Oidhche Challainn

- Archaic Mando'a for 'first footing'; Clan Fishing and Gathering festival

Sucellos was only back home for a few more days, and his parents wanted to make sure all their sons, including their eldest, were going to the annual Clan gathering. There were two Clan gatherings on Mandalore, but both were for different purposes. The family had gotten up in the late morning, and would only take them a few hours to make it to their destination.

"What are we doing today buir?" Doug asked, his mouth full of scrambled eggs as they sat at the kitchen table for breakfast.

"Don't eat with your mouth open sweetie." Athena said to her son.

"Sorry buir."

"We're going to a Clan Gathering. You and Darius are going to meet your brothers."

"But aren't Darius and Sucellos my brothers?"

"Yes. Tell me what aliit iru'shya tal'din means."

"Um…family…family is more than bloodlines? What's that mean?"

"It means that even Mandalorians not of your blood are family. As long as they're part of the culture, then they're family."

"So people I don't know are family too?"

"Yes. Outsiders brought into the culture can be Mandalorians as well."

"Like who?"

"Later. Finish eating." Arminius said.

The family left for the gathering within the hour. They traveled East for the Mundoku River, through the forests, out of the Highlands, and into the river valley. The gathering itself was always held at the mouth of the distributaries, where the river divided into the separate streams of the Delta into the Northern Ocean. After an hour and a half trip, they had reached the gathering, where many other families and clans already were in full swing. There were Mandalorians from all over along the river shore, fishing rods out and a drink at their side. Most of the younger ade were by the whirlpools, yelling jovially as they grabbed and caught little minnows with their cups. Still others were setting up for the main event, unpacking huge fishing hooks, cutting boards, knives, large pails, portable stoves, fresh water for cleaning, etc.

"Dad, what is this?" Doug'ika asked. The family was setting up their own site, with a blanket or two farther up on the shore. Arminius was taking out the fishing rod when Doug asked him.

"This is the Fishing and Gathering Festival." He replied, putting his arms around his youngest sons, while Sucellos and Athena continued unpacking. "We have it every year, when the Mundoku River dries up, leaving fish fresh for the picking on the riverbed. See how low it is?" Arminius asked, pointing towards the river. Millions of years ago, a glacier had covered much of the landscape on Mandalore, and when it receded towards the mountains, it carved 'U' and 'V' shaped valleys everywhere. The Mundoku River was an example of this, and the now undying glacier in the mountains to the south was its source of water. Due to its odd nature, of simply drying out every year , there was never any Mandalorian settlements along the river; soil east and west of the river was rich, and provided farmland for many families, such as the Argyles. And many other rivers on Mandalore were much more reliable than the Mundoku for farming, that such it was used for sport and Clan gatherings; its floodplain was able to recuperate from the normal game hunting as well.

"So, it gets dry, then everyone goes and gets all the fish?" Darius asked.

"Yes. Then the fish are taken, cut up, cleaned, and cooked to eat." Arminius answered. Doug and Darius looked off in the distance. From where they were on the river, to the west was a sparkling sea, and to the east was distant, snow covered mountains.

"What's that?" Darius asked, pointing to the sea.

"That's the Northern Ocean, where the river flows into." Arminius said.

"And that?" Doug asked, pointing to the mountains.

"That's where the headwaters are. When the Taung first came to Mandalore, they heard from locals stories of the river's god, that its identity was always unknown, because they could never find the headwaters."

"Why couldn't they find the headwaters?"

"Because of the swamp, or Sudd. Two Republic explorers, named Speke and Burton, later found the headwaters, but that's a story for another time." Arminius said. He turned towards Sucellos and Athena. "Come on, let's go help your mom and brother."

As they got up, Doug stopped. He spotted off in the distance a young girl, long brown hair, sitting on the sand as she looked down towards the river. Even at this distance, he could see her eyes, blue, as the light from the water shimmered among her irises. After a moment, she seemed to notice someone was staring at her; she looked off in Doug's direction, and caught his gaze. Suddenly, Doug was startled as Arminius grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Come Doug, we've got work to do."

"Sorry buir." Doug said. He followed his father, but turned to look back one last time for the girl. He couldn't see her.

