Take Off The Mask

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Mister Tuggles bounced over to them with childlike enthusiasm. Both front paws came up along the edge of the cushion, where he used to brace himself as he peered at them with what one could figure to be a small curious pant.

Pushing himself up with his strength, his lower half dangled for a bit, tails sweeping back and forth to try and help himself up. However, his body was too long and his leg too stubby for now. The lower half of him dangled a bit, with his tiny paws bicycling in the air impotantly.

Danger laughed, shaking her head to reach down and pet Mister Tuggles behind the ears. That would calm him down a bit, her wry voice floating over to the Tetan, “So much for that wager…”

Chuckling she would scratch him under his chin. “He’s pretty strong for such a little guy.”

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

It seemed that Mr. Tuggles in all of his wordly knowledge had simply deemed it unimportant to ever even acknowledge either the Dejarik board or the Holo-screen, instead finding that the two humans in the room were far more to his liking. His little legs waggled for a moment more, Danger's ear scratched calming him enough that he stopped trying to climb his way onto the Sofa. He smiled slightly, looking down at the little guy then leaning over to Danger to kiss her cheek.

"A good gift." He said as his hand joined hers on the Tuggles head.

The Tetan smiled slightly as Mr. Tuggles let out a small pleased noise, as though he were acknowledging Alric's words. He wondered when the creature would become too large to deny his climbing on the Sofa. Danger had said that it would only be a few months, but for some odd reason Alric thought that those months would pass in no time at all. He smiled slightly, slipping his free hand around Danger and pulling her closer to him with a gentle nudge.

"Maybe we should introduce him to the twins." Alric said. "I'm sure they won't be at all jealous."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger sank against [member="Alric Kuhn"] with a mellow smile, her side molding against his body as she set her head upon the crook of his shoulder. "That is a thought." she mused aloud, smiling. Her hand went sweeping up, reaching to cup at his cheek. Her palm would caress him, enjoying the sensation of the bristles against her skin.

A small shift, and the woman drew her shapely legs up to tuck them along the couch. Her other hand continued the gentle scratch behind Mister Tuggle's ears, the critter making little sniffs of pleasure. All the while, she thought upon the suggestion of having Lily and Rose meet the Tuggle. Consideration went drifting across her green eyes.

"... we never actually followed through with having that ship built." she began quietly, referencing how months back prior to their engagement, he had the desire to have them build one to travel the 'verse in. Turning slightly towards him, she tipped back her head.

"Why don't we do that?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"We could do that." They had enough money that they could buy an entire fleet, really, though that wasn't what this was about. Any ship that the two of them lived on would be filled with luxury and life. It wouldn't be a military ship, wouldn't be a freighter, no, it would be a home. It would be something that both he and Danger could be proud of somewhere that they could feel comfortable on. When they had originally envisioned the ship it had been thought with marble floors and carped, beautiful tapestries and architecture much like the skyhook.

Alric still liked that thought.

"Reckon we'd need an indoor play area for Mr. Tuggles here." He scratched the little guy on the head. "Maybe we can make the galaxies biggest luxury ship for two."

For some odd reason The Tetan really liked that idea. They wouldn't need anything the size of the seedship, but a thousand meters, fifteen hundred, they could make that happen easily enough. A pool, a viewing deck, rooms enough for them and guests, something that they could call a home while still traveling around the galaxy. He smiled slightly, remembering how much he had wanted to do that with Danger, how much he had craved it. "Yeah, let's do that."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Her nails gave a light scratch of his beard, the rasp barely audible as she began to mull aloud. "It wouldn't take long once we settle on a design." With as much money as they had along with their resources, it was ridiculous to believe they couldn't get it all done quickly. Just a matter of deciding what to put in it.

"Maybe go visit Lily and arose after? Plan a trip with Mistah Tuggles as well?" The light caught against her engagement ring, a soft glow emanating from its double cores. Mister Tuggles was slowly being lulled by Danger's attention, his lids half lowered until they closed. Amusement lit her green eyes.

"He's like you." She teased, glancing up at the old Tetan.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric glanced her at her, his eyebrow perking slightly.

