Private Notation From The Stars

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Mate, you did not win," he said, crossing his arms at his chest as they came to a halt wherever the feth Starlin had led them to. He made no comment on the rest of it, of course, because talking in circles didn't make much sense and he didn't really want to dwell on the whole slave thing, not this late at night. That sounded like a recipe for disaster.

So instead he stood back and watched the exchange between Starlin and the stranger with thinly pressed lips. No amount of thumbs-up would be enough to lessen his concern, or his frustration, when he realized what was happening.

The woman stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and Arcturus used that as an excuse to close the space between himself and the other man.

"What are you doing?" he asked pointedly, moving himself between Starlin and the doorway. No doubt Ishani was glaring daggers into him at this point, she'd already warned him not to try this very thing after all, but he couldn't help himself. "Are you serious right now? Mom's worried sick and you're out here, what?"

A bewildered expression and a scoff that spoke to an inability to really process what was going on was all that was left to finish off his question.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Alright, fine—I’ve never won anything in my life,” Starlin muttered bitterly. “I’ve lost more battles than I can count, but you and Ossus—I could at least say I did something good then.”

Ishani followed Arc, having half a mind to stop him. She was annoyed that he was getting involved, true, but she was also concerned for everyone involved. This didn’t look like a good neighborhood, and they were literally standing outside a drug dealer’s place.

Starlin snorted at Arc’s little slip, calling Jen Mom as if she was his mother, too. “I’d still be at home if she hadn’t taken my stuff. She just doesn’t want me shooting up in her house. That’s fine. I’ll do my drugs on the street, like a good boy.”

Standing somewhere by Arc’s shoulder, Ishani shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, until suddenly she asked, “Can I have some?”

His brow furrowing, Starlin turned to her. “Huh?”

“I’ll split the cost if you let me have some.”

Starlin continued to stare at her. “What?”

The Twi’lek returned, opening the door. “He says he wants eight hundred to cover his ass.”

“Eight hundred?!”

Ishani opened her mouth, then closed it. Eight hundred was outrageous.

“Fething forget it, then.” Starlin turned away from the door, facing Ishani. He pointed to himself. “Look, I don’t know what kind of stunt you’re trying to pull, but I’m half Balosar, okay? I can take that shit all day long, and it won’t hurt me. Unless you’ve got some palps hiding under all that hair, it’ll shave years off your life.” To further emphasize his point, his antennapalps emerged and stood straight up on his head.

“Oh yeah? What about your other half?” Ishani retorted. “And why’d you get addicted to death sticks, when you could get addicted to spice?”

“Spice doesn’t have the same kind of kick.”

“It’s easier to get, and safer.”

Starlin couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Okay, girl. Whatever you say. I was thinking about getting some spice anyway—y’know, as a consolation prize.”

“Then let’s go get some spice.”

Still giggling faintly to himself, Starlin trudged off down the street. Ish exchanged glances with Arc, fully expecting an explosion, questions, something from him, but she didn’t say anything yet. At least, not out loud.

<Trust me.>

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"You did do something good there" he stated, plainly, "You did plenty good there. Doesn't mean you have to claim you beat me in order to achieve it..." He rolled his eyes, before grinning. "Just glad those kids got out alright."

When Starlin snorted he realized what he'd said, and an uncontrolled blush overcame him. Feth, had he said that out loud?

Oh well, more pressing matters to tend to...

"No, I think she just doesn't want you shooting up" he quipped back, incredulously. That tone and accompanying expression did not waver, in fact it seemed to deepen, when Ishani next spoke. His mouth opened and closed like a blob fish.

"I... You... Wha--"

His mind tried to buffer for a moment, and he just looked between the two of them like they'd gone utterly insane. He'd never been so grateful to hear someone state a horribly overpriced amount in his life when the woman returned, enough to dissuade him from the deathsticks at least.

But now talks were turning to spice.

"Spice?" he choked out, hurrying to keep up as Starlin began to walk away. Ishani's mind brushed his then, asking for his trust, but even so he couldn't fully process what was going on. "Wait, wait," he moved a little faster then, 'til he reached the man's side, "What happened, man? Talk to me..." This whole thing was utterly, completely, psychotic.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

"What happened, man? Talk to me..."

"Whaddya mean, 'what happened'?" Starlin suddenly snapped, his temper shortened by withdrawal. "Besides having my fething eye burst in my skull? Besides my master leaving me to go hunt for her ex-girlfriend-turned-galactic-terrorist? Besides my new master disappearing without any warning, without any fething trace? Besides going to war as a fething Ashlan Crusader, thinking we'd do some good, and finding out that no, we're going to go door to door and slaughter unarmed civilians? I didn't just get fooled once, I got fooled twice, and you know what they say—fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on fething me!"

