Idea of a Good Time

[Nick Dragovalor]

[member="Eenia Vahn"]

He was a bounty hunter once more. Something that he hadn't felt the need to tell Eenia during their time at the prom. It was amongst a lot of things that he felt unnecessary, with a girl who knew only sorrow of her own and did not need to add fear to that issue during a time where his brother only sought for her to be happy. But bounty hunting was where he had been for some time now. He needed it, he felt. It was his way of being at ease, being at peace. He had killed so many, done so much hurt. To hurt the people that had done the hurting... It was the only way that he could atone.

And now it turned out his father was alive, and not only that, most of the time didn't even remember who he was... This was the only way he felt to distract himself. He did not keep contact with people very much during these journeys. In his eyes, he did not deserve to. But he also knew that his family would worry if he were gone too long. Periodically, the redhead visited the Silver Rest to keep his family in the loop on his condition. It was during those times that he had come across the girl that he had gone to her prom with as a favor to his brother, after some stuck up jerk -- as he would come to find later was the son of the Emperor that he hated so much -- had stood her up after impregnating her and leaving her to have a miscarriage and deal with that burden alone.

After some mild conversation, he had been asked about meeting up properly later. At the time, he had accepted out of a feeling of obligation and at first had considered just asking his brother to tell him he had gotten busy and couldn't return. But for one reason or another, he had decided to meet at this sports bar after all. He wore a simple dress shirt and slacks, and had his hair up. It was a bit unusual for him, again, but he supposed the least he could do was look decent. Nick took a deep breath as he took a seat at a table to wait for her.

 

[Eenia Vahn]

For once, it was nice to see that some form of plans had come to be. Eenia was quite used to making plans and then having them dashed before anything could come to be. It was something she had grown so used to in fact, that when she had gotten word that meeting up with Nick again was actually happening, she wasn't quite sure what to think or do. The plan had been made back during the silly little prom, and to be honest she had figured she was just being humored - and that had been fine, really. So now, well...

Despite her had-been bubbly attitude and infectious laughter, Nia didn't have a whole lot of friends. In fact, she wasn't sure if she even had any friends. dependable people in her life who cared for her, who mentored her, and who were there for her, yes. Those she had! But people to just get a hold of and say 'Hey! Lets go do something!' with? Not so much. And that fact had become that much more difficult since her awesome personality change.

Regardless, she took the time to change from her training garb to something better suited for going out, and then she head out do that she could meet up with Nick. It didn't take her long to get there, and it took even less time to spot the redhead waiting for her. Nia's brows lofted and her smile was somewhere between amused and impressed as she made her way to the table. "Well hey there stranger, long time no see." she greeted as she approached.


[member="Nick Dragonsflame"]

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

He was almost surprised she had shown up. They had made the appointment so long ago that he had figured she would probably forget, or just decide not to go. The one constant in his life had been that for all the environments he had grown up in, most people always lied. Always had an agenda of their own. Perhaps that's why he never was able to do anything but survive in that climate. He was too blunt for his own good. Either way, she was here. Whether he was surprised or not was irrelevant now, and he nodded his head in turn.

"Eenia" He responded as he watched her take her seat. He wondered for a moment how much perhaps she may have grown now that her ordeal had come and gone. Had anything changed?

"Are you well?"

[member="Eenia Vahn"]

 

[Eenia Vahn]

He had looked surprised to see her, though for the life of her Eenia couldn't figure out why. This had been the date and time they had set this up, right? He was there after all, and so was she. Had she missed something?

Whatever the case, Nia took a seat and kept her easy smile as she did so. "As well as can be expected." she answered him once she was seated not quite across from him. "Training has been pretty rough lately, but I expected that." Injuries may have been healed, but they had effected her body regardless. That and the mental barricade she was struggling with made physical training difficult.

