The Blue Feather

[Rory Naasade]

The Blue Feather​

Nar Shaddaa​

The Blue Feather's owners were weird, Rory decided as she stepped into the scene. Apparently there was another bar on some other hell hole planet that was modeled after one on Coruscant, and the owners liked it enough that they had opened up another one, this time on Nar Shaddaa. While Rory had no idea what the other location or Coruscant was actually like, she had to admit that she would absolutely believe she was on that center star of the galaxy when she paused, looking around this place.

It was relatively early in the evening. The place was not packed, but it held the promise of it. Brilliant and lively, the windows were hologram scenes of the Coruscant skyline rather than looking out over Nar Shaddaa. The air even smelled different in here, and not just in a normal 'bar' sort of way. Rory didn't know if it smelled like Coruscant or if simply 'not Nar Shaddaa' was enough, but it was a pretty convincing feeling that she'd stepped off of one planet and onto another.

The Charon mechanic was here to meet a contact. She'd requested a couple of items for projects she was working on that were.... difficult to come by. Charon higher ups had set up the meeting, and Rory had been perfectly happy to go that route. Everything that wasn't home was still new and shiny and she had to admit that this place was newer and shinier than most.

She'd been told to look for the largest table, on the south wall beside the bank of 'windows'. 'You'll know him when you see him' they'd told her. [member="Vinon Demeaux"].

"You'll know him when you see him," Rory muttered, "What does that even mean- Oh okay, that's what it means."

Rory stuck out like a sore thumb and she knew it. Wearing a tank top, baggy cargo pants, and boots, she'd picked the cleanest, least worn of her options. Vinon Demeaux? Opposite in every regard. Rory didn't know fashion, but she didn't really need to in order to catch that this man absolutely did.

She headed over to the table- not just the largest but also as central to the dance floor as it got without being ON the dance floor. Equal distance from the DJ and the bar. It didn't literally have spotlights on it but that was about it. There was a small crowd of people, all clearly there for one individual.

"Vinon Demeaux?" Rory stepped up with a smile. "Believe I have an appointment."

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

There were two types of sentients in the Galaxy.

The ones that hated attention, the feeling of eyes on their back, being talked to and talking back constantly. The hard music blowing at their eardrums and creating migraines from the very first step they took into a club.

Then.

Well, then there was Vinon.

From the looks of it he was having about four different conversations with six different people by the time Rory stepped up the plate to grab the attention onto herself. Vin paused immediately. Glanced her up and down, the eyebrow raised itself a fraction, but otherwise he didn't pay the badly-veiled snickering any mind. The shimmer of jeweled rings gleamed in the light as he gestured towards the seat in front of him.

"Sorry, chaps, got myself business an' that ain't something that can wait. Vio, why don't you go and grab miss Naasade over here something to drink, eh?" The one who had been snickering the foulest.

Vinon so detested bad manners.

"Don't mind them, love, lads like these measure a sentient by the cut of their fabric." Those hazels studied her intently for a moment then shrugged. "Not by the beauty of their smile... even if its a lovely one."

Slowly the crowd dispersed, each finding their way elsewhere, until only the two of them remained. Oh, Vio came around with a drink if she had asked for one, but other than that it was just her, him and the beat of the music. One leg crossed the other as the Corellian smiled at her. Almost as if he had a secret worth sharing, if only she'd answer him with another one of her smiles.

 

[Rory Naasade]

The smile on her face didn't fade, but someone with sharp eyes might catch the ever so slight tightening around her eyes. Subtle. Someone used to ignoring things because it was simply too costly to pay it mind. It was a mask, and a good one. But a mask rather than genuine dismissal of it.

Rory knew.

They weren't wrong.

It was just something that was out of her hands.

Working for Charon was like a dream come true for her. For the first time in her life she was certain of where the next meal was coming from. That the place she was sleeping was safe for more than a single night. That she could work with whichever tools she needed with whatever materials she wanted, rather than simply with what she could scrounge.

