Private Shelter From the Storm

[Ishani Dinn]

Was telling relative strangers personal stories considered “oversharing”? Well, he asked, she answered. It wasn’t like it was some big secret, nor had she gone into explicit detail. Still, she did feel a little embarrassed afterwards, as she took her seat at the bar and had a chance to overthink the events of the past few minutes. Maybe she’d talked too much…?

The look on the bartender’s face after he glanced at Alicio’s ID was priceless. Clearly they didn’t get many Alderaanian Counts out here. The slack-jawed expression only went away after Alicio asked to try something local. “We, uh, we don’t have local beers,” the bartender replied, clearing his throat. “Just imported.”

“The Potentium prohibits the production of alcohol on Chaldea,” Ishani explained. “But they only discourage consuming it.” She squinted at the bartender. “You mean to tell me you don’t have your own home-brewed moonshine? Or bathtub gin?”

“I’m a good Potentiate,” the bartender muttered.

“You can’t be that good if you’re running a bar,” she pressed. “Come on. We won’t tell anyone.”

Pursing his lips, the bartender stepped away for a couple of minutes, then returned with a glass and an unmarked bottle. “My cousin makes this stuff. It’s pretty good, if a little rough.”

“I’d say rough is exactly what we’re looking for,” Ishani assured him, spinning the real-glass bottle around to admire it from all angles. She popped the cap off and sniffed it. “Woof! What does your, uh, cousin call this stuff?”

"A Kick in the Head."

Eyebrows raised, Ishani slid the bottle over to Alicio, then answered his question. "I have twins, a boy and a girl. Their names are Marcus and Eloise. Just turned four recently. I don't mean to brag, but they're the cutest kids in the galaxy. Would you like to see them?" She held up her datapad, indicating that she would show him pictures of the children.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio seemed to shrink a bit as the bartender reacted to his identification. He kept his extremities close, crossing his arms over themselves as he reclaimed the ID. He only seemed to retreat further as the man said they didn't have local beers. He didn't want to offend anyone with his ignorance.

Thankfully, Ishani swooped in with the save, acquiring some booze of questionable legality for him to enjoy. He caught the bottle against his hand, and passed the rim under his face for a whiff. His nose immediately crinkled, and he couldn't stop the smallest grunt of surprise from escaping him.

"'Kick in the Head' is right," he appraised. "It's perfect, thank you."

As Ishani described her kids, Alicio poured some of the bottle into the glass, and stared at the murky brown liquid.

"Would you like to see them?"

"Of course," Alicio returned, sounding as if he were offended by the thought he wouldn't want to see her children.

Covering up the lull in the conversation as Ishani assumedly began pulling up pictures, and deciding he had nothing to lose, Alicio took a large sip. Upon learning of the taste, he swallowed quickly, pressing his hand against his mouth to stifle a cough.

"Oh, this won't take long."

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“That bad, huh?”

Ishani set her datapad down on the counter in front of Alicio. Upon the screen was a photo of two red-haired, dimpled children. They were standing in a kitchen, bowls and baking materials scattered across the counter. Marcus’ face was smeared with chocolate frosting, as if he’d tried to use it as war paint; Eloise was in the middle of licking batter off the mixer.

“I was baking a cake, as we Chaldeans do in our free time, and they wanted to help,” Ishani said. “This was the result of that endeavor.”

Raising an eyebrow at Alicio’s puckered face, she asked, “Are you tipsy already?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"It certainly lives up to it's name," the nobleman sputtered, trying to regain himself.

Alicio favored fruity and sweet drinks when he went drinking. He disliked the bitter taste of alcohol, so his preferred imbibements used all the tricks they could to hide it. To drink something that tasted so strongly of it's base ingredients was an undesirable process.

Still, he swallowed his first sip, and looked over Ishani's shoulder at her children, noting the fiery hair. Certainly the father's, unless the former senator was a closeted redhead. His eyes softened.

