Drifters (Cara)

[Xephirus Cloud]

He smiled as she laid down beside him. He closed his eyes and there was silence in his mind. "Maybe I underestimate you cause I picture you as one of those princesses in those stories I probably read when I was a boy." He unbuckled his belt and cast it off the bed. The four lightsabers attached to the belt made a clatter as they fell to the ground. He wondered if she was full of stories herself or if every word she said was true. Seemed like there were a lot of big fish in her sea... then again he trusted her for the most part. "It's not cockiness," he said opening one eye, "it's called confidence." He sat up and threw off his robe and shirt exposing the upper half of his lean body. He took his clothes placed them next to his sabers. He put his hands up as if he was complying with a police officer. "Yes ma'am." He pulled up the blankets and got underneath them. "Maybe you're the one to worry about... if you really are a Sith hunter...." He smiled lied down and closed his eyes. "I guess I'll take my chances if you keep your hands where I can see them...." He yawned for real this time. "You know with my magic force powers I can see everything."

 

[Cora Passek]

"Oh, honey...." She shook her head slowly as she wrapped the blanket around her. Not bothering to strip away any bit of her clothing or the weapons she had hidden on her person. "I'm no princess. Probably the furthest thing from it." The woman just couldn't even for a second imagine herself as a princess. It just wasn't in her blood. Sighing heavily she did the best she could just to relax a little, and try and keep her personal trust issues from entering any further into the situation.

She couldn't help but laugh at him for a moment as he put his hands up. It was too funny to her. "Maybe you should." A wink followed as she shifted onto her side, just watching him for a moment. "I'll just keep my hands right here." Spoken sweetly as she curled her hand up near her face, and rested her head lightly upon them. "Mmmhmm, just keep telling yourself that. Just go to sleep before I find a pillow to beat you with." Teasing a little as she at last closed her eyes, to attempt to sleep.

[member="Xephirus"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

He liked the way she just looked at him. There was just something comfortable abojut her presence. Xephirus then, after not much tossing and turning at all, fell asleep. He was so exhausted from not sleeping much the past few weeks that he quickly fell into rem sleep.

~5 hours later~

While still in the middle of his slumber he began to fidget in bed. His dreams seemed to be affecting his motor skills. A smile came to his sleeping face, "Tipt..n" He said in a barely audible voice. His right hand raised slightly.

"Tipton..." He said just a little more clearly. His smile faded and his brow furrowed indicating that his dream had taken a turn for the worse. "...not real." His raised hand began sparking blue with dark side energy. "Cur...s, you bast..... You... are.... not real....." his words were broken up by his inability to truly speak amidst his slumber. "...dead." His seemingly good dream was now a full fledged nightmare and [member="Cara Sampson"] was just a foot away from the very real, very deadly electricity that pulsated in Xephirus' hand. It seemed his demons would still haunt him this night.

 

[Cora Passek]

Cara fell quickly into a light sleep. The last time she'd slept well had been forever ago. Years even. She just never had slept decently since her family was murdered. Words whispered in his sleep woke her quickly. She blinked only once before the crackle of electricity truly awoke her. Eyes wide, she realized quickly that she was far from equipped right now to deal with a force user, especially one who's memory didn't seem quite right to her given his past, or what little he'd told her of it. Force users and nightmares, as if there couldn't be a worse combination. The danger all too real she knew.

"Xerphirus." She whispered softly, trying to rouse him slowly. "Wake up, it's only a dream..." Sweetly spoken as she reached towards his arm. Yes, the very same with the oh, so deadly electricity pulsing in it's hand. Her goal was simple, control the hand and somewhat control where the electricity could be aimed. Though, she didn't grab it just yet. Shifting onto her knees, she kept her eyes, and hand ready to grab the arm if need be. With her other hand she reached out, gently laying her fingers against his shoulder, before giving a gentle squeeze. "Xerphirus, it's time to wake up now." Still if push came to shove she did have a couple weapons on her with stun capabilities. Then there was always flash bangs, but that was only if push came to shove.

