Terrors of the Wild

[Maiev]

The minutes had passed since the revelation about the ship had struck her, the gnawing thoughts on it lingering even after she had tried distracting herself elsewhere in the ship. But it seemed Vaermina wasn't bothered, whether that was out of a lack of concern or if she had simply not connected it. Perhaps neither really mattered, that was in the past and they were in the present. Maiev couldn't help but have those thoughts remain, but seeing her old friend coast along as though nothing bad had happened?

It brought the witch some hope that things would just resume like that had been before. Albeit, also helping Vae with whatever had happened to her in the years between.

Maiev's eyes lingered over Vaermina's body again, noting how the material hugged her. It definitely fit her just as well as it would on her, most especially when Vae did a little pirouette and got a good view of her behind.

Very well indeed.

"Yeah, it suits you wonderfully." There were other words that wanted to spill from her tongue, but Maiev bit them back and refrained. "On that topic though, I'd be happy to take you on a shopping trip at one point."

She let out an amused chuckle when Vae's stomach decided to answer for her. Maiev didn't answer initially as she stood up from the bed and lead Vaermina out of the bedroom.

"Well, 'space food' is much like clothing - there's a lot of it out there in the galaxy. Different cultures have their own cuisine, some you might like, others not so much. But you won't ever know until you try it once." Maiev let them through the ship and towards the made for the kitchen, at least what made for one on the ship. "Although I will be honest and say I don't have anything particularly special available."

[member="Vaermina"]​

 

[Vaermina]

“Yes! That’d be great.” Vaermina’s mind lost itself with the great prospect of going on something as mundane as a shopping trip. For a moment she was just an ordinary person in a wider galaxy with a variety of entertainment and activities, and not the primitive, scarred witch-in-exile of Dathomir.

“Right” Vae said with a nod, focus now turning to food. Whatever it was it’d probably be better than grilled rat. “Believe me, compare it to my last few dinners, I’m sure it’ll be proper special.” her mind was tempted to focus on that, get drawn into a loop of past memories and suppressed emotions. Instead, she allowed the uplifting view of Evie as she walked ahead towards the kitchen steal back her mind to a more pleasant territory.

“So uh… What happens now?” she asked, a little anxiously as she leaned against the counter, staring sideways over to her rescuer, only about ten years late. “What do I do? Where do I start? I don’t have credits, I don’t have a ship. I wouldn’t even know how to fly one.”

“Mind if I sit beside you and watch you as you take us to wherever we’re going? Maybe you can teach me.”

| [member="Maiev"] |​

 

[Maiev]

Maiev chuckled, nodding in understanding. While it had been years since the witch had been on Dathomir, she remembered very well what meals generally consisted of if you weren't lucky. Fortunately Vae and her had a couple villages they could rely on at the time, one of which being where Vaemina had lived in.

Although even then, the food wasn't particularly great. Especially not when you compared what was available elsewhere in the galaxy. Maiev could already see her friend getting lost in all the options - which again was another mental note to make sure she had enough credits for then.

The pair eventually walked into the kitchen, Maiev moving ahead with a natural sway of the hips. She bit her lip slightly, thinking on what to say. Vae was practically in the same place as she was ten years ago - unsure what to do with the whole wide galaxy open to explore.

"Honestly Vae, I'm not sure where to begin." Back then she had Kalax for guidance, and even then the spirit hadn't exactly gotten off Dathomir in several centuries. Now Maiev was in that same place, only this time Vaermina was in her shoes. "I can certainly give you some credits to start with, and find out how to get you sorted with a ship." But then the matter of actually piloting came to mind. Evie frowned, folding her arms under her chest as she thought on the matter. Only for part of the answer to follow from Vae.

"I can certainly show you the ropes, but I have an even better idea." Maiev paused, eyes shifting over to the doorway. "Iggy!" Almost immediately the sound of something came jogging towards them from further in the ship. Not a minute later, a protocol droid appeared from the hallway.

"Ah, Master! How can I assist?" The droid looked over at Vae, his optics widening in surprise seemingly. "Oh, I see you have a guest. Welcome! I am IG-GY or Iggy, as Master likes to call me."

Maiev looked over at Vae, realizing her friend had likely never even seen a droid until now. This was certainly going to be something to explain.

"And this Iggy, is Vaermina. She's a dear friend of mine." The witch turned to look at the woman in question. "And as he said, this is Iggy. He assists in several matters on the ship, the main one helping me fly it."

| [member="Vaermina"] |​

 

[Vaermina]

Vae listened intently with a nod and an ‘mhm’ here and there. It felt wrong in a way to take money from her friend, yet at the same time… What choice did she have? “I can pay you back” she added after some thought, the reluctance in her was only tied to taking money from a friend. “Once I figure out how” she joked lightly. Learning how to acquire credits would be the next step, presumably. It seemed like one's place in the galaxy, if not defined by it, was greatly influenced by wealth.

Vaermina’s eyes went from Maiev’s folded arms to the doorway as Evie called out. Iggy? Vae face turned to a startled expression. She had thought them alone. But once she saw what came out… Well, perhaps they still were? “A droid?” she said, examining the thing and walking closer to it. She was quite relaxed, but her very subtle body language signaled the the approach of a wary predator. Subconscious, perhaps, but she was prepared to strike if anything unexpected happened.

“Iggy” she repeated, close enough to feel the droid’s breath upon her face. Of course, it had none. She tapped her finger against the metal of its skull twice, the second time harder than the first as if to see how far she could push it. “I’ve never seen a droid up close before” she walked in circles around him, a hand unapologetically gliding over his metal casing. It was clear she viewed him as a bizarre curiosity, but not a living being whose personal boundaries she showed any respect for.

“He any good? Does he fight?” next moment, head practically leaning on the droid’s shoulder and looking over to Evie playfully. “Although I wouldn’t expect you to let anyone else do your fighting for you” from what she could recall her fellow Dathomirian was… Feisty.

| [member="Maiev"] |​

 

[Maiev]

She let out a soft laugh at Vae's reaction, immediately on her feet as the droid walked into the room. She had known; and remembered, how curious the younger woman could be. Getting right up into the face of Iggy, fingers and hands moving across his metal body.

And for the most part the droid didn't react, even when she tapped her finger against his head. He even moved it slightly to indulge her, unsure what exactly his Master's guest was doing - or looking for.

The answer came when Vae finally spoke up again, revealing what Maiev had already known and gave Iggy the answers he was seeking. She hadn't seen a droid before, a strange thing given the how commonplace droids were across the galaxy. Although she at least knew what he was.

He did shift slightly, looking over at Vae when the woman suddenly leaned her head against his shoulder. Was this a point where humans would be uncomfortable? He wasn't entirely sure. The woman's action was just a strange mystery to Iggy.

"While my original functionality isn't for combat, I have since been programmed to be proficient with some ranged weapons."

"After the ship was almost stolen that one time, while I was away."

"I was able to neutralize them."

"Then the second time that happened, on Nal Hutta."

"I made sure to shoot them in the legs."

"Except for that one Duros."

"He was being rude."

Maiev chuckled, shaking her head. She caught Vae's playful look, and grinned in response.

"Yeah, not much has changed there. I'm all for fighting my own battles." It had always been like that, whether it was for personal reasons or something as simple as defending Vaermina when they were younger.

[member="Vaermina"]​