Off The Beaten Track

[Lief]

For a moment nothing was said.

Mara allowed the silence to drift over them both, it crept into every corner of the room, into every pour, and clung on for dear life. Every breath she took following his explanation felt drawn out, muted by whatever it was that had fallen over them like a sheer veil, muffling even the general din of the city beyond his windows.

She didn't look away, but nor did she stare. Instead she looked at the same spot on the wall, just past his head, like she had when he'd first started talking. It was a lot to take in, though she had been expecting something along those lines in all honesty. There were few things which could truly drive a man into such a state, and if they weren't financial - and Ar'ekk seemed to have his finances in order - then they tended to be related to love lost.

In this case, however, lost did not seem to be the right word for it.

"I'm sorry," came her eventual whisper, words breathy as though afraid to disturb the silence which lay between them. "Sounds like you got the rough end of the stick. Don't think she'd want you wasting away over it, though... If you don't mind my saying."

At this point she stood from the bed, taking a small step in the direction of the refresher. It didn't do to dwell on things, and if she remained she knew he'd only continue to think about it. No doubt he'd end up back in the same state he'd been in the night prior, before they'd stepped out of the casino and into the rain.

"It gets easier. I promise." Her words sounded as though they came from experience, though before anything could arise from it she stepped out of the room.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

"Don't be sorry. I'm trying to rebuild my life, it's what she would want me to do."

That was hard but he was getting there, one step at the time. Pain and suffering, nightmares and screams of agony did not let him sleep at night let alone close his eyes for a moment. Memories of the past flooded his thoughts, the what ifs, the unanswered questions.

Ar'ekk felt unbalanced once more and he had nobody to hold himself to, much like Jyn was his pillar in life. Love had kept him alive, breathing and happy but that wasn't there anymore so he had to cope with the loss, dealing with it in a very hazardous way.

Say what you want, that one should be strong and to try to live a full life while young but it was hard when this happened to you.

"I hope."

He watched Kalyn head back to the refresher while her words played over and over in his head, nodding to himself.

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[Lief]

Mara had never been the sort to take long showers.

That had never been a luxury she had, even back on The Wheel as a child, hers was a fast paced life, one which was always in motion. While she would happily take advantage wherever possible, of refreshers or bath houses, she got restless rather quickly whenever she tried to relax.

As a result, she emerged back into the room in record time. Hair still wet, clothes from the day before, towel around her shoulders ready to dry off her hair, glowing from the warmth of the steam. She let out a soft sigh, placing the folded clothes she'd worn that night onto the bed, and turned to try and see where Ar'ekk had ended up.

"Thank you" she said, stifling a yawn, "Needed a hot shower."

She didn't know when she'd next have a chance to, after all.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

"You are welcome anytime."

The steam had reached the living room already as the scent of strawberry shampoo invaded his senses, provoking in him a state of absolute joy. Eyes laying on wet haired but happily as ever Kalyn, Ar'ekk replaced the early frown and sad face with a big dorky smile.

Maybe it was his turn to head into the shower and ponder heavily under the steaming water but not yet, he had a couple of things to do first. He tried his best to keep the girl around a little longer, even if it was an hour or more.

Whatever he had to check on the computer? The message didn't arrive yet. Try again? Connection is down. Anything.

"How'd you like it?"

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[Lief]

"It was refreshin', yeah," she responded, rubbing strands of her hair between the towel in order to dry it off, "Not been in such a fancy refresher before, tho', no idea what half the buttons do."

She realized, with some dismay, that she didn't have a hairbrush on her. That wasn't going to end well, hers was the kind of hair that needed immediate post-shower attention or else it would be impossible to deal with. The chances of him having anything that might work were slim to none, a comb wasn't going to cut it, but she figured it might be best to just ask and see.

"No chance you've a hairbrush lyin' around, is there?"

She draped the towel over the top of the bathroom door, giving it room to dry, before stepping out of the bedroom space and into the larger living area. Her stomach grumbled quietly, informing her that it was almost time to eat. No doubt she'd be heading back to her ship shortly, why not stop off at a cantina along the way?