He whirled on Ishani. "What the feth is your problem, huh? You're clean, you've been straight your whole life, haven't you? But now you suddenly want to try spice, try death sticks, try anything you can get your little mitts on?"

"Maybe," Ishani mumbled softly.

"No, not maybe. This is some kind of trick, isn't it?"

"Maybe," she said, even softer. "I wanted to know why the people I know get lost in the high."

"You don't know me."

"I knew somebody else. Somebody who used to do all kinds of drugs. All I ever did was get mad and tell her she was stupid for it."

"She was. We're all stupid. Now—"

"I never tried to understand," she interrupted. "All I did was push her away. So, I don't know—maybe it isn't that bad. Maybe there's something good about it that I'm just not seeing. Maybe... maybe..." She trailed off, looking down at the ground.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Starlin whirled on him and chewed his ear off for the question he asked, and even though it was what Arcturus had been hoping for he'd be lying if he tried to claim it didn't hurt to hear it said in such a way all the same.​

​

"That's not on you" he stated firmly, speaking more to the two deadbeat Masters than the rest of it because frankly he knew little about the Crusade and their doings, much less the part Starlin played in such, "They're the Masters, they should be the ones who know better." He frowned. "I'm sorry, Starlin, I wish there was something I could do to make it all right, but this..." He gestured vaguely around, even though there wasn't actually any deathsticks or spice to speak of, "isn't going to help, it isn't going to change things. I don't want to see you waste away because of some fethin' idiot Jedi and their inability to do what they vowed."​

​

The eye thing... Yeah, that was rough. Arcturus had a name but he didn't exactly know what to do with that information.​

​

When he turned on Ishani though his eyes drifted toward her. She tried to explain herself, justify it, but even knowing that she was trying to do something more than actually tempt him into giving her spice Arcturus couldn't help but also feel incredulous about the whole thing.​

​

"Nobody's getting fethin' high!" he decided then and there, nostrils flaring. "There is something bad, Ishani, it ruins lives. Not just the one who takes it, but those around them. Chaos, Starlin, they're worried sick about you." He turned back to the man, shaking his head, "Jen would barely say two words about you all day. It's like she's on eggshells. That isn't fair, man, you know that isn't fair. I know I mean feth all to you man, but you mean something to me and I'm not going to stand here and let you feth your life up. What do you need? What do you want? What can I do Starlin? Because I'll move moons to see it done."​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin wanted to argue. In fact, he almost wanted to pick a fight, throw hands. Force knew he and Arc were overdue for a real duel.

However, he was blindsided by Arc saying that he meant something to him. “What?” he blurted in disbelief. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? The Sith didn’t care, but the Jedi did?

But Arc was on a roll, and there was no stopping him. “You do mean something to me,” Starlin murmured, his words probably lost to the storm of the ginger’s anger. He wanted to do something, save somebody, save Starlin, and it was all so confusing and weird, like reality had been turned on its head…

“You can’t do nothing for me,” he finally said, his tone firm. “I don’t even know why the feth I brought you two with me out here…”

He trailed off, a soft mewling sound reaching his ears. Ishani had begun to cry. He hated the sound of women crying like that, where they were trying to hide it. It brought back far too many awful memories of the things he’d seen.

“Okay, all right,” he said. “We’re going home. Okay? Let’s just go back, and go to sleep. Forget about getting high, forget about all this chit…”

He could always indulge in his vices on his own, when the two of them weren't around.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Starlin was blindsided, Ishani was crying, and Arcturus just stood there with his gaze shifting between the two of them. It took a little while longer for his expression to soften once more, and then he let out a long breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding.​

​

"I don't care if you're a Jedi" he stated, in the silence which hung between them, further expanding upon the statement which had seemingly dumbfounded him, "Ossus forged us into brothers, blood be damned. I'm not going to give up on you, man, and I'm not gonna let you give up on yourself."​

​

It was suggested that they all go back to Jen's and rest. Not a bad idea, though he knew that all that they were doing was delaying the inevitable. Arcturus needed to think, he needed to formulate a plan to try and get him back on track to being a Jedi and not whatever the feth this was, even if he didn't agree with the Jedi. It didn't matter, did it? Because Starlin did, or had, or whatever. And that was what mattered.​

​

"Come on," he said, reaching out to wrap an arm around Ishani in order to pull her in close. He settled his lips against her forehead, and tried to console her. "It's okay, c'mon, it's well past bedtime, we've all had a long day..."​

​

He walked with her like that back to the apartment, keeping the girl close, though his eyes lingered on Starlin every now and then. His mind whirred, cogs racing.​

​

It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but Arcturus swore he'd help. Swore he'd one day see Starlin sound of mind once more...​

​

Little did he know that the ring on his finger would tamper with such plans going forward.​

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Starlin Rand ​