Private Erase Myself And Let Go

[Arcturus Dinn]

Prompt: The First Rule of… Join an underground fight club.​

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"VI-KAR, VI-KAR, VI-KAR!"​

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Turning his head away from the bar, Arcturus found his gaze drawn to the shockboxing ring wherein a new round of fighters were preparing to duke it out to the sum of 12,000UCks. All throughout the crowd runners ducked and weaved, grasping at offered credit chits and taking down names and sums to bring back to their bosses. Evidently, the crowd had its favourite picked from the get go. Must have been a returning name, though the boy had no fethin' clue who Vikar was.​

​

He found out soon enough, though, didn't he? It was a mean looking Devaronian who stepped up to the ring, one horn was cracked and the other was just straight not there. Ugly bruises and scars marred every inch of his exposed body, and for some reason he'd decided that would be most all of it. He wore only some cut off slacks, and his shockboxing gloves of course; it was as though he wanted to be shocked.​

​

Even Arcturus was perched on the edge of his seat by this point, curious as to who would his opponent would be.​

​

A resounding groan made its way through the crowd as a hunched reptilian soon followed. He looked old, and haggard; a short fight then.​

​

The boy turned back to the bar, and signaled for another drink. He hadn't meant to find this place, he'd sort of just stumbled upon it while aimlessly walking through Denon's underbelly, but the atmosphere was loud enough to drown out his thoughts, and the alcohol strong enough to knock out all his other senses too.​

​

"When you up?" the barkeep asked him; Arcturus stuck him with a strange look. Handed over the credits for the drink, and stepped away to find a booth.​

​

What a weird question, he thought. Why would he step foot in that deathpit?​

​

Yula Perl​

 

[Yula Perl]

It started with an underground shockboxing match on Denon. Yula had intended on throwing the match, which had been a vital part of her plan with Daiya. Parade around in a skimpy outfit, get her teeth knocked in (oof), and cash out. The ring had been busted halfway through, scattering those hard-earned credits to the wind.

She'd developed a taste for it, though. Wanted more. Kicked the spice but that left a void that needed to be filled by some level of exhilaration, and null hockey didn't quite do the trick.

Reclining in a booth, Yula nursed a beer as the fighters took their marks. You had to wait a bit when you were in the ring—just a bit. Just long enough for the crowd to get a good look at you and garner those cheers or groans or wolf whistles. She'd caught one or two of Vikar's fights before; he was a nasty dude. Didn't need to be underhanded, was just tough. The Anx though, she hadn't seen him before. A contender as old as he was either someone trying to reclaim his youth, or a veteran who'd been in the game this long for a reason.

Appraising them both, she wondered which way to place her bet, or if she should at all.

The Force shifted, a low disturbance thrumming like the distant rumble of a storm. Yula squinted. Was this…?

What caught her eye next was a gaunt young man, drink in hand as he meandered along the booths in search of a place to sit. Yula pulled away from her drink, considering him for a moment before finally raising a hand for his attention.

"Need a seat?"

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Man this place was packed.​

​

From where he'd previously been sat at the bar it hadn't seemed all that bad, but since vacating his seat and trying to meander through the thick of it he felt himself pressed this way and that. Ugh, there wasn't even any good heavy music to push back to. If there was, it was drowned out by the noisy patrons.​

​

With all this in mind, he might have easily overlooked the hand and the voice calling out for his attention. Might have, if not for the fact that his senses spiked. The Force pinged within his mind, and he turned to stare at the woman with curious eyes. It had been a while since he'd even thought about the Force, much less interacted with it, the haze of all he had coursing through his veins made it decidedly more difficult to touch upon.​

​

Which made this all the stranger.​

​

He slid into the booth across from her, sense enough not to just park his butt at her side, and set down the glass he'd been nursing. One brow rose as he regarded her, then his gaze shifted to the ring. A low whistle escaped him.​

​

"Prime view you got here," he stated, right as he returned his gaze to her. He wasn't all that interested in the ring. "Next round's on me."​

​

Yula Perl ​

 

[Yula Perl]

"Next round's on me."

"You mean the drink, or the ring?" Her grin tilted with a note of good-natured mischief. Now that he was closer, his features were more apparent—young, but she couldn't quite place his age. Yula was sure she hadn't seen him before, at least not here. Not like she was the most frequent of fliers.

By frank observation, he looked a bit too…uninitiated. Perhaps he was here to change that.

Leaning closer, she turned her head to the stage, gesturing toward the fighters with the neck of her beer bottle.