Her body shifted so that she could lay her elbows against the table, then put her chin in her hands. "What about you?" she questioned him. "You were gone for quite a long while." There was a pause from her, and her brow creased. "Of course if that's none of my business, feel free to state as such. It won't hurt my feelings any."


[member="Nick Dragonsflame"]

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

"I figured after your recent troubles that re-adjusting your mind and body to a training schedule might be... Difficult" He responded when she brought up the nature of her training. Boy, did he know that well. Trying to return to training after regaining his memories was... Difficult in of itself. Training was just as much mental as it was physical, for with his own traumas... His mind wasn't able to will his body to train the way it should. It took a long time to get through that hoop.

She asked about the fact he had been gone for awhile, though also noted he could refrain if he wished. He had considered it, but... It would be a boring conversation if he didn't give her something at least. And she seemed like she could use some.

"I am. I travel a lot for work" He explained calmly. "My job carries me throughout the galaxy, sometimes to its farthest regions."

[member="Eenia Vahn"]

 

[Eenia Vahn]

He most definitely wasn't wrong about that, though Nia had just admittedly as such already and didn't feel the need to do so again. It was the same for her; her body would not move the way her mind wanted it to, and it was beyond frustrating. Not that she knew he was thinking the same thing due to his own previous experience of such a thing.

Rather than focus on her complicated training, she instead listened to him when he decided to answer her inquiry. The idea of getting out and traveling the galaxy was honestly a little terrifying to Eenia. Though that could very well be that her only experiences off Kashyyyk were not very good ones. Not that she was completely against the idea of course, just seriously intimidated by it.

"You're braver than I am." she did admit with a slight shake of the head. "Traveling that far, not knowing what to expect?" she hummed softly and shook her head again, but left it at that.


[member="Nick Dragonsflame"]

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

"You get used to it" He responded curtly, remembering then he was supposed to look at the menu. He didn't do these sorts of things very often, if that wasn't obvious enough. But he'd been living in quicker food and rations for awhile now, so he knew he should probably start trying to remember how to do these things if he was going to not feel hungry all the time. Or be any better at social things since these things were apparently quite common for... Social things. Social things he was told explicitly he needed to get better at.

"When it's your job, you just learn to grit your teeth, plant your feet and do it. Little has ever been accomplished by just standing still and doing nothing. It's intimidating, but... Well, you can't dwell on those things forever."

Again, speaking from experience here. Experiences he'd like to forget.

[member="Eenia Vahn"]

 

[Eenia Vahn]

That was one thing Eenia could say about Nick, he never beat around the bush about things - at least from the few interactions they had, had. If there was something to say, it was said, blunt or otherwise. Chalk it up to his anti-social nature maybe, but honestly? Nia didn't mind. It was nice to be around someone who didn't tiptoe around her feelings because of everything she had been through. Yes, compassion from people she was close to was great and what she needed sometimes. But when it came to this sort of scenario? Well, putting it straight out there was the way to go.

And Nia bobbed her head in a slow nod as she considered this. "I suppose you're right." she finally settled on. Personally, she didn't need the menu. She had seen what she wanted on someone else's table when she had come in. "Still, for me? I wouldn't want to travel alone. Get too lost in my own thoughts when I'm left alone too long..."


[member="Nick Dragonsflame"]

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

"I got used to it" He admitted softly, continuing to graze through the menu, unsure of what all the things on it were. He had taken Eenia's suggestion for where to go, but he had quickly come to the horrifying realization that this was not his element. Restaurant food and their wordings, everything about this, wasn't his element. He knew nothing about this. Any of this. His had been a solitary existence. Even now in a way, he was solitary. Closed off. While Eenia's connection to the Force was spread out and she could sense all that was around her... Nick had pushed his down. The Assembly had decided not to make public his connection to the Force, who he was or who he was related to. As far as anyone could see from him, he was a quiet wanderer that popped into the Rest at times. No Force Presence. Not allowing it to open up, not allowing anyone in. He was nobody. And he was a solitary nobody.

