Sewer Rats [Asher]

[The Undertaker]

The Soup Kitchen


The girl sat in the corner of the room with her legs pulled up to her chest, fingers fiddling with a piece of scrap metal she had found on the way here to the Soup Kitchen rooms that resided above the restaurant. Pickles watched in silence and with caution as Asher and Abaigeal paced around the room, talking about the sewers and how they might, just might be exactly what they were looking for, at least for a second place to store some ‘items’. What these items were Pickles did not know, and she suspected they were keeping that from her. Not that she cared much.

Asher had his doubts which she supposed were to be expected too, there was danger lurking in the sewers and not just from the ghouls, although they might come in handy, indirectly so. But in all the time Pickles had ventured down there, even stayed overnight, she had never seen one, and she had to wonder if they were made up, a story told to discourage anyone from entering.

She did not care much for this room, it was far too clean. Not at all like her place which was filled with all manner of things, from scrap, wires, bottles everything that Pickles thought might come in useful later. Amongst it all there was very few things she had formed an attachment to, a small toy she had with her from when she was very little, the only thing she remembered carrying with her when she first entered the vents. She did not know where it had come from, or who gave it to her, but regardless, it was precious.

And the room was too big, space everywhere that could be useful it seemed such a waste not to store something in it. At least in the corner where she sat, the walls clung to her for protection. Pickles felt more at ease in confined places, it was safer. Even though she was with friends, she felt exposed and her nerves where on edge.

The smell of the soup on the small table, which Asher told her was her’s if she was hungry. He knew she was, she always is, and she eyed it as the pull of her stomach became strong. Quickly pocketing the metal scrap, she scurried over to the table took the bowl of soup and returned to the corner to eat it. There were things floating in it Pickles didn’t recognise, they were green and stringy and lumps of something brown which looked like cooked meat.

She took a sip; the soup was good.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Pickles"]

Why had he agreed to this? The sewers were a horrible idea, and he knew that. Unused as they were they housed other creatures that few ever lived to tell about. As a child in and of the vents it was not unheard of that some of the local gangs hired you to go check it out. More than one soul had been lost to it, but the pay offered was generally too good to pass up. Asher hadn’t told Pickles about his own run-in with the ghouls. It wasn’t a story he much liked to think back on, but it was still something that lingered at the back of his mind — suppressed and stowed away as it was.

“Pickles thinks we should use the sewers.” Asher said to Abaigeal as he wandered around the room. “It’s dangerous but she has a point, sort of.”

He watched the girl take the soup and gave her a warm smile before she turned back to Abbie again.

“There are creatures down there, the ghouls. Can tear a grown man in half in a heartbeat should they so desire.” It was a distorted memory. He had been no older than perhaps nine around the time. “Useful cover, but…”

His hand rubbed at his neck.

“I don’t know.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

She leaned over the desk scrolling though some files hacked from the archives and found nothing, nothing that would help them anyway. Geal had been looking for a plan or old blue prints of the sewers which might show them something to work with. "Sewers", she repeated his words not all together convinced herself, not because of the ghouls, but if they had the idea to use them, she suspected they were not the first either. But on the face of it? ...

"I like it", she turned her head sideways to look for Asher's true reaction, before glancing over to the young girl eyeing her soup. Abaigeal had only heard Asher speak of the young vent rat, this their first meeting. Nothing suggested to Geal that Pickles was anything but on their side, and she is a good friend of Asher who she trusted above all. And that was good enough for her.

Geal ended her frustration with the files and closed the computer. "If you could find a spot down there that would, one .. be close and easy access. And two,.. be able to be secured from these, err, ghouls. Then it might just work". If they could find an access point from the 'surface', without having to travel at great lengths through the sewer systems, they could isolate, and protect the items from the rest of the tunnel system.

