First Reply Great, kid. Don’t get cocky.

[Deagan Hunt]

It all started with a wager.

Okay, a wager and maybe more than one bottle of Corellia's finest.

Several hands of Sabaac, a pack of cigarillos, and several hundred credits down the sink, Deagan Hunt stood over the various small cages covered in sheets placed in front of him. He had an expression of incredulity painted over his coral face, followed by an avid internal groan at his luck. One large came up, facepalming over his swarthy face, rubbing it back and forth as if the sheer action would erase what his eyes had just witnessed.

"You want to pay me... with what?" He was clearly trying to somehow clear his head. Sure the cybernetic liver implant allowed him to process alcohol well, but the sheer ridiculousness of the situation was quick to sober him up.

"I caught many things! You pick! Take, yes? Yes!" the Ubese would claim, gesturing. "I have a good hunt. Lots of options. Pay with!"

Blearily, the Zeltron smuggler tried to focus on the Ubese again. Sure, if Hunt had lost some credits, the Ubese had dumped more down the compactor.

"Yeahh... no." Deagan shook his dark head, waving no. "Just give me credits and we can be square."

"But caught many things! Unique too! SEE!" as if in a panic, the Ubese went diving towards a nearby container. There, he shook off the cover of one of the containers. It revealed... A Nuna.

Black beady eyes, mud-colored mottled skin, and thick thighs. Deagan could have sworn that under the dim, flickering lights, that Nuna was flexing them, showing off. He gave a cocky "Cchaw!"

​

Is that Nuna staring me down?

The whole act resulted in the rest of the animals and creatures within the covered cages to squawk and yelp out.

"Let me get this straight. You're trying to pay up what you owe.... with a Nuna?"

The Ubese turned around as if startled. "Oh! No no, this one!"

With distinct flair, the hunter took the sheet off another cage.; revealing...

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra squinted against the bright light streaming through the cage, a hung-over groan catching between her lips.

"What'nthefeth-" she complained, the zeltron barely understanding where she was. Never mind that she was caught. In a cage. Being held for barter. With Nunas.

Her party dress was torn and dirty, the events that led her here vague for even her. All she knew was that she was thirsty, and this place was cramped. She tried to stretch out, a hand shielding her sensitive eyes from unwelcome glare baring down on her.

"Put it back down."

 

[Deagan Hunt]

Deagan gave a slow blink. Then he'd rub his face again, the scruff of his beard rasping against his calloused palm. When he withdrew it, he confirmed his suspicions.

One of his own surrounded by Nunas. The cocktail of confused and alarmed emotions was already rippling across the empath from Kyra Perl . Inwardly, he gave another groan, this time, using both hands to rub his face. Took a second before dropping both arms at his side.

Of all the gorram, go see I have to deal with today? All he wanted was a good game. Some credits. Drink some booze....

"Good yes? Good deal?" The Ubese would claim, quite proud. He had lost quite a bit of credit.

"Are you... trying to pawn me off with a Nuna... or the girl?" he had to make sure, opening his eyes to bore those sapphire-fire eyes at the Ubese, legs slightly spreading a foot apart.

Because between dealing with a woman -- a Zeltron at that - I'd rather take the Nuna.

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Hey-wait-- are you selling me?" Came the disoriented slur. She reached out, her hands clutching at the bars as she tried to lift herself up. "That's so rude," She informed them both. The tight confines of her dress had looked great under the lights of the bar, but now functioned as horrible leg restraints in the cage. She whacked her head on the top of it and fumbled back over, the world spinning as the spices withdrew from her system.

She ignored both the voices, rubbing her forehead as she pulled herself the very short distance to the other side. Nuna's cocked their head, watching curiously as she slipped her slim fingers out and felt for a lock.

"Damn, fething-- ugh, slavers," she complained to herself, the heavy body of a pad lock hitting her knuckles.

 

[Deagan Hunt]

The Ubese, hearing Kyra Perl 's exclamation, seemed to take a serious affront at her accusation. He immediately went on the defensive, jutting out a finger at the girl in anger, exclaiming, "SLAVER? No! You thief!"

He would stomp over, getting close to Kyra, shoving his helmet close. "I hunt. I good. You try to take my Nuna's! You come here, you see my captures. Then you try to take all my Nuna's and Porgs away!"

Oh, ho ho ho! So the truth comes out.

Meanwhile, thick thighs Nuna with the black beady eyes seemed to give another cocky flex. No, it had to be the booze. There was no way this Nuna was making the moves on him.

There were too many emotions bleeding into the area, and Deagan didn't want this to disintegrate into a screaming match.

