Pink Toes

[Amea Virou]

The sound and bustle of a busy city at night was something Amea would always treasure. It was a stark contrast to the streets she had grown up with as a child. Fields of green and pastures of nerf were changed for streets of gray and the gloss of neon lights on wet grounds. The air she breathed at home had been clear and crips whereas the air in cities just generally seemed to make her feel like something was off. Sure, time on ships had made her accustomed to the artificialness of repurposed air, but few things would ever truly compare to that of real air.

Yet in the end the air hardly mattered. The people did, and on this planet there was nothing but the good ones. Or at least so her gut told her. Zeltros was a planet known for its parties and rather receptive people. People came here to forget things, to hide, or to just enjoy themselves. At this point Amea wasn’t quite sure which of them she counted as but perhaps that was part of what she had come here to discover. She knew that she needed a few good drinks and some company, and that was about it.

Which to her surprise had ended up being someone she already knew. [member="Runi Verin"] had been an unexpected acquaintance at best, a very fortunate byproduct of an investigation gone bad, but unexpected nonetheless. One bad experience, an attempt to fix it, and now they were bonded. What Amea felt, Runi felt, which was just to mention one of the downsides to it.

So to that end, in order to figure this thing out they had decided to find some way to get a grip on what exactly had happened. Amea had stationed herself on the woman’s ship at recurring intervals between jobs. Sometimes to be present to form some sort of friendship — or well, at the very least on Amea’s end — and sometimes away to let them both get out of each other’s conflicted mindsets.

A slight breeze rolled down the street. Amea tried to pull at her jacket only to remember that she hadn’t brought one. Zeltros was warm enough to be comfortable without it, Her hand moved to fix the strap of her tank top instead. Her boots clung to her tights, and with a small brush against her thigh she swept loose pieces of dust off of herself.

The streets were alive tonight. Everywhere they looked there seemed to be a party going and the thought of attending one, despite Amea’s usual reservations for them just struck her as the right thing to do. Between having getting beat up by some bounty hunter on Gree, the injuries from which were still evident from the bandage around her left wrist. It was a miracle what a bit of bacta and proper rest could do in today’s day and age.

“Well, we said Zeltros.” Amea shrugged and turned on her heel to look at Runi as they ventured down Main Street. “I would say it doesn’t get more Zeltros than this.”

“Where do we go first? Night clubs? A dive? Sports bar? Figured you’re better at these things than I am.”

 

[Runi Verin]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Amea Virou"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]The sun had just begun to drop beneath the horizon by the time the pair had made it planetside, and even now the street and alleyways of the main boulevard were still cast in the burnt orange hues of the vestigial stellar light. Gradually diminishing by the second, washed away as by its garish artificial equivalent as the local businesses transitioned towards their nocturnal operations, signified by the sea of neon lights that flickered into existence all around them as they made their way through towards the city center.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]It was almost pretty in an urban, falsified sense. A plastic like veneer to distract the tourists from looking too deeply at their surroundings while plying themselves with cheap liquor and the even cheaper locals. Much like Nar Shaddaa in that respect, but without the grit, grime and seediness that lent the Smuggler Moon its charming character. As much as she hated the shear garishness of the planet, there were simply no better place in the galaxy in which to find an experienced tele-empaths, however. Especially if you didn’t feel like spending months upon months chasing wild bantha tales and spending a small fortune in credits on two-bit hacks and charlatans in the process.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]No, if they were going to find a way to get a handle on this… [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]bond… [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]or whatever they wanted to call it, this would logically be the place to do it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]You[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] said Zeltros, I just didn’t feel like disagreein’.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]” Runi corrected distractedly as they crossed over the street, dodging a rather rowdy looking party that seemed to be comprised exclusively of Weequay, Nikto and Gran. Apparently the Klatooinian contingent must have been too busy to really round them out. She couldn’t help but make a face as she caught part of spirited discussion they were holding in one of the broken Huttese and Basic pidgins common in the deeper reaches of Hutt space. Marking them as wage slaves of the Cartel just as assuredly as the lurid tattoos and gang colours they sported. The Nasirii Kajidic must’ve grown if they were brazenly putting their foot soldiers this far out on display. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She flashed them a hand sign when their gaze began to drift in their direction, warding off their attentions by marking herself and Amea as affiliated with the Besadii. Hardly an ally of the Nasirii, but not someone they wanted to make an enemy of for the sake of chasing some tail. Without the presence of her weapons at her side, it was the best she could do without actively putting at least two of them in the med [/SIZE]center[SIZE=9pt]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Figured I was better at gettin’ drunk you mean?[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]” Runi snorted once they put a little more distance between them, her shoulders losing some of the tenseness she hadn’t [/SIZE]realized[SIZE=9pt] had crept in. Even on a supposed vacation planet, she still felt on edge amongst crowds. Preferring the empty wide stretches and solitary peace that arose between stars than the thought of mingling socially with the chucklefeths that frequented places like this. “[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Hate to break it to you, but Zeltros ain’t exactly my local. Only been here twice before durin’ layovers. Barely spent a few hours before shippin’ out.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She tugged her jacket tighter around her shoulders, feeling the night’s chill through the bond rather than directly by herself. She was born on an arid desert planet with nights far colder than the comparatively temperate ones here. If anything she was struggling with the incessant humidity that had yet to abate even with the sun’s departure. “[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]But this is Zeltros, cheeka. Gettin’ hammered and dancin’ your shebs off ain’t exactly mutually exclusive here. You can pretty much do both anywhere around these parts without much trouble. Even in your local MandoBurger.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She shrugged.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Just throw a stone or do your [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]eeny meeny[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] thing and pick already.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]”[/SIZE]