"Did you hear back about potential jobs, by the way?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

"To be honest, I don't either but as long as it's hot I'm good!"

No, he didn't have a hairbrush anywhere for Kalyn so she would probably have to suffer the consequences. Ar'ekk had packed up most of Jyn's belongings six months after passing away which really, really hurt him to do. It took courage to do that as he kept blaming himself for "throwing away" things out.

The wedding ring he was going to give her was the only piece that the man would keep as a memory, not being able to let go entirely of the person he wanted to love forever. It hung from his computer terminal to the right side of the screen, shining brightly just like her eyes once did.

"I haven't checked yet. You can do that if you wish, just log off after you're done."

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[Lief]

No hair brush.

No doubt her hair would be more like a mane in no time at all, her natural curls would come into play and getting a brush or comb back through it later would prove almost impossible. That meant she'd need to have a shower that evening, with a lot of conditioner, and a brush to hand.

Not ideal she thought, but I can make it work.

She'd done this before, of course, and no doubt she'd do it again.

"Which program did you use to message them?" she asked, as she approached the desk; it had been some time since she'd used an actual computer, rather than something portable, and she knew there were far too many programs and applications out there to presume it was the same as she typically used.

"You gonna go shower?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

"Pull up the first window on the task bar, you'll see it."

The layout on his computer wasn't so difficult to navigate through or even utilize, although the design and background image with the image of a demon-esque figure with Ar'ekk's pseudonym written underneath in a glitchy way was more than eye-catching. She'd be able to surf through the Darknet safely through an encrypted network and utilizing a guest account instead of his own.

"In a bit, yes."

A clean towel had already found its way around his shoulders as his stood shirtless, about to head jump into the shower but not going anywhere yet as Mara asked her question. He wasn't an extreme prude by any means necessary but he was in the comfort of his own home, hopefully she wouldn't mind.

"Let me know if you need anything!"

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[Lief]

"Awesome, ta!"

Sliding into his computer seat, Mara set to work pretty quickly and without shame. She had missed this, the feel of the keys beneath her fingertips, the luminescence of the screen, when she invested in a bigger ship she decided she'd have to get back into it. See what, if anything, she could recall from her old slicing days. Kilian had never approved of it, mostly due to her age, but there had been plenty of others within their crew to learn from.

Shame to think that she'd never see them again.

Either way she typed away, logging in to a more restricted guest profile and bringing up the comm-program. She could see a slew of outgoing messages, but as of yet no replies. Curiously her eyes fell to the time in the corner of the screen, which gave light to the reason why.

"I swear we slept longer than that..."

No matter; hopefully in another hour or so folks would be up and about, ready to recruit some random girl from the 'Rim. While Ar'ekk did his thing she opened up the darknet and began, of all things, to catch up on some galactic news. Alliance-in-Exile, something which had likely shaken the Core, was a story which drew her attention. Maybe it's time to head that way, she considered, Usually plenty of work to do in a collapsing state.

Danger, too, but without an overarching government there was less chances of her being spotted.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

A cloud of steam shadowed him like the plague as he came out of the bathroom, hair wet and lower torso covered by a towel. Walking over to the computer and Kalyn, he gave the latter a quizzical glance while he sat down on the hen chair nearby. Behind the large screen were a bunch of cables connected to the computer which Ar'ekk would reach out for.

"Any news?"

He inquired on the matter as he leaned forward, revealing two screw sized holes in the back of his neck that resembled ports of some sorts. The cables were some sort of plug-in, plug-out type of connectors that were the perfect fit for them and just like that, he inserted them like nothing.

The sensation felt during the "connection" could be described as a cold, sudden breeze that hits your head and numbs your hands, your head feels light and you find it impossible to open your eyes.

All that in under five seconds.

"If they take too long, we might as well go outside. I gotta do something, so killing time would be smart."

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[Lief]

"Nah," she said, with a somewhat deflated sound to her voice, "But it's earlier than I thought, so maybe we'll just check back in later."