Hadn't left a lot of room for worrying about her clothes. These were clean. Didn't have rips or oil stains. The best she had.

But that wasn't good enough and she knew it.

"Water's fine, thanks," she said, flashing a slightly brighter smile at Vio as if the dismissal shot her way wasn't the strongest coming from him. Friendliness was a shield and she wielded it well.

Didn't occur to her that someone else was buying. That's not how it worked in her experience. Old habits.

Her attention moved back to Vinon with that compliment as she was pulling out one of the chairs vacated, and it caught her enough by surprise that she laughed.

"Well, can't cash in on a smile, so you know," she said, settling down. She'd left the upper portion of her exoskeleton back at the ship, but there was the slight whiiiir of servos from her right leg, the unit compensating for the knee automatically as she sat a touch faster than it would have been able to handle without it.

"Some folks don't know what some things are really worth I figure," she continued, leaning back slightly and accepting the water. It had a lemon and an umbrella in it.

Weird.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me Mister Demeaux," she said, after taking a sip and putting the glass down on the table. He'd called her miss, so she matched. "I don't want to take up too much of your time."

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

He caught it.

The tightening of muscles as facial expression was fixated rather than allowed to bloom naturally.

Oh, the smile was genuine enough, but there were the tells as clear as day if you paid attention. If there was one thing that Vinon always did... it was pay attention. The water was a funny request, but not one that worried him overly. He had offered to put her at ease and coax her attention away from the snobs. If water did that trick for her that was fine with him.

"Oh, many of my deals are sealed with a smile, love." Now that they were relatively alone it was love rather than miss. The others hadn't deserved her first name or anything else as far as Vinon was concerned.

Hand forestalled anything more.

"Call me Vinon, my friends do and I only do my business with them." He took a sip from his drink- something fruity, some sweet. It had bubbles in it and that send his tongue tingling. It made him want to talk and talk and talk the night away, oh yes. There Vinon relaxed, cup in hand, legs crossed, leaning back against his seat and studying Rory from the other side.

Beauty, that smile was.

"How can I help you today?" Hopefully there would be more days.

 

[Rory Naasade]

Rory could see that Demeaux probably flirted the way most people breathed. A necessary and subconscious action that probably only got weird if he actively noticed it. She took it even less personally than she took the snickers- those had been actually about her after all. This, she suspected, was more habitual, with the easy way he sat in it.

"Smile seems like a questionable way to seal a deal, but works in my favor so I won't argue," she responded, the expression in question widening.

"You must have a lot of friend then. Vinon it is, and if we're going to be friends, Rory is fine," she said with a laugh. She didn't really care about the casual pet names. This was more a meeting in kind than a pushing back against that. Again, she suspected, that was like breathing to him.

She took another sip of water when he did his own drink, then tilted her head. Reaching into one of the wide pockets, she pulled out a slim datapad and pushed it across the table to him.

"I'm looking for a couple of components," she said, looking hopeful. "Bosses didn't have access to them, but had a line to you. They said you knew they were good for it, but I'm here to haggle and make it look good," she said with a grin.

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

"Much you can read from a sentient's smile, Rory." The drop of the name done without hesitation and leaving love behind... for now. It hadn't been a push-back, after all, not a no, don't do this and while Vinon could read intent as well as someone else might read a book? He was all about clear pronounced words that articulated well and obvious for all to hear.

"Enough to seal many a deal."

Something would tell Rory he wasn't strictly speaking about a business deal in that moment. Not with that smile so prominently placed, if it was possible Vinon seemed to laugh and smile even more than she did.

Two fingers casually dragged the 'pad over and Vinon took a glance at them.

Nail flicked a schematic to the side and studied the projection. "90 for the two, 120 if you need the couplers as well." They usually came in threes, but Rory's hands suggested that she knew a thing or two (or five hundred) about mechanics and engineering. "Hmm. 80 if you throw in a date." Now her grin was answered with a smirk of his own.

Wide.