[member="Xephirus"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

The force lightning almost instantly dissipated as soon as her voice touched his ears but he did not wake. He stirred slightly, even his eyes opened, but he was not truly awake. He looked in the direction of [member="Cara Sampson"] but it seemed as though he was looking through her. He was still in a fog. His no-longer-deadly hand reached up and touched her hand that was on his shoulder and just laid it there. His eyes closed once more as he brushed his cheek against her hand and seemingly that was the end of his night terror. "Tipton." He said again as he fell soundly back to sleep trapping her hand in between his shoulder and face.

 

[Cora Passek]

Cara breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the electricity dissipated. On her knees, she sat there just watching for a moment as he seemed to slip back to sleep. Another sigh in and out as he shifted, trapping her hand between his shoulder and cheek. Extremely carefully she withdrew her fingers from him. Though, now she found herself not even remotely interested in sleep. Some things were just a little too much. The dangers of having a force user like this on her ship, in her home as it were, she wasn't sure it would ever be safe. As she drifted into her thoughts, Cara only sat there just watching as his chest rose and fell. There was little else she could do for now.

[member="Zephyrus"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

After about an hour, Zephyrus had attained enough sleep for the night. He saw the woman sitting up in the bed, at first he smiled not really sure what she was doing there or even who she was or where he was. When he saw her face some of their encounter came back to him.

"Cara, right?" He said still wondering why she was in bed with him... that much he didn't remember just yet. He squinted and looked upon her tired face, "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" He asked hopeful still piercing together the events that happened before he went to sleep.

 

[Cora Passek]

"That's correct." The woman spoke quietly, for the most part giving him a bit of time to sort out his thoughts and come back into reality. Waking up always was the hardest part, right? Cara certainly thought so. "Yes, and no." Still speaking in hushed tones, clearly a little disturbed by the events that unfolded during the night.

"You were dreaming, about someone named Tipton I believe." A heavy sigh followed as she rubbed at her forehead, trying to work through all her thoughts and demons. "Had a ball of electricity in your hand. Frightened me a little." Another sigh as she leaned forward burying her head in her hands for a moment. Fears had gotten the best of her. "Just spoke to you, to try and rouse you. Laid a hand on your shoulder, and all was fine, this time." He'd certainly put her on edge in those few hours of sleep.

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

He sighed, everything was so sudden. His mind rushed around piecing everything together. "Tipton... huh?" This name triggered a memory in his mind. He remembered her... fondly.

He sighed, "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am." He reached out to touch her but refrained knowing his hands were now something she was afraid of. "I didn't know..." He sighed again. "...I guess we'll have to rethink sleeping arrangements." He said with a half smile. There was something colder about his voice today than it was yesterday, less inflection on words, more monotone. "I'm sorry for the way I was behaving yesterday.... I'm usually not.... well not like that anyway."

He reached down feeling the card in his pocket. He pulled it out and examined it. He threw it on the bed and reached down for his belt and cloak. And began pulling them on.

He bit at his lip a little debating if he should indulge her with the story of Tipton. He inhaled deeply and decided to go ahead, "Tipton was a very beautiful hapan girl... and I say girl cause she had her head in the clouds.... always saw the good in people.... my silver lining.... kinda like you...." He paused slightly wondering if he should go on, "...anyway this girl was probably well out of my league in any other realm.... but the realm she met me in was a strange one. One we both hated and found so commonality..." He shrugged. "When I was a Sith..."

"Well... she loved me." He said as he stared at the floor. It was not an easy subject for him to talk about, especially sober. "But for some reason I never let her get too close...." He sighed regretting it but thought there must've been a reason. "...though that's something I can't remember...."

 

[Cora Passek]

Cara noddedly slowly, not looking at him for the moment. Her mind was drifting through a sea of memories, all horribly painful things she didn't care to relive this night. "It's okay." It wasn't but still the words were spoken anyway. "Just brings back memories I didn't care to relive. That's all." A heavy sigh followed as she ran a hand through her hair, listening to him patiently.

She shook her head, "Don't be sorry for that. It was ... nice." Spoken almost absentmindedly.

"I'm just not used to force users. I've been fighting them for so damn long. Never knew what it'd be like to have one on my ship. Never knew... How it would feel to .." To trust. She finished the sentence in her mind.