The idea of ghouls did not worry Abaigeal, she had faced far worse than that before, but she did sense Asher's aversion to it. Fear of it infact, which intrigued her a little. Although they were friends, and had spent much time together in this endeavour, she realised that she did not know of his early life. But neither did he of hers so they were even on that score.

"Well I suppose it can't help to take a look?", she stood straight and turned to lean her backside on the desk.

​

​

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

Asher continued to pace before he found himself resting against a wall by the door. Technically it could hurt to look, but here was hoping it wouldn’t. A small sigh parted Asher’s lips as he stood up again. His hand motioned for Pickles to come forth.

“Right, well,” He said with his hand reaching out for Pickles. “Pickles was the brain behind the idea. If anyone can find a good spot in a cramped space, it would be the second best thing to crawl out of the vents.”

The best one, naturally, being Asher himself.

It was pretty clear they would be going down there, despite the hazards. He held his reservations, but Abaigeal and Pickles both seemed rather interested in the idea and he wasn’t going to argue for twenty minutes only to end up having to concede defeat. Patting his blaster he let his attention set on the other two again.

“Well, I guess I am as ready to go as I ever will be.” He said before his lip twitched into an uncertain smirk. “Let’s go.”

 

[The Undertaker]

She wiped her mouth clean with the back of her hand, and placed the empty bowl on the floor before scampering forward. It was time to go! And she had to smile liking the idea that they liked her idea and she knew exactly where to go to get into the sewers at a near location. Pickles took up Asher's hand looking up between him and Abaigeal before pulling him to the door that lead down the long set of stairs, to the back alley.

"I'll look out for you", she partly whispered so Abaigeal could not hear her, just in case Asher was very scared of the sewer tunnels. She could tell he was .. a little bit .. cause he had that look in this eyes just like you see in the kids in the vents when threatened. Pickles suppose one never truly gets rid of that look when faced with any kind of fear.

Pickles could hear Abaigeal coming down the stairs behind them and as soon as they were on the hard surface of the alleyway, she tugged him along the back which ran parallel to the front of the Soup Kitchen. Forever cautious, her head would pop out from behind the corner of the building to check the coast was clear before proceeding. She turned the right into a dark street lined with old boxes, drunkards, and on the corner a street worker, none of them paying any attention to them passing by, except for the girl who tried to solicit Asher to join her for a good time. Pickles hissed at her, as wild as any street rat.

It was dangerous in this part of the quarters, people lurked in dark places in a hope of opportunity to steal from you but there was safety in numbers. Eventually, Pickled stopped in front of an old rusted panel attached to the back of the elevator system that took people from one level to the next. "Through this one vent", she pointed to it and looked to Asher. This was the only vent wide enough for Asher and Abaigeal to fit, naturally she knew a different way, the way she could access it but, this would have to do.

​

​

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Pickles"]

It was funny how things worked sometimes. He knew that technically he should have been the one to look out for Pickles, yet here the kid was acting more like the guardian he should have been. Asher had hoped that he was able to hide his nerve, but perhaps he hadn’t been as successful as he thought. He mouthed a quiet ‘thank you’ at the kid before he straightened his back some to at the very least appear more on-board with this than he actually was.

They went down the alleyways, and though Pickles tried to sneak their way out of it she was also a child leading two grown-ups along streets and alleyways. The heads that would turn had already hooked onto them with a burning curiosity, or disgust. Some tried to drag Asher aside, but what he lacked in response time Pickles more than doubled. It worked just fine for him. There hadn’t been much time for the simpler joys in life for a long while now and given the last time, and what Asher were doing these days, there didn’t seem to be any foreseeable openings or reasons for it.

As he turned her down, they began to approach one of the vents. Asher knelt down to inspect the edges of the ventilation entrance. Trained eyes looked at the shafts that connected to this outlet with a familiar sense of remembrance of where he was. Up, left, left, down, right, first left past the armorer, and you had the cheap soap store. Smelled great when contrasted to the chemicals burning in the air in some parts of the vents.

Mean owner though.