"Who do y'reckon will win this bout?"

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus rolled his eyes.​

​

"What is it with everyone in this place thinkin' I'm here to get in that death trap?" he inquired, with a shake of his head. Mirth spread over his expression though, and he waved a hand as though dismissing his own question. "What is it you're nursin' over there anyway?"​

​

She leaned in, he leaned in, she looked to the ring, and he followed her gaze there; the fight was just about beginning, and her question left him curious for a moment. ​

​

"Easy UCk's are on the Dev, of course," he replied, though something in the way he said it spoke to indifference, "I ain't usually one to go with what's easiest though. 500 on the Anx, if you'll bite?" A bet between just the two of them? Ignoring all of the runners still making their way through the crowd?​

​

Why not.​

​

He leaned back in his seat and stuck her with a daring gaze. One eyebrow raised, curious if she'd take the bait.​

​

Yula Perl ​

 

[Yula Perl]

"Beer. Cheap as they come." She raised the bottle by its neck, waggling it back and forth.

A mischievous smile surfaced in response to his challenging gaze. She hadn't planned on placing any bets tonight, but-

"Alright, I will bite." Her grin stretched wider. "500 creds on the mean-looking slab of muscle." A few years ago, perhaps she would have lured the Devaronian to her bedside after the fight. That particular thrill had long lost its appeal, but it didn't mean she wouldn't watch.

"So, when was your first time?"

She took a pointedly long drink, pulling away with a refreshed gasp.

“In the death ring, I mean. Mine was…oh, four? No, four and a half years ago. Won my first bout against a twi'lek cutie, but I'm pretty sure she was strung out. Made me cocky, got my chit kicked in the next few matches."

A toothy grin accompanied the nostalgia of fighting for credits. And thrill.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Beer.​

​

Arcturus had never even had a sip of beer. No, he'd jumped straight into the deep end. Hard liquor... Wasn't looking for a buzz or a fun time, he was looking to not look. Looking to not think. And so far it had worked wonders for him. Didn't matter how badly it tasted, how much it stung on the way down, he wouldn't remember it by the time the next one was in his hand, and the next day it would all just be... well... blank.​

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"Alright, then you'll get a beer, I'll get whatever this swill is," he raised his glass, "And we'll watch two fools beat the chit out of each other."​

​

That sounded like an oddly pleasant evening. Pleasant wasn't what he was looking for either, but it beat some of the other alternatives so he'd take it. Just as she took the bait. Alright, cool. 500UCks on the table.​

​

He had 500UCks right?​

​

Yeah...​

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Her question had him swallow down the drink he'd just sipped far hastier than he'd anticipated, if only to keep from choking on it. Eyes narrowed some, giving her a look that screamed tease! before the rest of it came tumbling out.​

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"I ain't ever stepped foot inside it," he told her, though whatever else he was planning on saying afterward was lost to the fact that she had. On multiple occasions. "Fan of pain, are we?" he inquired, with a shake of his head. Ordinarily Arcturus very much liked to keep all his braincells in check. This just looked like it'd knock all sense out of him.​

​

It was like a light went off in his head.​

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"Huh. Maybe I should give it a try."​

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Alcohol was good and all, but a few hits to the head for good measure? Well that couldn't hurt now could it...​

​

Yula Perl ​

 

[Yula Perl]

A look of genuine shock sharpened her previously lax expression.

"What, really? You haven't—"

Yula looked back to the bar, but couldn't make out the attendant. Either he'd been obscured by a sea of people, or he was attending to patrons. Still, she wasn't the type to rat him out—not right away at least—but was curious to see if anyone else had gotten a read on this guy.

As surprise diffused into curiosity, she leaned back into the uncomfortable booth padding, worn from years of use.

"What, I can't have a love of the sport?" Back with the teasing grin. "It's exhilarating." She twirled the bottom rim of the bottle in a balanced circle against the tabletop. A thinking gesture.

" 's a good idea. Real good, in fact." Chin tilting upward, Yula appraised him through dark lashes, but this time in a different way—he was skinny, she could tell from the curve of his neck and slight shadow of his collarbone. Maybe he had compact muscle, or extensive martial arts training...who's to say?

A bell chimed, and off the Devaronian went, firing heavy punches at the Anx. The latter bobbed and weaved with a minimal expenditure of effort. At least, that was how he made it look. A practiced effort.

