Don't stop 'til you get enough [Jakarn Verd]

[Scherezade deWinter]

Coruscant's Undercity. A place of lowlifes and scum. A place to make a few quick credits. A place where most people will want to kill you just because you had the means to take a proper shower before arriving there. Stay away from the Undercity until you're properly trained, child.

Such were the warnings ringing through Scherezade's head. And true to herself, after first trying to cover her ears and then realizing such a thing would not keep them out, she'd just gone right ahead and ignored them. The warnings rang through her head every time she came to this planet, but that morning they had been louder than usual, and she could no longer just ignore them.

The problem was that she hadn't just ignored them; she'd gone against some basic common sense while she did so. Instead of dressing incognito, the child stood out like a sore thumb in her red cloak and combat boots, the rest of her body clad in nondescript shorts and pink form fitting top. Her little Czerka Knife hung from her belt, easy to see. And now, as she walked the dark streets of the Undercity, she was quite obviously getting noticed.

At first, getting noticed had caused a slight mini-panic in the girl. She was used to walking the upper parts of Coruscant for hours without anyone realizing she was even there. Even when on missions with the CIS, she was usually not even registered unless she deliberately did something that would draw attention.

This was new.

Which brought a whole new potential problem with itself; once her panic had subsided ever so slightly, Scherezade deWinter realized she actually enjoyed it. In the darkness down here, she saw the world under a gentle hue of green, and she realized her eyes shone. Not anywhere close enough to rival those of her mother's or grandmother's, but enough to make her feel like she was doing the right thing.

Even if she, as per usual, had no idea what she was doing.

One thing though about the Undercity - it was frakkin' dirty. Her three months of existence had shown her sand and dust, corpses and death, but never streets that were this dirty. She noted to herself that she didn't like that part at all and made to take a left, when a flyer found her face and smacked it.

Her hand grabbed it, pulling it off her face, and she nearly tossed it away before her mind registered the words printed on it.

Pit fights.

Scherezade scanned the information in her mind to understand what exactly it entailed.

Scherezade, no! came the expected warning.

There was only one thing to do with it.

"Scherezade, yes!" the girl said to herself as she grinned from ear to ear. It was only a few minutes away anyway.


[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

Jak rolled his head to the left, narrowly evading an armoured fist to the jaw.

All around the two of them a crowd had gathered, beyond the confines of the chain-linked fence which marked their parameters, yet he did not hear a peep from them despite their clamorous nature. Consumed by the presence of his opponent, he had entered a tunneled state; it was as though nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered.

His right hand reached out, snatching the crushgaunt midair and using the man's momentum to pull his arm down at a breakneck pace. Accompanying this action was the left, which shot out just beneath his opponent's elbow and acted as a counter leverage. The growl of pain it created fueled him, sending a spike of adrenaline through his body as his armoured opponent squirmed in an attempt to break free.

Jak's vision had begun to blur. A streak of blood had made its way down from just above his eyebrow and was dripping down to his cheek, yet one small stream of the ruddy liquid had broken free from the rest and made a line straight for his eye. He could feel it begin to twitch unexpectedly, no doubt burning though he'd long since learned how to ignore such sensations.

His opponent seemed to notice the partial blindness in Jak's left eye, however, and used it to his advantage. The free fist was thrown toward his blind side, which had him staggering though only one of his hands dropped, that which had found the man's elbow. The other still had his wrist and he pulled him into the stagger.

With both men off balance they inevitably tumbled, and it didn't take long for the man to grapple Jak - breaking free from his grasp.

Turning his head ever so slightly, he rubbed the blood from his eye with his shoulder and blinked away the rest of it, moments before he was put on his back. The broad grin it put on his lips had his opponent momentarily confused... Though Jak did not bother to let up just what he had found so humorous.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade was having the time of her life. She'd found the place quickly, and had started to wander around. It stank of unwashed bodies and physical extracts, people were generally rude, and they place could seriously do with some better lighting. But it was raw. People stared at her, sure, but no one actually expected her to do anything. There was even a Rodian selling loose meats, and she gladly bought a dish from him. He promised it was good ol' Coruscant rat, and she had to take his word on it because she hadn't had the chance to eat too many different meats and wouldn't have been able to tell the difference anyway. But it was full of garlic and salt and pepper and it made her stomach feel happy, so she bought a second one too.