"That is adorable," he said, just fighting down an audible aww. "You may have some future chefs in your family. Or... impressionist painters, maybe?"

At Ishani's question of if he was done already, Alicio furrowed his brow. "What do you take me for? I'm not that light." To prove the point, he took a big gulp, finishing the glass, but instantly regretting it.

"Okay, I am that light. I'm going to feel that in a few minutes."

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani laughed. “We say that Marcus likes to wear his food as much as he likes to eat it.”

Soon she was covering her mouth with her hand in an effort to stifle her giggling at poor Alicio, who tried to prove himself by finishing the entire glass, only to instantly regret it.

“A few minutes is all it takes to explain how to detoxify poison,” she said, eyeing the bartender. He had moved to the other end of the counter. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “The Force allows you to know your body in ways other people can’t. You can sense when something is wrong, for instance, even before any symptoms manifest. Poisons, diseases, and other afflictions all stick out like a sore thumb. Once you know what the problem is—in this case, you drank some sketchy booze at a hole-in-the-wall bar—you can begin to treat it.

“So, find the alcohol content in your blood and clean it out.” She shrugged. “It’s as simple as that. Uh, as simple as the Force can get. Although, I wonder where the poison goes after it’s been purified…” One of the great mysteries of the universe, that.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio listened to Ishani, focusing deeply to catch and memorize everything she had said. He realized that it wouldn't be long before his concentration would waver, and his mind would slip. He didn't have that much time.

After noting the bartender minding his own business, and swiveling his head to ensure none of the other patrons were paying attention, Alicio closed his eyes once more, and reached out. He made a disgusted expression as he sensed the pseudo-poison through the Force.

"Oh, god. And I thought it tasted bad on the outside." He experienced the world of the Force through taste. This was one of those moments that his brand of perception was less than ideal.

Still, he tried to do as Ishani had instructed. Clean out his blood. As if he were de-weeding a garden. A minute passed. Then another. Alicio stayed very quiet.

He slowly opened his eyes, and shook his head no.

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani leaned to one side, watching Alicio’s face as he concentrated. Eventually he opened his eyes and shook his head.

“... You need some help?” she asked hesitantly, not sure how to interpret his body language.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio was very still as he sat at the bar, barely moving at all as he stared at Ishani. He sat straight in the chair, with as perfect posture as ever, but now it seemed as if he were trying too hard. The nobleman's mouth was closed tightly, as he was literally biting his tongue.

He was feeling the effects of the drink. A potent poison, it was, clouding his judgment, and loosening his mind. The moment he felt himself begin to slip, Alicio screwed his mouth shut. He'd expected to be tipsy, but not this tipsy, and especially not from one glass.

He didn't want to embarrass himself. So he wouldn't do or say anything.

He nodded yes, exaggerated and pure, like a child might.

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

It took Ishani another moment or two to realize Alicio wasn’t just tipsy, he was flat-out drunk. Not blackout drunk, thankfully, but too faded to concentrate. And all it had taken was one glass of that stuff to do it—no wonder Chaldea had banned the production of alcohol.

While this was technically what they had intended by coming here, she inexplicably started to feel bad. He just seemed so… vulnerable. Her brows knitted with concern, she rested a hand against his cheek. His skin felt hot, flushed with blood.

What should she do? He was too plastered to detoxify this poison. She could do it, but wouldn’t that make it all pointless? Should she try and walk him through it? Would it make her a bad teacher if she didn’t coax him to try again?

“Hey.” She caught his slightly unfocused gaze—only to hesitate. Her lips remained parted as if to speak, her palm still cradling his cheek. Somewhere in the bar, a speaker that had been faintly playing music shifted to a song about drowning. Something in Ishani’s expression changed. She looked away, breaking eye contact to stare at the storm outside the window.

“Think about the rain,” she said, hoping he wasn’t too far gone to understand. “It washes everything away.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio continued his best impression of a statue as Ishani touched his face, attempting to keep up the charade of being completely fine. Despite how everything in the room was just a bit unfocused, as if he were using the wrong lens on a camera.

