(Not one of my better ones, but it needed written as to get to the next part)
Twi'lek-Race of people, many times associated with slavery, known for their "head tails." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Twi'lek
The Accountant
This was again a moment where two different people in the same situation would have done radically different things compared to what was occurring. Certain people would have leapt for each other, whether for a passionate embrace, or for one to get at the other's throat. Others in the man's shoes would have bolted immediately, or would have never even came close to entering this conversation simply because of the nature of the man and woman's relationship. Yet here he was, and that very fact was throwing her for a loop.
Her thoughts were organized blurs, everyone of them making the attempt to bring sense to what was pure nonsense. This shouldn't be happening, and now that it was she had no idea on how to handle it. There were a million names she wanted to call him, along with several other things that she couldn't even bring herself to say. When she could finally bring herself to speak, her voice held no emotion, just as it normally would, "Redamous."
Much to her surprise he kept his hands where they were, tucked firmly in the belt loops of his pants. Daeria expected his hands to be closer to his blaster, but for the moment he seemed rather at ease with the situation. Whether he was being foolishly trusting or overly confident in his own ability wasn't a question one who knew him needed to ask. It was obviously the former. He took his turn to speak, doing much the same as she did, minus the lack of emotion, "Daeria." She found it hard to pinpoint just exactly how he said it. It wasn't in a hostile manner, nor was it in a joyful manner. The tone of his voice somehow managed to meet directly in the middle of the two. He might have been happy to see her, yet he wasn't about ready to fully accept that fact.
"This is brave of you," she said, voice growing icy in the process, "Considering how you talk about me to everyone you meet." When she had first turned to see him, his face had been neutral in appearance, but now it twisted slightly into a frown. She wasn't ready to let him defend himself. Not yet. "You know. How I'm psychotic and what not. How the only reason I exist is to kill you."
He raised a hand, silently asking her to stop. When she finally did, he replied in an even tone, trying to remain neutral with the entire matter, "I don't tell people that. Folks tend to fill in that blank themselves. 'Sides, what exactly do you tell folks? You tell 'em we're all close an' stuff?"
Truthfully, she often told people how she planned to kill him.
Silence managed to find its way back into the conversation. She though for a moment at his question, before deciding it best to just ignore it entirely. Turning, she began walking off. She could hear him close behind, which is what she had expected despite that expectation seeming nonsensical. What could she say? It was going to be an odd night.
"You ain't just gonna run off like that," he said, trying to sound amused as to hide the fact that he might be getting tired. He was more out of shape than she remembered.
"And you wouldn't know anything about running off, now would you," she said, stating the question more than asking it.
Red avoided the question just like she expected him to, "Where're we goin' exactly?"
"Bar," was her cold reply.
"Alright. Sounds good. I'll buy you a drink," he said, sounding rather comfortable with the idea.
"I don't drink," she said, her voice back to it's full time monotone.
"Can't imagine why..."
The conversation ceased for some time as the two slowly worked they're way back towards town, the man following the woman. She stared forward, not once looking over her shoulder to check to see if she was still being followed.
Off in the distance the planet's two suns slowly sank along the horizon, the temperature dropping as the suns did so. By the time they reached the settlement she was staying in for the night, the sky was dark and the stars were out, calmly watching over the lands below. The buildings were fairly standard, a mixture of clay and metal. The streets were unpaved, and the only lights were hung on the side of buildings, casting little light on where people would be walking. That didn't make it too hard to navigate, though. Light poured out of the windows of some buildings, and those that were open to crowds had neon signs to advertise such.
Daeria turned, entering one such business, Red following close behind. The interior wouldn't surprise anyone who had seen their fair share of cantinas. It had one large, open room with a long bar running down the middle of it. Scattered around the edges of the room were a number of smaller seating areas, with various denizens.
From one corner of the room, a drunken man stood up, flailing an arm in their direction, screaming out over the music, "Hey man!"
Daeria glanced over her shoulder, "You know them." It was a question, despite her stating it more than anything.
Redamous shrugged, returning the wave with an easy smile, yelling back, "Evenin'!" Looking to Daeria he offered a small smirk, "Apparently I do." Daeria squinted at him, but all he could do was shrug.