“Alright, so this is…” Asher said and closed his eyes trying to remember. “We go down, left, down again, right and continue onwards. Sewer somewhere around there, right?”

It was a point of pride, really. Did anyone ever truly forget their way around the vents?

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Walking behind the Asher and Pickles, Abaigeal kept close and she was on alert to everything around them all. The force giving a clear picture of all the people in the immediate area, any dangers that might be attracted to them. And dangers coming in many forms, not just the people in the streets that would always cast a glance in their direction. For now, they were alright, and as they made it to the panel, she stood with her back to them while waiting for the panel to be opened.

She could not help an amused smile, listening to them talking and he sensation from Asher was intriguing to her. There were many things that intrigued Abaigeal about Asher and maybe one day she would be able to find out the answers for herself. He was a somewhat afraid, something she had never really felt from him before, but it was hard to pinpoint why.

She glanced at them both, in time to see Pickles give Asher a grin and nod that he was correct, they way to the sewers would be long and most likely arduous. Not to mention smelly and grimly.

“We had best get a move on, before we gain unwanted attention”, as it was the so-called security droids were buzzing about and if they noticed them lingering for too long, they would report it.

Once the panel was removed, they had safe passage for a while, Pickles soon had the panel part way off the wall and with Asher’s help they would enter it but not before replacing the panel, no need for curiosity to kill any ‘cats’, that decided to see what they were up to.

Abaigeal covered her nose with the back of her hand, the stall smell wafting up from below already permeating the vents. There was mixture of smell, the vents accommodating many buildings and for many reasons and it was difficult to breath. She coughed to clear her lungs and she wondered how anyone could live down here and survive this.

The thought only gave her move fuel to continue on with their plans to try and better the underworld of this so-called rich planet, that forgets.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

“Well, can’t argue with that.” Asher said and grinned back at Abaigeal before he turned back to Pickles. “Do you want the honors of going first?”

As they stepped through the vent it was hard not to remember the familiar smell of the vents. It only got worse the further you went from here. Although the air was dry it still carried with it the heaviness of a formerly dank sewer canal. Asher had to admit that he was already looking forward to the shower that he’d have after this in order to just wash the stench off of him. He’d have to weather his jacket and just about everything he wore, too, but that was at the very least affordable. Water however, not so much. At least not the good water, and he wasn’t exactly the most loaded man on the levels. He got by, but that was about it.

“What’samatter, Abbie?” Asher chuckled as they snuck through the vents. “Never made your way down into a sewage line before? It only gets worse from here on, you know.”

With his grin thinning into a vague smile he continued to look up ahead. The familiar sounds of other hands patting along the vents that echoed around them was a reminder of how it had been living in the vents. One would think that the vents would be quieter than the main streets of 1313, but that’d be wrong in so many ways.

It was its own little ecosystem, as was evident by the way the shadows up ahead seemed to shift around. They had attracted the curiosity of the other children of these shafts.

“Keep your hands visible.” Asher said and motioned up ahead. “We’re in their country right now.”

Of course, Pickles had no such need. She was their paid guide. Most likely the only reason that they weren’t being outright attacked in the vents either.

… Never underestimate the ferocity of a starved child. Never.

 

[The Undertaker]

Pickles moved on ahead of the two adults, crawling on all fours in this part of the vents, it was even becoming a tight squeeze for her as she grew up. She could hear the scuttling of other Rats, a soft sound of hissing met her as she approached the junction. She hissed back, it was a form language among them all, and in the darkness she could smell them, just make out the whites of their eyes, or the blue depending on what species they were.

They would have to turn here, to make their way to the sewers, but they had to pay the 'toll'. Pickles turned and stretched out her hand toward Asher, they needed to pay them something to pass this point after which they would be left alone. The Rats did not go to the sewers unless they really had to.