Inwardly, he was also kicking himself for having let himself go this far. He hadn't known his limits, nor had he known the drink. It was idiotic of him to test both of those things while in new company like this.

Alicio couldn't stop himself from responding to Ishani's 'hey' with a muted, but cheery "Hello," before covering his mouth with his hand. He seemed to understand what she said, turning his own head to the rain, and closing his eyes again.

He imagined the rain. Calming, peaceful rain, pouring down upon the sludge from his mind. Draining away his embarrassment.

This time, instead of using his Fear, he let it wash away.

After another minute, Alicio opened his eyes again. Not entirely clear, but no longer clouded. "Sorry. I shouldn't have gone all in like that."

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“But you did it.” Ishani moved her hand from his cheek to his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You got rid of the poison.”

The strange, melancholic song was still playing in the background, but outside the rain had trickled down to a mere sprinkle. She laid a few credits on the counter, then hopped off the stool and took Alicio’s arm. “C’mon, we don’t need to stay in here. You can walk, right?”

There was one more thing she’d like to show him, before they went their separate ways.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Most of it, at least," Alicio corrected, over-enunciating his words so as to avoid any residual slurring of the tongue, accepting the shoulder squeeze with a smile. He still felt some of it in him, but it was much more manageable. As if he'd drank a little too much emerald wine at a tasting, and not like he'd been slugged by a Houk.

He stood up a moment after Ishani did, letting her take his arm, although not without a confused expression. "Yes, I can walk. Where exactly are we going now?"

He'd both stabbed and poisoned himself on this tour of the Force. He wondered exactly what might befall him at this final destination.

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“The ocean,” she replied with a slightly bashful shrug. “To look for mermaids. Y’know, typical Saturday evening on Chaldea—you get drunk and try to find a mermaid.”

Ishani led Alicio out of the bar, which was located within walking distance of the sea. The rain had left it a little muddy, so she moved to tread on wet sand, walking along the shoreline.

“They call themselves Finfolk, and they’re not really mermaids—at least, not the way Melodies are. They’re just people who wear these diving suits called Atargatis Skins that are imbued with the Force, allowing them to live for long periods underwater.” Ishani was aware of the fact that her explanation was probably creating a lot more questions than it answered, so she tried to elaborate as best she could. “They existed before the Potentium took over Chaldea, and they have a special legal status that allows them to govern themselves. Officially the Potentium rules the land, and the Finfolk rule the seas, although there’s plenty of friction between them even in their separate camps.”

She would know—she’d technically become one of them after stealing a Skin for herself. But there was no way in hell she was donning hers in front of Alicio. She would die of embarrassment.

So that meant a mermaid hunt. Given their tendency to gravitate toward abandoned cities like Calabiyau, which had some submerged ruins, she didn’t think it would take long to find one.

“Oh, uh—I’m not going to ask you to go in the water if you don’t want to. You don’t have to do anything with their Skins either. I just thought it would be neat to show you.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Oh, of course," Alicio said, looking confused. "Makes perfect sense."

Led by the arm outside the bar, Alicio tightened his jacket around him. Everything felt warmer, but that might have been the Kick in the Head talking. Or it could have been the absence of rain, which Alicio found himself missing a bit. After rainfall, everything seemed quieter. Muted.

Alicio meandered along the wet beach with Ishani as she told her tale, glancing out over the silver ocean every once in a while. Instead of being drawn to it's hidden depths, his eyes gravitated towards the horizon. That place where sea met sky.

He looked for meaning in that meeting. It was what he had always done, ever since he was a little boy.

"If you had asked me to take a dip a few minutes ago, I might've said yes," the nobleman said good-naturedly, referencing his moment of stupor. "But I quite enjoy just looking at the waters anyways. Even if there weren't the chance to see Finfolk."