 

[Amea Virou]

MandoBurger. Amea tended to avoid it once out of more personal reason than she cared to bring up, but needless to say it was for the same reason that she had chosen to go here in the first place. At least to some degree, the things she wanted forget for the evening were running aplenty at the moment. Exes were on the top of that list but so was the defeat on Gree. The fact that she was bonded to someone again so soon was on the list too, but the fact that the person was around was certainly something she both enjoyed and saw as a bit of an annoyance if only because it made things harder to keep track of. Was she feeling her own emotions, the pheromones on this blasted planet, or Runi’s feelings?

One thing was certain though. The way that black hair swayed back and forth in the breeze and the way she herself seemed to waver back and forth between the facade she put up and something more authentic was hard to miss. At least it was when you had a direct link to her emotional centre, and even under that tenseness there was something that perhaps Amea simply wanted to keep batting against until she found out what it was. This woman was like a mystery, and it made her undeniably interesting.

Her eyes took in the other woman’s shape for a second before Amea managed to shake herself out of it.

Blasted pheromones.

“I say that place.” Amea said in a hurry and raised her hand behind her back only to almost hit a passing zeltron in the face before she quickly retracted the hand in embarrassment and covered her mouth to hide her ashamed grimace. “Sorry! So sorry, I didn't mean to do that.”

The woman gave her a warm smile but was probably merely hiding her true feelings on the matter. Amea rubbed at her neck and promptly looked back at the place she had tried to point at. The signs outside of the club flickered and seemed to be wearing down. Outside there were more than a few men that would pass for cheesy extras in a gang flick, so maybe that locale wasn’t the right one. A bit further down the street there was another sign with a big holographic hoverball. Amea had never been big on sports, but the atmosphere was usually one that inspired people to get both drunk and rowdy.

It would be a good starter for the day. Amea proceeded to walk on over as the hoverball above the entrance seemed to shift and change into a great many different symbols for different sports, one of which was dance which struck her as particularly curious. Who came to these bars to watch dance?

Unless… It wasn’t actual competitive dance and rather something else.

… It was Zeltros after all.

“Think this looks good?” Amea said on the approach. “I mean, I am not the biggest on sports, but I could see this as a good place to start?”

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

There was a flash of heat; one that had little to do with the weather. A surge of emotion that almost caused Runi to miss her step as it rode its way down the bond. Corresponding with a quickening of her breath and heartbeat, as well as causing her skin to flush with a slight pinkish hue that would’ve done a local proud. Then as abruptly and as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished like morning mist beneath the rise of a cruel midday sun. The sudden absence serving as a poignant reminder her of the other reason she had brought the brunette to this force-forsaken planet.

She needed to get this cheeka laid.

Runi didn’t know the exact specifics behind it all, telling herself she didn’t really care one way or another, but the sudden shifts were starting to become all too distracting and occuring with increasing frequency. At the rate they seemed to be appearing, it felt like it would only take stiff breeze to trigger something in the other woman. Hinting that it had been a while since she had gotten that specific itch scratched. Something that was an undeniable speciality here on Zeltros.