After Asher placed some credits and small trinkets in her hand, Pickles tossed them to the center of the junction and all they would see was the out stretched arms grabbing at the coin and items. They vanished after that, at least that is what it seemed like, but Pickles knew better, they would be followed for some part of the way before they turned back to their own patch in the vents.

"Come on this way", she whispered, "We are getting close", the encounter with the Vent Rats, demonstrated to Pickles that the time had come to move, it was being more and more apparent, she would no longer be welcomed down here. There was something in their hissing, a warning that time was running short for her.

They would have to find a new way down into the sewers if Abbie and Asher decided this was a good place to hide their stuff.

It did not take much longer before Pickles was before the grill that opened into the main area of the sewers. She looked along the long tunnels as best she could, it was empty in this part, only the sound of dripping could be heard as she pushed back the grill.

​

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

She started to believe that Asher was right about this idea all along, that it was not a good idea. Abaigeal rolled her eyes at him but did not take her hand away from her nose. There was that smile again, and his eyes twinkled with a sense of mirth and mischief. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you”, she believed he was, watching her out of her element. Yet, she couldn’t help grinning about herself in this moment of discomfort.

“Come on get moving I am tired of looking at your butt”, which she was, in fact she could not help it as it was right in front of her face. However, at that moment they went quiet, the sound of hissing was disturbing to say the least and simply because it came from children. It was feral, and threatening and Asher was right, they were out of their element and in the territory of kids that knew exactly what they were doing in these parts.

The sooner they got to the sewers, the better she would feel. She shook her head at the thought, who would have thought relief would be found in a place like that.

Her mind went to the possibilities of helping these kids, getting them out of such a toxic environment, but first things first and how was to say they wanted the help. Something like this would require a lot of time, to gain trust and place in them a will to want to leave. There was so much to do down here to make life just that little bit better. If they could do it at all.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

The pitter-patter of hands turned into a cacophony of hisses and Asher reached for a credit chit in his pocket that he’d give to Pickles. It wasn’t an unfamiliar experience either with the hissing. It was a good way to tell when you were wearing out your welcome amongst the kids, and given the way some of them were looking at Pickles it was hard not to see it in her that she was thinking the same thing that Asher was. Time was coming, or it already had. Though that was why he was there in the end.

Pickles led them down the vents and Asher followed. To say that he was deeply amused by watching Abaigeal so very much out of her element was nearly an understatement. In reality what he enjoyed were that the moments like this. They were few and far between, but every now and then his upbringing was the one that somehow managed to serve a better use than hers. Not that he knew what her upbringing was like and in reality part of him didn’t care to know. Mutual respect dictated that as long as he didn’t ask, she wouldn’t ask either. Or so he hoped.

“Then stop staring, miss.” Asher said with a chuckle and a grin. “We should have our exit up ahead.”

And true enough the trio approached a grate before them. The smells were getting worse, and while Asher was used to them that didn’t mean they wouldn’t affect him. His hand rubbed at his nose in disgust as they pushed against the final obstacle that led them into the open space of a wide corridor. Taking the time to stretch out upon standing up Asher let his eyes remain closed as he gave a final effort to accept the circumstances of where he was.

“Just don’t think about it.” Asher muttered under his breath as he exhaled.

Voices and noises, sounds and other audible cues began to echo down the halls as the trio set off into the deep. Asher kept his hand on his gun, unhooked the strap of his holster that kept it held within the confines to let his fingers wrap around the handle of his blaster. If worse came to it, he would be ready.

 

[The Undertaker]

Pickles climbed down the wall from the vent into the one of the main parts of the sewer tunnels. It did smell down here but not because of sewerage, the use of the tunnels for that long gone, but the water toxic from drains overflowing would end up here. It must be raining on Coruscant, not that Pickles knew what rain was, not in the open air. The water down here was wasted, filled will all manner of pollution and just left to run away to where she did not know.

