Getting Out of a Fowl Mood (Skylar)

[Jan VonFowl]

Antecedent. Where the hell else was a young, and now homeless, Ravens employee supposed to go? Frakkin' Corellia was literally torn in half, and he was so freakin' alone. He sat in some bar where his drunken spiral into depression would have a major employee discount attached, and waited for anything to happen. Why couldn't he have been in Hell like so many others he knew? Why had he needed to literally see his homeworld fall to pieces?

He felt a serious need to not think about it, and just drink himself into oblivion.

[member='Skylar Ichor']

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Skylar had tracked her friend Jan ever since he left Nar Shaddaa and had followed him to Antecedent, but where in the capital she knew not. Wshe wandered the streets for hours, asking other pickpockets and beggars if they had seen him. Just when she thought her luck had ran out, a young boy said he saw a man fitting Jan's description stumble into a bar he'd show her to.

After thanking the boy with a few credits for leading her to said bar, she quickly walked in and searched for her friend. Then she saw him, a young man with three white stripes drowning his sorrows in ale and beer. Sky's gold eyes filled with worry and relief at seeing Jan. She walked briskly up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, white hair falling in front of her eye.

"Jan? Is it really you?"

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan spun around on his seat so fast that he almost fell down. And then he attempted to hug Skylar, and he did fall down. As he picked himself off, his drunken brain registered that she was here, on Antecedent of all places. What the hell? Did she follow him here, or something? Whatever. He hugged her as tightly as he could.

"Hi, Sky... Welcome to my wallow-in-self-pity party. Pull up a chair."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky hugged Jan when he fell down. Just how drunk was he? She noted the way he staggered and thought he probably was very drunk. Whatever had happened had been very severe. She helped Jan back into his chair and sat next to him on the empty barstool to his left. Skylar made eye contact with him and felt it was her fault, even though it probably wasn't.

"What happened to you?"

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan stared back at Skylar as she helped him into his seat. Seriously, how the hell was she here? Was he hallucinating? The stripey-haired Vahla looked to the bartender, who seemed to be staring at her for a completely different reason. For a moment, the look made Jan want to punch him. That was just as confusing as her presence here in the first place. He decided to just give up and think that Sky actually was here. He sipped through a straw from a glass of something cold, bubbly, and alcoholic as he looked in her face again.

"I'm homeless. Corellia had to go and explode on everybody, and now I'm here, only to find that half the Ravens up and disappeared. Woo."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky hugged Jan again. She couldn't have imagined the shock Jan must've felt. And I wasn't there to make him feel better... Skylar felt tears coming to her mind, she remembered hearing about some crazy thing that had happened where a ton of people had disappeared and a few planets as well. Corellia must've been one of them.

"I can't even imagine the pain you're probably feeling. You want to go somewhere where we can talk about it?" It was just a simple caring suggestion, but sometimes simple went a long way in these hard times. Somehow, Skylar had a feeling that she had made it in time to save Jan from this never-ending, downward-spiraling depression he had fallen into.

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan stayed silent for a moment when Skylar hugged him. He couldn't tell how he felt, but her being here was a little bit comforting. The hug he pulled her into practically brought her into his lap. Wow, she felt warm. And the affection was nice.

"Sure. You're not picky about sleeping in the back of the speeder, are you?"

He ignored the comment about her not understanding. Even drunk, his brain registered that saying something about it would either come out like whining, or sound insensitive. He knew she'd had her own trauma.

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky pulled from the hug and shook her head, the back of a car was a better place than the street.

"I don't mind at all." Sky held out her hand to her friend and helped him out of the bar to the awaiting Fowlmobile after he paid his bill. Once they were inside the speeder, with Jan in the passenger seat, Sky started it up and began to drive away looking for a more quiet spot to talk about . She had learned how to drive a speeder from Jan, but had increased her skills with her short time with the Ravens and under the direction of her new employer.

"You don't seem to be coping well. How've you been? Despite all the trauma and stuff. Tell me what happened after you left Nar Shaddaa?"

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan smiled when Skylar took his hand and led him back to the speeder. And then she drove. Wow. He stopped her when they reached a quiet street, not very much unlike the one where her apartment was on Nar Shaddaa.

"Since I left, I was doing a lot of small jobs for the Ravens. Courier duty, chasing down other pilots, y'know? And then... I was on vacation back home. Having fun... As I was leaving, the planet split in half."

His hand reached over and slipped around Sky's.

"I don't know whether I'm scared that just barely escaped dying, or what..."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky stopped as soon as Jan told her to do so and turned into her seat to watch him as he told his story.

"Since I left, I was doing a lot of small jobs for the Ravens. Courier duty, chasing down other pilots, y'know? And then... I was on vacation back home. Having fun... As I was leaving, the planet split in half."

His hand reached over and slipped around Sky's.

"I don't know whether I'm scared that just barely escaped dying, or what..."

Sky's jaw dropped and quickly snapped back up. She squeezed Jan's hand as it wrapped around her own.

"I think that you're right. If I had to watch my planet explode, I would've probably gone insane and killed a buncha people, but you're strong. Definitely stronger than me. You want to know something? Your still here, and I'm here too if you ever need support or just some attention. We haven't seen each other for a year, but now that I'm here, I'm going to stay. So don't worry and forget the past, 'cause there's still the future to be ready for."

Motivation speech done, Sky leaned over and slightly kissed Jan on the cheek before sitting back in her own seat, blushing. He smelled like beer and ale and probably needed to take a shower, but whatever, she would let him do whatever as long as wasn't something sudicial or harmful.

