Take Off The Mask

[Alric Kuhn]

She stirred.

He said nothing.

Instead he moved, shifting within the bedroll so that he was facing away from and looking up at the morning sky. It was still cold enough that he could see his breath, still cold enough that his face likely would have been freezing cold if not for the thick black hairs covering his face and slowly growing on his neck now.

His hand moved within the bedroll, reaching up to scratch an itch on his chin.

The cold touched him, but he knew that by no time today he would be dying of heat. Would they even travel during the day? It was the desert after all, traveling during the day would be dangerous, it would be too hot.

Was there anything else to do?

He decided to wait in silence. Danger was in charge here, not him. She would have to lead the way and guide them. If he tried to, they'd likely end up dead.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The chill of the morn would bite; but with it came clarity.

Well as much clarity as she could well afford without cursing herself a blue streak. A shiver would come to her once she drew the sides of the bedroll to her left. Quietly as possible, she withdrew herself from the warmth of her makeshift bed. Tiny crickets would chirp around them, the hoot of a desert owl accompanied by the flutter of wings.

She sat up, giving a grimace at the stiffness in her back. Hyperawareness would allow her to pick up small distant sounds, but it would also mean she would feel a bit more of the muscle tension. Her arms would rise, then stretch high over her head, back arching and chest rising against her robes.

A soft sigh of pleasure at the stretching of tense muscles would cut the silence of the approaching morn.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He ignored her, or as much as he could. Every move she made, every sound that came from her, it was like thunder rolling in his ears, a great resounding quake that shook him with every step, every gasp, every noise that she made.

Alric found it hard to ignore.

So in answer to it, he began to move himself. He shifted around in the bedroll, moved up, and made about as much silent noise as he possible could without being obvious about what he was doing. Reaching up, Alric scratched his head.

It was an odd quirk of his, but his head always seemed to be itchy in the morning, now with the aspha having run its course, that quirk came back to him.

A breath left him, cold and biting.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Both would do their own thing.

Clean up of the camp was next. They had to make headway. At the very least, figure out where to go from here. Danger went about getting things cleared up, picking up her bedroll and rolling it into a tight bundle.

There were far more pressing things to take care of that required of a more personal nature. Thankfully, there were plenty of boulders to go about and do her business.

She just had to make sure he didn't follow.

"Gonna take a look around, keep a wary eye out," she'd tell him, gathering what bit of toiletries she'd need from her pack. A small plastic bag the size of a sandwich went sailing in the air and over to him.

Oh the bare essentials. Wipes. He can do with them what he will.

"Caw if you need me."

She was kidding of course.

Wasn't she?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric watched her go. “Yeah...scouting...right.”

The words were muttered under his breath, so quiet that she wouldn't be able to hear them. After a few moments of her being gone Alric stood from his bedroll. The cold air touched his skin, the Tusken wrappings not covering either of his arms which caused a chill to rush over them.

Hard compacted muscle flexed slightly, an attempt to get his body warmer than it was now. His arms were finely toned, about the only thing on him that got an active workout....if you could call bar fights and actual workout.

Alric stood for a moment, surveying the campsite and everything around them.

There was nothing.

They were in the middle of the frakking desert, and there was no way to escape, not without walking for days on end. A groan left him. This was hell. He was in hell.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

​

​

Heaven or Hell? Either or. Just like Danger.

It suited her just fine.

Tatooine was her home, her sanctuary. It may be the sandbox of the galaxy, but this was her world. She knew it in and out, knew the dangers, the terrain.

It was a simple life. Do or die. Shoot first. Ask questions later.

Far easier to navigate than dealing with a man who made her insides twist. Blast!

Personal business done aside, she spent the next fifteen minutes or so taking in the landscape around them. The twin suns were rising, basking the canyons and the dunes with quickening warmth and light.

Coming up to an outcropping, she began to climb.