Behind her Asher and Abaigeal talked, they seemed to like to do that, and it was not everyday she heard Asher laugh or smile, but he seemed to with her. But they must stop talking, “Shh”, she shed them as she turned and with a crease in her young brow and a finger to her lips. Pickles walked back to them, in a whispered she announced, “This is it, just over there”, she pointed to the opposite side of the tunnel to a small hole that was dry.

“But keep your voice down”, she said looking around as if something might crawl out of the walls. It was not just the Vent Rats to worry about, had they forgotten the Ghouls? There was no sense in pushing their luck and bringing down fate.

She made her way to the edge of the stone work; a thin ledge ran between the two sides and she started to carefully cross the way which was flooded with an inch of water. There was pieces of rubbish and food and other nasty stuff that washed down the tunnels from the streets. Her arms went out by her side to keep balance and she made sure her footing was good and even then, it was slippery with slim.

But once across, she signalled for Asher and Abbie to cross, best to do it one at a time just in case. In the distance, the sudden sound of metal falling echoed through the chamber, into their tunnel. Pickles head turned, her ears sharp as she concentrated. The sound was from far away, they did not have immediate danger, for now.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Her eye rolling was not witnessed by either of them, yet the power of suggestion is strong and when Asher resumed his way along the vent, Abaigeal found her eyes on his butt once more before it vanished over the lips of the vent and into the sewer system. The climb down was a long one, by their standards, for Pickles it was. Strangely, there was some relief from the smell of the vents or maybe she was growing accustomed to it.

The place was big, a chamber of tunnels leading off in all directions, and without the right guide, one could very easily get lost down here. On paper, this was a perfect place to hide some of their weapons and ammo, but it was still yet to be determine if it was safe.

The metal sound falling turned her head too, her force senses alert but seeking if that meant something other than fatigue of the metal giving way. There was life down here, plenty of it in fact, but for now it posed no danger. Abaigeal withdrew the force back into herself, not wanting to stand like a beckon just in case there was powerful force presences close by to sense her use.

She had grown used to not relying on the force in the years she had been on Coruscant, but she knew it was there if needed. Anywhere else she would have jumped the gap between the two walk ways, not wishing to soil her boots, but she would cross regardless, there was too much at stake to worry about boots.

“Ladies first”, she grinned and pushed passed Asher. Once she started crossing Abaigeal realised the stone edge was narrower than it looked. She had to be sure footed and concentrated on her placement, one thing getting your boots wet, she did not relish falling in. But as careful as she was, her foot did slip a couple of times but Abaigeal managed to keep her balance.

Safely across, she stood by Pickles and waved Asher to start his turn. “Mind how you go, there is a loose stone about half way”.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"] // [member="Pickles"]

Everyone seemed a little bit on edge, but no-one more so than Asher. Although his finger remained off the trigger on his gun, that was most likely the only thing keeping him from giving it an anxious squeeze. As Pickles hushed the group Asher gave her a nod and remained quiet. The way the echo bounced around the walls, floors and ceiling as it seemed to traverse down the sewage network was unnerving in and of itself, their footsteps joining in made for something just a little too similar to a horror movie for Asher to truly enjoy.

As the sound of loud metal hit the ground Asher let out a surprised gasp. Before anyone would be all the wiser he would have his blaster pointed in the direction of the sound. One moment passed and he pushed against the fear to ready himself for whatever came their way. A few more moments passed without anything that jumped out of the shadow, at least for now. With a long, exasperated sigh he lowered his gun and put it back in its holster again.

Keeping to Pickles instruction to be quiet he gave Abbie a nod as she crossed the thin little line. Having watched them both cross was an experience. With the first slip Asher instinctively reached out towards his friend, yet Abaigeal and Pickles seemed to be doing just fine. Having made somewhat of a note to watch his footing before he went, Asher gave the other two an uncertain look.

With great trepidation he looked at the path ahead and took an uneasy step. As he remembered it the sewers had been bigger when last he was here. Paths like these had been easier to navigate. They seemed a lot smaller these days. The trick was to not look down, but Asher needed to if he were to see wherever it was that he put his foot. He bit his tongue and let his hand go of the wall he crossed from.