 

[Rory Naasade]

Still smiling, she shot him a solid side eye at the way he said that, just chuckling and shaking her head. Rory wasn't naive in that way. She knew when someone was laying it on thick in that department. He wasn't yet, but the tone and the smirk said enough. Accepted and dismissed as anything but casual flirt.

As he pulled over the pad and took a look, Rory relaxed, sipping the water.

Okay, honestly she could get used to ice and lemon. Not weird as it turned out and actually really nice.

Who knew?

The price he cited was on the high side, but not unexpectedly so. That was how haggling worked after all. Honestly, she'd expected his first salvo do be at least twice that and-

Rory sat forward, coughing, having snorted some of that nice lemon water right up into her nose from the back of her throat. Glass found it's way to the table, her other hand leaning on her knee as she held up a finger for him to give her a second.

"I can see that my offer took your breath away, take your time, love."

She started coughing all over again, but this time it turned into a laugh.

"Yeah but I want the couplings too," she said, still wheezing a little, eyes watering from the coughing fit. "So what's the discount then with those?"

She let out a soft hooooooo chayaikir, rubbing her eye with the ball of her hand. She looked up at him then, but whatever she was about to say died on her lips in an incredulous expression.

"Haran you're serious."

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

Her wheezing and laughter brought out a genuine smile that turned quickly to his own chuckling.

Laughing was infectious and while some people might have pushed the instinct down?

Vinon embraced it easily.

He wasn't much for power trips and exercises like that. If there was an opportunity to smile and laugh and embrace joy? Well, that was exactly what Vin would do in that specific moment. It didn't take (very) long for her to ease her way down again, it allowed Vinon to take a sip from his fruity drink. Then she mentioned the couplings and Vinon was already making mental jumps to see how much that would be.

It was presumably that mental calculation that allowed her to see he was being serious.

"Oh." Now the smirk came out again, cocky and mischievous. "Rory, let me fill you in on a secret-" He leaned in there, elbow on the table just slightly. "I am never not serious in these matters."

Be that business or love.

"Call it a hundred with the couplers and the date."

 

[Rory Naasade]

The disbelief at this particular exchange was written clear on her face, but she didn't look particularly upset either.

"I mean, technically it's not my money," she said with a grin. "But you took the wind out of my potential counter offer, so now I can't offer and haggle to somewhere in the middle."

Oh, she believed him that he was serious. She was also pretty sure he was the sort to ask any sentient he found attractive (she suspected he didn't cleave too close to gender or species lines, but hey that was none of her business). After the initial surprise of it (Rory wasn't particularly used to getting asked out, period, let along five minutes after meeting), she settled him right back into that casual flirt category. Specifically, that it wasn't personal. Too fast too easy for that. He might be serious, but he was in it for fun.

In which case-

Rory grinned.

"Why the hell not." Date wasn't a promise of anything more, and she suspected he wasn't the type to think it was. If he was, well, he'd find out what a cybernetically strengthened knee to the gut felt like.

"Let my bosses think I'm just that good at making a deal," she said with a wink. "When?"

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

"Oh, we could rewind the clock and do the haggling thing, if you are more comfortable with that, miss Naasade."

Vinon replied smoothly before taking another measured sip and letting her chew on that for a moment. This was all part of the fun as far as Vin was concerned, the back and forth, the smile, laughter, interplay of moment to moment. There was no rush, no hurry, because this was the point of it all. Not the quick conquest or the fast an' loose, what was the point of that?

"Hmm? That seems silly if we've already agreed, doesn't it?"

Now there Rory managed to draw out a chuckle that devolved into laughter. Finger waggling expressively as he shifted his position, letting the music wash over him and giving her a shrug in turn.

"Why not now then? Music's here, you have your drink and I have mine, we can get more."

There was no time like the present.

And in truth?

Making Vio and his lads wait, until the hours dragged by? That would make it extra sweet.

 

[Rory Naasade]

"Now?"

That shouldn't have surprised her, the way things were going, but it did.