The Chiss found a place she was comfortable with, making her way over to a particular table. It was pushed up against the wall, allowing for only two chairs to its left and right. She sat in one, and he sat in the other. Resting back in the chair, she pulled her hood back. Redamous did a double take.
As with all Chiss, Daeria had blue skin and red eyes. That much could easily be seen through her hood. When it came to their hair, a Chiss's could range from blue to black, or in some rare occasions gray or even white. Daeria, though, had dyed hers a fluorescent pink. His staring obviously amused her, as shown by the grin on her face. Now that her hood was down she considered herself off the clock, she could let herself have a little fun. "What?" she asked, hoping the answer would be just as good as his expression.
"Um. Nothin'," he said, looking away suddenly. His eyes fell on a Twi'lek, who Daeria guessed to either be a dancer or a waitress. Probably both. Red waved her over, offering her his usual polite smile, "Evenin' there miss."
The Twi'lek gave him a wink, smiling in return. "Evening there sweetie, what can I get for you?" she asked, a hand going to her hip as she waited for some kind of reply. She was dressed in little, and seemed ready to show that fact off.
Upon seeing Redamous about to speak, Daeria broke in, sneering at the newcomer, "My husband and I'll have two rounds of whiskey, please." She offered the Twi'lek her own wink.
The waitress frowned, walking towards the bar. She returned soon enough, setting their drinks on the table, glaring at Daeria as she did so. From another corner of the room, someone whistled, screaming out over the music again, "Hey lady! We need some more drinks!"
Daeria smirked, leaning back further in her chair and looking up at the other woman, giving her a wink of her own "I think they need you 'lady', best get to it."
Watching the Twi'lek depart, Red frowned, "Did you really need to do that?"
"You're a married man. Shouldn't be flirting," she said. At the look he gave her, she added, "I'll leave her a big tip or somethin'."
He grunted, sipping his drink to keep his mouth shut. Tipping her head back, she downed the entirety of her glass, setting it upside down on the table. He stared at the glass, downing his own drink and doing the same. Daeria grinned at him, "Think you can hold your drink this time around mister Malcolm?"
He offered a small smile, "I think I can hold my own." She seemed disappointed. Sighing and rolling his eyes he tacked on, "Misses Malcolm. You sure this is a road you wanna to go down?"
"Maybe we'll wake up divorced this time," she smirked.
He waved the waitress back over, nodding, "Good enough reason for me."
Soon enough they had ordered a bottle and were downing shots. Taunts were passed back and forth, right alongside jokes. Within an hour they had a crowd around their table cheering and booing their contender of choice. An hour after that and they had retired to the room she was renting. She didn't feel like having to trek all the way back to the spaceport just to sleep, and presently she was hardly worried about how Harbinger was doing.
Once the door was closed, he settled down onto the bed, taking time to admire the room. In a moment she had leapt on top of him. As minutes slowly dragged by the lead each other around the room. Soon enough her armor was gone, and his jacket had been tossed aside. Flopping down on the bed, she stared at him, the thought hitting her that she was happy that she still kept a shirt on under said armor. Daeria frowned suddenly, sobering up. The entire scene was too familiar, and the last thing she wanted was a repeat of the last time. He blinked at her sudden change in mood, before seeming to go through the same thought process himself.
Sighing, they both slowly crawled under the covers. Sleep never really found them, as it rarely did to those whose minds really weren't ready to stop thinking for the time being. She spent the night staring at the window, he spent the night staring at the door. Time crawled by them both, but finally, sleep did come. When he woke up, she was gone.
She had a job to do.
Her silence told him enough. The two stared in silence again. Red was certain that it was going to be a running theme for the evening. Her attire had changed since he had last seen her. She had traded in the standard durasteel plate for something that resembled a coat, while still obviously being armor. The back of it hung down around the back of her knees like a duster might, but the area around her shoulders was covered in metal. The entire front of it appeared to be covered in cloth. Her hood was a new addition too.
She turned suddenly, wandering off down the dusty road, breaking his train of thought. He gave a soft sigh, walking after her. "You ain't just gonna run off like that," he said. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but it was getting hard to hide the fact that he had been in the sun all day, walking for parts of it, and was more out of shape than he was willing to admit.
