Fawn Alzi
Friend to the Dead
As Fawn stood motionless before the rain-soaked alley, crude staff held in her right hand, she shot a sideways glance to the one who had brought her there.
"This is it...?" she asked the dirty, bearded man beside her.
He chuckled and wheezed as he shook his head. "There's a room at the end."
Fawn's hand waved about the staff with her wrist as the end of it stayed put on the concrete beneath them, thinking not so hard on whether or not to trust the man. It was Celanon City, after all, and no man nor woman who survived on the streets like she did could ever be trusted to have a room of any kind that didn't involve something waiting for her. A slaver, perhaps, or some manner of beast that fed on live prey.
Regardless, a room wasn't what she was looking for.
Sighing, Fawn said, "Look, Howgerr, I don't know if you know why I'm here or not, but you know you have something that belongs to someone else, right?"
Howgerr's toothless grin shrank as his eyes shifted from side to side.
A bright magenta light emerged from Fawn's left hand as the length of her lightsaber ran down the side of her leg. "We're gonna go in there, get the droid, and live our lives, yeah?"
Howgerr's face lit up again with a wheeze and a cough as Fawn watched out of the corner of her eyes as dark, roach-like creatures crawled their way out of the alley and from around the sides of the stone structures. As they clicked and chirped, Fawn immediately backed away from the alley in horror, watching as they soon chased and even leapt after her. The last thing she managed to see before she was clear of them was Howgerr himself molting his skin as several of the same creatures crawled their way out of him.
Later that same day, Fawn was storming her way in an underground tunnel lit by overhead lamps, an abandoned shaft once used for trains. She held the handle of her saber tightly as she approached the group of rugged men sitting around a square, metal table near the end of the walkway beside what used to be tracks.
"The pink fawn is back!" one of the men said, his bald head and thick brown beard the first things she ever noticed about him. He was smiling. Of course he was smiling. "And without my droid!"
"Didn't care to tell me what that freak was, did you, Gordo!?" she yelled, her saber quick to light up as several of the men rose to hold her back from Gordo as her eyes were glued only to him.
"Can't handle a few bugs?" Gordo laughed. "I thought you were a witch!"
Fawn growled, her wrist held high by one of the men so that she couldn't use her saber. "There were hundreds! I could have been killed, you bastard!"
Gordo shrugged, leaning back in his metal chair. "You knew the risks. It's a shame, though. I would've given you extra if you had pulled through."
"I'm done here," Fawn concluded, retracting the length of her lightsaber and tearing herself away from the other men. "Get someone else to die for you."
"Maybe you shouldn't be taking these jobs, Fawn..." Gordo said as Fawn began walking the opposite direction of him. "Everyone knows there's a chance it doesn't play out the way they think it will. Seems like you'd be better off back with your witch clan."
He didn't know anything about her. He was a punk and nothing more.
But even still...
It wasn't rare that she would think back to her life on Dathomir with her Burning Hand clan, back to her mother, back to her teacher, Allarin... She had never said goodbye to any of them before leaving, and yet she didn't have a ship to go back to them with.
She had made her decision. There was no turning back. Whatever the galaxy had to offer, she couldn't let regret ruin it for her.
"This is it...?" she asked the dirty, bearded man beside her.
He chuckled and wheezed as he shook his head. "There's a room at the end."
Fawn's hand waved about the staff with her wrist as the end of it stayed put on the concrete beneath them, thinking not so hard on whether or not to trust the man. It was Celanon City, after all, and no man nor woman who survived on the streets like she did could ever be trusted to have a room of any kind that didn't involve something waiting for her. A slaver, perhaps, or some manner of beast that fed on live prey.
Regardless, a room wasn't what she was looking for.
Sighing, Fawn said, "Look, Howgerr, I don't know if you know why I'm here or not, but you know you have something that belongs to someone else, right?"
Howgerr's toothless grin shrank as his eyes shifted from side to side.
A bright magenta light emerged from Fawn's left hand as the length of her lightsaber ran down the side of her leg. "We're gonna go in there, get the droid, and live our lives, yeah?"
Howgerr's face lit up again with a wheeze and a cough as Fawn watched out of the corner of her eyes as dark, roach-like creatures crawled their way out of the alley and from around the sides of the stone structures. As they clicked and chirped, Fawn immediately backed away from the alley in horror, watching as they soon chased and even leapt after her. The last thing she managed to see before she was clear of them was Howgerr himself molting his skin as several of the same creatures crawled their way out of him.
====================================================
Later that same day, Fawn was storming her way in an underground tunnel lit by overhead lamps, an abandoned shaft once used for trains. She held the handle of her saber tightly as she approached the group of rugged men sitting around a square, metal table near the end of the walkway beside what used to be tracks.
"The pink fawn is back!" one of the men said, his bald head and thick brown beard the first things she ever noticed about him. He was smiling. Of course he was smiling. "And without my droid!"
"Didn't care to tell me what that freak was, did you, Gordo!?" she yelled, her saber quick to light up as several of the men rose to hold her back from Gordo as her eyes were glued only to him.
"Can't handle a few bugs?" Gordo laughed. "I thought you were a witch!"
Fawn growled, her wrist held high by one of the men so that she couldn't use her saber. "There were hundreds! I could have been killed, you bastard!"
Gordo shrugged, leaning back in his metal chair. "You knew the risks. It's a shame, though. I would've given you extra if you had pulled through."
"I'm done here," Fawn concluded, retracting the length of her lightsaber and tearing herself away from the other men. "Get someone else to die for you."
"Maybe you shouldn't be taking these jobs, Fawn..." Gordo said as Fawn began walking the opposite direction of him. "Everyone knows there's a chance it doesn't play out the way they think it will. Seems like you'd be better off back with your witch clan."
He didn't know anything about her. He was a punk and nothing more.
But even still...
It wasn't rare that she would think back to her life on Dathomir with her Burning Hand clan, back to her mother, back to her teacher, Allarin... She had never said goodbye to any of them before leaving, and yet she didn't have a ship to go back to them with.
She had made her decision. There was no turning back. Whatever the galaxy had to offer, she couldn't let regret ruin it for her.