She didn't belong here as it was obvious from the way she was dressed. She knew it. He knew it (even if he was polite about it). This was not a great date set up, even just a casual one. Except all of this was just spur of the moment to him, right? Going along with the flow, doing whatever felt good at the moment. She had his number on that one, it was easy to see- unless that was part of a persona, which was perfectly possible.

Over thinking it Ror.

"Confession time, but I don't secretly have like, a nice dress I'm going to stand up and twirl around to reveal like a holodrama," she teased. "You and I," she gestured between the two of them, "Well, honestly I'm surprised they didn't stop me at the door."

Actually, they really should have, and Rory only realized now just how weird that was.

This whole evening was pretty weird.

The ice in the water was still pretty good.

"Wouldn't you rather another time?" Genuine curiosity.

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

Oh, they would have.

If they hadn't known her name and face already from his whisper and a handful of credits.

Business was business and Vinon attracted clientele, money, interest like honey attracted owl-bears from Abregado-Rae. So, the owners (or the managers anyway) didn't mind giving him a handful of favors here and there. He shifted again- it would become clear to Rory rather quickly that Vinon wasn't the one to sit around. He was a mover and always had to be on that move.

Shifting here and there showed energy bursting at the seem.

A shrug followed. "With a smile like that I ain't much fussed about a dress or two, love." That was the simple truth as it was. Vin wasn't fixated on this or that (oh, he loved dressing himself. But that was him. It had nothing to do with anyone else).

"Wouldn't you rather another time?"

That got him intense all of a sudden.

The shifting over and his elbows leaning against the table. Interest there, as if this was the most important moment of his life. "There is no other time, Rory, no other day, no next week or month. There is now and only now." Then it was gone again as he caught himself, sipping from his glass to brush it away. "So if you are good with it, I would like it now."

 

[Rory Naasade]

Up until now it had been mostly an 'eh why not?' deal. Rory knew how few and far between a nice time could be and she wasn't prone to passing up on them without a good reason- sometimes that good reason was simply a gut 'this is a bad idea something is wrong' and she always listened to those- but this wasn't anything like that, so, again..... why not?

Her head cocked slightly, attention intensifying when he did. He hadn't been particularly interesting and then he came out with that. Oh, he was fine for certain. But a nice face and easy manner didn't make someone interesting. That? That did.

"Well okay then, deal," she said, tipping her head back slightly and giving him a different sort of appraising once over.

It was gone as quickly as it had come, but it was a flash of something other than an easy smile and a party boi.

Honestly, she wasn't entirely certain if it made her more or less interested in the date potion. She had some history and honestly someone too intense wasn't really anything she wanted ever again.

But it certainly made her more interested in the interaction itself.

"So. I don't usually date," she said, matter of fact rather than as a confession like before. It just was. "But, I'm entirely certain that I never have gone on one with someone I literally met five minutes ago. You like to talk, I like to talk. Seems like a good place to start," she said with an easy grin. "Besides 'I make deals, flirt with anything that moves, and drink things that smell like fruit punch', tell me something I don't know about you but probably should."

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

The appraisal told him he had gone too far, showed too much and let her take a glimpse at something that was... less than for public consumption.

Oh, well.

One of those days, right? He shrugged it off and finished his glass before raising it an inch in the air. A small droid fluttered down and started mixing according to his particular specifications. He listened, sipping and smiling in reply.

This was better, yeah.

"Mmm something that you *should* know," Vinon repeated as he mulled that one. The fact that she was less impressed by his usual routine (by the way she picked it out with bemusement) was noted. Put to the side for now though.

"I like smooth jazz and eat vegetarian mostly?" A grin there in reply, before he shifted a bit again. The energy back. "You don't seem impressed by my to-go-to beats, so I won't mention I partially own this place." Only about two percent, but still

"Alright for real then- did you know my ma tried to get me into the Jedi Order when I was a smol kid? Got me smuggled in and all,"

Chuckle there.

"They made me help with the agriculture corps cus I got zero aptitude for that magic stuff."

Pausing for a moment for a sip.

"Your turn."