Taking a bite from her second serving, she couldn't help but notice the crowds forming.

Wondering what that was about, she made her way towards them, picking off small bites from her food. It had taken a little bit of elebow pushing, and at one point her food dropped to the ground (and she had the sense that the 5 second rule did not apply), and a few small Force Pushes.... And there. She was front line.

Glowing emerald eyes fell on Nius.

Scherezade's cheeks flushed. Nius was supposed to be her friend, and he had just straight up vanished while the two were on a mission to collect some bounty. She hadn't wanted to get the bounty in the first place, but he'd convinced her it'd be good for them, and that it'd mean she wouldn't have to rely on Kat for all things money, so she went with it. And he just vanished. Seeing he'd had all the information about their bounty, she couldn't resume alone, and didn't even get a return on the fuel she'd spent to get there. She was going to smack Nius into seven hells for that stunt.

And here he was, getting his hiney kicked.

Part of her wanted to jump into the ring and punch him herself. Another part of her wanted the brute to finish him off. And the last part of her wanted him to get his tush off the ground and win the stupid thing.

"Get up, butthat!" Scherezade roared over the crowds, "Finish him off before I finish you off!"

The laughter of the crowd went unnoticed. They didn't matter.

[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

There was no warning for what came next.

The lumbering oaf who had him pinned to the ground was suddenly pulled backwards and off Jak with a sudden flick of momentum. For those who were keen of eye, the unexpected presence of a tail might have been noticed... Yet given the general awareness and IQ of those gathered (Jak himself wasn't particularly intelligent) it went unnoticed by the bulk of those present.

Without pushing up from the ground he managed to find his feet in one swift movement, going from laying on his back to standing in but a moment. He reached around to his back, beneath his shirt, and as he came upon the man who was sprawled within the dirt he pulled free a blade with a broken hilt, something he hadn't yet been able to replace.

As the man found his feet, his knife found his gut. Specifically the slightly vulnerable region in his chestplate that allowed him movement in his torso.

A few of the men in the crowd shouted in uproar. While their fight had never been unarmed, for the past few minutes of the match they'd both apparently been disarmed - in fact there were a couple of weapons scattered about the place. Good credits were always being lost in this place, yet that didn't make it any easier when it was your credits that were going in someone else's pocket.

"Should've stopped when you had the chance," he whispered into the ear of his opponent who had barely processed what had just happened. With a rough shove he pushed the man away from him and off the blade, before stepping to his slumped body and wiping the weapon off on whatever bit of exposed cloth he could find. Didn't make sense to soil his own clothes, after all, not now.

Then he turned, moving to pick up his second weapon without so much as a glance back to the man whose guts were seeing the cruddy light of day. What little sunlight the Undercity got at least.

He was about to leave the confines of the fence, to pick up his cut of the winnings, when he finally noticed that someone was staring right at him. Now that he was out of the fight his senses had returned to normal, no longer tunneled in focus. Turning on his heel he stared directly at [member="Scherezade deWinter"] with a very slight scowl.

"Keep your eyes to yourself, Princess."

What was her type doing down in slums like these? She wasn't even trying to hide her status, which made her a fool.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

While the crowd continued to cheer and soar, Scherezade found her silence. Eyes slightly squinted, she followed every inch and move of that fight, committing all the details to memory. Others might have missed it, but she did not. That tail... Nius, what have you done to yourself, she wondered silently, knowing better than to make them pause so she could ask her questions. Nius was... Well, he wasn't entirely himself. Now that she had little choice but to either continue to stare or to leave, she noticed the differences. She'd seen Nius fight before. It had not looked like that. Was this the result of another fight with his father?

She couldn't help but note that he stabbed the other man in the very same spot that she had stabbed Darth Metus. Sure, there weren't that many places you could stab when the other person was wearing armor, but still... She chewed on her lower lip, deep in thought. Only the volume of the crowd broke her concentration, and she looked at what was happening; guts flowing out.