He got halfway before the slip. Leg in the air, arms flailing for balance. With a thrust forward he found his balance again. Though quiet the panic was evident right there in his eyes. There was more care put into the rest of his steps as he crossed the ledge. As he reached the edge and more stable ground he hunched over to grab at his knees.

“We’ll need to fix that if we plan on going here more often.” He whispered as he let his nerves settle down. “How far into these tunnels are we going, P?”

 

[The Undertaker]

Once the two adults lumbered across, Pickles looked around for the black door and pointed toward it. It was position in the wall between two of the main tunnels that would have fed the gutters, one of which they had just crossed. “There, that is the place”, and she started toward it. She flashed Asher a smile, in amusement watching him out of breath from the crossing.

However, getting passed the door might prove more difficult, it was metal and had not been open in a long time. But Pickles knew what was behind the door, she had seen into the rooms from the vents. Once she reached the door, she pulled on the handle, but it did not budge. Rusted tight shut and it could also be locked on top of it.

“I can’t open it”, she said with exasperation, and kicked at it as if that would help. “If we could get in, this is the place. Old maintenance rooms, with loads of storage space”, she added as if to try and convince them again. It would be perfect, rooms lined with metal not stone, and ceiled off they this door and probably one at the back.

She stood back to allow one of the others to try to open the door, maybe Asher could do it or the two of them would budge it open. The problem Pickles could see with this whole idea was how would they get their stuff down here in the first place? They couldn’t exactly bring everything through the vents. They would have to find another way to the surface of level 1313.

Like an old elevator shaft or something.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Pickles"]

Asher reached behind his back for a second before he withdrew a small pocket tool. With the flick of a switch it extended into a lockpick. He gave them both a look before he knelt down by the lock to try and look it over. Given that the door had rusted shut already he didn’t have the greatest of hopes that it would work, but at the very least they’d be aware if the lock was the issue or not. It was an old door and modern solutions had a tendency to trickle down very slowly to these levels. A physical lock with a key and appropriate hole made sense for a sewer. Nobody minded these places, not really.

The sound of metal scraping against rust was hard to mistake for anything else to the keen ear. Asher scraped away, yet where he would try to find a pin and give it the appropriate position in its lock, he had already found that such a method wouldn’t work. However, given the give that the entire lock seemed to have rusted…

There was a loud rustle before it seemed as if something fell to the floor.

Wait, was the door… Hollow? Asher looked at Abaigeal with a raised brow before he backed off from the door. With a charge he pushed his foot against the door that gave way. But not to swing open as much as to crack with a new foot-sized hole running into it. The boots on Asher’s feet absorbed most of the cuts, but that didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. With another push he threw his entire weight against the door that finally swung open wide with a crash.

And with it Asher found himself going face first into a solid metal flooring. He coughed from the loss of air, the surprise having gotten the better of him for a second before he began to push up from the floor to see…

Nothing but darkness. Great.

“Anyone got a light?” He strained under his own weight. “Can’t see worth sh-” He stopped himself, there were children present. “-adows.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

As Asher set about working the door, Abaigeal stood back and watched with Pickles by her side. Every now and again, she turned to scope the tunnels, making sure they were not being watched or followed by anyone. The sewers were as silent as the grave. Apart from Asher grunting as he kicked at the door splintering it and his leg. But in quick time, he had the door down as well as himself. Splayed on the ground.

Abaigeal pursed her lips together, trying her best to stop a smile and she looked to Pickles who was in the same mind. Abaigeal stepped over his body entering the dark room and reached for her lightsabre. It was good to feel the metal in her hand once more, she does not take it with her on outings in the lower levels, but today she did. The blue blade of a Jedi ignited to life and shed some much-needed light.