"For what it's worth, about Tipton, I'm sorry. To have loved, and not quite remember it all. I can't imagine how painful that is. Sounded like she passed away from what you were speaking about."

Her eyes drifted to the card on the bed. Reaching out she picked it up and flipped it slowed over in her fingers as she traced over the details with her eyes once more. "I just don't know how to do this. But I suppose it doesn't matter. There's a job to be done and I'm here to do just that. What happened isn't going to have me running for the door just yet." Though maybe it should. With that she got up from the bed, shaking her head slightly. "Just going to take some time for me, that's all." She said as she laid a gentle hand on his arm, not entirely sure that she could trust him. But for now she had decided she'd at least stay the course.

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

He honestly didn't know what had happened to Tipton. Whether it was a forgotten memory or the girl who wouldn't wait forever he didn't know. Much was still a mystery to him. The thought of her being gone did cross his mind but he didn't know what to think and it was not something that he was going to dwell on.

"Yeah..." He meekly smiled. It was nothing like the smile he had given her the night previous. Without his crutch he was nothing more than a lost man. "...job to do." He said with a nod.

He wondered what she had gone through... who hurt her....

She liked to pretend she was tough and even part of her was... but her eyes told a different story. There was fear in her eyes. She so desperately wanted to forget her troubles, she wanted to be saved... but Zephyrus had no experience as a savior. She didn't trust him and he didn't ask her to but it was so apparent that she wanted to and he wanted to be able to be trusted. She was bringing humanity out in him.

 

[Cora Passek]

"Just need to grab some things from my room, and we can be on our way." With that she spun on her heels and headed out, leaving him to wait or follow. At that point she didn't really mind either way. Her brain had already drifted into work mode, which meant her emotional issues were to be set aside. It was something they could discuss later, if need be. Right now, Cara only wanted to work, and get that over with so she could be alone for a little while.

As for who had hurt her, there'd been far too many to actually count. Betrayal after betrayal. Pain after pain, and if truth be told, Cara just wanted to see an end to that pain and her troubles as a whole, but knew that was a naive thought. So many reasons why she was afraid. But that was all for another time.

Walking up to the front of the ship, she keyed in the passcode for the captain's quarters and waited as the door opened for her. Walking in, the place was a bit of a mess clothes strew about as well as weapons of varying shapes, sizes and designs. She picked up a worn nerf-hide messenger bag on the other side of the room. Slinging it over her shoulder she picked up a few items, a datapad and cables made just for slicing. Crossing to the dresser she opened the bottom drawer revealing an assortment of grenades of every kind imaginable, she scooped up a few select ones, a couple flashbangs, a few ion and EMP ones, as well as a single thermal detonator.

One could never be too careful and Cara liked her options. Picking up a simple blaster, she checked the weapon once before grabbing a holster and buckling it around her waist. And lastly she removed a pendant from her nightstand and slipped it around her neck, a hold out bolter as it were, not just a pendant. With a sigh, she checked once more over her items before grabbing a couple extra power packs and placing them in a holder on her waist.

With all of that, she walked out the door of her room, sealing it quickly behind her. "Guess that's everything I need." She said finally, her eyes having grown a bit colder. The job was what mattered now, the job and their lives. Everything else came secondary. "If you're ready to go, we'll head out, grab a speeder and head to the bank. Is there anything else you can think that we need?"

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

When she rose it seemed she didn't much want him to follow. She was colder and yet he knew the mask when he saw it. He himself had worn a mask both physical and figuratively.

He didn't want to mention before, but that familiar scent of her perfume had made sense to him now. It was a scent he knew quite well... one he had smelled before the dewback bacon in the morning. He smelled it on Tipton's pillow for some time.

And so he simply waited for her to return and when she did she brought with her a question of readiness. "Hey... you're the expert." He said with a shrug. He did wonder if he'd have to check his lightsabers at the front desk. He wondered if he'd let them.

 

[Cora Passek]

"I suppose I am." Spoken quietly as she fished through her bag one last time, trying to ensure everything was there. Cara glanced up to him, "Have you ever actually done anything like this?" Asked as she headed out of the hallway and made her way to the boarding ramp, fully expecting him to follow her there.