Hours passed, and as Mandalore's Sun lowered, so did the river. Preparation had been going on for several days, to predict exactly what day the river would dry up. It was then estimated that day that it would dry up in the late afternoon, early evening.

Tents had been set up by those who were staying the night. Arminius and his family were camping there for the night, and along with everyone else, had turned on their lanterns to watch the river as it dried up. As if to make for cinematic effect, the river, before finally drying out, let loose one last flood.

Adding to the cheering and hollering, several pyrotechnics shot off a fireworks extravaganza, making for a most momentous experience. They were still going off as the river dried up, and the many Mandalorians (Human and Taung alike) camped along the river bank ran towards its bed, picking up what fish they could, and hauling them back to the cleaning and cutting stations.

Arminius and Athena smiled as they saw their three sons walk back from the river, hauling back as much fish as they could carry. They each had pales to carry the fish in, but upon trying to carry the fish in their own hands, Doug and Darius lost their grip on them, the wet vertebrates flopping out of their control. Sucellos set down his pale to help put the fish back in the pale, and then the three continued on with their kin towards the cleaning stations.

Dinner was served a few hours later, and, not surprisingly, fish was the main course. Fortunately, there was enough lemons and tartar sauce to go around the dinner tables that were set up. Few of the Mandalorians in attendance used the latter, as uj'jayl syrup had already been cooked in with the fish. The Argyles sat with a few other clans, such as the Doribs, Nheimils, and Arawilks. Most of the adults (including those who were 13 and older) drank fine tihaar, while the younger children drank fruit juice. After dinner was over, uj'alayi was served as dessert. Music was put on, and many joined in for the late night festivities.

"Ugh." Doug commented in childish disgust, as he saw Arminius and Athena kiss during a little Waltz. He and Darius were sitting off to the side of the temporary dance floor set up, looking at their older kin with a timid, childish fear of dancing. Sucellos walked up to them.

"Come on guys, dancing isn't so bad. It's fun, try it out. Just go talk to a girl and ask if they want to dance. It's simple. No one's judging you." Sucellos said, doing his best to help his younger brothers break down a social wall or two.

"Girls are grody." Darius said with finality. Sucellos shrugged.

"Alright, but you don't know what you guys are missing." Sucellos said, turning his head to wave to a girl about his age. He walked off, leaving Darius and Doug to sit and watch. The two sat and watched for a little while before Darius spoke up.

"Do you ever wonder about mom and dad?"

"No. They're just mom and dad." Doug replied, with a hint of ignorant bliss in his voice. Darius turned back, seeing he wasn't going to get much out of his brother. Doug looked off, and spotted her again. The girl he saw before, with the long brown hair and blue eyes.

"Bye." Doug said to Darius, standing up and walking off towards her, nearly mesmerized. Darius raised a confused brow, and continued staring off after his kin. As Doug went up to a brunette girl, something in Darius ached – thundered, taking him aback, making him horribly upset. What was this dreadful feeling, and how could it have happened to such a young boy?

"Um…hi…I'm Douglas Fett." Doug said to the girl, shy and timid. The only female he'd ever spoken to was his mom, but that was his mom. This was entirely new territory for the young boy. She looked shy too, her eyes wandering about, avoiding his. Finally, she looked back.

"I…saw you earlier. I'm Boudica, Boudica Sirona." She said. They both made little smiles, but otherwise didn't say much. A few Taung walked by, waved to them, and continued on.

"Um, would you like-" Doug began to ask, before being cutoff as one of Boudica's parents came over to get her.

"Boudica, time for bed." Her father said, taking her hand.

"Ok. Bye!" She said to Doug, turning back as she walked away. Doug blinked a few times, then turned and walked back towards his brother.

"So what happened?" Darius asked, a hint of ambivalence in his voice.

"I met a girl." Doug replied, ignorant of his brother's feelings. They didn't know it, as they were too young to understand, but a divide had formed between them – one which would fester for years to come.

***

Many of the Clans left the next day, and headed back to their homes. It was a fine time, with the Mandalorian Clans all seeing each other. Most of the left over fish was sold to the larger cities on Mandalore, such as Keldabe, Dhukar, and Mos'aygn. The Argyles tended to their farm, but there was one more trip Arminius and Athena wanted before Sucellos had to leave for Dxun.