answer: The girl Doug had met before. That dark feeling he had felt before rose again in his mind. Darius felt hurt, but he wasn't sure why; it was as though his brother was abandoning him. It seemed strangely familiar, like an old fear from when he was a newborn, like when his blood parents abandoned him and Doug…it suddenly clicked in Darius' mind. Within his soul, he felt the embers of hate burn into resentment, but as a child, he couldn't identify what he was feeling – all he knew was that he was simply beginning to dislike his own brother. After watching Doug walk off towards the girl, Titus shook him.

"What's with you?"

"Nothing. Doug and me never knew our parents. We were adopted by our new mom and dad when dad found us. He was hunting when he found us."

"Whoa, far out!"

***

Doug walked past the archery competition, with another battle circle on the other side as he walked down towards the lake. Boudica's brown hair shined under the glimmer of the sunlight. Her helmet lay beside her, as she wore the rest of her armour. It was blue, with red trim. It looked similar to his own armour he had on, black with red trim. He stopped 10 feet short of where she was sitting on her blanket, suddenly unsure what to say or what to do. Standing idly with his jaw dropped some, his helmet in one hand, she turned around and looked at him.

"Hi…Doug?" She asked. Doug nodded, freezing up with fright. He willingly calmed himself down after a few moments. Doing his best to "be cool," he swaggered over.

"Your…Boudica." He said, remembering her name. She smiled and nodded. Doug felt relieved he hadn't embarrassed himself yet.

"You remembered! Do you want gihaal?" Boudica asked.

"Gihaal?"

"Yup. It's from the fish from Oidhche Challainn. Want some?" Boudica asked, spreading some on a cracker and handing it to him. Still shy, Doug worked up the courage to walk over and sit down next to her. He took the cracker of Gihaal and ate it.

"I like this better then that other stuff." Doug remarked, as Boudica handed him another cracker of Gihaal.

"What stuff?"

"The haggis stuff. It was gross."

"Yah. I think it's gross too." Boudica said. The two sat in silence, save for the crunching of crackers and the cutting of Gihaal.

Doug looked out to the lake and beyond, the water glimmering under the sunshine. Beyond the lake was more forest, and far off in the distance there looked like a…

"Is that a Templar Castle?" Doug asked, pointing. Boudica looked off to see what he meant. She shrugged.

"I don't know. What's a Templar?"

"Really old Mandalorians. Killed a lot of Mythosaurs."

"Cool! Let's check it out!" Boudica exclaimed. Doug nodded, eating one more cracker before joining of Boudica along the beachfront.

Reaching the other side of the lake, they took off into the forest. It was serene and beautiful, as they began down the path. Doug relaxed some, nervous about being with…a girl. Regardless, now that they were off on a little adventure doing something, he felt better. Arminius' teaching of the evils of stagnation had struck a chord with the boy, who was jovial as they walked along. Nevertheless, he was weary, putting his hand on his blaster as it sat in it's holster. He turned to Boudica and smiled.

"Hey, you blend in!" Doug exclaimed, pointing to Boudica's gold armour, which looked strikingly similar to the sun bathed dirt and bark surrounding the forest path.

"Wow!" Boudica said, noticing it too. As it was bright out, the both of them put their helmets on, using the visors to screen out the sunshine. They continued further in silence.

"So what does your mom and dad do? Tell me about your family." Boudica said, breaking the silence.

"They farm. My brother and me help. Mostly my dad trains us Mando stuff. History, and battle and stuff. I have an older brother too, but not by blood. He makes some drink adults like. My brother and me went to the smith, and got our armour, and use it to fight." Doug replied.

"Each other?"

"Sometimes, for training. We hunt deer mostly. We used rifles once, but our dad wants us to use these instead." Doug said, patting his holstered blaster. In all the Galaxy, no other culture armed their children with firearms. But then again, no other culture trained their children to be warriours. Mandalorian children were still immature like any normal child, but they knew when it was appropriate to draw their weapons, and what they were meant for. They knew that guns are not toys. In any other culture, kids that played with guns ended up dead.

"My dad trained me too. We use swords, and the thing on our arms. Gauntlet lasers." Boudica replied.