One who knew nothing of the world around him, and the world knew nothing of him.

"My job doesn't invite company very often" He admitted, gazing toward other tables as he tried to find something that looked somewhat appetizing. To be honest, everything looked more appetizing than the poodoo that he had been eating for years, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to find a favorite. Words, words... Eventually, he saw something that looked good and if he remembered the word for it, then on the menu it should be...

"People in my profession have two choices. You can make friends... Or you can make money. So I'm used to it. But if you can find trustworthy company..." He trailed off, tapping something on the menu when he decided.

He had decided to just do what he always did. Jump right in and see what happens.

Eenia Vahn

 

[Eenia Vahn]

If ever there had been a way for Eenia to close herself off to the Force - a way she knew about at least - she would have taken it in an instant. When everything had become too much for her, when everything had fallen apart around her, when she had legitimately lost everything in her life that had been important...She would have closed herself off in an instant from the Force, to escape everything and everyone. To keep from feeling others, or others feeling and reading her the way they did. It would have just been so much easier. But as it were, Nia was very soundly connected with the Force, even if she didn't quite know how to use that connection completely yet.

"Still," she sighed out. "Everyone needs someone for one reason or another. You can sit and say how used to it you are, or how people or companionship isn't needed, but that isn't at all true. We're social beings, whether we like it or not, that's just how it is." A slight smirk curled one corner of her mouth. "For example, here you are sitting and having a meal with me, mister loner." It was a tease, but there was also some truth to her words too. For both of them, really. Eenia had kept very small and fleeting company since she had started her path to recovery.

Nick Dragovalor

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

"Never heard of that. Most company wants to kill me. Usually since I'm in the way of their profit" He remarked in an attempt humor. It was very dry, but he tried. She teased him about how he was sitting there having a meal with her - or was about to be sitting there having a meal with her - and he tilted his head slightly at the insinuation that this was an attempt to fulfill some sort of human calling for social contact.

Maybe it was there, he hadn't thought about it. But in his eyes, he didn't deserve to fulfill it the way others did. Not after everything.

The waiter arrived and they placed their orders, and he thought on her remarks a bit before answering.

"Perhaps we are. Just adds it to the list of human impulses and pleasures I've ignored" He admitted as he looked toward her. It couldn't hurt to be a little honest, he supposed. "To be honest with you, I can't remember the last time I wasn't relying on rations for foodstuffs, not counting the time my brother had me meet his family. All of this is foreign to me. Even by what I remember, I've really only sat for meals at dingy cantinas. Nothing like this. And never with company."

It was probably the most he had spoken when he wasn't threatening someone.

 

[Eenia Vahn]

"Well I mean...if you're standing in the way of them making money, I can see the problem with that sort of company." Eenia shrugged a shoulder to that, then picked up her drink so that she could sip from it before their waiter showed up with their meals. Surprisingly, she smiled almost warmly as she thanked them, then shift her gaze across the table to Nick again.

There was a very slight shake of her head, "If that's true, then maybe it's time you start planning to have at least one meal a day with someone, hm?" Her hands worked her eating utensils loose from their holder. "Not only will it keep you out of dingy cantinas with foods that aren't at all good for you, but it'll help fill that social impulse as well. I mean it can't hurt, right?"


Tags: | Nick Dragovalor |

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

"That's the nature of the business. Everyone is out for themselves. And if you aren't... Then you're not going to survive very long in a sea of people who are" He responded with a causal shrug as he would take a quick drink as soon as it was brought to them. He didn't seem to have the best table etiquette though, or much experience with "fancy" glasses either, as his unfamiliarity caused him to drench his beard in liquid, which he tried to quickly brush away with an annoyed quirk of a brow.

But her next remarks made him laugh. A real, genuine laugh. It was small. Short. And almost seemed strained as though it were completely new to him and he could accidentally start choking at anytime. But he laughed all the same.