Five minutes later, she would slowly come to a slow knee as she'd climb to the top of the canyon. There she would give an exasperated sigh.

How the hell were they going to get to the closest outpost?!

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He packed up the sight as best as he could.

Surprisingly, he did a good job. The bedrolls, both of them, were stuffed together expertly, the campfire went untouched, and everything else was neatly put away. Oddly, Alric kept the shavings of the fruit, thinking that perhaps they would need it later.

Though he couldn't possible imagine why.

Time went on without Danger here, and for some strange reason that saw Alric sink into a place of relaxation, giving him a moment to simply sink into calm.

His mind still raced, he didn't know why, but it did.

He thought of everything. From himself and Danger to Titan Industries and Astraeus Industrial. Oddly enough, he could have sworn he figured out how to solve the war between the One Sith and the Jedi, though he immediately tossed the idea away, it would be like burning money.

In the end, his mind always returned to Danger, to what had happened.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The Eastern Dune Sea. Then the West.

Danger would settle on focusing on landmarks. The type that would resist the elements and crash of sandstorms. The Wound was to the north... and that meant that Dreviad Outpost, Outpost Salara, Outpost Largona, and Espelar would be nearby -- with the latter more pro rebel underworld friendly.

All were beyond a days walking distance.

"Tarnation!" the curse would rip from under her lips.

Her shoulders would rise as she took a deep breath, mind racing again. Finding connections. The Twin Suns would drift higher in the sky.

They had a few hours before noon; and only a damn fool would travel in that heat.

She began to cluck her tongue, hands coming to rest at her hips. She was in survival mode; had to be. Otherwise it went back to Alric.

Alric.

The low reminder he'd given her back at the Expo after that first time. The reminder. A name. A first name. Something far more intimate than what had transpired. Saying it aloud was an admission. One she wasn't ready to give away. It is why she called him Kuhn.

Anything more than that would make it more than what it was. And it was nothing. Couldn't be.

Had to be.

It was during this internal angst that the rays of sunlight would drift over a new formation out in the distance. She barely caught it at the corner of her eye.

She gave a double take, frowning. Her gaze would narrow.

That was different, she'd mull, thoughts of Kuhn set aside. There in the distance, was a new silhouette. Something she hadn't seen before. Memory would serve her from nearby landmarks that that area should have been covered in high dune seas.

Now it wasn't.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric paused for a few moments.

There was nothing left for him to do. Nothing that he could really change or shift. He wasn't experienced in this sort of thing, and while Danger was out scouting, all Alric could do was sit here and think. Part of him felt humiliation at that. Part of him was embarrassed that he was so useless, that he had almost died not once, but twice within a few days of coming here.

His head shook.

He was a fool.

She had been right about that, though she had never said it outloud. He had seen the look in her eyes which denoted the message, which told him what he was. Alric should have known better, or at least been smarter about the whole endeavor.

Now he was stuck out here with her, after what had happened.

Slumping against a large rock, Alric wished he had something to smoke.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

What was that?

Her eyes would narrow. With Haven Shipyards now a part of Browncoat Industrial and ATC, Danger had a for more experienced eye in the various vessels of note. Her work and trade with the various major government territories assured a treasure trove of information.

Information that would tell of a distinct silhouette that was all but familiar.

Was it a mirage? No. It couldn't be the heat nor a hallucination. Not with the juice still running hot through her. That would make her focus stronger.

It was a risk. But a risk one she was willing to take. Her jaw would set. She had a plan.

A tenth of a plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.

There was a new purpose to her, a lift of her shoulders. Kuhn was pushed back to the rear of her mind for now, starting the climb back down the canyon.

At least, in so much that he didn't dominate her thoughts.

Or was that just another lie in it of itself?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He could have bashed his head against a wall.

This was all too complicated.