When he approached the desk Mara logged herself out, after closing down her darknet tabs, and shifted out of his seat in case he wanted to get some work done or something. What he chose to do, however, had her blinking in surprise. She'd heard of cyborgs, and implants, and the like, but seeing someone do that?

She didn't even really understand what she was seeing.

After a few seconds of staring she hastily looked away. Was it rude to stare, ordinarily? Yes. Which meant it must have been super rude given the circumstances.

"I might see about grabbin' some food," she responded, with a light shrug, when he said he had things to do that day, "You got a comm frequency? No sense in wastin' your time if you got stuff to do."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

What he was doing became an ordinary task like any other, staring while he did so didn't even seem to phase him. It wasn't rude, at least in his eyes, to stare while he "recharged" through the implants present on his skin. Truth be told, the function of these upgrades were to keep him awake and active, to avoid having nightmares during the night and provide an overall stamina boost through a rather complex program built into his computer terminal.

"You want takeaway or should we hit a restaurant? I can pay, truly."

Kalyn was his guest after all and he wouldn't let her wonder around Lithios alone, at least not until she either felt comfortable with the sorroundings or Ar'ekk not wanting to spill precious minutes with someone he could really talk to.

Shaking his head negatively at her question, he'd proceed to unplug and reach the wardrobe to grab some fresh clothes and his iconic leather jacket.

"You ain't wasting my time, really. You're always welcome here so don't consider yourself a problem."

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[Lief]

"I mean, I was thinking of just hitting up a diner. Restaurants ain't really my thing, don't think I've ever really been in one. They never liked the look of us, most of our crew was always covered in oil." She grinned at that, finding the whole thing highly amusing, because she recalled the one time Kilian had really tried to get them all in. They were celebrating some anniversary, and it had taken two of the bigger crew members - both of whom were total sweethearts - to stop him from swinging his fists about. Or worse.

It hadn't bothered them, of course, they'd had just as good a night at one of the old cantinas. In fact, probably better than they'd have had in any restaurant given how strict many of them seemed to be. Dress codes, quiet, fancy foods that didn't really fill you up.

Definitely not her scene.

"You ain't gotta pay, man, I ain't done no work for you, and I did a pretty decent job before comin' here, so I'm not that strapped for cash. Still need to get myself onto the next grind, of course, it's never endin', but I can sort myself out lunch."

He seemed to want to come with, though, which she didn't mind. At this point she was pulling on her socks from the night before, and eyeing up the boots which lay beside the front door.

"Maybe you can show me some place close by, tho'?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

Before putting on his massive leather jacket, Ar'ekk picked up his shoulder holster with the K-16 Bryar Pistol already secured in the right place. To walk around Lithios weaponless and specially around specific places throughout Ethos City proved to be a very stupid thing to pull off, although he never went anywhere without at least a weapon concealed beneath his clothing.

"A diner? That's fine. Guess I have fallen victim of luxurious plates and places but I guess we can hit one of those. We'll hit downtown and head to a place I know, there's someone I gotta talk to there anyways. Kill two birds with one stone."

Like most places in Ethos City, the restaurant would have a backdoor that gave access to a plethora of services hidden from the common folks such as cyberware, weapons, gadgets, spice and other things you'd expect from a black market dealer. Good way to arm yourself up for any type of job or add more items to your inventory.

Either way, Kalyn and Ar'ekk could pick some stuff out for a future employment opportunity and if the girl was to leave soon at least she'd be packing some state of the art technology/weaponry.

"The hustle never ends, that's right, but when you have feth-you money like I do you start to wonder what to do with all that money laying around. I wanna pay, so let me do that. It keeps my mind quiet at night, figuratively speaking of course, and all that."

The door to the small docking bay where the airspeeder opened, him staying by the edge looking back and toying with the keys.

"Shall we go n' see?"

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[Lief]

Being that Ar'ekk was rather incessant there wasn't much point in arguing with him.

Instead, with a soft sigh, Mara merely nodded.