"So why yellow?" Doug asked, referring to Boudica's armour.

"Gold. It's supposed to be mean vengeance, and virtuous too. I don't know what that is, but I like it."

"Vengeance?"

"No, virtuous. And black?"

"My dad said something about camo, and hiding in shadows. Black means justice too. What's your family like?" Doug asked.

"It's just my mom, my dad and me. We actually have a lot of adopted Mandalorians with us too, helping us run a lumber mill. Mom wants me to be an oracle someday and help other Mandalorians. That's what our last name means. Sirona means healer. And your family names?" Boudica asked, as they passed around another bend in the forest trail.

"Well, my brother and me are the Fetts, because our blood parents were farmers. My dad's last name is Argyle, which he said is from some place called Dal Raida, or Caledonia. Darius is my brother because my mom liked the name, and my name means 'from the dark river,' or 'dark stranger,' or something."

"The Dha River?"

"Yah, that's where my dad found me."

"What do you mean he found you?" Boudica asked, as they crossed a bridge.

"Well…" Doug paused, unsure of how to put it. He didn't understand any of it. He didn't understand why his blood parents left. He loved his mom and dad, Athena and Arminius, but didn't understand why there was a distance between him and them. He didn't understand any of it, he didn't know the words to describe it, and he only knew that it hurt.

Before Doug could even mention a word, the two of them heard something. It was a growl…several growls. Doug and Boudica immediately dropped into their respective combat roles, the boy equipping his blaster and the girl her sword. They were armoured head to doe, helmet and all. Using their helmet's sensors, they located the source of the growls nearby. They turned around, and spotted three beasts standing at the bridge. The two young Mandalorians made no hesitation and ran, the three beasts in hot pursuit.

Doug and Boudica ran off deeper into the forest, which began to take on a darker look. Heavy mist and fog eliminated any visibility left. No sunlight was able to penetrate the forest canopy. To the two young Mandalorians, it seemed like an enchanted forest from the romanticized tales the bards and minstrels sung of. However, this forest seemed brooding, imposing, like nothing they could have ever imagined.

The growls turned into snarls, as the two Mandalorians continued running. On their helmet's sensors, they saw two of the beasts break off, in preparation for a flanking attack. They were pack hunters, and their growls and snarls were command signals. Doug and Boudica crossed with the creek from earlier, which had now widened into a small river. Without hesitation, they jumped in. Through teaching and their warriour instincts, they knew the water would throw off their attacker's scent.

Using their helmet's rebreather air supply, the two children hid under the water, swimming down stream. Their sensors told them their three attackers were out of range. After being pulled down current for a few minutes, Doug and Boudica, catching the loud sounds of rushing water, grabbed a hold of some rocks and pulled each other out. They had gotten out just as the river dropped into a waterfall.

"That was CRAZY." Doug exclaimed, laughing at his euphoria.

"What were those things?" Boudica asked.

"I don't know. I never saw 'em when dad took me hunting." Doug said, as he and Boudica checked their weapons. Their training as Mandalorians had already kicked in, and as new warriours they felt fear. But it was that fear that drove them to cheat death, and it was their newfound fear that they would overcome, and beat down every time it reared it's head.

As they stood catching their breath, the beasts approached. One in front of them next to the stream, and the other two from opposite directions of the stream. Doug and Boudica were trapped and cornered, with the three beasts to each side of them and the waterfall. They held each other's hands, and turned to look at each other in the eyes. In that short moment, they recognized whatever it was they felt for each other. It was more than being comrades in arms, but neither could place it.

The three beasts were on all fours, as they growled, restless, shifting and growling impatiently. They salivated, savoring their prey in anticipation for blood. Unable to take it anymore, the three beasts pounced.

***

Arminius and Athena, seeing as it was getting late, headed over to where Vork the Gamorrean was, near the battle circle. As they approached, they saw he was clearly passed out, and reeked of alcohol. Arminius knelt down to wake him up, while Athena spotted Darius with another boy, and went over to fetch him. After a few moments, Vork woke up, and was surprised to see the few number of people left.

"Gees, where is everyone?" Vork asked, startled.

