Private Awaiting Entropy

[Julia (Γ101)]

Cutie.

Kalyn reminded Julia a tad of some of the Rebel leaders she'd spied on during the war. There was an element of cheek and homeliness that slightly dulled the edge she was feeling in the situation.

She smiled with that same uneasy emotional combo as before, stepping over to the refresher. She was happy to see the sonic washer pretty much in the centre of the room. The jacket slid off her shoulders, leaving Julia in her black vest and exposing her gun holster by her hip.

"You have any caf?" She blurted out, unwittingly, instantly kicking herself.

YOU HAD ONE THING YOU NEEDED. ONE THING!

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

The woman's question halted whatever else Kalyn had been about to do.​

​

Turning away from the cockpit entrance she pondered the question then nodded. "Aye, caf maker's in the kitchenette. I can get some brewin'."​

​

And true to form, before the girl could try and do it herself, she crossed the lounge and reached the countertop which held the appliance in record time. A few scoops of caf here, a decent amount of water there, and soon enough there'd be a pot brewing.​

​

"Help yourself. Sugar, milk, all that..." She made a vague gesture with her hands, then stepped back.​

​

For all the similarities she'd discovered thus far, there were also startling personality differences. Maybe she'd been reading too much into it. It wasn't as though she had any actual relation to Artur beyond the accent after all.​

​

As she passed Bronte by though a strange sight was made aware to her. Surgical scars... Why'd she have the same scars?​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

For the love of...

Well, now she was in deep. If she didn't take the caf now, she'd actually be rude. Striding over and doing her best to hide the utter despair she'd just caused for herself, she picked up a mug, unconsciously drumming her hands on the sides as she placed it on the counter top and poured the caf, as quickly as she could. As if going quicker would somehow make the embarassment go away faster. She gingerly poured a splash of milk - maybe more than that, actually - and a spoonful of sugar in the mug along with the caf mixture, stirring it quickly before stepping over to the sink and washing it clean before Kalyn could blink.

After a few moments, Julia emerged from the kitchen, taking a sip from the caf of guilt.

"...Huh. That's really good." She said, involuntarily.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

Was it just a thing these days for kids to be so damn awkward when it came to asking for what they wanted? To feel like they took up too much space by merely existing?​

​

Truly it was mindboggling, and as she observed the way in which Bronte conducted herself in the aftermath she couldn't help but shake her head. She supposed it was a little unheard of for someone to be quite so hospitable, especially out here, but it wasn't as though she was going to turn away someone who was little more than a kid from a warm drink and a chance to clean up.​

​

Galaxy had enough problems as is.​

​

The girl returned soon after with caf' in hand, and remarked in surprise about how good it was. "I gotta add a bunch'a stuff too" she said with a shrug, noticing the slightly pale hue of the caf' which indicated milk. "Ain't a huge fan of having it plain."​

​

A long pause. Then a soft sigh.​

​

"Watcha doin' on Kothlis?" she inquired, head tilting to one side as she regarded the girl. Her accent wasn't of this place, and she did still seem too young to just be wandering aimlessly around the Galaxy. Where was her family?​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

She sipped more of the drink, the quick boost in serotonin and energy perking her up a little.

"Oh. Odd jobs. Usually bodyguard work, but on Kothlis you don't see much action. But that's not so bad." Julia responded, slowly but surely relaxing just a tad as the sonic washer hummed in the background. "Just...trying to survive."

"What, um, what about you?"

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

"Yeah, Kolthis ain't the best for jobs in general" she said with a shrug, "It's pretty stagnant usually. Tho', it does look like the market's oddly boomin' for once. Might be your luck's on the rise, more patrons means more lawlessness usually, thieves an' the like. Could always offer your service to one o' the fancier stalls."​

​

Question was turned back her way, and Kalyn just smiled a little. "Lookin' for an old friend. He ain't ever here tho'. Probably gonna look for a job m'self so it ain't a wasted trip, y'know?"​

​

Her gaze lowered slightly, taking in the scars on the girl's exposed arms once more. Lips pursed some.​

​

Feth. Why were they the same damn scars?​

​

"Where'd you get those?" she finally asked, unable to stop herself. "I've seen'em before, on someone else. Same scars, same place..." Her brows knitted together.​

​

Bith, hopefully that wasn't too intrusive a question. Just, the similarities were too weird.​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

She was nodding along, taking sips from the caf and listening.

And then that guard went right back up again. A splash of the hot drink spilled onto the floor as her hand shook and she glanced at her scars in question, the n back to Mara, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing.

"Does it matter? And I doubt that. You're mistaken." She responded, sharply, hand feeling her weapon holster.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

Oh, that had made her remarkably touchy hadn't it?​

​

Mara watched as her hand reached for a weapon, though surprisingly she didn't bother to grasp for her own. Instead she took one small step closer to the girl, and her expression softened.​

​

"You're a lot alike him in many ways, you're just better at maskin' it. Maybe you're just less introverted than he was..." Shaking her head, she let out a soft sigh and held up her hands to show that they were empty, and that no harm was meant.​

​

"Look, Bronte... I don't mean you any harm here, alright? No ill at all. But if you're runnin' from somethin' too, I can help. You guys, you're just kids... Shouldn't even have such scars. They're the same, girl, I know what I see and what I saw... Are you safe out here, on Kothlis, kid? Anythin' I can do to help? Just say the word..."​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

The girl hurriedly placed the mug down, before her hazel oculi locked straight on Mara's own.

"...Who's he?"