Too many thoughts ran through his mind. Too many ideas, too many plots, too many plans. Every single thing seemed to be connected in some way, and slowly but surely he found himself feeling more and more annoyed with himself. His thoughts couldn't keep still, his mind jumping from place to place with only one common theme throughout.

Her.

It was a biting annoyance, on that kept coming at him again and again. There wasn't any emotional connection between the two, none at all, and there was no craving for such a thing from him, and he doubted there was from her.

Yet his mind was fixated, stalled in place.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger would slide down the last boulder, rushed.

There was a new spring in her step. Excitement lining her expression, brightening her eyes. That earlier tension momentarily gone.

He'd hear her come behind him from his right, a quickened step. Surprise would flare as she would take in the neat camp. He had taken care of everything. She was taken aback again.

Green met oceanic blue for a few lingering seconds. A knot formed in her throat. He unnerved her with an expression. After a moment's time, catching her breath, she gave a nod, "Great work."

Praise. Fancy that.

She began to talk. Far more in a single instance than the past three days. " Sandstorm managed to clear somethin' fierce up a few klicks away. With the sun comin' up, best we make our way towards it; might be a risk but reckon it is as good of a chance we got."

She drew to a knee beside the pack. Hands would reach to grab the pack, hitching up to slide it onto her back. "Shar's Oasis should be near there -" there came a wry twist of her lips, her voice a healthy southern drawl. "-- if the storm didn't end up coverin' under the dunes."

"If there be any bantha that were lost durin' the storm -- they would naturally gravitate towards water. It's our best best to getting some kind of transportation out of here towards the nearest outpost" she gave a grunt, settling the pack on her back.

It did wonders for stretching her robe over her chest.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric stared at her for a few moments bewildered.

That was the most that she had said to him in more than a day. More than that, she had complimented him. At first all he could do was be suspicious. Mostly because her ire had usually been drawn on him, and it was the first time that she had ever complimented him on anything he'd done.

Somehow that scared him.

His lips thinned slightly, but Alric simply nodded. “Thank you.”

As for the rest, he trusted her words. She would know this world better than anyone, and he knew she would be right in this, as well as anything else connected to the desert. So instead of arguing or commenting, he simply stood and grabbed the pack from the floor. The thing was lighter than he had expected, though that was no huge surprise.

“What about the sun?” Alric asked gazing towards the horizon. “Mid-day I mean.”

He knew it would be hot, but perhaps she had a plan.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger would lift her head, eyes squinting at the quickly approaching rise of the Twin suns. Mental calculations from a master Dejarik player would race through her mind.

"We've four hours before it gets unbearable. 'Tween then and now, we've got some ground poundin' to do." she would inform him bluntly. There ain't no getting around it. Their feet would be feeling it.

A grab of the water skin would be tossed at him; assurance that he would catch it. Her focus would then shift to his face again. Lips would purse. More thoughts went through her mind.

Then she gave a curse.

With a purposeful stride, she went straight for him. Danger could be a force of nature, much like the sandstorm that had crashed for six hours during their melding of one another. And when she would come striding towards you the way she was now, with a sway that could not be denied despite the heavy pack she carried. On purpose to say the least; aint' no way she was letting him carry it with his back still feeling it.

She came to a stop just a few feet from him, and her arms extended out to reach for his pack. She was all up in his space, but it was for a reason.

Quickly, she began untying and searching through the contents.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

His first instinct was to run away. That seemed an odd thing, but with the determination in her eyes and the stark look of intent that crossed her face Alric was half sure that she had been about to kiss him.

Or perhaps that was just his ego talking.

Either way the instinct to dash away from Danger and keep her at bay was a strong one. Like her, he no intent to talk about what had happened yet, his mind was still working on the details and his thoughts were forcible being turned away. Alric still didn't quite understand, didn't want to understand, but he knew that eventually he would have to.

“Wha-?” Alric said as she reached for his back and roughly began to search through it.

He wasn't quite sure what she was doing, or why she was doing it. He had packed everything away just as it had been when they had unpacked the night before, nothing was out of place or amiss.