"Am Mod is closing shop, Vork. Where's Doug?" Arminius asked, as calmly as he could. Darius, waving farewell to his new friend Titus, walked back over with Athena.

"Oh, right, Doug, he was…oh, I think I drank too much…"

"Where's my son damnit?" Arminius yelled, grabbing the Gamorrean by the collar. A moment later, two other parents happened by, who looked as worried as they were.

"Are you missing your child as well?" The woman asked. Arminius let go of Vork and stood up next to Athena.

"Our other son is gone. This is my wife Athena, and I'm Arminius of Argyle."

"I'm Tamesis Sirona." The woman said.

"Arvernus Sirona." The husband said.

"Is it possible our children ran off together somewhere?" Athena asked, as Darius tugged at her hand. She knelt down and he whispered into her ear.

"This is our son Darius. He says Doug went down to the beach to see a girl with brown hair." Athena said.

"That must be our Boudica." Arvernus said, as he looked down towards the beach. Neither family saw their missing child.

"Where could they be?" Tamesis asked, worried. Darius tugged on Athena's hand again, and pointed off to a faraway castle.

"The Templar Fortress." Arminius said, seeing where Darius pointed.

"The same one we went to before?" Darius asked.

"No sweetie, this is a different one." Athena replied.

"That's a pretty dense forest. Our speeder won't be able to traverse it." Said Arvernus.

"Athena and I have a shuttle. Let's go." Said Arminius. He, Athena, Darius, Arvernus and Tamesis Sirona headed over to the shuttle, docked in one of the fairground's forest clearings. They went inside, and a few moments later headed off to find Doug and Boudica.

***

In that short moment, Doug and Boudica put their helmets back on, let off as many blaster bolts and wrist laser shots as they could, then leaped off into the waterfall. The three beasts scurried to the edge, missing their prey by a second. The beasts howled into the evening sky, angry at losing their prey. After howling for a few moments, they regained their drive, and continued on. Their hunt was not over yet.

Doug and Boudica continued holding each other's hands as they fell endlessly down the waterfall. They had no jetpacks, and no grappling hooks as armaments yet. So they crashed into the large pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall. Going under for a few moments, they bobbed back up, swimming over to the beach. The two young Mandalorians were tired and scared; what began as a harmless but naïve adventure had turned into a nightmare. They were lost, they were tired, evening and soon night time was setting in, and to top it off, Mandalore's wildlife was after them.

But it didn't mean they were going to cry and give up. They were Mandalorians, and whatever didn't kill them only made them stronger. The two of them stood up and caught their breath.

"We have to keep going. Those monsters are still after us." Doug said.

"If we try and fight them…" Boudica began, trailing off. Doug took her hand.

"No. We can use the Templar castle for protection. Once we make it there we'll be ok." Doug, said, reassuring her. Boudica nodded, and they continued walking through thick forest. This forest, however, was exotic, and was one of Mandalore's many jungles.

"It's warm." Boudica noted, as they traversed the jungle.

"Yah. We might actually lose them in here." Doug replied. A few moments later they heard the familiar snarls of their attackers. Doug and Boudica bolted forward, as the beasts from before assaulted them.

The jungle was a whirl of mist, spiders the size of one's skull, tree sized mushrooms, animate man eating plants, man-eating ants the size of one's fist, centipedes as large as a bazooka, panthers, jaguars, lions, tigers, and bears. But the two young Mandalorians made it through, exiting the jungle into tall grass savannahs. Beyond them was a vast wasteland and desert, surrounding their destination: The Templar Castle. The two continued on.

As they hurried out of the savannah, they entered into the desert. They kicked up sand as they trudged forward. This was no normal desert, as far as they could see. Odd shapes, like black holes and spikes sticking up, were everywhere. As they got closer, the two young Mandalorians saw what all the large shapes were: giant Mythosaur skeletons. As Templar fortresses were built to protect lone Mandalorians traveling the countryside and to fight and kill Mythosaurs, it was inevitable that the Mythosaur body count would rise. Some places used Mythosaur skeletons as building structures, while in the case of the Templars, they used them to slow down live Mythosaurs.