Alicio let a beat pass, before speaking again, staring at his feet as he picked along the shore. "Thank you for everything today. You didn't have to help me as much as you did. Show me as much as you have. I really do appreciate it."

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Before you got kicked in the head,” Ishani said, nodding in understanding.

Then he said something that made her think. There were a few reasons why she had decided to help him. He was nice, she liked him, and he clearly needed all the help he could get. But ultimately, she had done all this because she wanted to do it—which was considerable progress for her, she realized. It had been a long time since she’d done something she wanted, and not something she’d been pressured, goaded, forced or persuaded to do. She’d offered first.

It felt good.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a small, almost private smile. “But this is the last thing for today. Unless you wanna keep going after this.”

Mentoring him further actually was a possibility, she realized.

Through the Force, she sensed life ahead, where the shore grew more rocky closer to the cliffs. She tugged Alicio out of the way, approaching the mouth of a cave.

“I’ll go in and check it out first,” she whispered. Releasing Alicio’s arm, she picked her way across the rocks and tide pools, disappearing into the mouth.

Minutes later, she reemerged carrying something in her arms. At first glance, it looked a little like the shedded skin of a snake, white in some parts and translucent in others. She presented it to Alicio draped over her outstretched arms, the way one carries a bridal veil or similar delicate cloth.

“No mermaids, but—here’s the Skin of one,” she said, keeping her voice hushed. “Go ahead and sense it with the Force. It should feel a little like your crystal.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Whilst I was being kicked," Alicio shot back jokingly.

He continued to stare at his feet as they walked along the beach, avoiding treading upon any jagged stones or seaweed. "This has been lovely, and I've learned so much, but there's only so much time in a day. My own city needs me."

Or maybe he needed the city. He wasn't sure anymore.

Alicio allowed himself to be pulled off the beaten path, looking on as Ishani said she would go ahead. He frowned a bit. "Alright. I suppose I'll wait here, where it's safe."

As the woman went ahead, the nobleman busied himself with his datapad, sending a quick message, before putting it away, and staring at the ocean again. Noticing how far it went, how much could be hidden beyond the horizon.

Soon enough, the Chaldean had returned, and with a boon. Alicio gave it a once-over, suspiciously. "This is what they use? It doesn't look like much." As she suggested, Alicio reached out with his feelings. He seemed to consider the flavor.

"I do sense something," Alicio said, intrigued. "It doesn't taste like fish, I don't know why I was expecting that."

"Will whoever's this is be missing it?"

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Well, what does it taste like? The ocean?" Ishani asked.

"Will whoever's this is be missing it?"

As if on cue, as soon as Alicio said something there was a prompt exclamation of "Thief! Give that back!"

Ishani turned around to find a pink-haired young woman clad in only a hastily-wrapped towel standing behind her. With a cybernetic hand, she snatched the Skin from Ishani's grasp, hugging it close as if it were a precious treasure. Or, y'know, something that could cover her up better.

Abashed, Ishani folded her now empty arms over her chest, gnawing on her lower lip. She had expected this would happen, but she'd also hoped that it wouldn't. She'd planned to take the Skin just long enough to show it to Alicio, then quietly return it in the space where she'd found it hidden. After all, she hadn't seen anyone else in the cave who might miss it anytime soon.

Understanding began to dawn on her as another figure emerged from the darkness, this one male and in a similar state of undress. He was doing his best to inch away from the scene as quickly as possible, heading for the ocean.

"Oh." Ishani murmured. "Ohhhh. Whoops. Sorry."

"People like you are the reason why we had to become our own country!" the girl exclaimed.

"I was just borrowing it to show it to my friend. He's from Alderaan."

"Alderaan? Really?" The girl peered curiously at Alicio, her tone instantly brightening. "Hi!"

Ishani's eyebrows shot up. "Lady, I think your, uh, friend over there is trying to escape."