"And you wouldn't know anything about running off, now would you," she said. It might have been a question, but she presented it more like an oddly phrased fact. Boy did she know how to aim below the belt.
"Where we goin' exactly?" He wasn't going to answer it. He knew she knew he wasn't going to.
"Bar."
"Alright. Sounds good. I'll buy you a drink." The thought of that made him feel comfortable. He could do with a good drink right now. Though he wasn't sure he should be drunk right now.
"I don't drink."
"Can't imagine why."
The town the entered only looked vaguely familiar to the Captain. He felt like he might have passed through here once or twice before, but it hadn't been for long. Depending how things went, this stay might not be very long either. The same could be said of the cantina they entered.
From the back corner came a loud shout. Glancing in that direction he saw a flailing man. The thought crossed his mind on whether he was just drunk or needed actual medical attention, but his slurred "Hey man!" confirmed that it was the former. Hopefully.
Daeria looked back at him without stopping, "You know them." Again it was something that was probably meant as a question, but she was intent on not asking it as such.
Red shrugged, returning the wave and yelling back, "Evenin'!" Looking back to his wife, he smirked and shrugged, "Apparently I do." She squinted at him, but his answer remained the same. He might have known them. He was fairly certain he didn't, but he might.
She found them a table and made herself comfortable. He did the same, resting back in the seat. He started to think about finding some time in his schedule but that thought didn't keep his focus for long. It didn't keep his focus for long because she immediately stole it when she pulled her hood back. The last time he had seen her, her hair had been blue. Now it was, in the cantina's lighting at least, a glowing pink.
"What?" she asked, trying to play dumb.
"Um. Nothin'," he said, looking away as to try to end the topic now. Spotting who he guessed to be a waitress, he waved her over. He smiled up at her, "Evenin' there miss."
The woman, a Twi'lek wearing an outfit that was making it difficult for him to remember where her eyes were, winked at him, seeming to ignore Daeria, "Evening there sweetie, what can I get you?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but his companion beat him to it, much to his dismay, "My husband and I'll have two rounds of whiskey."
Soon after they had their drinks they heard the drunks in the corner screaming again. This time it wasn't a random greeting directed at Red, and was instead a summons for the Twi'lek. "Hey lady! We need some more drinks!"
Daeria leaned back, smirking, "I think they need you 'lady', best get to it."
"Did you really need to do that?"
"You're a married man. Shouldn't be flirting." He frowned, shaking his head. She rolled her eyes, "I'll leave her a big tip or somethin'."
It was starting to hit him as to why he kept his distance. It was sick the way such a thing amused her. Yet as he thought about it, there might have been a situation where he would have done the exact same thing.
She downed her glass quickly, turning it over and setting it on the table. He did the same, albeit after he had taken some time to think about it. He wasn't entirely sure this was a road he wanted to go down tonight, especially with her. "Think you can hold your drink this time, mister Malcolm?" she asked.
He smirked, knowing full well he could. To a point. "I think I can hold my own," he replied. This time it was her turn to give him a look, one of disappointment. In the back of his mind he kept telling himself to get up and leave before he dug himself a hole deep enough to die in, but nonetheless added "Misses Malcolm. You sure this is a road you wanna go down?"
"Maybe we'll wake up divorced this time."
He waved waitress back over, even though this was likely the last table she wanted to be serving. Aside from the people in the corner, maybe. He smirked at the thought, "Good enough reason for me."
If there was one thing he had managed over the years, it was building up some for of tolerance. Eventually even that broke, though. Things began to blur. First there was one bottle near them. Then two. He couldn't tell if that was a third of if his vision was splitting. The crowd of people nearby was there, that he was certain of.
Then there was a point of her leading him by the hand to the room she had rented upstairs. His jacket found its way to the floor. He found the latches on her armor. They both found the bed. But then things became clearer. She looked at him oddly, but not quite at him. It was more through him, a look known to anyone who's thought about something at an odd point and checked out of the current moment to do so. He didn't even have to ask what it was she was thinking about, as the thought hit him as well. This was too close to retreading old ground.