 

[Rory Naasade]

That was way more than she'd bargained for, if she was being honest.

"Smooth jazz and vegetarian seems like the kind of 'should' for a single date for sure," she said with a smile, cocking her head at him again.

She hadn't expected him to answer with trivia about his childhood. About family. Part of that was just her own experience. No one talked about that on the street. That wasn't the sort of thing you casually dropped. The people with positive memories of their families tended to guard them closely, like treasures. People without that? Well, they weren't talking cause that was a good way to let slip real weaknesses. There was something too personal about family memories. Too painful for most people, so she wasn't used to them just being tossed around so casually.

Rory took a sip of water, almost done with the glass now.

"And you're wrong, I am impressed," she said with a laugh. "Just maybe not in the way you might usually hope," the smile turned into a bit of a smirk. "Sounds like a good investment."

Also explained a lot.

She turned the glass in her hand, mulling herself for a moment. She didn't comment at all on the Jedi thing, or about his mom. Again, old habit more than current interest.

"I liiiiike most music, but don't get a lot of chance to listen to it, and I'll eat pretty much anything," she replied after a moment, matching to start.

"I'm a mechanic, self taught, just started working for Charon. Working on a couple prototypes for them I've had living in my head for a while. Grew up in Sundari, but my accent and propensity for swearing in mando'a gives that away. My favorite game as a kid was kick the can, but when you never know if something is made of tin or beskar till you kick it, it adds a certain spice."

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

The weakness wasn't the family or mentioning it.

It was putting that much weight on it one way or another, as far as Vinon was concerned. He saw the surprise in her. Didn't expect it and that gave her away a bit. His folks had been alright. Sorta. Nothing horrible like living on the streets would have forced you into anyway.

Maybe that is why he didn't mind sharing tales.

The funny ones anyway.

That one had been hilarious in his head. "Oh, I try not to hope too much, Rory. I just set my mind to things and try an' make them happen." Sip, sip, smirk. Rince and repeat. "What impresses then, if it isn't my charming smile, beautiful dashing looks and... my fruit punch."

Not a lot of chance to listen... now that was horrible.

"Like this song?" Jazz, one of his favourites even. Finger had pointed up in the air at the question. Then she started about herself and Vinon listened. Filed things away too for later.

"Kick the can, huh? Remind me not to piss ya off then, I ain't a tin man nor beskar made." Mando then. Not surprising considering the swearing, but still. "What kind of prototypes we talking?" Innocent curiosity honestly, he wasn't much about stealing ideas.

He had plenty of his own.

 

[Rory Naasade]

She'd been tapping her toe a little to the music, so when he asked she nodded with enthusiasm.

"Oh absolutely. No idea what it's called, but it's fun to listen to!"

Rory laughed, finishing her water and putting the glass down on the table again.

"Well you *are* charming, dashing, handsome and.... honestly I'm assuming it's NOT fruit punch but I have no idea.... but you're right, that doesn't impress me much. People can be anything they want to be, any time they want to be it. I've seen those qualities in you for a couple of minutes. All surface. Kinda like a nice paint job on a new swoop. Yeah it's nice to look at, but what's the power in the engine, how well tuned is it? What's it made out of, inside? Cheap parts that'll bend and melt when put under pressure? Or something with more staying power. A good swoop can look like anything on the outside- but stuff without scratches just means it hasn't been tested yet in a race, rather than any function of the quality of the bike itself."

She was teasing but also entirely serious. The particular metaphor was meant as a deliberate flirt, and the smirk on her face told him so, but it wasn't only that.

"Didn't say I was very good at it," she grinned. "So you're probably safe from kicking."

Honestly, she'd been terrible at it, with her bad knee. Didn't mean she stopped trying.

"Got brought on specifically to build them an exoskeleton," she said easily. "Something slimmer than what you usually see. Wearable under armor, or even clothes and not be that noticeable."

She didn't mention that she was wearing half of one herself.

"Not what the parts you're trading this conversation for are for, but I'm still working on that one," she added with a grin.