Doug and Boudica heard snarls off in the distance, and made a run for it. They had barely entered the skeleton maze when the beasts caught up to them. The two young Mandalorians were running uphill around a curve, past another foreboding skeleton when Boudica tripped. Doug turned to go back for her when he saw one of the beasts catch up and jump towards her.

"Boudica!" Doug yelled, grabbing the tip of a Mythosaur claw and diving forward. He and the beast connected in midair…and the beast fell backward, the Mythosaur claw jammed into it's chest. Boudica pulled herself up, as Doug let out his gauntlet's retractable vibroshiv, and hacked away at the beast's throat. Satisfied with the kill, the boy stood up, pulled out his blaster, and shot it in the head for good measure. He turned back to join Boudica.

"Two more of them. Let's keep going." Doug said. Boudica noticed Doug's blood soaked armour, but made no mention of it. She would've done the same thing. They were Mandalorian warriours, and they were going to fight or die, no matter the costs. The two of them continued up the small mountain towards the old Templar castle.

Doug and Boudica entered through the drawbridge. From the looks of it, there was no way to raise or lower the bridge anymore. There was not even any boiling oil or pots left. The place had been abandoned for several thousand years, after all. The two young Mandalorians were the only sentient being in the place. Not for long though. They went exploring through the castle and it's inner keep.

"We have to fins some way to ambush them." Doug said, as they walked into the inner keep. Many dark alcoves and hallways made up the fortress' last line of defense.

"This place should work." Boudica said, pointing to the four-way walkway at the bottom level: entrance, left, right, and forward.

"Yah. If we had…" Doug said, trailing off as he spotted a glint of light in a nearby room. Checking his helmet's sensors to make sure they were clear (and seeing they were), he walked inside. The boy felt relieved as he spotted swords, maces, pikes, halberds, and even Mythosaur axes. The boy took some pole arms, laying them in the entrance to the armoury and a few on either side of the entrance/exit.

"If we can trip them, we can kill them when they're down." Doug said. Boudica nodded, picking up a long sword and a hand axe. Doug took a mace and a dirk. As they were about to set up their ambush, Boudica walked over to him.

"Doug, if this doesn't work, and one of us…" Boudica said, unable to finish the sentence. Doug took one of her hands, as she pulled two small objects out of her belt pouches. She handed one to Doug.

"It's a fossilized tooth from a young Mythosaur. Mom told me she remembers her dead friends every morning, and that she has souvenirs from a few of them to remind her of the last battle they were in." Boudica said. Doug took one and stuffed it into a belt pouch.

"We will make it out of here. I won't let them get either of us." Doug said, as they squeezed each other's hands. They shared one last moment of affection, as they went to their respective hallways on either side of the entrance. Boudica had the halberd, Doug the pike, so both pointed the business end of their weapons towards the entrance. If they could manage to severely wound the two remaining beasts before even going into melee, then they would get the advantage.

Settling down in wait, their helmet sensors blipped as the two beasts neared the central keep. The two Mandalorians waited patiently, listening to the growls and snarls from outside. The beast continued walking on all fours up towards the keep. Their snarls became louder, and more violent as they smelled the two Mandalorians. The beasts raged, kicking up dirt as they charged inside.

"Now!" Both Mandalorians yelled, holding up their respective pole arms. The beasts came in, one losing its front paws to the halberd, and the other jumping over it's comrade unscathed. The Mandalorians lost control of their pole arms, which were held down by the massive weight of the beasts.

The wounded beast stood on it's hind legs, rearing up over Boudica, who backed away down her hallway. It ran at her. The other beast reared it's teeth and fierce gaze, salivating as it leapt towards Doug.

***

"There it is." Arminius said, as he flew towards the Templar castle. Athena was holding Darius in her lap, as Arvernus and Tamesis Sirona looked on towards the central keep. They spotted what looked to be a dead hell wolf in the Mythosaur graveyard.

"Good god." Arvernus said, his fear for the loss of Boudica now intensified. Arminius landed the craft inside the castle walls. Exiting the ship, all five heard the snarls of several other hell wolves. They ran inside the keep.

***

Boudica had lost the axe and her short sword, but had managed to hold onto the ancient Templar long sword. She staggered backwards, falling on her back as the beast leaped at her. Her reflexes were quick, and she pulled up the sword, the beast falling and impaling itself on it. The beast howled in pain, as Boudica lay helpless underneath it's corpse.