He turned, crawling under the covers. He could feel her doing the same. His eyes wandered to the door, and hers to the window. There were points where he wanted to turn over and say something, but he wasn't entirely certain as to what it was he wanted to say. Instead he simply focused on the door. Finally he drifted off to sleep.
He awoke to the sun peeking through the window, alone. Red sat up, looking around, smiling sadly as the irony of the situation hit him. Maybe irony wasn't the right word. He thought it was, but that really didn't matter. He scrambled around, getting dressed.
Red had someone to catch up to.
"Can't imagine why..."
The conversation ceased for some time as the two slowly worked they're way back towards town, the man following the woman. She stared forward, not once looking over her shoulder to check to see if she was still being followed.
Off in the distance the planet's two suns slowly sank along the horizon, the temperature dropping as the suns did so. By the time they reached the settlement she was staying in for the night, the sky was dark and the stars were out, calmly watching over the lands below. The buildings were fairly standard, a mixture of clay and metal. The streets were unpaved, and the only lights were hung on the side of buildings, casting little light on where people would be walking. That didn't make it too hard to navigate, though. Light poured out of the windows of some buildings, and those that were open to crowds had neon signs to advertise such.
Daeria turned, entering one such business, Red following close behind. The interior wouldn't surprise anyone who had seen their fair share of cantinas. It had one large, open room with a long bar running down the middle of it. Scattered around the edges of the room were a number of smaller seating areas, with various denizens.
From one corner of the room, a drunken man stood up, flailing an arm in their direction, screaming out over the music, "Hey man!"
Daeria glanced over her shoulder, "You know them." It was a question, despite her stating it more than anything.
Redamous shrugged, returning the wave with an easy smile, yelling back, "Evenin'!" Looking to Daeria he offered a small smirk, "Apparently I do." Daeria squinted at him, but all he could do was shrug.
The Chiss found a place she was comfortable with, making her way over to a particular table. It was pushed up against the wall, allowing for only two chairs to its left and right. She sat in one, and he sat in the other. Resting back in the chair, she pulled her hood back. Redamous did a double take.
As with all Chiss, Daeria had blue skin and red eyes. That much could easily be seen through her hood. When it came to their hair, a Chiss's could range from blue to black, or in some rare occasions gray or even white. Daeria, though, had dyed hers a fluorescent pink. His staring obviously amused her, as shown by the grin on her face. Now that her hood was down she considered herself off the clock, she could let herself have a little fun. "What?" she asked, hoping the answer would be just as good as his expression.
"Um. Nothin'," he said, looking away suddenly. His eyes fell on a Twi'lek, who Daeria guessed to either be a dancer or a waitress. Probably both. Red waved her over, offering her his usual polite smile, "Evenin' there miss."
The Twi'lek gave him a wink, smiling in return. "Evening there sweetie, what can I get for you?" she asked, a hand going to her hip as she waited for some kind of reply. She was dressed in little, and seemed ready to show that fact off.
Upon seeing Redamous about to speak, Daeria broke in, sneering at the newcomer, "My husband and I'll have two rounds of whiskey, please." She offered the Twi'lek her own wink.
The waitress frowned, walking towards the bar. She returned soon enough, setting their drinks on the table, glaring at Daeria as she did so. From another corner of the room, someone whistled, screaming out over the music again, "Hey lady! We need some more drinks!"
Daeria smirked, leaning back further in her chair and looking up at the other woman, giving her a wink of her own "I think they need you 'lady', best get to it."
Watching the Twi'lek depart, Red frowned, "Did you really need to do that?"
"You're a married man. Shouldn't be flirting," she said. At the look he gave her, she added, "I'll leave her a big tip or somethin'."
He grunted, sipping his drink to keep his mouth shut. Tipping her head back, she downed the entirety of her glass, setting it upside down on the table. He stared at the glass, downing his own drink and doing the same. Daeria grinned at him, "Think you can hold your drink this time around mister Malcolm?"
He offered a small smile, "I think I can hold my own." She seemed disappointed. Sighing and rolling his eyes he tacked on, "Misses Malcolm. You sure this is a road you wanna to go down?"