"Alright, I suppose if you insist. You ain't gonna hold it over my head later, right?" Though there was a joking expression upon her face, an edge to the tone of her words hinted that similar had been done before in the past. Some folks out there believed that if they did something for you, even something mighty small, that you owed them something in return. And Mara wasn't about that life. If you didn't state upfront that you wanted something in return, then so far as she was concerned adding it in later was slimy and wrong.

Pulling on her boots, just outside of the door so as not to track mud inside, she wanted for him to approach and then joined him in the docking bay. Ar'ekk seemed to hold back at first, so she waited just a few feet from him. Wasn't her speeder, after all, didn't make sense for her to run off ahead.

"Now's as good a time as any" she said, with a nod of her head, "Not as though I'm forgettin' nothin'..." After all, she didn't exactly own much to leave behind, and what she did have fit snug upon her person.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Laukoon, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

The silence inside the airspeeder was bliss.

"I won't. That's a promise."

What's a promise if you break it a second later? He wasn't one to hold grudges or judge you because of a bad move, unless you really made his life living hell for whatever reason. Kalyn had no reason, at this point, to fear him or his intentions regardless of what he said or did. Call it softness, but after Jyn passed away the things that motivated him were as mundane as going out or spending time with someone to talk to.

Too much silence was bad for his health, both mental and physically. The upgrades were just one way to ensure that whatever was declining could be picked up right away through a rather not-so-complicated method.

"Let's not waste too much time, then."

Metallic doors opened to make leeway for the airspeeder to join the oncoming traffic and follow the lanes with the rest of the speeders going back and forth. Quickly invaded by the neon lights, massive billboards of things you wanted but never needed and the swarm of vehicles moving about their ordinary paths, Ar'ekk drove through the bustling Ethos City and arriving to their destination in a matter of minutes:

Laukoon.

The most densely populated spot on Lithios - nearly 800,000 people crammed into twelve acres of chaos, poverty, disease, and vice. A self-contained district that collects no taxes and is riddled with gangs. Stagnant water sits in temporary wells. Trash lies piled on roofs for controlled burns. Improvised structures lean dangerously over populated areas.

It's the ideal breeding ground for all manner of illicit trade - drugs, gambling, black market trade, cyberware trafficking, and everything in between. And now you need to enter this septic system of a district. But not everywhere looks like this, specially where he decided to land.

Luxurious condos, market stalls, restaurants, diners, stores were controlled by an oriental-esque gang. They lived very differentlly in contrast with the rest of the population. The magic of credits and crime, totally.

Ar'ekk had parked the airspeeder near the Technologie - a gleaming hotel and apartment building. Rolling stormclouds choked the sky, lending the structure a sinister appearance. Nearby was Zone 68 Diner & Grill, a sports bar and gambling den known to offer the best food on this side of Lithios, located in the fifth floor of a decaying building.

The duo eventually made their way into a ground floor elevator, the attendant paying them no mind. As the car began to climb, one could hear the sounds of merriment drawing closer. As the doors slid open, they'd find themselves with a crowd of cheerful people screaming at a holoscreen during a very important Huttball game.

"Still sure you want to eat here?"

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[Lief]

It did not take them long to zip across the cityscape.

Mara noticed rather quickly that they were headed to what looked to be no-mans-land, a region of the world which was lawless and chaotic. The rundown streets, buildings which looked about ready to collapse, and darkened alleyways, led her to such an assumption. That and the obvious gang markings, and blaster-wielding men and women trying to parade their version of order.

"Seen worse," she mumbled under her breath, as they dipped down toward an area that was actually a little better put together than the rest. Still obviously not a place you wanted to get caught in after dark, but better all the same.

Slipping out of the speeder she waited for Ar'ekk to join her in front of the building and then together they headed into an elevator. No music played, as you'd usually expect, though soon enough the general din of a lively atmosphere seeped into the car with them. So there was that.

As the doors opened she glanced around at what was on offer. Huttball, crowds of people rooting for their teams, alcohol flowing freely, and...

"It smells good," she groaned happily, obviously not on about the general scents in the area which included both body odor and way too much cologne. No, there was a soft meaty undertone hidden in there that was calling to her. She stepped out without giving it much thought, turning her head to grin at Ar'ekk.