Her voice was almost a hiss as she crept closer. Her body language had changed completely, she was too stunned to hide anything now.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

Yep. She'd completely mismanaged the situation.​

​

An offer for help turned to suspicion, and the girl crept closer. By contrast, Mara held her ground and kept her hands up. Did she speak the truth? Give the boys name? Would Bronte recognize it, or would it be foreign to her?​

​

Would she track him down?​

​

Bith, what if she was who he'd been avoiding?​

​

Those scars, though. The familiarities... With a bracing intake of breath, Mara decided that she'd have to take a chance...​

​

"Artur. His name was Artur." She watched the girl for any signs of familiarity. "I helped him, and I can help you too..."​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

At that, she finally stood still.

Artur.

Artur, the boy on Galidraan who she lost track of.

He was alive? And this woman just happened to have met her?

She'd once been told not to believe something just because she wanted to. And it all seemed too improbable, just as she was feeling her most alone, Mara had arrived and inquired about her past. She kept reassuring her, but things didn't feel right. What if this was a trap? She could indeed have met Artur, but perhaps that was her job. Perhaps she was sent to take care of loose ends. Maybe she'd lured him in the same way she was doing to Julia.

The hypotheticals seemed to pile up, and pile up, spiraling into detailed stories and conspiracies. And it hadn't helped that Julia had been preparing for something like this to happen ever since she arrived on Kothlis.

Before Mara had a chance to say anything else, Julia's hand weapon was out, as she begun to back away, uncanny in how well her form was despite her obvious emotional state.

"I don't know how you know these scars...but you're not taking me away." She spoke, hand as steady as could be. "I don't know how you helped Artur but I'm fine on my own. Thanks again for the caf and the washing."

She sounded cold, having switched to a persona she'd hoped to have put away long ago.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

The girl was wary, understandably so, yet even when she reached for her weapon and pulled it from the holster Mara's demeanor did not change. Hands still held aloft, nowhere near her own blaster, she simply observed the girl. Nodded softly to what she said.​

​

"I can understand your skepticism, your wariness, and I will not force you to do anythin' you do not want to do."​

​

A slow exhale to steady her nerves, this was the last thing she'd been hoping for today. Or any day for that matter. Being held at gunpoint was never a nice experience.​

​

"All I did was give him a ride, from some place unsafe to somewhere safer. A world of his choosin'. Nothin' more, nothin' less." She gestured with her head toward the cockpit. "You can check my logs, if you want. It's just happenstance I met you here, too, so soon after droppin' him off. I'm not the enemy, Bronte, but if someone is after you, if someone's after Artur too, I want to help."​

​

She swallowed down a lump which was quickly forming in her throat, and met the girl's amber eyes. "I'm not keepin' you here... But please, if he's in danger..."​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

The girl's eyes seemed to flicker.

Moments later, the weapon came down, and Julia seemed to crumble a bit, clearly disarmed.

"Did he tell you what happened to us?" She asked, look softened a good deal. She bit her lip, feeling the scar with her tongue again.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

Kalyn heaved an understandable sigh of relief when the weapon was lowered, and finally she brought her own hands back down to her side. Okay, good... No further escalation was good. What was it about this ship and bringing strife along for the ride? Fenn, then Artur, and now Bronte?​

​

Her question had the woman shaking her head, a soft frown accompanying the action.​

​

"No. I could tell somethin' was up, but I'd pried enough by the time we parted ways. Is he okay? Is someone lookin' for you guys?"​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"...I don't know." Julia responded, seemingly to both questions, hand wringing through her hair. A few steps back and she was leaning on the wall with her hand, trying to figure out what to say.

"We haven't spoken in a while. I'd assumed he was dead." She said, finally. "But I guess he thought the same of me."

Julia then straightened out again, pacing slightly in the small compartment.

"Do you...happen to know where he went?"

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

She thought he was dead?​

​

Just what situation had they come from that not hearing from someone immediately made one presume the other was dead? Kalyn's expression softened some, though internally she was seeing red. A rage bubbled up within her, and her cheeks began to redden in response.​

​

"It hasn't been too long since I dropped him off" she stated, giving the girl her space to pace around the living area, "He seemed good, and safe, when I left him. Cantoi... That's where we parted ways. You know it?"​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"I...cannot say I do." Her accent came through again, like slightly melted butter. Julia looked up, seeing Kalyn's visible empathy with her and Artur's situation.

"I um...I think I have to get off. Need to start packing some things. Maybe tie some loose ends." She began, beginning to walk toward the room where the sonic washer was held.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

"Do you have a way to get there?"​

​

Kalyn didn't try to stop the girl as she made her retreat, allowing her to seek out her jacket in the washer and leave should she wish it. In fact the woman didn't move at all, she just stood there and watched. Let out a long sigh, then shook her head.​

​

Why was she always getting so involved?​

​

"I was about to head out, but if you need a ride I can hold off. Take you there. Can't say for sure if he'll still be there, but if he is..."​

​

Would she even trust her? Would Kalyn trust her if the situation had been reversed? Depending on how messed up all of this was, she wasn't sure she would.​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"..."

She stopped just in front of the washing machine, arms resting on the vibrating machine. Back turned, it was impossible for Kalyn to read her expression.

"How much?" She asked, her hazel eyes peeking out from over her shoulder.

Kalyn Shif

 

[Kalyn Shif]

The question had her pausing with thought.​

​

Bronte was already understandably suspicious about the whole thing, going solely with the Good Samaritan route likely wouldn't help matters... Besides, as much as she didn't want to take advantage of a relative kid the lack of any job prospects she'd been able to track down as a result of all of this did hurt her coffers. It was like two sides of Kalyn were at odds.​

​

Ultimately, she sighed.​

​

"Help cover the cost of fuel, and we'll call it good."​

​

She could pick up work on Cantoi, and hopefully that'd offset things in the long run.​

​

Julia (Γ101) ​