Scherezade shrugged, moving her eyes to Nius again.

"What the frak, Nius?" she asked, the surprise all too evident in her voice. She started to close the distance between them, "what crawled up your behind and turned you into a dosh? You left me during a mission and now you're here, fighting for..." she stared around, "credits, I guess? Did you have another stupid fight with your dad? Where'd you get that tail from? Where are you hiding it now? And anyway, when did you start calling me Princess in public?"

The thought that it was just a manner of phrasing had gone completely over her head. After all, Nius knew what she was, and what she didn't want to come out that she was. Not in public, anyway. More than enough people knew anyway.

The crowds were moving now, and pushing began. Some stinky person bumped hard into the girl, causing her the need to move her feet so she wouldn't lose balance and fall on the filthy ground. "Watch where you're going!" she growled, sending out a Force Push to keep his stink away from her. She'd miscalculated though, and instead of giving him a little shove, the man was sent a few feet away, taking whoever was in the way with him.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Nius, her mouth open and about to say something, when she felt several pairs of hands pull her and before she could respond, she was in an impromptu ring as well.

"Seriously?!" she asked, looking at the people around them.

[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

Apparently she thought his words had been just a suggestion.

Though he tried to walk around her she cut him off mid-path and began rambling about something Jak couldn't even claim to understand. He stood there for a few moments, simply listening, expressionless, as the girl got all hot and bothered. Somehow she seemed to think they knew one another, but there was no way in hell that was the case.

"Listen, listen..." he finally said, with a shake of his head, "I don't know what your game is, sweetheart, but me and you? Not gonna happen. What's your plan? Try and swindle me out of some credits? Stood there, like this," he gestured over her, eyes downcast over her outfit, "You don't think I don't recognize a try-hard when I see one? You may be able to fool all these other idjits into thinking you're more than just a gutter rat with clothes like those, but not me Princess. So why don't you step out of my way and scrounge off'a someone else?"

At that moment a number of things happened. Firstly one of the men he'd become a little familiar with hailed him over with a slight wave.

"Jak!" he called out, "Don't you want your damn cut? Get your ass over here, or I'll blow it all down the 'tainment sector."

"Gimme a sec, will ya?!"

His eyes drifted back to the girl, only to see her being manhandled toward the pit. Oh... That wasn't good. A kid like her? She'd be chewed up and spat out. He rubbed his hands together, and made a gesture of his own.

"Eh, in fact, bring those credits here, I think I've got a match to bet on..."

The girl was way in over her head. Jak stepped toward the edge of the chainlinked fence and pocketed the credit chips as they were passed off to him. He handed just one of them back to his pal and watched as [member="Scherezade deWinter"] was pushed further into the makeshift arena. When her opponent stepped up to the mark, however, Jak's grin faltered.

"Lassyk" he hissed, eyeing up the 7ft mass of muscles. A Trandoshan, that particular woman had a reputation around these parts and as much as he'd have loved to see the girl learn her lesson they didn't need another death on top of the three which had already occurred that night. The sector cops would already be coming down on their asses.

"Not much of a match up, is it? Tssk, get the short stack out of there, aren't there any other fugly beasts you can wreck, Syk?"

When nobody seemed to take his words seriously, however, Jak took matters into his own hands. Stomping into the 'arena' he slid himself between the two women and fixed his eyes all the way up at the Trandoshan. "You really wanna go, Scales? I can make your seven feet of stench look like a damn womp rat. Crawl back into whatever hole you dug your way out of."

Then he turned to the girl, and grasped her by the upper arm. Without saying a word directly to her he attempted to all but march her away from the confines of the chainlink fence.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade froze in her spot. Nius had said a lot of things back to her, but she didn't have the opportunity to rip his head off with her words before she'd been dumped in the makeshift ring. Especially not that part about him and her being a thing. That was just an eww all around. Not that she disliked Nius. Quite the opposite in fact, which was a really huge step on her part seeing as he was a Mandalorian. But that was exactly it. To merely suggest she'd be with a Mandalorian who glorified in that rotten culture... It was enough to make her shudder. And she didn't have time to shudder right now.