"Okay.. okay... let's just... talk this through." Trying to use his empathic abilities and pheromones to nudge both the Ubese and the girl to quiet down. Not that the pheromones was going to work with the guy with the helmet, but maybe the telepathic nudge would work.

"You tellin' me this girl was tryin' to steal your Nunas?" Deagan inquired, this whole situation delving into ridiculousness.

"Yes! She drunk and high! See the Nuna's and Porgs. Throw shoe at me! I have to defend myself! You take her! Turn in! Maybe get money. Perhaps bounty?"

 

[Kyra Perl]

"...Huh." A set of blue eyes blinked slowly at them both from behind the bars, considering the accusations leveled her way.


"Sounds like me." She collapsed onto her stomach, giving up her half-assed attempt to break out. Perhaps it was the pheromones, or the beginnings of a pounding headache creeping through her temples. She didn't pitch a fight. Instead she reached down to see if she was missing a-- her hand struck the bare sole of her left foot. She grimaced.

"Hey, can I have my shoe back?" Yula was gonna kill her.

Her eyes found Deagan's then, more clarity to them as the situration slowly started to make sense.


"...My Mom can pay you. She has money." She sighed, melting back into the ground.

"Lotsa of it."

 

[Deagan Hunt]

Well, color me interested.

The sheer mention of credits was sure to change the tune when it came to Hunt. However, he wasn't one to believe it at face value. Arms would cross over his chest, his sinewy muscles rippling under that well-worn leather jacket.

A thick, dark brow would arch high, and his expression was that of disbelief. "Oh really, there sweetheart? What proof do you have that you're worth more than that Nuna?" a coral thumb would jerk towards the Nuna. Again, the critter was flexing his thighs like he was about to twerk his way into freedom.

Glancing around, the Zeltron would search for the shoe. Turning to the Ubese, he asked, "You got it?"

The Ubese gave a grumble, but turned to go searching a near by cargo box. In there, was a shiny six-inch stilleto with a bright red sole. Super fancy. Super dangerous.

Now I know why the Ubese put her in the cage. Deagan gave a low whistle.

"What were you tryin' to do? Stab him with this?" he asked incredulously!

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Probably," she alotted, unabashed as she watched him look over the lost heel.

"That was three hundred credits. A shoe." She lifted her bare foot, toes poking through the cage as she tried to tug the blanket back over the blinding light ball in the sky.

"There's more where that came from. Especially if you get this sun out of my-- Is that Nuna flirting with you?" She turned back to her stomach, her hair sticking up like a rats nest as she tried to get as far as her knees. The world was steadier now, but the withdrawal-- whew. She went pale at the effort, suddenly not looking so good.

She curled back over, her hands wrapping around her head. "Please just get me out of here, I'll get you what you want."

 

[Deagan Hunt]

"Lady, I ain't got a clue what that Nuna is doin' but fine," Deagan relented. Not because of her pleas but more because the longer he stood there, the more he was going to get slammed with her emotions; and stars almighty, did the woman have a cocktail of emotions that would put any spice blend to shame. Her growing, percolating sense of nausea would only poke at his own.

Sliding the heel in between the bars, the Zeltron returned Kyra Perl her shoe.

"I'll take her, " he gestured wearily, only to glance at the twerking Nuna. He was putting his all into it that Deagan gave in. "The Nuna too." he told the Ubese. As if those words of freedom registered in the Nuna, he gave a loud, "Cachaw!!" in victory.

One less roasted Nuna to grace a table.

Clearly, the critter knew which side of its bread was buttered.

The Ubese, glad to have come to an agreement. Withdrew the keys to the cages. He, of course, released the Nuna first. Plucking it out of the cage, the Ubese generously presented Deagan with his prize.

"Good Nuna. Good catch. Roast well!"

"Bachawk!" the Nuna would object, it's black beady eyes bulging out. There, held within the sinewy arms of the scoundrel, they made quite a pair.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra spilled out of the cage, a jumble of limbs and hair as she tried to find which was was up in three inch heels. Her ankles went all sorts of directions before she settled on standing barefoot, a shoe in each hand. She woobled toward the pink-skinned slave buyer, her cramped body needing a moment to remember how to go primate again.

"Thanks," she murmured, an embarrassed flush hitting her tone. "For not just leaving with the shoes." She shoved back her hair, slowly straightening and giving the space a disoriented once over.

"...Where are we?" She asked unwillingly, dreading the answer.