"I just need to know that I can rely on you for this. That you'll have my back, cause there's a job to do and I don't want anything getting in the way. So, if there is anything I need to know, the time to tell me is now." As she stepped off the ship, she quickly tossed her hair up into a loose ponytail to keep it out of her way for the duration of the job. Everything about her, screamed she was all work and no play at this point. What they were doing was about to turn deadly serious. "Don't like surprises." There'd already been plenty of those in the last twenty-four hours, her patience was running a little thin on such matters.

Once more she paused, looking back to him. "Fully intend on 'borrowing' a speeder for the job as I expect we might have to flee in a hurry." The blonde then started off, heading to the streets knowing they'd be able to find something there that would work.

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

He followed along a few feet back and listened to her inquiry. He shrugged, he wasn't entirely sure. Everything was a bit hazy. "Probably." He said with a somewhat sincere smile. He thought it was a little funny then looked down at his left hand all of a sudden remembering he had lost it in a duel once.... but all was fine. His hand was perfectly fine. Perhaps it was a false memory.

"On this you can trust me," he said now looking at her, "I'd not leave you behind even if it meant my life." His eyes were rather intense. Perhaps drawing similarities between her and Tipton had him projecting emotions on her, perhaps it was something else. When Zephyrus had a job he was going to complete it to the best of his ability, with limited casualties... Perhaps his perfectionism in his performance was what drove him now.

He wondered if they'd actually need the speeder with his own speed but dare not get too cocky with his abilities. He wondered if they needed the extra attention for committing a crime such as grand theft auto, though.

"And how do you purpose we obtain such a vessel?"

 

[Cora Passek]

(Ooc: My apologies for taking so long on this reply.)

"Encouraging." The blonde worried far too much about how this was going to go.

"Alright." Still Cara wasn't certain. Enough people had put literal knives in her back. At this point in her life no one could blame her for that bit of paranoia. Though as she looked him in the eyes, she could see some truth to his words, and while she didn't trust him completely, she felt for at least the duration of the job she could handle it. "I will hold you to that." She finally said.

"Will be a parking lot near the bank, we can pick and choose what we want, unless you have another idea that can work." She said calmly as she headed out of the hanger, scanning the streets as she led them through the back streets, eventually coming upon a completely nondescript office building with no markings on it except for the street address above the door.

Lifting a hand she pointed the building out as they got closer, "That's the bank. Nothing about it really seems out of place but none the less one of the most secure banks on the planet." Sad to think she knew this from her own personal affairs.

"Now as I was saying, think we actually need it, or can you do what you did with me last night and book it like there is no tomorrow?" Truthfully she never knew the extent of what a force user could and could not do and always was left wondering. So, she always had to ask.

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

Zephyrus listened to her as they walked and finally when she asked him a question he looked at her for a second and said, "I dunno... You're kinda heavy..." He couldn't keep an entirely straight face through his delivery as his lip curled up. Obviously, there was nothing heavy about Cara except her demeanor. Certainly it was a taboo to joke about a girl's weight but that was who Zephyrus was. Cara had been so serious since the start of the mission that it was ridiculous. Perhaps Zephyrus humor was a bit on the dry side but at least he was going to have fun with it. He nodded taking on a somewhat more serious tone, "Yeah, I can carry you and cheese it." He found her seriousness so humorous. It was sort of cute how she over thought the whole endeavor.

[member="Cara Sampson"]

 

[Cora Passek]

"Am not!" She quickly declared. She shook her head, a smile finally cracking upon her lips. "So mean, I hope you know." The woman was grinning from ear to ear. She sighed, finally crossing to the nondescript building. "Keycard." She whispered as she motioned to a slot on the door. "Won't ask for a password here." Once more she shook her head, "You ready for this, could be messy?"

[member="Zephyrus Cloud"]

 

[Xephirus Cloud]

[member="Cara Sampson"]

He liked making her smile. He liked teasing her, made him feel like a kid again. She was fun to be around and that was something that many people took for granted. He nodded and flipped the card through the slot. He motioned for her to lead the way as if he were a gentleman. "Madam, I am always ready to make a mess." He said with an air to his voice.