"Who do you think you can take down? Him? Or Him?" She pointed with one finger while the rest were curled around the neck of the bottle.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Her reaction to finding out he hadn't shockboxed was a little... unsettling?​

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His brows knitted together, and he followed her gaze toward the bar, then shifted in his seat to look at everyone else in the room. They all had a certain look about them. A look that Arcturus most definitely did not share. Hardy, look at me wrong and get what for, scars (well Arc had scars but still), weapons. He observed for a moment more.​

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Then he looked back to her.​

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"Wait. What sort of a place is this, exactly?" he asked.​

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Feth. Had he wandered on into some place he didn't belong?​

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Feth. Had he just confessed to walked into some place he didn't belong?​

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Feth. Was she going to rat him out?​

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Feth. Feth. Feth.​

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He used her next words as a way to try and detract from that realization. A good idea, she said. Maybe if he fought nobody would bat their eyelid at him, right? But he didn't really want to fight. He wanted to drink and forget.​

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Bah.​

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"Big guy's too slow. Slow's the best type to go against, when you're not so big yourself." Big was his preferred target. They lumbered around, and sure they could take a beatin', and sure they could give an even greater one, but Arcturus was agile, and fast, and he relied on such to make his hits. On the battlefield that was, with his lightsaber and his dagger...​

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Shockboxing gloves, though?​

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eeeeeehhhhh might be a different matter all together.​

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Yula Perl ​

 

[Yula Perl]

"Huh."

Yula lips tilted along with her head in acknowledgment, a gesture typically understood as "not bad".

Had anyone else clocked him as a newbie? Maybe not, given how invested they were in the ring at the moment. Maybe later on, though. Who knew.

"How about me?" Using the beer bottle again, she gestured to herself. "Think you could beat me in the ring?"

Her chit-eating grin grew wide.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He gave her a quick once over when she asked her question.

And then in response he shrugged.

"I reckon you're the type that wants people to underestimate you outside of the ring," he stated plainly, leaning back in his seat. A quick once over became a longer, arguably more intrusive glance. He exhaled through his nose, then shrugged.

"I think you know this sport far better than I. I think even if you weren't fast or strong that'd still be an advantage to you."

None of that answered the question though, did it?

Yula Perl​

 

[Yula Perl]

"And?"

Yula's head tilted back, peering down (across?) to him through her lower lashes. He didn't say no, which to her meant yes.

To be fair, he could have still been thinking about it. Weighing his options or choosing his words carefully. His prolonged gaze was met openly by Yula, dark green irises maintaining contact through a sip of beer.

The bell twanged loudly, signaling the winner to a chorus of disgruntled groans and empty pockets. Only then did the Zeltron break her stare, turning her head to see the referee holding up one of the Anx's reptilian arms in victory.

"Well, I'll be." She didn't seem upset to lose, fishing into her pocket and pulling out a handful of credit chips. Counting out 500, she placed them on the table.

"Think you'll get lucky twice today?"

Yula let her words hang, polishing off the last few drops in the bottle. "Double your money if you can beat me in the ring."

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Oh, she was wanting an actual answer.

Arcturus chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment as he pondered it, then swirled his now empty glass around on the table with one of his hands. "I don't know. I reckon you'd knock my teeth in, to be quite honest."

He'd been so distracted by the conversation that he hadn't even paid any attention to the fight that was ongoing. Or had been. It was over, and Yula was true to her word and coughed up the credits once the Anx was proven to be victorious.

"Everyone's so quick to overlook the old timer" he shrugged, leaving the credits where they lay for now as he pondered her offer. Double or nothing, step into the ring and see who came out on top?

"Do they loan gloves?" he inquired.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

She couldn't help the wicked grin as he considered her offer.

"They do. In the back-"

Raising an arm, she pointed to a non-descript door at one end of the room. It was painted the same shade as the wall, making it as inconspicuous and dull as possible. Pressing both hands to the table, Yula rose steadily. Eyeing him, she wondered how tall he was at standing height. He was no giant, that much she could figure when she first waved him over. Then again, neither was Yula.

"Loaners are hit or miss."

One glance to the stack of credits, and another to the man sitting across from her. The toothy grin did not waver.

"Whatever you decide, I'll be fighting tonight."

With that, she made her way to another unassuming door, this one at the other end of the room.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Well now he had simply zero excuses, didn't he?

As Yula rose up and made to leave to the other door, Arcturus swiped up the various credits and pocketed them if only to ensure that nobody else saw fit to do so in the interim. She sauntered off, he unabashedly watched her go, then turned in his seat to once again look at the nondescript doorway hidden in the wall.

The idea of getting up and fighting his way through the crowd just to put on some sweaty, used shockboxing gloves, to then have his skull bashed in by a pretty lady, really wasn't all that appealing.