In the pit, the crowds were noisy. But she couldn't look at them even if she wanted to. Not once her opponent was brought out. A huge, ugly Trandoshan. Its (Scherezade couldn't distinguish between males and females of the species) external appearance was enough to make her swallow. But there wasn't time for that either.

Quickly, she darted into her memories. Well not her memories, but those of her grandmother. She needed information and she needed it fast. On the outside, she still appeared as a child in shock. Inside though, calculations were running. Weak spots in the Trandoshan physique were being noted. She could do it. She was ready to fight it. She was ready to win it.

And then there was Nius again, grabbing her arm. He'd been there a moment before that, speaking.

"Let go!" Scherezade ordered, trying to pull her arm away from Nius without applying any of the Force to it yet, "I'm only a foot shorter than it and I can definitely take it down."

Naturally, her claims brought on a row of laughter from the crowds. She glared at them, the green light of her eyes flaring up. Her arm was still under Nius' grab, and she knew just how to get it out of there without getting violent. At least, not violent with him. "Five thousand credits say I win!" she challenged them. She challenged them all. "Come on! Bet against me! Make me rich! I dare you! I double dare you!"


[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

For a moment he seemed to hesitate, contemplating the best route to take given the girl's apparent desire to have her face wrecked.

There was something about that confidence, though, that spoke of something more. What kind of idiot looked at a woman like Lassyk and thought they could best her in combat? She had to have her reasons for thinking as much, which left him interested.

"Alright, if little Princess here thinks she's got what it takes... Just don't expect me to bail you out if the going gets tough, alright sweetheart? And for the record, I don't make bets with minors."

Releasing his grip on her arm he half shoved her back toward the cage, before walking back out of the vicinity with a shake of his head. He resumed his position at the front, just before the chainlinked fence, and kept his eyes on the girl. If he really tried he could sense something about her, an anomaly among the ragtag band of individuals that usually frequented this place.

Lassyk's cackle drew him from his thoughts. He passed one small chip across to his usual 'bookie' and nodded to the girl. Barely any credits to be lost if she was pummeled, yet a whole lot to gain if she happened to win. Who knew, maybe she'd get those five thousand credits in the end anyway.

A series of clicks and growls escaped the lumbering Trandoshan, and to one who was used to the species it was obvious she was highly amused and grateful for the easy score to add to her already high jagganath. The weapon she had intentionally brought into the pit was tossed aside, as she curled her fists and stomped one foot in preparation.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Nius, you know I'm not a minor. Whatever the fake ID Kat got me claims," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

But her arm was free now, and she was shoved into the cage. More crowd roaring. More sounds coming out of the Trandoshan. Scherezade didn't understand that language. It wasn't on the list of things she'd inherited from her grandmother's knowledge. Hutteesse, sure, that was on it. But it wasn't going to help her. Not now, anyway.

The doors to the cage slammed, causing her to jump. She felt on edge. This was new territory. She'd never actually fought before; not like this, anyway. This wasn't the same as the zombie on Tatooine or the beasts on Hasseria. This wasn't-

Nope, the kick to her gut showed her that she was overthinking.

Scherezade doubled over, gripping her tummy. It felt raw and tender. It felt like the rat burgers she'd consumed were gonna make their way up. And she was kinda sure that throwing up wasn't a good thing to do when you were in a fighting ring, fighting. She could her the ticking and clanking coming from her opponent. It sounded happy. Obviously.

Slowly, as the Trandoshan went around with her arms up, gathering the claps and cheers from the crowds, Scherezade forced herself to stand up straight again. She was not going to go down so easily. She was not going to give up. She was not going to let that-

The Trandoshan grabbed her and tossed her to the other end of the cage like a rag doll. Scherezade flew front first into the bars, hitting her jaw in a special angle that made her head ring, and then fell in shambles to the filthy ground, getting all dirty in the process. Her vision threatened to double. She didn't like that.

Scherezade stared up, seeing the Trandoshan bending over her. Wait no, that wasn't bending, that was umping and landing-

There went the rat burgers. The girl vomited all over herself. This was getting progressively worse, and she hadn't even raised a fist yet. Well. What could she do? Scherezade tried to raise her right first. It was immediately slapped. She could hear the roaring laughter from the crowds. Beneath the vomit that decorated her face, her cheeks turned a deep crimson.