"I'm a simple girl, what can I say? Promise me a good stew or a shili cheese dog, and I'm happy as can be."

It didn't help that Mara was oftentimes led more by her stomach than anything else, she didn't know why it was that she seemed to eat more than anyone else around her - yet still remained so skinny - but she also didn't care. Did it get expensive at times? Sure. But did it also allow her to try a bunch of new things? You bet.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Laukoon, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

Waitresses roamed throughout the establishment in semi-skimpy outfits serving drinks and plates full of delicious food to the patrons who were screaming their lungs out at the holoscreen while the game of Huttball went on. One in particular, a white haired girl in her late twenties with freckles on her cheeks and eyes as blue as the ocean, approached Ar'ekk with a very sly smirk and whispered to his ear.

Right off the bat you could tell he was a regular, considering that she walked away by winking at him and the man behind the counter greeted at him in the most peculiar way.

"Ar'ekk Daesharacor! Glad you decided to show face around here after a while. How you been?! Beer's on the house tonight for you and your dat-- Ahem, companion!"

A frown formed on his face as soon as the bartender slipped his words, shooting daggers with his eyes at him considering the situation. They were well aware of what happened between him and his girlfriend since he had been drowning his sorrows for six months at this very same bar for hours. It's like he pretty much lived there and everyone knew him.

"Everyone's going crazy, huh? Stupid sport."

The bartender lifted both palms up and in his particular accent, he barked at Ar'ekk in a friendly manner. Thankfully, nobody heard what he said since the holoscreen's volume combined with the howls on the background made it difficult to even listen to anything.

"Woah, woah. Careful friend, you know that's blasphemy in this side of town. Hehehe."

Two glasses of whiskey were carefully placed in front of their noses once they sat down.

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[Lief]

"I'm just a friend," she told the bartender, as the air turned tense for a moment, her voice light and unoffending while her lips broadened into a soft smile, though she was truthfully happy when the conversation shifted itself to sports rather than present company.

For the most part, as Ar'ekk and the bartender spoke, Kal remained quiet. It wasn't as though she was meek or mild, or even that she felt as though she couldn't interject, merely that they seemed to be acquaintances catching up. Besides, her attention had been caught by one of the screens showing the game. Huttball wasn't her favourite sport, not by a long shot, but it still had a way of captivating her all the same.

When Ar'ekk sat down she realized that it was probably a better idea than standing and so she soon followed suit. The smell of the alcohol had her mouth watering, though she politely slid it across to her companion with a coy smile.

"Trust me," she whispered, low enough that only he could hear her, "You don't want to see what that chit'll do to me."

Instead she turned her sights up at the bartender and tried to catch his attention.

"I'll have a green chooss, please, gotta drive."

It was a lie, an obvious lie, but it was better than declaring her intolerance for alcohol.

More like a legitimate allergy, if she had to classify it. No, Mara only drank when she was about to do something stupid.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Laukoon, Ethos City​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Kalyn Shif"]​

"Come on, have a few drinks at least. We're in a diner for feth's sake!"

Before sipping from his glass, Ar'ekk reached to the inner pocket of his leather jacket to grab a small vial with a yellowish liquid stored inside. He uncapped it to reveal a jack that made a perfect fit with the ones in the back of his neck, lowering the collar to reveal his nape and insert this object and "take" the liquid. A sudden rush suddenly overtook his body, making him shake his head to get his bearing back on track.

"You get drunk a lot, Kalyn? I'm dangerous with a glass in my hand. Usually girls accompany me side by side but since you're here, I'll try to behave."

Playful, cocky, arrogant. Funny how the shell of a man that seemed depressed and unhappy most the time changed when alcohol kicked into his system, feeling slightly tipsy after four glasses of Corellian ale in a row. He had to drive them home, yes, but he wasn't even slightly focused about that. It was all about having fun with his companion for the afternoon and enjoying the drinks that kept on coming.

"Now, allow me to ask you. What would your boyfriend say if he found you sitting in a bar like this with me?"

Semi-drunk rant?

Yep.

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