"And who is going to follow me around while I travel to Force knows where on a regular basis, for the sole reason of dining with me on the daily?" He asked, the slightest tinge of humor in his tone. The notion was amusing, but he doubted anyone would want to stay by him long enough for more than one meal, much less once a day. And he wasn't settling down and staying in one place long enough to invite someone like Eenia to dine in the same restaurants all the time. He had never been one to stay in one place. And probably never would be.

Eenia Vahn

 

[Eenia Vahn]

He posed a good point; it would be really rather difficult for him to get his social bearings if he never stuck around any one place for any length of time. A fact which she mulled through over a couple of bites of her meal. Eventually though her gaze lifted to find his once again, and she shrugged a shoulder. "I would," she answered him. "I mean, its not like I have a whole hell of a lot going on around here, you know? So why not?"

Sure, she could press on with her training - and she would - but if Anora could gallivant around the galaxy and still come back for training, why couldn't Eenia? Seemed perfectly reasonable to her, as well as a solution to this lack of socializing for Nick. Total win-win.


Tags: | Nick Dragovalor |

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

She would? He stared at her a moment, a bit surprised she was legitimately offering to work with him full time. He might have even spit out his drink in surprise if it wasn't already dripping all over his face. He thought about it for a bit once their food arrived, and he would eat for a little bit quietly as he digested the fact that this person actually thought him pleasant enough to want to drop everything, get on a ship she'd never seen before and gallivant around the galaxy with him, just to apparently appease his "need" for sociability.

"And what do you get out of this?" He finally asked after a few bites. "You're aware I'm a bounty hunter, right?"

He hadn't outright stated it. But he'd hinted enough.

Eenia Vahn

 

[Eenia Vahn]

It was that stare that brought a smirk to life on Eenia's face, and she extended a hand towards him, a napkin dangling between her fingers. She didn't say anything about him needing to dry up his face, but she was offering him the chance to do so regardless. When quiet consumed the table, Nia went back to eating her own meal. It had been an honest minute since she had sat down to any full meal. Snacks here and there, small portions she didn't usually finish, but she hadn't committed to a full meal since...well...

"Life experience," she answered him smoothly when he finally spoke up. "Its no secret that my physical capabilities are lacking, and while training is helping, I think getting out and experiencing more than the Rest would be good for me."


Tags: | Nick Dragovalor |

 

[Nick Dragovalor]

He took the offered napkin with a nod of thanks as he dried himself off. When she answered as to what she would get out of this whole thing, he nodded his head. He was still a bit hesitant about the whole thing though. If he got his brother's Padawan killed, then he wouldn't hear the end of it. And he would rather not risk being on bad terms with his brother over that. Especially the one that he clearly cared enough about to go out of his way to secure a prom date for.

He also wasn't sure if he wanted company. Especially inexperienced company. She could very well be a liability if he had to work to keep her alive. But he supposed he wouldn't know until he tried. It was going to be weird, travelling with company, but... He also knew she'd probably stubbornly keep at this until he agreed. She was pretty clearly a stubborn one if his attempt to dissuade her didn't work. No different from her Master, to be honest.

"Alright" He responded with a nod of his head. "But two ground rules. One, if things turn out to be too much for you, I'm hauling you back to Kashyyyk before my brother kills me for real this time. Second, here and there I'm temporarily dropping you off back there to resume your training, and returning for you after a period of time. I agree that practical experience is good, but something I can't teach you is discipline, balance, how to take all that physical experience and bring it into the right direction that is best for you. I'm not exactly a role model for life choices. Nor can I teach you any Force stuff. So you're going to need to go back here and there if this experience is going to benefit you any.

My work involves going into the outer regions quite often, and not staying in one place for very long. If you're still interested, then you'd best be ready for that. I don't do what I do because it's easy."

He was incredibly serious in his tone and wording, but he meant well. In his own way.

Eenia Vahn