Tarts (Day 0, Early Afternoon)

[Phoebe Wren]

With her headset playing music at a background level, Phoebe was unenthusiasticly snacking on a protein bar as she leaned back in one of the chairs.

Her attention was casually drifting between the decor and her datapad.

[Axel Ward]

Shortly, a good portion of her view of the decor was taken up. Axel stood across from her, carrying a tray of what looked like rehydrated military rations.

"Well, well. Phoebe Wren." Axel said, his voice as growling as always. "I should have figured I'd find you here." Setting the tray down, he sat heavily in the seat opposite Phoebe. It creaked.

[Phoebe Wren]

Her eyes narrowed slightly as something blocked her view.

"Axel Breaker," she said, some sarcasm laced around his nickname. "Is it so unsurprising that I'm here? Frankly, seeing you is a surprise. Looking to do something better with your time these days?"

[Axel Ward]

The sarcasm, along with the nickname, made Axel snort. "Yeah, pretty much." He shrugged, picking up a fork. "I guess you heard I'd stopped working, huh?"

There was a pause as he ate a bite of beans and grains. "But yeah, you, that's no surprise. Not like I knew a whole lot of Mandalorians, just you and L- Kairi. But you always seemed..." He frowned, then shrugged. "Into it, I guess."

[Phoebe Wren]

Her nose wrinkled, as if she wasn't sure if his words were meant to be something like a jab at her ancestral pride. The same way she'd been made fun of for being short, or for being a "brainy" person.

But she decided for now that Axel was too simple for subtle jabs.

"It's something I'm invested in, yeah," she took another bite of the protein bar and straightened up. "And now you're all of a sudden gonna hop into becoming a Mandalorian? Embracing the Resol'nare and speak Mando'a?"

[Axel Ward]

While Phoebe was talking (and silently judging), Axel was eating steadily. Efficiently was a good word to describe his manner of eating, with the pile of food in front of him quickly disappearing.

He shrugged. "I guess. You know I don't know a thing about most of that stuff. Don't know any of the words. What's the Resol'nare?"

[Phoebe Wren]

The silent judging seemed even more obvious now as she looked at him for a few awkward seconds of silence.

"Resol'nare, or Six Actions in Basic, is the central philosophy of how a Mandalorian should live their lives. To follow them means that you are Mandalorian; it's the principles that bind Mandalorians together, from all walks of life, no matter their species or background," she said firmly, clearly believing it herself.

[Axel Ward]

Axel narrowed his eyes. It wasn't really possible to miss the silent judging. "Look." He said. "I'm not asking because I'm trying to be an asshole or anything. I'm asking because I want to know."

Grunting, he took another bite. "So, Six Actions, okay. You wanna tell me about them, or you wanna talk about something else?"

[Phoebe Wren]

That he called her out on it made her easen up, and she gave a shrug. "Sorry." But no explanation as to why.

"Right. The six actions are: wearing armor, speaking Mando'a, defending yourself and your family, raising your children as Mandalorians, contributing to the clan's welfare, and to rally to the call of Mandalore." She paused a little. "So, not exactly complicated stuff, eh?"

[Axel Ward]

Axel grunted in reply to the apology. Good enough.

"Yeah, except for the speaking part. Rest of it sounds simple enough." That made him pause a moment, looking up from his food. "That's all?" He frowned. It almost seemed too simple, really.

[Phoebe Wren]

"That's the Resol'nare. Designed with the intention of encompassing enough that people of different species and backgrounds could get the basics of it easily," she explained in a casual tone.

She sighed, looking back up at one of the banners, and feeling some of the weight of her past. "Of course, there's more that goes into it than just that. It's just that most people scoff at what they see as antiquated codes of honor."

[Axel Ward]

Axel shrugged, even as he continued to eat, his eyes on his food. "I don't know. I'm not gonna scoff at it." He paused a moment, frowning, his lips working as he struggled to express himself. "Codes mean something." He finally said.

Grunting, Axel looked up at the banner himself, his brown eyes inscrutable. "I don't know the first thing about this yet, but I'm gonna learn. I got back in the business to do this. Gotta do my best with it."

[Phoebe Wren]

The chair made a soft screech noise as she scooted closer to the table. "This didn't strike me as the type of thing that you would be interested in, to be honest." A pause as she gave him time to let the food and thought sink in. "What made you decide on joining up for this? To become Mandalorian?"

[Axel Ward]

"Yeah?" Axel shrugged. "Guess you haven't gotten me all figured out yet, huh?" He grunted, possibly a short laugh, possibly not.

The question made Axel frown. "I don't know." He didn't sound like he didn't knew. He took another bite, chewing slowly, washing it just as slowly with a mouthful of kaf.

Finally, he shrugged. "Being a mercenary doesn't mean anything. I thought maybe being a Mandalorian would."

[Phoebe Wren]

"People can be more complicated than first impressions lead you to believe," she admitted, with a wrinkle of her nose that her first impression had been wrong.

His answer was met with silence at first, as she curled the wrapper of the protein bar up into a ball in her fist. "It can mean something. Depending on what you make of it. There are Mandalorians who are no better than mercenaries - who don't act with honor, who just use the name Mandalorian as a way to get more exclusive work."

[Axel Ward]

Axel grunted. "I'll bet. There were some pirates, liked to say they were Rebels, even though the Rebel HQ wouldn't touch 'em. Sure, they'd hit Imps sometimes, but they never stopped hitting ordinary people, too." He shrugged. "If they hadn't all wound up dead, they'd probably have gone back to being pirates after the war."

Another frown. "So if it's Rebel HQ who made people real Rebels or not, who does it for Mandalorians? This Kryze I've heard about?"

[Phoebe Wren]

"Mand'alor, you mean? Bo-Katan Kryze." She wasn't really sure either, but from what she knew, Mandalore couldn't decide who was and who wasn't Mandalorian as such.

"Not... as such, from what I know. I mean, I can't remember any examples of them declaring anyone to not be Mandalorian. But it's been a while since I left Concordia, and there's still stuff I haven't learned either."

[Axel Ward]

"Uh... yeah. That." Axel scratched awkwardly at his beard. "My bunkmate said he'd teach me more of the language. Maybe then I'll have an easier time keeping it all straight."

He gave her a nod. "Sounds like we're all learning, even if you're starting out way ahead. You're really into this, huh?"

[Phoebe Wren]

She breathed deeply and nodded a few times. It was good that there were others who could teach people like Axel about the language.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's..." Phoebe trailed off, not feeling like sharing with him how important this was to her, and why it was. "It's important to me. As simple as that."

[Axel Ward]

Axel just nodded, looking down at his food. "Yeah, okay." He said. He was silent for a few moments.

He looked up with a scowl. "Is that all you're gonna eat? A protein bar?"