Draw Back Your Bow

[Jorzen Quank]

"A litte more quiet would be great," Jorzen replied, placing his hand over hers. "To be honest, I'm not a fan of this place. Crowds are not my favorite thing." He looked around. "This is my first trip to Antecedent, so if you'd like to take the lead, and assuming we're not going to run into any more angry Hutts, I'm happy to follow!" He stole a glance at Jorda's derriere concealed beneath the feathery fringe of her little black dress.

[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Jorda grinned and coyly tilted her head. "Well, hopefully this isn't too forward, but I live close to the casino, in one of these glittering high rises. We could go there. Just hang out and talk. You can tell me all about how you capture those beasties."

"It's much more quiet than here at the Dragon Palace, and my living room has enormous windows. The view of the galaxy is quite magical."

She laughed and turned her hand around so that her fingers gently stroked his palm. "And best of all no angry Hutts. Zeltron's promise."

[member="Jorzen Quank"]

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen hesitated. After the meeting with the Hutt and the knowledge that this woman was still completely unknown to him, the thought of being alone with her raised the hairs on the back of his neck. For all he knew, she could be a Sith, or a slaver, or a psychopath. Still, her hand felt nice in his, and it would get him away from the lights, noise, and crowd.

"All right," he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Your place it is."

As the two headed towards the exit, Jorzen stopped for a moment to drop a cred into a slot machine just for fun. To the pair's amazement, each of the four digital symbols came up with the same pictogram: a dancing Wampa with a top hat in one hand and a cane in the other. More bells sounded, and lights flashed all around the machine as a friendly digital voiced bellowed "Jackpot! Jackpot!"

"Well," smiled Quank, picking up a nearby bucket that a less-fortunate patron had discarded. "This must be my lucky night!"

[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Jorda raised her eyebrows with a friendly chuckle. "Well look at that. Seems like your night is looking up, Mr. Quank. What are you going to do with all your winnings?"

The walk to Jorda's high rise wasn't long, but the cool, night air of Antecedent made the trip a pleasant one. The high rise itself was guarded by a doorman who, more invested in his Holos than the scene in the lobby itself, merely gave them a grunt as they took the elevator up to Jorda's floor.

After punching in the security code, Jorda's front door opened with a hiss, and the couple entered. The Zeltron's apartment was an expansive industrial loft space, decorated in a style that could only be described as gothic futurism, with silver angular furniture punctuated with black and red velvet fabric on most of the upholstery.

Jorda draped her handbag on a nearby chair and made her way to the kitchen where a floating bar cart hovered. The Zeltron smiled warmly at her date, as she grabbed a decanter and some crystal tumblers. She could sense some hesitation in the pheromones he was emitting, a feeling that she understood. After all, they still barely knew one another.

"Would you like a drink, Jorzen? A whiskey or maybe some wine?"

[member="Jorzen Quank"]

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorda raised her eyebrows with a friendly chuckle. "Well look at that. Seems like your night is looking up, Mr. Quank. What are you going to do with all your winnings?"

"Pet food," smiled Jorzen, tucking the bucket under his free arm. "And maybe a pet to eat it."

The walk to Jorda's high rise wasn't long, but the cool, night air of Antecedent made the trip a pleasant one. The high rise itself was guarded by a doorman who, more invested in his Holos than the scene in the lobby itself, merely gave them a grunt as they took the elevator up to Jorda's floor.

After punching in the security code, Jorda's front door opened with a hiss, and the couple entered. The Zeltron's apartment was an expansive industrial loft space, decorated in a style that could only be described as gothic futurism, with silver angular furniture punctuated with black and red velvet fabric on most of the upholstery.

Jorda draped her handbag on a nearby chair and made her way to the kitchen where a floating bar cart hovered. The Zeltron smiled warmly at her date, as she grabbed a decanter and some crystal tumblers. She could sense some hesitation in the pheromones he was emitting, a feeling that she understood. After all, they still barely knew one another.

"Would you like a drink, Jorzen? A whiskey or maybe some wine?"

Jorzen shrugged, looking around the apartment. It looked very lifeless and sterile to the hunter; even the red of the upholstery seemed like a way to add a symmetry of color rather than a desire for warmth. "You choose. Not sure I'd know the difference to be honest." He ran a hand across the red velvet of the couch. "I don't see any plants or pets," he said, walking towards her. "I'm guessing you don't spend a lot of time here?"

[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

The lack of flora and fauna in her apartment wasn't something Jorda thought alot about especially, since her apartment was basically a place for her to flop after a night of chasing down information or partying. As she poured Jorzen a glass of Corellian whiskey, she smirked. "That would be correct." she said as she handed him the glass. She glanced around her apartment. "I'm afraid anything living would die in my care." Then she realized how horrible that sounded and smiled sheepishly. "Such as plants, I mean." She hastily changed the subject.

"I wouldn't mind a pet though. I'm fond of creepy, crawly things. Are there any species of spiders that make good pets?"

[member="Jorzen Quank"]

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen accepted the drink with a nod. "As a matter of fact, I do," he smiled. Before answering, he took a sip of the whiskey, and tried not a pull a face as he swallowed. The strong drink burned his throat on the way down, filling him with warmth. He swallowed again, harder this time, to prevent a hiccup. "Phew," he sighed. "Very nice. Spider. Knowing what I know about you, which is very little but still, I think you'd do well with a shell spider. Its silk can be woven into fabric that can deflect anything from a vibroblade to blaster fire. Seems like just the thing for a woman of your...talents." He took another sip of the whiskey. "If you want something a bit cuddlier that packs a punch, I know where to get my hands on an attack stohl too. It's really soft. You wear it around your neck like a fur wrap, except it's got a poisonous bite. Takes a while to train and you need to be sure to keep them fed, but they imprint on whoever feeds them by hand first."