"Karking rhagoul spawn," Scherezade cursed, blood coming into her mouth and spitting out of it. When did her body become so squishy? She was much better at standing her ground when she faced that tiger cat thing, or the zombie. She was supposed good at reacting fast and moving out of the way, even if she couldn't quite deliver a knock out punch in one go.

Enough was enough.

Her left fist was still free. She spread her fingers, throwing a Force Push at the Trandoshan, who was immediately pushed upwards, slamming into the ceiling. Scherezade rolled away before it landed, leaving a trail of vomit and blood behind her. But her vision hadn't doubled yet and there wasn't anything left in her stomach to vomit, so all things considered, she was doing sort of okay.

Her opponent recovered quickly though. Scherezade inched herself back into the corner. Force Pushes were nice, but they weren't going to help her win this. Instead, she tapped into her rage. All of it. She gathered the threads of insults that had been flung towards her over the past few months. All the crap she'd had to deal with. Her grandmother. The fact that she still couldn't figure too many things out. How everyone looked down at her because she thought she had nothing to bring forth despite her getting results time after time. Mandalorians. Her missing brother.

Letting that rage rise took a split of a moment. The Trandoshan was closing the distance, but it didn't matter anymore. Her rage intensified, the green of her eyes now not just shedding an eerie green light, but outright projecting it. The Force prickled on her skin and she could almost feel like like invisible lighting.

The Tradoshan was on her again. She directed her rage into the muscles of her legs and jumped. She didn't need to be too strong. She had to be fast. A series of kicks followed then, her movement almost too fast for the naked eye to see. The first three were just to tickle the Trandoshan, hitting it in the torso. Then she went for places that hurt; kneecap, lower tomach, other kneecap, nose into head.

Scherezade landed gracefully despite her filthy appearance. She was still angry. She still hated the galaxy and almost everything in it.

But her rage was no longer flaring and red and burning.

Now that she was safer, it turned into frost. Cold. Calculating.

She approached her opponent on the ground, grabbing her face with force and then caressing it almost like a mother to a child. Nearing her own face to the Trandoshan's ear, Scherezade smiled.

"You will never try to humiliate me again," she whispered, her tone soft and sweet. And then inhaled once, and pressed her lips to the Trandoshan's ear.

And let a Force Scream out.

The Trandoshan's ear drum and brain exploded. She could feel the vibrations under the skin of her fingers. And she let the corpse drop.

Rising to her feet, Scherezade looked at the crowd, casting the green light of her eyes on them. And there was nothing innocent of vulnerable in her gaze.



[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

At first it seemed as though his hunch had been without merit.

The girl was thrown across the pit, taking blow after blow from the Trandoshan who stalked her at every turn. Like a babe she appeared helpless, weightless, yet he could feel her frustration begin to grow, her determination, as each blow struck a chord deep within. He could taste her emotions on the air, and where many of the others around him groaned at a wasted match, after all when didn't Lassyk win, Jak stood transfixed. Watching every movement, muscles poised in a predatory fashion just ready to pounce.

Though it was not his fight.

And then it happened. Lassyk underestimated her, and the girl capitalized on the moment. Trandoshan hit the ground with a heavy thud, and then silence fell. All watched with bated breath as the girl approached and leaned in to whisper something most around them could not hear.

Jak, however, heard every word. She was dangerous, this girl who did not belong among the Undercity, a mere child if appearances were anything to go by. And as though to prove as much she let out a gut-wrenching scream, something he had not bore witness to in so very long. It was obvious that it was amplified through the Force, utilizing a similar technique to the Ithorians with their Bellow.

He had to reach up his hands to cover his ears, so sensitive they were, but otherwise he remained unflinching. Watching her as she pushed the body away.

A few moments passed, he allowed her that much, before he lowered his hands and stepped over to the edge of the cage.

"Alright, show's over folks. Scamper off to whatever corners you crawled for before the popo arrive. Damn fancy folks in the upper district will have heard that. Scram!"