"Maybe just a little bit." Alric conceited with a small smile, his eyes wandering away from the Tuggle and towards the viewport that hung right there. The ship was a good idea, he would have to contact Nel and see what she thought about it. Vanir was still constructing it's shipyards, but the company had other driveyards that would be perfectly capable of constructing what Danger and Alric needed. They would pay of course, they had enough money to build an entire fleet if they wanted.

"I'll call Nel in the morning." Alric said, stretching on the sofa slightly. "We can go in and spend a day or two working wiht the designers to see what we want."

It was a good plan, simple. "They can take care of the complicated stuff."

The Tetan didn't really care about the outside appearance of the ship, just the inside. It wasn't like he was making a warship or anything like that, it didn't have to be pretty, it just had to work well enough as a home for both he and Danger....and Mr. Tuggles of course.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

“So if our plan is to visit Lily and Rose,” Danger began, snuggling against her husband - that is still so strange! - placing her hand and arm upon his chest. There she would draw small circles, enjoying the sensation of having him against her.

“Where else would you like to go after?” That implied that Danger wasn’t at all opposed to doing more traveling on their own. Perhaps it would do them some good. Some time away from Arceneau Trade. “I could have Alisha and Aeri look at things.” her face would up turn to meet his, verdant meeting cool blue.

“Could go visiting places again, you and I…”

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"That would be nice." Alric said with a smile. He did like the thought, them traveling again, seeing the galaxy. Alric had no more ties, well, no official ones anyway. He had Rose and Lily, his girls, but they traveled and moved around more than he did. Vanir Technologies was running fine on its own, Saeva was moving along without much problem, and everything seemed to be perfectly in order in the life of the former Titan. There was no reason to complain or even think about going back.

He was happy.

Traveling with Danger would only make that better.

He would be able to see her more, talk to her more, spend time with her. Sure she would have to work at times, but when he was there he would be able to drag her away whenever he wanted. Alric smiled slightly, thinking about all that he and Danger could do. Slowly his arm wrapped tighter around her, pulling her closer as he planted a kiss on her temple. "Sure."

"Let's do it." The Tetan said. "Let's go see the galaxy."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

A smile of joy went curving at the press of his lips at her temple. Warmth filled her, and along with that love. Could things really be happening? Was this real? To be honest, there were times where she wondered if it was all a dream. If this was not real. It gave her such a terrible sensation at the pit of her stomach.

Life had been so lonely back then. She had been surrounded by all the riches and power she could ever ask for, but it meant nothing at the end of the day. There was no one there for her at home. No family. And for the longest time, no real friendships. Things had begun to change a bit with Judah and Makai, if anything they were the closest to her in a long while.

Where would she be now if a year ago, things had been different. If she hadn't been able to move forward. If she hadn't been able to trust again. It disturbed her to think on it. Frightened her really.

Mister Tuggle gave a nudge to Danger's knee, his fluffy tail moving back and forth. A rather hopeful expression basked up at them, his tiny round ears giving subtle twitches with whatever he could hear.

"Okay, I think it is time to give this little guy a walk."


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

That would of course require putting Mr. Tuggles in a collar, though probably more of a harness considering just how slippery the little guys fur was. The Tetan wondered for a moment if he would actually be able to hold still long enough for than to be able to put anything of the sort on the little guy, especially considering that he was...well, rambunctious. He smiled slightly, then stood from the couch, Mr. Tuggles immediately dropping away from Danger and following the Tetan along.

Fluffy tail waggled in the air.

"Do we have a leash?" Alric asked. "Collar? Harness? Something that will keep him from running around the skyhook and eating everything."

Mr. Tuggles seemed to look up at Alric at those comments, his nose sniffing the air and his eyes narrowing slightly as though he were insulted at the insinuation that he would eat anything at all. The old Tetan shifted slightly, looking down at the Tuggle as he began to slowly creep across the living room and towards the front door. "Perceptive little bastard isn't he?"

Alric said with a grin.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"I have a harness for him." she told him, rolling herself up and off of the couch. The robe floated around her full figure, a whisper of vine-silk against her bare skin. "I'll change into something a little bit thicker than this." she murmured out with a wry twist of her lips, leaning closer to the Tetan to press a kiss on his cheek.