"Maybe we'll wake up divorced this time," she smirked.
He waved the waitress back over, nodding, "Good enough reason for me."
Soon enough they had ordered a bottle and were downing shots. Taunts were passed back and forth, right alongside jokes. Within an hour they had a crowd around their table cheering and booing their contender of choice. An hour after that and they had retired to the room she was renting. She didn't feel like having to trek all the way back to the spaceport just to sleep, and presently she was hardly worried about how Harbinger was doing.
Once the door was closed, he settled down onto the bed, taking time to admire the room. In a moment she had leapt on top of him. As minutes slowly dragged by the lead each other around the room. Soon enough her armor was gone, and his jacket had been tossed aside. Flopping down on the bed, she stared at him, the thought hitting her that she was happy that she still kept a shirt on under said armor. Daeria frowned suddenly, sobering up. The entire scene was too familiar, and the last thing she wanted was a repeat of the last time. He blinked at her sudden change in mood, before seeming to go through the same thought process himself.
Sighing, they both slowly crawled under the covers. Sleep never really found them, as it rarely did to those whose minds really weren't ready to stop thinking for the time being. She spent the night staring at the window, he spent the night staring at the door. Time crawled by them both, but finally, sleep did come. When he woke up, she was gone.
She had a job to do.
The Captain
Redamous still wasn't sure why he had followed her. He wasn't sure why he had followed her, and now he wasn't sure why he hadn't turned tail and ran. Whether she would just shoot him or not was still up in the air, and her silence wasn't making him feel very good about his chances. The safety on his blaster was off, which gave him enough courage to do what he was doing.
"Redamous," she said after a long pause in the conversation.
"Daeria," he said in return. He tried to sound just as neutral as her, but he couldn't do that. As far as he could tell no one could do that. There were times he would have thought she was a droid, but he knew that wasn't true.
"This is brave of you. Considering how you talk about me to everyone you meet. You know. How I'm psychotic and what not. How the only reason I exist is to kill you." And now the neutrality was out the window. He frowned, but he still couldn't say she was wrong. Not in the slightest.
"I don't tell people that," he said, a hand going up asking her to stop for a moment. It wasn't a complete lie. "Folks tend to fill in that blank by themselves. 'Sides, what exactly do you tell folks? You tell 'em we're close an' stuff?"
"Redamous," she said after a long pause in the conversation.
"Daeria," he said in return. He tried to sound just as neutral as her, but he couldn't do that. As far as he could tell no one could do that. There were times he would have thought she was a droid, but he knew that wasn't true.
"This is brave of you. Considering how you talk about me to everyone you meet. You know. How I'm psychotic and what not. How the only reason I exist is to kill you." And now the neutrality was out the window. He frowned, but he still couldn't say she was wrong. Not in the slightest.
"I don't tell people that," he said, a hand going up asking her to stop for a moment. It wasn't a complete lie. "Folks tend to fill in that blank by themselves. 'Sides, what exactly do you tell folks? You tell 'em we're close an' stuff?"
Her silence told him enough. The two stared in silence again. Red was certain that it was going to be a running theme for the evening. Her attire had changed since he had last seen her. She had traded in the standard durasteel plate for something that resembled a coat, while still obviously being armor. The back of it hung down around the back of her knees like a duster might, but the area around her shoulders was covered in metal. The entire front of it appeared to be covered in cloth. Her hood was a new addition too.
She turned suddenly, wandering off down the dusty road, breaking his train of thought. He gave a soft sigh, walking after her. "You ain't just gonna run off like that," he said. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but it was getting hard to hide the fact that he had been in the sun all day, walking for parts of it, and was more out of shape than he was willing to admit.
"And you wouldn't know anything about running off, now would you," she said. It might have been a question, but she presented it more like an oddly phrased fact. Boy did she know how to aim below the belt.
"Where we goin' exactly?" He wasn't going to answer it. He knew she knew he wasn't going to.
"Bar."
"Alright. Sounds good. I'll buy you a drink." The thought of that made him feel comfortable. He could do with a good drink right now. Though he wasn't sure he should be drunk right now.
"I don't drink."