Stepping closer, he took her hand again, simply because he wanted to. "So what else do you do when you're not going on blind dates with beast hunters and having confrontations with Hutts in lavish casinos?"


[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Jorda's eyes lit up as the beast hunter picked what she felt were the perfect pets for her. She was impressed at how well her date knew his animals.

"Cuddlier and packs a punch, eh? I think that describes someone else I know." She gestured towards Jorzen with a grin "But, seriously the attack stohl sounds perfect. I would really like one of those. Two questions. Could you help me train it, and does it come in black?"

As Jorzen took her hand in his, Jorda sipped her drink and grinned, lightly caressing his fingers with hers.

"My primary job is that of an infochant. I'm sort of like a detective without the badge and blaster. I find out information for private clients, such as bounty hunters and crime lords. " With a tight smile, she looked down at her shoes, realizing that her profession was painting her in a terrible light, but it couldn't be helped. "It's a deceitful profession. I wouldn't blame you if you just ran out the door right now." She smiled at the hunter sheepishly.

[member="Jorzen Quank"]

 

[Jorzen Quank]

Jorzen pondered what she'd told him, pretending to be interested in the whiskey and her fingers. Finally, he looked up again. "I've always found information to be agnostic," he told her. "It isn't good or bad by itself, it's what gets done with it that makes it one thing or another. So you find out things, things that other people want to know. You do your research and you get paid for it." He'd seen and done enough in his previous life on Tatooine to know he was in no position to judge given how little guilt he felt. It was one of the reasons he didn't care much for people. "I track down animals, you track down data. I don't ask what the Circus Horrificus is going to do with the acklay, or what the Guild wants with a tuk'ata, and I don't much care. I like my job, so I do my job." He swallowed the rest of the whiskey and made a face, his mouth pulling momentarily to a rictus. It was the most he'd spoken in some time.


[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

There was a tense moment when Jorda thought she felt some judgement coming from the hunter, but when it didn't, her shoulders relaxed and she smiled warmly. Despite the powerful pheromones that made her instantly charismatic to anyone susceptible to them, Jorda's dating life had been non-existent since she left Zeltros. She'd always had a swarm men around her, but Jorda was extremely picky about the ones that she actually let get close to her. She decided to take a wait-and-see approach with the beast hunter since it was a small miracle that he was still here after the incident at the casino.

She took another sip of her drink, noting with some amusement that he seemed to lack the palette for it, and then placed the glass on the counter. With her free hand, she absently reached out a red-skinned hand to lightly touch the edge of his nape, playing with a few strands of his long brown hair, not breaking eye contact. "I have to admit I find your job fascinating. You must have some great stories, Jorzen. Tell me what is the biggest, most ferocious beast you ever captured?"

[member="Jorzen Quank"]

 

[Jorzen Quank]

The beast hunter pursed his lips. "Biggest and most ferocious? Probably an acklay. The circus needed one for its underwater combat arena. It was about twelve feet tall, probably one and a half tons, and I had to capture it alive and mostly unharmed." He pulled down the scarf covering his neck. "I got this two days ago on Cholganna when I went after a nexu. Turned out she'd just given birth, and was being protective. My own fault. Still, I got a cub for myself out of it. A black one, which is rare. I've left him with his mother for now while he's nursing."

Impulsively and possibly influenced by the Zeltron's pheremones, or at least the strong drink to which he was unaccustomed, Jorzen pulled Jorda to him and kissed her, holding it for several seconds. "Um...how about another drink? And maybe we could sit down." He released her hand and rubbed his palms together. "Sorry, I'm not used to this," he said, looking around the apartment. "Socializing." He wrinkled his nose. "Nice thing about animals is they just go with their base instincts. Hunt, sleep, breed." The hunter realized what he'd just said and quickly added, "Not that I want to breed with you! I mean, I would but...dammit! Not like an animal. I mean, unless you like that sort of thing, because I'm sure I could...look, can you please pour me another drink so I can put something in my mouth that will keep words from coming out?"

[member="Jorda Ulluto"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Lightly nodding her head, Jorda listened carefully to Jorzen's story about the acklay. She thought she'd very much like to see Jorzen in action, tangling with dangerous beasts. The idea of it was kind of sexy. Then she furrowed her brow and gasped as she finally saw the entirety of the jagged scar on the hunter's neck. "It looks like the creature got very close to your jugular." Jorda grimly exclaimed, inspecting the scar. How she knew the exact placement of the jugular vein, was a bit curious, but hopefully he'd let that slide.

When the hunter took her in his arms and planted a kiss on her, Jorda was a bit surprised, but she leaned into him, giving him the kind of passion the denizens of Zeltros were infamous for, and returned his kiss, letting their lips meet for as long as he wanted.

When they pulled away from each other, Jorda smiled with some amusement at his nervousness, and then even more so at the foot-in-mouth disease that followed. She found herself stifling a laugh, but not because she was embarrassed for him. In fact, she found him somewhat adorable in that moment. Jorda obliged the hunter by pouring him another glass of whiskey, and then with her glass in hand, the curvaceous Zeltron took a seat on her couch, crossing her legs demurely and patted the seat next to her.

"Hunt, sleep, and breed sounds like a good life to me. I think the animals might just be smarter than the rest of us, eh?"

[member="Jorzen Quank"]