“That’ll do,” Runi nodded in assent, barely even giving the dive sports bar a credible once over before agreeing. Despite her vaguely indignant remark earlier, she was far more interested in the drinking aspect this evening. Opting to try and dull the bond with alcohol before it led her down a similar path she was going to push Amea on. She wasn’t a prude, but she couldn’t trust her libido with all the pheromones in the air and the added danger of the bond the two shared. “Might even have the Galactic Cup final on if we’re lucky.”

They didn’t, unfortunately. Philistines.

She held up two fingers to the bartender as they ducked into the establishment, signalling for service even as she pushed through the assorted drunks and sporting spectators, her smaller build making it almost embarrassingly easy for her to slip between the cracks that flowed and ebbed with the score of the current game being plastered on the big screen. Making for the quieter reaches near the far end of the bar, grabbing one of the gaudy red and purple clad boothes that gave her a decent view of the crowd without actually putting them in the thick of it. Perfect vantage point to suss out the first crop of potentials.

“What are you drinkin’?” Runi asked as she dropped down into the booth, shifting slightly so as to plant her back against the corner and bring one leg up onto the cushion. Her ankle was healing nicely since the turbolift shaft incident, but it was still not one hundred percent. “I’m more a tihaar girl, but I somehow doubt you’ve graduated to that level of refinery, ‘lek? More of a sweet Alderaanian red?”

A devastatingly beautiful Zeltros woman, as if there was any other kind, appeared with a tablet as she spoke, slinking and sashaying her way up to the table with a hypnotic gait designed to draw the eye and the tips in equal measure. She felt that heat rise again, but this time she wasn’t sure if it was the empathic bond, the heady pheromones or something a little more closer to home. She snorted softly, bringing up a hand to cover her eyes. Zeltros.

“Tihaar, three fingers, chilled and neat. My pateesa -” The word sounded so foreign on her lips without the normal touch of irony she applied to it “- Will take her time faffin’ about on her order, so I’ll go ahead and tack on some spicy nuna wings and some corellian rings while she tries to make up her mind.”

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

As far as sports did go, Amea wasn’t sure the Galactic Cup would be all too good of a viewing. From what she could remember the last year’s attempt at one was a total failure that ended up widely forgotten by the rest of the galaxy as a whole. This year had been a spectacular success though with many of the untipped teams getting much further than people would have expected. As it were, one of the underdogs were supposedly in the finale against Coruscant’s top players. It was expected to be a slaughter but perhaps that was all the better for the spirits.

Yet, what would Amea’s sparse know-of matter? The games weren’t on and she couldn’t help but be at the very least a little disappointed. Just this once she had actually tried to read up, but only because her team had gotten somewhere for once. Shame they didn’t make it to the semis and all, but what could you do? Not like many expected them to get that far anyway.

Okay, so maybe Amea was a little into it. That wasn’t a crime!

The two women took a seat in a booth. Amea ran her hand over the almost tacky glossy leather with a cautious inspection for dust and grime. It was worn, but clean. An acceptable measure of it at least. Enough to get her to let her not worry about it and enjoy the locale, or perhaps more accurately the people around them. Eyes wandered around the place with the same intent Runi’s had before they settled on the woman that approached their table.

Eyes stuck, tooth to lower lip. The tingling sensation in their bond told her she wasn’t alone in feeling this right now, but that it was reserved. At least on one end. Amea looked at the woman and their eyes met. Hazel on blue with a gaze that was far more hypnotic than anything Amea had ever experienced before. She had met Zeltrons before, but none of them quite as beautiful as this.

The waitress head slowly tipped towards the menu and Amea snapped out of it.

“Uh. Hmm, any- anything not Corellian.” She said out loud before she got her attention set on the menu. “This thing, whatever it is.” Amea pointed at the menu. “And… No, that’s it.”

The waitress left with a well-rehearsed giggle. Amea’s eyes couldn’t let go, not until she rounded a corner on her way to the next table. The brunette slid back into the booth and let her hands and fingers wrap against her forehead with a devastated stare at the tabletop.