"Yeah, he does that." She waved goodbye to the fleeing fellow, then turned back to Alicio, holding up her Skin with a grin. "You want to see me in it?"

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio considered the flavor for a moment longer. "It tastes like... stone? I don't know, it's hard to describe."

As were Alicio's thoughts when he saw a half-naked girl on a warpath towards Ishani.

The nobleman spent a half second looking at the pink-haired beachgoer, trying to process the situation. After that moment of dumbfoundedness, he quickly found something off in the middle distance to look at, cheeks touched with a bit of rose.

The convenient moment ended when the conversation made a hairpin turn from righteous anger to curiosity toward him. All of the Alderaanian's noble sensibilities were screaming at him.

Don't look at someone in a state of undress.

Look at someone when they address you.

Alicio dragged his eyes back to the mermaid, focusing pointedly on her face, still blushing. "Hello. It's... an honor to meet one of the Finfolk."

He gave the woman a strained smile at her question, looking away modestly as her romantic partner made a hasty retreat. "If it isn't too much of a bother."

- Ishani Dinn -

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Wow, you really are from Alderaan," the mermaid remarked upon hearing him talk. "I like Alderaanians. You all seem like very nice people."

"Everyone likes Alderaanians," Ishani agreed. After all, what wasn't to love about a planet full of peace-loving scholars and artists?

But it was clear that the pink-haired mermaid was very interested in Alicio in particular, from the way that she stared at him and offered to model the Skin for him. The fact that she had seemingly just finished up with that other guy didn't seem to factor into the equation. Maybe she was half-Zeltron?...

"If it isn't too much of a bother."

Admittedly a bit amused by this whole situation and Alicio's reaction to it all, Ishani pursed her lips and held her breath as the Alderaanian sealed his fate.

She at least found a position closer to the water before she let her towel fall. Ishani gnawed on her knuckles to keep from laughing as she watched Alicio's face. She'd seen enough Finfolk "transformations" that it was no longer new to her, but for Alicio it was an entirely novel experience. And possibly traumatic, at this rate. Poor fellow.

The mermaid inserted her feet first into the Skin, which began to crawl up her legs of its own volition. Once she was encased up to the hips, she slid her arms into the sleeves. She was in fact missing both her arms, with everything from her shoulders down having been replaced by a pair of mechanical limbs, so her suit stopped before it reached the metal and machinery. The Skin continued to wrap itself around her in such a way that it almost seemed like a living thing acting of its own volition, gripping flesh and folding into the dips and crevices of her body. At last, it crept up her neck and over her face, sealing off along her hairline.

It didn't take more than a minute or so to don the Skin. In the end, she was left with a white-scaled tail lined on either side by a set of fins. Inconspicuous slits along her throat served the role of gills, allowing her to breathe underwater, but otherwise she was still recognizable.

Spoiler

"Ta-da!" she exclaimed, holding up her arms and grinning broadly.

"Yes, ahem, very nice," Ishani said, clearing her throat.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Ah, thank you," Alicio said in response to the two complimenting Alderaan, apparently having difficulty finding where to put his hands. He eventually decided to keep them behind his back, clasped tightly, as he watched the Finfolk walk towards the water's edge, and...

Alicio couldn't stop his eyes from darting down with the movement of the falling towel. After realizing his grave error, he actually covered his own eyes with a hand, cheeks burning.

Eventually, the modest nobleman did peek through his fingers, and what he saw made him drop his hand, and his jaw.

The suit seemed alive, enveloping the mermaid and adhering itself naturally to her skin. It was fascinating to watch. His intense embarrassment was forgotten in favor of curiosity.

Alicio took a few steps towards the water's edge, still a respectable, wary distance from the newly-suited woman, but having gained a bit of bravery. "Do you still feel your legs? How does the suit create gills for you? Does it cut holes in the sides of your neck?"

He looked between Ishani and the woman, curtailing his interest.

"Sorry if it's rude to ask. I just have so many mechanical questions."

- Ishani Dinn -