"If you go over towards his pen, you'll see the harness along with the rest of his toys. There is a box there with all the doo-dad's." more like Danger wasn't quite sure what to get so she ended up buying more than one could possibly imagine. Much like a child needing their toys to keep them entertained, Mister Tuggles was no different.

"Meet you back in five minutes?" she would suggest, already starting to move away towards their bedroom. "Want met to get you anything?" she'd call out, her hand threading through her hair.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He mused for a second.

"Some pants." Alric said as he pointed out that he was only wearing sweatpants. "A shirt maybe, some socks, could do with a Jacket too."

The Tetan grinned at her. It wasn't like he was exactly ready to go out, though, nobody would likely mind if he did go out like this. The station quite literally belonged to him after all, or rather, it belonged to the company that he had founded. Their neighbors were all people that he had hired, all people that he trusted, he knew that none of them would complain, though a few might rib him for it if they saw him the next day. Alric frowned for a moment, eyes wandering towards Danger and then the bedroom.

"Or don't. Either way is fine." He offered her a wink, then urged Mr. Tuggles to follow him along with a small slap to his good thigh. The little creature's head perked up, and quickly the two of the slunk towards the room where Mr. Tuggles had made his bed. The Tetan didn't move more slowly, well knowing that even at this age and size the Tuggle could easily outrun him. He smiled slightly as the animal slunk alongside him, carefully exploring and following along.

The start of a good friendship.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Her throaty chuckle would resonate. From down the hall, Danger's voice would echo, "You wouldn't want to get a cold, Mistah Kuhn." she joked out, but was also a bit serious about it. She didn't want him to fall sick due to anything.

Stepping into their bedroom, the Trade Queen took some time to change into something more comfortable and suitable for traversing the space station. While it may very well be under Alric's ownership, Danger didn't want to be walking out wearing only a thin vine-silk robe. Instead she would slip on comfortable pants, black boots, and a loose button up blue blouse. For Alric, she selected similar attire. The jacket he could get from the closet near the front door.

It took about five minutes or so, with his wife returning to his side a little bit more decent; much to his eyes disappointment one would assume. Her hair was drawn back into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, but there were a few tendrils that escaped to feather down her face.

"Got you some clothes." she would call out, walking over towards the room where she figured he'd be with Mister Tuggles.


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric had been wrestling with Mr. Tuggles the entire time, the little guy not really agreeing with the harness that Danger had purchased for him. It was a struggle to get him into it, and once the clasps were actually in place the Tuggle decided that instead of walking or really doing much of anything he would flop down onto the ground and simply lay there. His head turned towards Danger as she entered the room, a small huff flapping his lips in sign of his displeasure at the situation.

"I don't think he likes his." The Tetan said he wandered over towards Danger and took the clothes that she had brought.

It wasn't anything complicated, not a suit, just a simple t-shirt and some socks along with more normal pants. Alric quickly slipped them on, his eyes wandering over to Mr. Tuggles who let out another loud huff in the direction of Danger and Alric.

"Maybe get him a collar instead." The Titan suggested, though Mr. Tuggles looked away when he said it. "Or not."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Well they are used for sled power." Danger would add, not at all trying to hide her appreciation of watching the Tetan change over. He may be well into his fifties, but the man kept himself in shape and it showed. Toned muscle under a medley of scars that she knew like the back of her hand. There wasn't an inch upon him that she didn't not trace with her fingers or her lips.

Her hand went sweeping over the broadness of his shoulder, the almond shaped of her green eyes admiring her husband. "A harness would do him fine. Just has to get used to it. A collar wouldn't work well as it might end up choking him if he gets a bit over eager."

As if he understood her, Mister Tuggles gave a loud snort.

"Come on," she pressed a kiss to Alric's cheek. "Let's go."


[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Mr. Tuggles let out another huff, clearly still not liking his harness. Alric looked down at the little guy, smiling and crouching by his side. He petted the top of the Tuggles head, then slowly clipped the leash onto the back of the harness. "Come on buddy, you'll get used to it."

The creature looked up at him, suspicious.

"This way you get to go outside." Alric looked up at Danger, then back down at the Tuggle. "Explore a little."