“What the feth was that?!” She uttered in disbelief at herself. “I just stared her down like she was some kind of… And she just smiled, and left? And then, I…”

“You didn’t feel that, did you?” Amea looked over at Runi. A second passed before the realization sunk in with an expression that gave away the horror. Nevermind the bond, of course. “Oh feth, nevermind that. You saw it.”

 

[Runi Verin]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Amea Virou"][/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]“[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Felt it, saw it, near almost [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]tasted [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]it.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]” Runi replied with a lazy curl of her lips by way of a smile, leaning her elbow on the edge of the table and her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched and experienced the whirling emotional disaster that was her companion. Those dark eyes dancing with obvious amusement at her just as obvious discomfort. “[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Not just here, either. Back in the street, twice during landing… That turbolift shaft...[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]In the days since their fledgling bond had been forged, Runi had oddly found that embarrassment was one of the easier emotional surges to cope with and assign to the correct owner. It was so decidedly Amea that there was just simply no misplacing it. And once she had sorted that, it had almost become a game in watching it unfold and seeing what could spark it further. It didn’t taken much in her experience. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She gave a lazy shrug of a shoulder. Her voice might have been as rough as two stones being dragged across one another, but there was an undeniable teasing quality beneath her words. “[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]But in fairness, that was a lot more intense than those times. Probably shoulda warned you that Zeltrons are a whole different breed here. They become a lot less…uh, [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]inhibited[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] than they are when they’re amongst other folk.[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The smile grew in time with a roar from the crowd clustered around the bar as the local team put one home. The expression touching on actually being beautiful, or at least hinting at a past beauty it might have once had before the scars and damage had marred those lips as she nodded her head towards them. “[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Speakin’ of, what’s your type? I thought I’d narrowed it down a little on the way here, but that woman you hit in the face kinda threw me off. [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]” [/SIZE]

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Amea’s cheeks took to an almost deep red color. She wanted to disappear for a second, mortified at the lack of self-control she was displaying and how she had handled the waitress designed to elicit that kind of response. Though even if she was accustomed to the longing gazes of patrons it didn’t make Amea any more okay with it than she was twenty seconds ago.

“I like inhibited.” Amea spoke, strained under her own attempt at self-control. “Inhibited means people are respectful and-”

“I like her over there, she looks amazing.” Amea almost outright pointed at a woman in the distance. Not very inhibited, or respectful. “Calm, somewhat collected, air of mystery about her. Looks comfortable in herself yet not too stuck up about it. Has a nice smile, Blonde hair, luscious lips…”

That tingling sensation was right back like a small dreamy cloud over their conversation. The woman turned Amea’s way and her eyes averted with a not-so-subtle turn away from her and back to Runi. Her heart beat against her chest and she felt her body tense up with a familiar sort of anticipation. It was a pipe dream, an uncertain investment of time or even pointless. She was probably here with someone, and that man was most likely a very lucky guy.

Amea’s hand dragged itself across her face before they grasped at the edge of the table to allow her fingers the chance to drum away at its surface with a nervous beat. She was a nobody in this scene, she knew nothing beyond the one woman she had once treasured more than anything. What did she know about approaching others? Her ex had been the one to approach her, and at the job as well where they had to meet. Their shared interests and desires were a happenstance encounter and a one-in-a-million according to the experts. It left her without any sort of ‘experience’ on the matter of actually initiating contact.

“I- I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to do. Do I approach her just like, ‘Hey lets do it.’ or do I play it more reserved?” Amea asked as if Runi was the master of all masters, almost doe-eyed and scared of it all. “She’s beautiful, she’s-”

A man approached her and they entangled, locked lips before erupting into cheers at something happening at the screens by their booth.

“... Taken.” Amea sighed with relief. “Oh thank the force.”

Her back met with the back of the booth again. “That makes things easier, for now.”

“Where the feth are those drinks?”

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

Runi followed her direction towards the blonde, assessing her less as a person, more as a convenient measuring stick in which to identify other potential matches. Noting her characteristics rather than allow herself to appreciate them. Poised, beautiful and confident. The stereotypical Coreworld trifecta, hm? No real surprise there. She preferred something with a few more rougher edges personally, but she wasn’t one to judge if it got the job done.