Of course, he made sure to get his winnings from the bookie before the crowd began to disperse. Waiting at the edge of the pit, he tossed a rather heavy credit chip within his hand and stood there until she neared him, after all he stood by the only viable exit, one brow raised in curiosity.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Her levels of adrenaline began to plummet when the crowds started to leave. A moment ago, she had been high on it, her focus laser sharp, the world turning into her oyster. Now, though, things were changing fast. Every inch of her body hurt as the gazillion places where she'd been hit were beginning to become aware again of the beating she took. The green light in her eyes began to dim, and within a few moments they were just normal green eyes again, vibrant in their color, but shedding no more light on her surroundings.

With a sigh, Scherezade began to limp towards the exit. Both legs hurt, so rather than limp on one leg, her limping took turns, first one foot and then the other. She was going to need a long bath and maybe go for a swim in a bacta tank. This was beyond her abilities to fully heal with the Force.

She didn't notice Nius even standing there until she'd almost limped straight into him. She vaguely remembered now that she was also owed credits for her spectacular win. Scherezade lives, opponent dies. Another great day to be alive. Not that she could talk about it to many people. Almost anyone in the CIS would bite her head off for even being there in the first place.

Eyes rising, she locked gaze with Nius while trying to wipe the blood and drying vomit from her face on the back of her arm.

"Now can we finally talk, Nius?" she asked, her voice betraying just how tired she was after that match. She hadn't heard his warnings towards the crowds. Didn't even think about the possibility of officials showing up in a place like this. She just wanted to leave and take Nius with her, "my ship is closeby."


[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

Usually he wouldn't have given two feths about someone like her, someone stumbling toward him after they'd been ragged about, but she'd piqued his interest.

As such when she came within range he reached out to help steady her and take a little weight off her legs.

"Easy, girlie, you took quite a beating. Here, I guess this is yours."

Placing the credit chip in her grasp he turned his sights down to her and shook his head. What was it with this girl and thinking that they knew one another? It was perplexing to say the least. Jak had never met this girl before, he'd seen plenty of girls like her but that wasn't the same thing.

"Listen, sweetheart, I don't know who you think I am, but my name is Jak, not Nius..."

Part of him wanted to just let her go off on her own, if she got caught by one of the cops, or lost in the Undercity, or fell asleep and slipped into a coma from concussion, what did he care? He'd walked away from better than her. People far more deserving of assistance. And yet... He began to lead her away from the pit all the same, the least he could do was get her to her ship, right?

"You shouldn't be down in the slums, you know? Folks down here would love to play with the likes of you. What's your name, kid?"

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

For all her pain and injuries, there was one sense that had not been affected by her current state, and that was her sense of smell. She pocketed the credit chip and let Nius help her out, taking some of the weight off her legs. That was nice. But now they weren't just standing close to each other, there was actual physical contact between the two of them, and she could smell him. Not the smell of dirt or fight, not the smell of the sums of soap from the shower, but the base smell that rose off from his skin.

Scherezade blinked.

She was aware now that this was't Nius. She was aware of it before he said his name was Jak. This was all very confusing; if this was someone named Jak, who did absolutely not smell like Nius in any way, look so much like Nius? She blinked again, trying to get a good look at him. From the angle of his jawbone to the shape of the muscles, everything about was Nius. He said she shouldn't be in the slums because people would love to play with her, and called her a kid again.

"Scherezade," she mumbled, the confusion very clear in her tone. Still, they were walking. It had taken about ten minutes to get from her ship to here when she was in good condition, so maybe getting to the ship would take twice as much now. She sighed, leading them. If he was one of those slums people who'd try to play with her, her ship would be safer than out here anyway. She had toys on her ship that she was very much in need of testing out, and she didn't need to be in pristine condition in order to do that. So she'd have to keep him talking at least until they were there.

"If you're not Nius, why do you look like him?" she asked. It didn't matter that it was a silly question. Just keep talking, "and why are you helping me anyway? You could've taken that credit chip and I wouldn't have remembered about it at least until tomorrow."