“Your wish is my command”. Pickles eyes widened to saucers, marvelling at the saber. She had never seen one before, assumed it some sort of tool which in a way she was correct. Abaigeal allowed herself that grin now, for many reasons. Firstly, she could have simply cut the door and saved Asher the pain of busting it in. Secondly, the room was perfect! The old maintenances rooms large and still had many shelves that once house equipment and items.

Her eyes went from Asher’s to behind him, on the wall over his shoulder was a panel, “I wonder”, she mused, as the approached it. A flick of the switch marked ‘lights’, proved fruitless, a thump on the wall beside the panel reaped reward and the lights flicked in the room, before going out once more. “Damn”. Kids in the room, Abaigeal assumed Pickles had heard far worse, and besides she was not really a kid anymore, the filling out of her body told Abaigeal that.

The panel plate was loose, and with a little effort, she removed it and set work on fixing the wiring. “I will have this connected in a moment. See what you two can find in here”. There might be more stuff that could be of use to them.

She looked over to Pickles with a smile. “Well done kid, I think we can use this place”.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

That wasn’t a sound Asher had heard before. For a second he shielded his eyes from the blue light that began to light up the room. As he got used to the newfound light in the dark and it’s hum he couldn’t help but let his jaw drop in a surprised stare. To read about these things were one thing, but to see one was something entirely different. It seemed to pulsate at a constant interval, and no matter how hard he tried to look away his eyes were affixed to the blade like a moth to a street lamp. It was beautiful, yet knowing what those things were capable of put just the slightest sense of fear into his heart. Though perhaps that was what a lightsaber did to any sane individual.

Reality would call once again and Asher shook himself out of it. He wiped the rest of the dust and grime from his body before turning over towards Pickles and then the rest of the room. There was certainly no denying that the girl had found a good spot, but the problems Asher had with it being in the sewers remained despite the spot was undoubtedly a good one.

“Think I will ever be able to get one of those?” He whispered to Pickles as he set off searching the room for anything of interest. “Maybe in another life?”

 

[The Undertaker]

Pickles let out a loud gasp as the thing Abaigeal carried erupted into light, her whole body tremored with the sound of it. She did not know about lightsabers, she thought it was some high-tech torch. She glanced up to Asher who seemed to be as surprised as her, his face a glow with the blue light and his mouth hung open, telling her he had never seen on either.

For the moment she did not want to move, just stood there looking at the blue light that hummed and crackled if some dust or something landed on it. Like moths to a flame, everything seemed to gravitate toward it, whether their looks or small insects or whatever, there seemed to be some pull toward it. Not from Abaigeal though, or maybe she was just not showing it.

Around the room the lights flickered back into life and remained on, only then did Abaigeal close the light down with a loud hissing as it zapped away into the metal thing that housed it. Pickled nodded her head, in agreement with Asher about getting one of those one day, but her eyes did not leave the metal torch as Abaigeal stashed it away into her jacket.

“Why not this life?”, she suddenly said to his question, a little confused why he couldn’t get his hands on one. “I am sure she knows where to get one”. Pickles nodded toward Abbie.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Once the lights were back on, Abaigeal turned to see both Pickles and Asher standing side by side just looking at her as if they are seeing a ghost. It dawned on her that her saber might be the reason for it. She did not think of the reaction it might get, the saber was just part of life to her and did not give it a second thought.

“Ask me what?”, she walked toward them both and took out her saber once more. “About this?”, she presented it to Asher to take and look at if he wanted to. For all his cheeky ways and getting into trouble, and her as well, Abaigeal trusted Asher.

She looked down at Pickles, “It’s called a lightsabre, it is a .. weapon. But it comes in handy in times like this”. She added, although she did not want to frighten Pickles with its real intention, it was done in order to removed from her mind the thought of taking it if curiosity got the better of her. Abaigeal did not bother going into the likes of Jedi or Sith, Asher would know of them both, but Pickles did not need to.

[member="Asher"]​