 

[Deagan Hunt]

The Nuna apparently was enjoying his new perch right within Deagan's embrace. In fact, it settled in, eyeballing everyone, including Kyra Perl as if daring them to remove him from his rightful place.

Sensing the Nuna's emotional stirring and wariness, he couldn't help but start stroking the Nuna from head to tail, much as if soothing a pet.

"Level 1313," Deagan replied, already starting to walk away from the woman. He assumed she knew she was on Coruscant. It wasn't that he wasn't keen on helping her. It is just that he did not need another hot mess of trouble.

"Alright, so where do we need to go and how much will this get me?" no one can't fault him for cutting to the chase. He scratched her back by getting the Ubese to release her, now she'd have to pay up what the Ubese owed him in turn.

The faster the better, considering how he'd begun to feel the sickly, internal nauseating sensations of her withdrawal. A muscle went twitching in his jaw, and he steadied himself internally, falling back on the training he had to keep shit like this from affecting him. All the while, he continued to pet and stroke the Nuna under his arm. It began to coo.

Naturally, he continued to manipulate his empathic abilities to try and keep her calm. Shameless? Perhaps, but that's what his kind did. It was no accident that Zeltros had managed to stave off battle after battle.

Dump enough pheromones, booze, drugs, and mind-boggling pleasure and see who was left to even bother lifting a weapon.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra paused, edges of his own emotions creeping up on her in turn. She didn't blame him for wanted out of this p r o n t o. What stranger wouldn't. She grimaced as she caught wiff of her oversharing and took a step back. Ironically, she had been trained on how to not let off anything at all. Yeah, no, she was not pulling that off right now.

"Level 4001," she gestured, trying not to concentrate on the swirl of the sky or the desert in her throat. ...In ache in her temples or the itch crawling across her-- "Ugh," she said to her self, stumbling into the lead.

"On second thought, you can keep em." She let her shoes fall to the ground, carrying them too much effort. She'd just buy Yula a new pair once she saw her again, which was in no tangible future nearby--

She squinted against the sun, the pain shooting through her temples and -- she turned to her side, ralphing into the bushes.

 

[Deagan Hunt]

All the while Kyra Perl was heaving the contents of her stomach onto a holographic bush, the Zeltron stood still. He even paused his stroke of the Nuna's back, much to the creature's displeasure. Instead, those fire-sapphire eyes would darken, blending the present with distant memories. The line of his jaw grew tight, and his lips sank into a thin line.

The Zeltron's gaze went skimming over the shuddering, heaving body, of the younger woman. Taking in the grimy dress, a tangle of hair, bare dirty feet. Stinking of spice, alcohol, and sweat. They would pass over the dark trail of mascara that ran down her cheeks as she'd gasp for breath, those dark smeared stains withering, crumpled petals over her flesh. To Kyra's detriment, all the Zeltron could see is just the supplemented image of one @Kassey Daklin over the younger woman's form. Didn't matter that they were completely separate women. Didn't matter that section of his life had long since passed. All he read was the similarity of the emotions rolling off Kyra in a putrid well of despair and disgusted edged with regret and smothered with a mighty heavy need for oblivion.

Staring down at her, Deagan found himself once again jaded and cynical. Another woman seeking oblivion one way or the next. It was as if Lady Luck had decided to bring up a living portrait of his mistakes and slap him with it.

He'd walked away from Kassey to make sure he wouldn't be there to tear herself down. He sure as hell wasn't going to go through that again.

Feeling his own emotions rock, the bitterness rising. Stroking the Nuna anew, Deagan took a half turn and kept walking, his voice calling out low, "Hurry up, take too long and we'll end up in more trouble than you found yourself in."

That intense cobalt gaze would stare out, patrolling the level, keeping watch. If she caught up quickly or not was up to the girl. Right now, he had a singular thought in his head. Getting his credits due.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra straightened, heaving breaths of air as her stomach cleared of all the simmering toxins it had held. Everything, abruptly, felt that much better. She squinted against the retreating sight of his back, her relief turning to a wash of confusion.

"Hey--" she coughed her lungs clear, scrambling to pick up the shoes he hadn't grabbed. "Wait up!"

"Ugh, my mouth tastes--" she wiped herself clean with the back of her arm, the girl doing an awkward sprint after him. "Ow-" she hopped, swiping a rock out from under her heel as she struggled to keep pace.

"Can you not-- I can't pay you if you--Ugh. Long legs--" She grabbed at his arm, unthinking as he left her struggling in his wake. His dour mood spilled over the contact, splashing across her mind with unwelcome clarity. She gasped and jerking her hand back.

"Ugh, don't tell me I tried to stab you too."