“Kark, you really don’t know how to approach people, do you?” She murmured almost in disbelief, knowing almost intimately that the other girl had some hang ups due to the bond they shared, but she hadn’t realised quite how bad it was until this second. That nervousness almost turned her stomach to the point Runi regretted ordering those wings. Her fingers drummed lazily on her tattooed chin.“This is Zeltros, pateesa. You don’t get points for playin’ it coy here. You see somethin’ you want, you need to go for it. So she’s with that guy right now, that doesn’t mean osik on this planet. Trust me, everythin’ is fair game here.”

Runi sighed as she realized who she was talking to here. Amea might have been willing to charge into the fray against heavily armed mercenaries, but apparently that courage faltered when it came to the pursuit of the fairer sex. She shifted in the booth, turning in the booth so that she was almost facing her across the table.

“Look, this is simple. You need to go over there, grab her like this…” She reached out and took Amea’s hand in her own, gently giving it a squeeze and tracing her thumb across the back of her knuckles with a tenderness that almost seemed strange coming from the otherwise rough spacer. She leaned forward as she continued, locking their gazes. Cheating a little by pushing on the bond to magnify the moment. “You look her in the eye like she’s the most beautiful thing in the room, like she’s that fethin’ waitress, and you tell her what you want. You make her believe it. If that guy she’s with objects, that’s his problem.”

She released the hand and returned to her more comfortable earlier position, returning her head to the palm of her cybernetic hand as she waited for the drinks. “Of course, she might tell you no. I mean… Cheeka like that, she has options, y’know? But worse she’ll do is tell you no, ‘lek? If that happens you come back here, we drink and find you someone new to try it on. Repeat as necessary.”

There was a flash of pink and blue as the waitress made her appearance known once more, throwing a sultry pout in their direction that was just over kill when it came from someone with that face and body. The fact she also had their drinks was just a bonus.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

“No.” Amea gave up and put her forehead to the table with a slight thud. Her eyes poked up over the edge and she sat up to let the continued shame or embarrassment settle down. Her hand reached forward and latched onto Runi’s with a hesitant glance thrown into the mix. Her hand was squeezed and her heart skipped a single beat. They both leaned forward, Eyes locked, mouth opened in preparation…

And then it was over. Amea remained hunched forward in a surprised state before she too eventually leant back in her seat. The drinks came to the table and unlike the last time Amea remained blinking. Her hand wrapped around her glass as she absent-mindedly handed the waitress a set of credits to pay for it. The glass slid across the tabletop until it was right in front of her. Her eyes lingered on her hands and then the blonde, and then the glass, and then Runi. Amea’s shoulders rose in a slow breath, and then a slow exhale.

The drink found her lips. She took a sip from the utterly bitter drink with a grimace before she put the glass back down on the table with a small clank. Her butt shuffled across the surface of the booth until she could stand up. Her legs stretched and she felt the blood rush throughout her body. Eyes spanned across the room to find her, and that was when the opportunity opened up for her.

The blonde moved for the bar and so did Amea. The calm she managed to maintain inside was almost admirable, as if the bitter liquid courage that soared through her veins was enough to bolster her for anything. With a confident stride she took to the bar and the blonde that she desired. She slid up next to her with a cocky grin on her lips. A hand slid into the other woman’s with a gentle squeeze much like the one Runi had shown her.

The other woman looked confused at the move, but once their eyes met they didn’t break. It was brown on gray, a silent struggle against the pheromones and more basic needs of being alive. Their chests rose in sync until the woman finally managed to stop herself. Warm smiles exchanged, her lips split into a wide grin before finally she spoke.

“Tyra.” She said, her soft voice like a careless whisper to Ameas ears. “And you are?”

“Oi!” A loud, harsh voice called over. Something grasped at Amea’s shoulder and forced her to turn around to stare at a grizzled face, the boyfriend that Tyra had been wrapped around when Amea looked on from afar. His furrowed brows, his flared nose, this man was less than enthused to see someone try and take his girl. “That’s my girl, fether.”

Amea tried to speak, but it was too late. He raised his arm, thrust his fist straight towards her and instinct simply kicked in. She stepped to the side, felt his hand sweep out of reach before she grabbed it to throw him to the ground. Tyra backed off in a hurry to look at the scene in horror as Amea thrust her own fist towards the man on the ground to knock him out. The gathering crowd inhaled in a collective gasp as Amea stood back up and turned her back on the blonde and made way towards her table.