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan's grimace turned into a kind of sloppy grin when Skylar kissed him on the cheek. She was going to... stay with him? What did that mean? She pretty clearly liked him a lot, and he felt pretty close to the same way. He had a friend, now... and whatever else she wanted to be to him. He squeezed her hand back.

"Alright, then. Umm... Let's go to a hotel or something. I must smell awful."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

"That can be arranged. Let's get going!" Shifting back into her seat and starting the Fowlmobile back up, Sky drove to the nearest hotel she could find and checked herself and Jan into an empty room.

The room was small, but homely; a queen sized bed and an armchair making up the main living space, a bathroom and shower, and a little stove and refrigerator for cooking and storing food. Leading Jan inside, she sat him down in the armchair and made for the door again.

"I'll be right back, Jan. I'm getting some stuff from the speeder okay?"

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan smiled and let go of Skylar's hand as she was driving. It was almost funny, to see the difference between the way she was now, and how she'd been when he first met her a year ago. He vaguely wondered how long she'd been following him, and... why the idea didn't strike him as strange. Hugging her and holding her hand hadn't felt strange either, though. Maybe that was just what people did for the people they liked? He didn't know. Nobody had ever liked him, before.

Sky practically pulled him by the arm up to the hotel room, and he simply sat down in the chair as she went back to the speeder. A whole week. That was how long he'd stayed with her, back on Nar Shaddaa. He'd made a friend who'd been concerned enough about him to literally track him down and look after him. What a girl...

"Oh, yeah, okay."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky smiled at Jan before closing the door and heading back out to the speeder. She grabbed her knapsack, knife and anything else that might be of value and locked the car, heading back up to the room. The pendant that always stayed around Sky's neck swung in tune to her hair and steps as she walked down the hall and up to their room, she knocked on the door thrice before coming in.

"I'm back." The light from outside was dimming as dusk approached, and Sky looked at Jan, who was clearly deep in thought. She set the stuff down on the desk and walked over to him. She kneeled down and smiled at Jan.

"You gonna take that shower or am I gonna have to wash your face in cold water?" Just a playful threat to pull him from his thoughts.

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan leaned over a little bit to grin back at Skylar. He hadn't even heard her come in, honestly. Either she was really quiet, or he'd just been too lost in thought to pay attention. Whatever the reason for his obliviousness was, it didn't matter. He dropped out of the chair to sit on the floor next to her, slipping an arm around her.

"Ah, see, pretty girls throwing water in my face. I'm back in familiar territory."

He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, feeling his head clear a bit before he opened his eyes and gave Sky a slightly less teasing smile.

"You really do like me, huh?"

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Skylar blushed then broke eye contact.

"I-i mean, well, uh, y-you're the first person I've made friends with that I actually sort k-kind like, a-and u-um.." Skylar broke off stuttering. She didn't know whether to actually answer or not.

Since when do I stutter?

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

Jan's smile faded a little when Skylar started stuttering. Great. He'd made her embarrassed. Smooth move, idiot. Well, maybe the slightly more impulsive way would work for him like it did for her. Not that he could kiss her right now, since his breath probably smelled like a dead animal's. The smile came back to his face, and he gave her a little squeeze before he got up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Hold that thought, Sky."

How he managed to change his shirt and wash his mouth out at the same time, Jan didn't know, but he did it anyway. He quickly spit out the mouthwash and walked back out to Sky, dropping to the ground and leaning over to quickly kiss her on the mouth.

"There's never been a girl, or even a friend, who liked me enough to chase me down."

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky stopped stuttering as Jan went into the bathroom. She cocked her head slightly, a little confused until he came back out looking cleaner, dropped down, and kissed her full on the mouth. She sorta froze for a second, before relaxing and hearing what Jan said.

"There's never been a girl, or even a friend, who liked me enough to chase me down."

She smiled again, a little shy now.

Oh man what the hell is wrong with me? I don't need to be shy!

"I guess I just liked you so much I couldn't stop thinking about you after you left. There's never been someone I liked so much I felt the need to find them. Until you, Jan." Sky leaned over and kissed Jan on the mouth just as he had done. It sorta felt.. right somehow. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever before Sky broke away and blushed furiously.

"To be honest, that was sorta my first actual kiss."

[member="Jan VonFowl"]

 

[Jan VonFowl]

For a moment, when Skylar froze, Jan was worried... And then his concern evaporated as he felt her lean back into him and return the kiss... Wow, was she a good kisser. When she pulled away, he slipped his arms around her. A smile appeared on his face as he hugged her a little.

"Well, um... I guess it's my first kiss, too... And, uh..."

He blushed a little, and then cleared his throat.

"Geez, you're hot, Sky."

Probably not the most affectionate thing he could've said, but he meant it. Here was a girl who'd stabbed him, stalked him, fixed him up, danced with him, and pretty obviously wasn't afraid to pick him up and make him move when he did something stupid like getting sopping drunk. What more could he possibly want?

[member="Skylar Ichor"]

 

[Skylar Ichor]

Sky blushed again, the smile obvious on her face.

"Ya, really think so? Well you are too." Sky bit her bottom lip. She was sure that her whole face was red by now and she could feel the burning in her cheeks. Come to think of it Sky and Jan hadn't done anything like this when they first met, mainly a stabbing romance.

"I missed you." Sky kissed him again, but this time just a quick peck on the cheek, before standing up and go into the bathroom, taking her knapsack with her.

"Now I'm gonna be right back, 'kay?"

[member="Jan VonFowl"]