And then she would have returned as soon as she'd healed, carrying weapons, killing everyone and everything until she got her creds. She might've been a princess, literally. She might've had two ships and a speeder. She might've even had access to grandmother's penthouse here on Coruscant. But she had no free income, or any income at all, and all the food and clothes she'd had over the last few months had been the courtesy of trainers, strangers, and an aunt who never wanted to hear her being called Pebble again.

"And anyway, they're welcome to try to play with me," she added, managing to give a wicked grin despite the pain in her body, "I'm the best pin cushion in the 'verse. Srina said so herself. I'll take all the beating, and then just kill them. Just like I did with the Trandoshan."



[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

"I may be a bastard, but I don't swindle folks out of chit they've earned. You got spirit, kid, but you don't gotta take such a pounding you know?"

Onward they walked, slowed by the pace of the injured girl who leaned on him for support. She had a lot of questions, this Scherezade. Even her name sounds like it comes from rich blood... He'd never heard a name like it, and he'd almost scoffed when she said it aloud. Not that he'd use her name, of course, there was no fun in that.

"I don't know why I look like him, could be that we're simply dopplegangers though. Chit like that happens in a Galaxy this large. You two close? Seems to me you argue with him like he's a brother or something. Though if you don't mind my saying, you and I look nothing alike so... Friends, then?"

He glanced around them for a moment. They were far enough away that any of the so-called law enforcement which scoured the streets were unlikely to tie them to the four bodies down in the pit. Save for the fact they both had a little blood on their clothes, of course. He wondered how much she'd mind. Likely had a back up of her favourite outfits.

"So where you from, sweetheart? Your folks over protective, or something? Can't think why anyone would choose to come down these parts if they had a choice."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade outright blinked at the brother or friend comment. She and Nius did squabble a lot... But if he'd been a friend, he wouldn't have left her during that mission. And she did have a brother, but she didn't even know what he was like, or what he looked like, or... Anything, really. Brayden was missing, and she didn't know if he'd even lived at all.

"I don't have folks," she answered, "I mean, I obviously did, but I haven't seen them in five centuries and I don't know if they're dead, or sleeping, or walking around somewhere, unaware that I'm alive and awake." She paused them, trying to gauge how that might sound to someone who knew nothing about her. "It's a complicated story," she finally said, hoping that would be sufficient to change the conversation's topic.

Looking around, she tried to recognize which part of the Undercity they were at. If the map she'd built in her head was right, they were only two turns away from the Giggledust.

"C'mon, my ship's that way," she pointed, and renewed her limping. "So what's your story, Jak? I saw your match. You could make better credits from mercenary work if the only reason is financial. And you didn't learn to fight in those pits, it's kinda obvious you were trained elsewhere."

[member="Jakarn Verd"]

 

[Lief]

Five centuries?

He was beginning to think this girl really was crazy. Comments like that got you institutionalized in most places, unless you were willing to prove you were some sort of lecherous snot-vampire or the like. But, then you were opening yourself up to hate. Most didn't like such fiends.

"You roughing it alone? Ain't no way for a kid to live." And he knew it, probably better than most. Were it not for Isley he wouldn't have even had that brief moment of respite between frying pan and fire... Still something about the way she was still hinted at some sort of family or caregiver. She screamed rebellious teen, yet one who came from money. He'd seen her kind plenty throughout the years, always looking down on the likes of him.

"What brought you down to the Undercity, kid?"

Her own questions had him leading the way in thoughtful silence, after she gestured toward where she'd parked her vessel. "Merc' work doesn't agree with me much," he offered with a shrug, "Prefer to go it alone." That was how he had been trained, after all, to be a meticulous weapon as opposed to one part of a greater unit. Not that he had any cause to get into all of that, especially not with someone like her, so he let the topic be dropped after stating his disdain for mercenary groups.

He could see the ship now, and once she was safely able to get onboard they'd part ways. No need to divulge anything extra,

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"I'm not a kid," she shot right back at him. And it was true. Sort of. Life was supposed to have certain specifications about a bunch of things. Like, this was a toddler, that was a kid, that was a teenager. But those rules didn't apply to her. She didn't know if she was over five hundred years old, or a seventeen year old teenager, or actually a baby that's only a year and a half old with some major accelerated growing. But when she filled all her fake ID's out, there was nowhere she could write "It's Complicated" for her age.