A few interested glances were fired her way, but none of them were noticed. A sullen face spread across Amea’s face as she plopped down in her seat in front of Runi and took a big chug out of her drink with yet another clang of her glass hitting the ground. A frustrated exhale burst through her nose before she shook her head. Down on the floor they were getting the unconscious man off the ground as Tyra followed behind him on the way out with an upset if not outright angry glance being fired off at Amea.

She took another sip of her drink and leaned right back in her seat

“Singles. Only.” She muttered.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

Runi smirked into the rim of her glass as she brought it up to her lips. The colorless liquid pleasantly searing her mouth and blazing a satisfying trail down her throat. Fermented from rich juna berries, it was a touch too fruit for her palette, personally preferring the more bitter and subtle brands brewed from the Mon Cal jewel-fruit or even the Mandalorian Orange. It did the job, however. And was an infinitely better alternative to the half-bottle she had stored beneath the pilot chair back on the Boracyk.

She placed the glass down heavily on the table as Amea slipped away, giving it an absent minded half-twist to rid the bottom of the tumbler of the condensation,. An act the table was apparently all too familiar with if the waters rings marking its scratched and worn surface were anything to go by. Her fingers drumming out an agitated tune as she resisted the urge to take another long, exaggerated sip as she watched Amea’s approach through half-lidded eyes. The sudden rush of excitement, nervousness and desire proving to be far more intoxicating than the Mandalorian spirit could ever be. She found her gaze shifting towards her hand, thumb absently still tracing the same pattern it only seconds ago.

What the kark was she doing?

Runi snorted, head dropping back against the thin padded wall, closing her eyes to ward of the predictable scene that was about to play out. Already having seen the outcome before the other woman even left the booth. You didn’t need to be a Lorrdian to see how making a move on ‘his woman’ would incite the ugly, broad faced and barrel chested man into violent action. Those scars on his knuckles, the tattoos spiraling up those meaty forearms, that fading bruise around his eye were all indicative of hired muscle. People that lived on the weight of their reputation, doing whatever it took to maintain face. Amea making a move on his territory could only end one way...

Another snort escaped her as a heavy thud resounded through the bar, her glass jumping slightly from the impact on the floorboards, the hitch of the crowd’s breath just serving to underline her amusement.

“Well, we learned somethin’ new at least.” She muttered as Amea resumed her occupancy of the seat opposite, cracking an eyelid to regard the woman out of the corner of her eye. The smirk widening to feline like aspects. “Somethin’ that narrows the field down. Now we know we’re lookin’ for prissy, uptight coreworlder lookin’ cheekas that aren’t currently bangin’ the local muscle for protection. That’s progress, I guess.”

She brought the glass up again.

“On the upside, you just made a pretty firm impression on the rest of the folk here. Nothin’ better than watchin’ a hundred pound girl dismantle some wakamancha skocha kung to get those hearts racin’. Kark, few more of those, and even I might startin’ to look at you in a new light.”

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Attention was something that Amea hadn’t ever enjoyed all that much. She had been a quiet child, a quiet teenager, and even still a quiet adult. This scene had been anything but quiet. She had punched a man, drawn just about every single eye in the room to her and then walked away in such a manner that she still had it on her by the time she took her seat. As her lips had met with the glass she felt the lingering stares of people all around her, and as she downed the first proper piece of her drink only a few of them remained.

The adrenaline died down and she felt the pheromones soothe and rub against her mind again, and almost like at the flick of a switch she felt something within her almost change. A smile spread on her lips that she didn’t really control, and the fact that she had the attention of more than a few women seemed to please her immensely.

Yet… As Runi went on to explain her view on who Amea would be down with…

“I never said that.” She chuckled and looked back at her friend. “She was just someone who caught my eye, same as many of the others in here.”

And the urge to push on with a confident remark about how there were worse things than having Runi look at her in a new light there were other things occupying the forefront of Amea’s mind. Her eyes were already scanning the room, and by the time she had gone from one side to the other she had already found someone. Black hair, tanned skin. The woman had a scar across her temple from either a cut or a burn. It was hard to tell from so far away, but it was the story behind it that caught the Warden’s attention. People rarely had injuries such as that without having a good story to tell.

Then again, for all Amea knew she could have been the one to cause it.

Not that the chance was all that great, but the chances were…

“Who do I go for next?” Amea turned back to Runi. “Oh great Master Verin, teach me your ways.”

Yeah, that drink was already getting to her.