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

Head tilted a fraction at that *elaborate* metaphor being drawn for him while the smirk and the gaze grew thicker.

Oh, this lady though.

"Well, I ain't a mechanic myself, so I can't talk with the same... confidence as you do, but-" Elbows on the table as he lazily leaned, putting the glass to the side so he could focus on her in truth. "I reckon one wants the speeder to have the proper wear an' tear. Show its been 'round the bend a number of times and knows how to handle the tight corners."

Her smirk was met with his as he used her metaphors himself. As best as he could, cus he was most definitely not a mechanic.

"Got the proper breakline to pace itself, make sure the ride doesn't end in an unfortunate... sudden crash."

With that done Vin picked his glass back up and gestured to hers. "As for the fruit punch, it's called an Atomic Twisted. Lime and some huttese fire liquor I can't recall right now. Tasty, if you want a taste?" He, for his part, was impressed.

Building exoskeletons like they were nothing.

"Mm, well, if you ever need an investor in any of your projects, Vin is at your service." The glass saluted lazily.

 

[Rory Naasade]

"Mmmhm, I'll take a swoop that's been around the blocks a few times that I know how it handles over a brand new paint job any day of the week, Vin," she leaned in just a touch before moving back again, relaxing easily against the back of the chair. "Not saying I can't appreciate it, of course. Just wouldn't count on it till I put it through it's paces."

A lot said in that metaphor.

A lot not said.

At the end of the day, Rory didn't count on anyone but herself. Even within the metaphor, she'd always be ready to bail if the engine stopped mid race.... because she always expected it to.

"Yeah why not," she said, in response to the drink. It was obvious in that moment that whatever the reason she'd asked for water before wasn't a particular aversion to alcohol as a basic idea. She was perfectly prepared to just take a sip of his, but he indicated to the droid, who mixed up a second and settled it in front of her.

"I'm trusting you that the hutts know anything about anything that tastes good," she said, giving him a bit of a dubious look before taking a sip-

"Oh, okay, I'll trust you on that again," she said, closing her eyes and clearly enjoying it. Rory wasn't particularly picky about.... a lot of things. That didn't mean she didn't appreciate things that were particularly tasty. Her feet tapped happily and she actually wiggled for a second as she took another sip.

"That a real offer or shiny new paint?" She asked, smirking at him over the rim of the glass. "Right now Charon is paying me to make stuff for them, but if it won't just scratch up if I poke at it....." she arched an eyebrow.

[member="Vinon Demeaux"]

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Rory Naasade"]

Once more Vinon was struck by his own intuition.

This was far more enjoyable than an extra thirty. Oh, sure, money was money and money was good, but at the end of the day the deal didn't revolve around the money. It circled around what you could do with that money in the long run. Some enjoyed to hoard, hoard and hoard even more, but in the end didn't actually do much with that cash. What was the point of that? Nah, this was better- an enjoyable evening for the price of a couple of couplers that had fallen... uh... off the cargo hauler.

So to speak.

The chuckle once she tasted the drink and then... oh... she actually wiggled for a second.

"See? Beneath the paint job- tasty beverage. What more could anyone want." A wink there as he took a sip himself and sighed in contentment. Why wouldn't Vinon be? A pretty lady in front of him, drink in hand and the music shining bright.

It was perfect.

"Mm, well, some paint jobs don't mind being scratched up a bit, no? Shows character and as we already agreed, valuable experience." Vin shrugged and finished the second glass. Put it on the table for now. Maybe there would be a third one a bit later, but right now he had enough. "If its something you believe in, Rory, you let me know and if I am interested, I will let you know." Perhaps that last part was what would seal the deal that he was serious about the offer.

After all, he didn't promise that he would invest for sure.

Just that Vin would look at it and let her know. That was more genuine than a man in a club hitting on a lady and promising the world. Presumably.

"I imagine you aren't in the can kicking league anymore though. Anything you like to do? Besides engineering ingenious prototypes, working for a shadowy intelligence outfit and making a man blush with your euphemisms."