He'd asked what she was doing there. She almost started explaining about her grandmother, but decided to just give a more vanilla version of the story instead, "I was told not to," she grinned. It was a stupid reason. But there was more to it, "but the person who told me not to happens to be a person who's on my kill list. So I rarely listen to her."

That was... More or less it.

They'd finally arrived at the ship. Scherezade looked at the Giggledust. The Giggledust... Required a lot more explaining. For one, the elevator that led from the hangar bay upstairs to here the important stuff was, was missing. She wasn't sure she could climb the rope in the elevator shaft on her own in her current state.

She rolled her eyes at his statement, "Agreed with you or not, that's still not a fighting style you learned in the pits."

Coming to a stop in front of the elevator shaft, she pushed herself away from him, testing if she could stand without falling over. Success!

And now her mind was free to roll. She looked at [member="Jakarn"], her gaze focusing directly on his face. Her Force Presense rose, almost without her wanting it to. She could feel it cackling against her skin as she looked at him again, trying to force the stupid thing back down and get it to stop flaring. There wasn't anything to-

"I'm going to need help getting up," she said quietly, motioning at the destroyed elevator shaft, "there's food upstairs if you're hungry. My treat."

 

[Lief]

"You ain't old enough to drink in most parts of the Galaxy, that makes you a kid."

Whether she thought she was 500 or not didn't matter, anyone who looked at her knew she was still just a teen. All the other mumbo jumbo space magic nonsense was meaningless to most, unless she had evidence - which he doubted she did - she'd better get used to being seen that way for a couple more years.

"Ah, so you are rebelling. Safer ways to do that than coming to fight clubs, love. And for the record, using the Force? That's cheap, most'll lynch you for that. Just a friendly word of advice from one to another."

His eyes fell over the ship, an old beauty from a time which had been forgotten by the majority of the Galaxy following the Darkness. When she stepped away from him he took his own step back and offered a loose shrug to her statement.

"Everyone learns somewhere. Does it matter where? Anyway, looks like this is where we part. Try not to get yourself killed out there, kid."

He began to turn, to head back into the slums he currently called home, when she spoke about how she wouldn't be able to get up into the ship by herself. Letting out an internal groan, after all he'd already helped her far more than he ever usually would have, he turned and glanced at the elevator shaft which was visible broken.

"Ought to get that looked at. Won't always have someone around to help you get up and down. Alright, c'mon then."

Stepping over to her he slipped one of her arms over his shoulder to provide support as they approached the shaft itself, before glancing down at her.

"You're gonna have to hold on tight, alright? If you fall that's on you, Princess."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Stop calling me Princess," she groaned again. She was coming to hate the nickname now. Depite that, however, he was coming to like this Jak person. He was full of attempts to protect her and give her tips. Sure, they were useless to her, but it was a solid A for effort.

Once they were upstairs, the young Sith carefully stood again. She was going to have to buy a bacta tank sooner or later. Still, food had been offered.

"Come on, kitchen is this way," she said.

As they walked through the ship, the interior of it would be hard to notice by Jakarn, or pretty much anyone else. Exposed wires were abound, the ground was a minefield of dangerous things poking up, and here and there it looked like remains of what might one day have been spice. Scherezade was sure some of it was still useful and working spice, but she didn't dare touch it without special equipment. She had fixed only four areas of the ship thus; her own room, a guest room, the kitchen, and the cockpit. Everything else was on her to-do list for when she could afford it.

"If I hadn't used the Force, I'd be dead," she said, referring to an earlier commend he'd made, "cheap doesn't matter when it's life or death. I'm alive, the Trandosian is dead, I win at least a few more hours of havoc."

Once they were in the kitchen, food was warmed quickly. Jak was greeted with plates of meet, eggs, and hard cheeses. That was the stuff she ate, usually. There were three empty chairs, and she took one of them for herself.

"I'm not rebelling, by the way," she continued, grabbing a steak with one hand and then taking a nice chewy piece out, "I'm surviving. Huge difference."



[member="Jakarn"]