Another huff, a waggle of the Tuggles legs, and then turned away from Alric. The Tetan chuckled with amusement, looking up at the Trade Queen and reaching down to scoop Mr. Tuggles up from the floor. The fluffy little creature began to waggle it's legs, but didn't resist too badly as Alric wandered past Danger and moved out towards the hallway. His wife quickly followed after him, smiling as the Titan pulled open the door and stepped out of the apartment.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Elysium was on of the largest luxury self sustaining civilian stations. This particular station was bought by Alric to not only be his home, but also to serve as a hub for Vanir Technologies. WIth green energy as its focus, it was equipped with solarium glasteel as well as other new green energy techniques.

One of the most impressive areas of the station itself was the enormous forested trails and parks biome at the northern end of the station. WIth a dome of solarium glasteel, it provided fantastic views out into the solar system. With new holo technology, the scenery could be changed at one’s leisure to mimic any sky or left simply au natural.

There were options for them to reach the small preserve. They could walk the spiral platform that led up there, or take a smaller walk and use the lift. Seeing as Danger didn’t want Alric to tire out his knee, she’d hook her arm around his and guide him towards the latter.

“Hmm… how large of a ship do you gather we should aim for?” bringing back the conversation to the plan from earlier.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He mused for a second, still holding Mr. Tuggles who by now was eagerly looking all around himself. "Not anything too big, I think."

They had the money and resources to build something large enough for an entire army, but they didn't need that much space. Between the two of them they could make due with something far less extravagant. It wasn't like they were worried about being attacked or anything, so really it was just a matter of what would make the two of them feel comfortable and what Mr. Tuggles would find do his liking. He suspected that as long as he had the run of the place the little creature wouldn't particularly care about the size of the vessel.

"Maybe two...three hundred meters." That was size-able enough that both Danger and Alric should be comfortable. "Add a pool, hot tub, nice rooms, have it staffed by droids so we don't have to worry about anyone getting in our way or telling what we're doing."

He trusted the staff they had, but he would prefer not having any actual people besides themselves. "Maybe even add a room with real grass for Mr. Tuggles."

The little guy was now waggling his arms and legs, his head moving around as he saw the skyhook outside of the turbo-lift.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

That was a good start.

“Make sure it is sustainable… I’ve gotten quite used to the gardens.” she made sure that their stride wouldn’t strain Alric, although there were a few times that Mister Tuggles became a little bit rambunktious in his curiousity. Much like now, where he would go sniffing a little bit further than his leash would give.

“I like how we have the apartment right now,” she’d add, slowly rubbing his forearm as he would rein in the Tuggle. A smile perked on her lips. This was nice. They would often go on their walks he and she, and while it wasn’t like it was back on Tatooine, these small little moments were precious to her.

“Reckon somethin’ that would follow that similar style?” she’d add. Solarium Glasteel was nice. “Ain’t thinking we need much for defenses. Speed and shielding could do us both just fine.”

“Have enough room for Lily and Rose if’n they want to be with us a bit.” at that length they were bound to have extra rooms, but Danger figured the girls would want something where they could be together and call their own. Something small, but that would make them feel welcomed.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Mr. Tuggles was still waggling his legs, clearly excited about the prospect of getting to run around and having mostly forgotten about the harness that had so far been holding him back. Alric looked down at the little creature, smiling at him before casting his attention towards Danger again. She was beautiful, even now, after having spent hours in bed and having no time to do her hair or make up. There was a perfection to her that he couldn't have explained even if he had tried.

He smiled, an easy smile, seemingly captured in her eyes.

The Tetan watched her lips move, the corner of them curling slightly as she caught sight of Mr. Tuggles, her eyes scrunching ever so slightly as her pupils moved from the little Tuggle to Alric's own face. The old man smiled like a fool, then realized he hadn't heard a word she was saying.

"Sure." He played off, as though he had understood it all. "We can talk more about it later, probably better to do it with a professional so we can lay everything out."

Alric leaned down and placed Mr. Tuggles on the floor of the turbo-lift, drawing the leash attached the harness back with him so as the doors opened the little guy didn't immediately run off. He held out the leash to Danger, steadying himself on his cane so that he didn't fall over.