"Can't imagine why."
The town the entered only looked vaguely familiar to the Captain. He felt like he might have passed through here once or twice before, but it hadn't been for long. Depending how things went, this stay might not be very long either. The same could be said of the cantina they entered.
From the back corner came a loud shout. Glancing in that direction he saw a flailing man. The thought crossed his mind on whether he was just drunk or needed actual medical attention, but his slurred "Hey man!" confirmed that it was the former. Hopefully.
Daeria looked back at him without stopping, "You know them." Again it was something that was probably meant as a question, but she was intent on not asking it as such.
Red shrugged, returning the wave and yelling back, "Evenin'!" Looking back to his wife, he smirked and shrugged, "Apparently I do." She squinted at him, but his answer remained the same. He might have known them. He was fairly certain he didn't, but he might.
She found them a table and made herself comfortable. He did the same, resting back in the seat. He started to think about finding some time in his schedule but that thought didn't keep his focus for long. It didn't keep his focus for long because she immediately stole it when she pulled her hood back. The last time he had seen her, her hair had been blue. Now it was, in the cantina's lighting at least, a glowing pink.
"What?" she asked, trying to play dumb.
"Um. Nothin'," he said, looking away as to try to end the topic now. Spotting who he guessed to be a waitress, he waved her over. He smiled up at her, "Evenin' there miss."
The woman, a Twi'lek wearing an outfit that was making it difficult for him to remember where her eyes were, winked at him, seeming to ignore Daeria, "Evening there sweetie, what can I get you?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but his companion beat him to it, much to his dismay, "My husband and I'll have two rounds of whiskey."
Soon after they had their drinks they heard the drunks in the corner screaming again. This time it wasn't a random greeting directed at Red, and was instead a summons for the Twi'lek. "Hey lady! We need some more drinks!"
Daeria leaned back, smirking, "I think they need you 'lady', best get to it."
"Did you really need to do that?"
"You're a married man. Shouldn't be flirting." He frowned, shaking his head. She rolled her eyes, "I'll leave her a big tip or somethin'."
It was starting to hit him as to why he kept his distance. It was sick the way such a thing amused her. Yet as he thought about it, there might have been a situation where he would have done the exact same thing.
She downed her glass quickly, turning it over and setting it on the table. He did the same, albeit after he had taken some time to think about it. He wasn't entirely sure this was a road he wanted to go down tonight, especially with her. "Think you can hold your drink this time, mister Malcolm?" she asked.
He smirked, knowing full well he could. To a point. "I think I can hold my own," he replied. This time it was her turn to give him a look, one of disappointment. In the back of his mind he kept telling himself to get up and leave before he dug himself a hole deep enough to die in, but nonetheless added "Misses Malcolm. You sure this is a road you wanna go down?"
"Maybe we'll wake up divorced this time."
He waved waitress back over, even though this was likely the last table she wanted to be serving. Aside from the people in the corner, maybe. He smirked at the thought, "Good enough reason for me."
If there was one thing he had managed over the years, it was building up some for of tolerance. Eventually even that broke, though. Things began to blur. First there was one bottle near them. Then two. He couldn't tell if that was a third of if his vision was splitting. The crowd of people nearby was there, that he was certain of.
Then there was a point of her leading him by the hand to the room she had rented upstairs. His jacket found its way to the floor. He found the latches on her armor. They both found the bed. But then things became clearer. She looked at him oddly, but not quite at him. It was more through him, a look known to anyone who's thought about something at an odd point and checked out of the current moment to do so. He didn't even have to ask what it was she was thinking about, as the thought hit him as well. This was too close to retreading old ground.
He turned, crawling under the covers. He could feel her doing the same. His eyes wandered to the door, and hers to the window. There were points where he wanted to turn over and say something, but he wasn't entirely certain as to what it was he wanted to say. Instead he simply focused on the door. Finally he drifted off to sleep.
He awoke to the sun peeking through the window, alone. Red sat up, looking around, smiling sadly as the irony of the situation hit him. Maybe irony wasn't the right word. He thought it was, but that really didn't matter. He scrambled around, getting dressed.
Red had someone to catch up to.
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