Alric had always been an organized person.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Stay still." came her abrupt order. No nonsense. She would wince as the pricks of a thorn would draw blood from a finger. She ignored it.

She found what she was looking for. It was a rather odd elongated thick and fleshy leaf. She hadn't taken it out earlier as the sun was already setting, but with the morning welcoming the blistering afternoon in a few hours time, she had to act.

Two fingers would grab hold of a thorn, then with a practiced ease she would strip away the thick waxy outer layer. Inside, milky white gel thick with non-nano zinc oxide.

A natural sunscreen.

Glancing up at him, she would narrow her gaze, searching his weathered face. She saw the rough red skin, the raw patches. Lips pursed.

"Don't move. Kuhn." she'd say a bit more quietly, her fingers gathering the slimy substance in her hand. At this distance she was startlingly close; almost as close as she'd been in the cave. It was a rather alarming realization, but she tried to put it from her mind.

Her hand rose, reaching to his face...

 

[Alric Kuhn]

In that moment, Alric Kuhn became a statue.

There was not a hint of movement in him. His body became rooted to the ground, his hands stayed at his side, his face remained completely still. Even his eyes remained unblinking, looking passed her, taking careful measure not to meet her eyes. The one moment that he did there was an overwhelming urge that rushed through him.

The urge to speak.

To stop himself, Alric quite literally bit his tongue.

He knew that it still wasn't time to talk. He knew that right now it would only bring animosity and disaster. As Danger began to rub the strange cream on his face Alric winced involuntarily. Next to the burning heat that he felt on his face, the cream was freezing cold. It felt good though, and thus he did not object.

His tongue started to hurt.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

With a gentleness that would strike familiar of that night, she would carefully start to smear the gel over his exposed face. She was careful and thorough, working the gel even down to the line of his beard that would not only protect his skin but sooth the raw.

Nothing but the sound of their breathing along with the soft off and on ministrations of her applying the natural sunscreen to his exposed flesh would be heard.

He was as still as a statue, and took all she could to not meet his gaze straight on. But when it came to smoothing the gel over his brow, over his cheekbones and along the line of his temples, she couldn't help it.

That knot in her throat grew tighter.

They were bright blue; his eyes that is. She didn't really get to see them up close that first time at the Expo; and in the cave other senses would flare to the fore than mere sight. But here, standing a foot away from him, well -- she couldn't ignore it.

The pulse in her throat would rocket and she'd try her best to finish what she'd begun.

"It's a natural sunscreen," she told him, something had to cut the silence. "Should help soothe the raw." after finishing his face, she handed him the leaf so he would apply the rest of it to other exposed areas himself.

"Get as much of that on elsewhere; the suns will be beating hot soon 'nuff."

With that she began to turn away.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He did as he was told. It seemed that he was doing that a lot lately, but why bother arguing? She was right. She knew what she was doing, she knew what Alric needed to do to survive. It was that simple.

There was no point in arguing when she was right.

“What about you?” Alric asked as he finished applying some of the cream on the back of his neck and biceps. Those were the two areas where he already found himself burned, where the touch of heat was already setting into his skin. He wondered if he looked like a giant red crab yet. With a frown he shifted, then looked towards Danger.

She would be more used to the sun of course, but still.

He had not seen her put any of the cream on herself and if there was enough left over, he had no clue why she wouldn't utilize the stuff as well.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

She turn to glance at him over her shoulder at his question. A dusty auburn brow would perk. Her brows would draw together, staring at him for a few.

"Recken you need it more than I do for now," she told him quite honestly, "I can get plenty more once we get to the Oasis." She would turn her gaze down south where that distinct silhouette lay more than ten klicks away by her judgement.

She began to walk, moving past him as she'd nod towards the direction they would now traverse.

"Roll your walk -- save your feet the extra bit of hurtin'."