Doug backtracked through the hallway, jumping out of the way quick enough as the beast leaped and smashed into the corner. It turned quickly and snarled at Doug, who backed away into an open courtyard. The beast followed, and was met with a dirk in the shoulder, as Doug threw it. The beast howled in pain, but only became more angry. The boy wasn't quick enough, and was taken down by the beast. The beast snapped it's jaws and tried to bite Doug, who held the beast off by grasping it by the throat. The Mandalorian activated his retractable gauntlet vibroshiv, the blade inserting into the beast's throat. The beast whelped as Doug cut horizontally, slashing it's throat. Doug got back on his toes, and as the beast moved to stand on it's hind legs, Doug smashed it's head in with his mace. The beast bucked and whipped it's head back to bite away at the boy's stomach, but Doug flogged it's head again with the mace. The beast cried in pain and went down, a resounding cracking and crunching emanating from it's skull. Doug hit it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again…

Arvernus and Tamesis quickly located Boudica, as they pulled the corpse of the beast off of her. They pulled her up and held her in their arms, checking for scratches or bites.

"I'm ok, really." She said, but her parents held her tight anyway. Arminius, Athena, and Darius meanwhile went down the opposite hallway. Turning the corner, they went down the hallway further until they found a dead hell wolf, it's skull bloodied and mangled into a pulp. Sitting on an old stone bench nearby was their little Doug'ika, his black armour and mace soaked in blood. His helmet and armour was heavily scratched, but it's Mandalorian iron composition hand done it's job and protected the Mandalorian. Arminius and Athena ran over to Doug to make sure he was ok. Darius stood back, crossing his arms in defiance and resentment of their parent's attention on his brother.

***

Arminius dropped the Sironas off back at their speeder. Doug and Boudica stared off after each other, knowing that was probably the last time they would ever see each other again. The Sironas got their land speeder and drove off, while the Argyles flew away in their shuttle.

The trip home was quiet. Arminius and Athena's concern for their son was replaced with anger, but also mixed with pride. They were all warriours, after all, and Doug had proved his worth against real opponents. He was a warriour, even before the official adult age of 13. His naivety was gone, but at heart he was still innocent. More battles in the future awaited him, and those would be what would change him into a man.

They arrived back home late in the evening. Athena and Darius went inside, followed by Doug. Arminius, stepping out of the starship, called out to his son.

"Doug. Let's talk." Arminius said. The boy stopped and turned around. Arminius noted the hardness in the boy's face, the coldness in his features, and the grimace he now carried. The events of the day had inevitably changed the boy. The two walked over to the large rock, where Arminius and Athena before him, had taught them about the Mandalorian way of life. They sat down and looked off into the sky. Their farming yaks snoring could be heard from the barn.

"What you did today was downright stupid. Don't ever run off alone again." Arminius began.

"But I was with Boudica!" Doug protested.

"I don't give a damn if you were with Mandalore himself. Just because I've taught you how to fight doesn't mean you can go off gallivanting and getting lost. Mandalorians are not the only fighters on this planet. As you learned today, Mandalore's nature is just as dangerous." Arminius said. Doug said nothing for a few moments, before murmuring:

"I'm sorry buir."

"I know. But what you did today was also very courageous. You took your training and your wits to heart, and survived."

"What were those things anyway?"

"Hell wolves, local breed. They have hives somewhere. The protectors have had a hell of a time finding them though." Arminius said. Doug nodded, and spoke.

"I…really like her." Doug said.

"Do you remember the Resol'nare, Doug?"

"Wear the armour, speak Mando'a, defend the family, raise children, aid the clan, and fight for Mandalore." Doug replied.

"Good. When your older, you may see to courting this girl, but for now, your not allowed to see her."

"But-"

"NO. Get to bed. I'm going to continue yours and Darius' training tomorrow. If you argue with me again, I'll make you clean the oshokita."

"Yes buir." Doug said, standing up and walking inside. Arminius took in the night air, and after a few moments, left to head back inside. Another day of work and training awaited.