But then again neither was sitting there with an empty glass. It was about the same distance to the bar as it was to the door, and both ways were packed with patrons anyway. Drink, or thrill?

With a groan he rose up, and despite knowing better he ventured toward the doorway instead. A drink was simpler. A drink he knew. Either way, he reached it and slipped inside to find himself in something of a changing room. He slipped off his outer jacket, hung it on a peg, and then glanced over the various loaners. Some were in better shape than others. He picked up a pair that looked to be decent, and tested the knuckles against one another.

Sparky. They were active at least.

"What the feth" he shrugged, as he slipped them on and measured the fit. They weren't too tight, nor were they going to fall off at the slightest motion. He certainly didn't look as polished as some of the others had, his once white shirt was off-coloured and poked through with various holes and his trousers while allowing for a good range of combative movement had similar issues. That happened when you'd been roaming for so long without any means to change.

Welp. That solidified it in his mind, funnily enough: what did he even have to lose?

He stepped out of the room, gloves still in place on his hand, and peered over at the ring. Was Yula already there, or was someone else already preparing to pummel an opponent of their own?

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

A chorus of wolf whistles heralded her arrival in the ring. Clad in naught but a sports bra, tight athletic shorts, and a pair of shockmitts, Yula met her opponent with a wild grin. Maybe she figured he wouldn't show—either way, she was pleased.

Did she think she could beat him? Maybe. He was skinny, which likely translated into speed. The crowd mumbled with indecision and curiosity; perhaps they'd prefer to see two scantily clad women wail on each other, but maybe this fight would prove interesting.

Yula beckoned him forward, flexing one hand as she did so. Electricity crackled around the outer layer of the glove, and despite the insulation, she felt a dulled buzzing in her fingers. Kicking the spice habit left a void of addiction, one she filled with occasional leaps into the unknown.

"I'll give you the first shot."

The bell chimed, and Yula fell into a defensive stance, gloves raised.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Yeah, no, she was stood there waiting for him to approach. And he did, he walked right up into the ring to the muttering of some of the patrons. Some cheered, some booed, but he ignored them. Focused instead on the woman ahead of him.

She certainly looked better suited to this than he was. Her attire was correct, her form was better, and she looked like a natural; there wasn't much more than confidence shining within her face.

Arcturus flexed his hands again, feeling the crackling of static run over his knuckles, and then shook his head at her offer to let him take the first swing.

"Oh no you don't. These wankers'll never let me hear the end of it if I strike first."

Instead he beckoned her closer.

For a moment he was reminded of the stalemate he and Starlin Rand had come to on the battlefield of Ossus, neither one taking the first strike. That had ended... strangely, He'd turned traitor on his own people, saved a bunch of Younglings from the grasp of the Sith, yet somehow he'd never really faced punishment for it.

Chaos, life was weird sometimes.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula's grin turned wry.

You think they'll care?

Actually, they might.

Fine, then.

The Zeltron surged forward, sending a jab in from the right, testing his reaction. Would he raise his arms to defend, or was he quick enough to get out of the way? If he blocked, she'd go for the stomach with her left mitt. If he dodged, she'd fall back to reassess.

And if he countered…who knew?

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Danger sense flaring, Arcturus pivoted on his back foot and shifted his body away from the oncoming jab; instinct bade him to reach out and snatch her arm in the process, but truth be told he didn't even remotely know the rules to this kind of sport. Was grabbing allowed? Was it punch only? Seemed that way given the shockgloves, but still...

Either way his uncertainty led to her resetting her position, and he pivoted back to his original spot too. The crowd seemed a little unsure of what to make of it, some were downright deflated. Nothing had happened. The pair stared at one another for a moment... No. This couldn't be a repeat of Ossus.

Arcturus slid forward, with all the well practiced grace of a Makashi practitioner, and jabbed his right toward her jaw.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

Arcturus' glove crashed against her jaw, sending a brief discharge of sparks into the meat of her cheek. Yula gasped and stumbled to the side, nearly retching at the uncomfortable electric sensation numbing the edge of her throat.

The crowd erupted—some whooped, some jeered, but they were on their feet and reacting. Yula spat to one side, a pink tinge to the froth of saliva. When she grinned, thin lines of blood creased the lines between her teeth.

He's fast.

"Ooh, you're fast."

Then she feinted to the left, as if returning the blow to the face. At the very last second, Yula went in low and to the right, putting her power behind a heavy jab to his ribs.

Arcturus Dinn