The First step of the rest of our lives

[Akio Diachi]

Akio looked at the open chest before him. He could see all his weapons, obscure, exotic, from a less civilized age. There were weapons to maim, weapons to wound, weapons to catch everyone off guard. Most people would only see weapons like these on some sort of Holodrama if at all. He was a man of rare and particular skills.

He had forgotten for a long time who he was. He had lost his past, his identity, but now, with Dryzl he was beginning to remember. Bit by bit.

He was an assassin.

He was a killer.

He was a man of the blade.

Akio hated it. He wanted to be so much more, but now he was just a bladesman. He was a killer. The Chiss needed to find what to do with these skills, where to go from here. For now--he had one need. He needed to help start a new life with Dryzl.

Akio pulled the last piece of his Armor's chest plate into place before getting to work donning the rest of his weaponry. His amulet glimmered with the power of the Force as Akio sheathed both blades in his belt, strapped his throwing quills to his forearms, and slipped his ring on his finger. He felt the powers of Force tetaminis and Force barrier begin to hum through him, in him, and around him. At last he took his monk's spade in his hand, feeling its cool ultrachrome metal under his hand as he gave it a twirl through the air. It still felt as good as it ever had, he thought storing it across his back.

It was before dawn, he looked at the bed where Dryzl lay and smiled softly. She would need her rest to finish her recovery fully. He quietly moved into the next room and began brewing her caf and cooking her breakfast.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

It was, to put it simply, a miracle. Through all the pain, the joy; through all the brushes with death, through all the gunfights and dodging blaster fire; through the close calls and nightmares; through the sleepless nights and dreamless days, her damned internal clock still worked.

​

​Dryzl awoke fully alert, if feeling panicked. Where am I? she wondered, sitting upright with a jolt...only to lay back down as a rush of blood overtook her senses. The slight spell receded as quickly as it came, though, and left in its wake a trail of memories. Ah, right, the Chiss replied to herself, rubbing her eyes before resting an arm over her face. Denon. Snorting softly, she rolled over, intending on flopping an arm onto Akio.

Instead, her arm hit only bed. This time, she let out a quiet groan. Now there was no way she'd be able to go back to sleep. Nor was there any reason for her to stay in bed. With a sigh, the Chiss tossed off the sheets and carefully swung her legs off the edge of the bed, inhaling sharply as her bare feet came into contact with the cold floor. Pulling the dress-thing she'd borrowed from Akio tighter over her body (kamomo? Komini? Komodo?), Dryzl padded into the kitchen, where she beheld an unusual sight.

"Bun ch'ican," she greeted, leaning against the doorframe with one eyebrow curved upwards. "I did not realise breakfast had become an affair so dangerous you required armor."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Spoiler

(Kimono. )

Eggs, scrambled. Bacon, nice and crispy. Toast warm and hearty, a slab of butter on top. The Chiss did it all with cold precion. He let his mind go into a Zen state, preparing himself for what was to come. Not just the mission he was going to do but--well the conversation that was ahead too.

The Chiss thought he was ready when he heard Dryzl's comment. Humorous as it was, he didn't feel the need to laugh. He could (and had) face down a hoard of rabid, undead cyborgs, but couldn't stand against her displeasure. He turned and offered her a smile, doing his best to smooth away worry from his face as he set her plate on the table, "Bun ch'ican, the roaches, they get more vicious every day. Sometimes its a struggle to get the kitchen back from them."

He waved for her to take a seat before he sat. He wore his armor on purpose, it was the fastest, easiest, and best way to bring the topic up quickly.

"I got a hit recently," he said once she had begun eating, "One of my old contacts, a possible cashe to hit on Zoist," he left out the part about getting in touch with his old contacts, but that was beside the point. And a conversation he would deal with later--along with the repercussions.

He pressed his fingertips together, letting out a strong exhale, "Its a simple job, no assassination, no poison. Just an easy in and out at a rediscovered Sith Temple," he said with a slight shrug. That was over simplifying things, and they both knew it. But, that was the gist. The hardest part was what was to come, "Dryzl, we both know that--well we aren't exactly making ends fully meet as it is, all of this," he gave a wave at the trashed apartment around them, "its not going to cut it. Its dangerous. Disease, gangsters, drugs, we can't stay here. And I can't get a better job than what I've got without doing something that neither of us wants me to. I don't want to kill anymore. That is over. But--I have to do something with what I know. And some people pay pretty good for it. This is the best option I can find," he dropped his head like he head just ran a marathon. The Chiss didn't know whether he felt better or worse after saying that. He looked up at her, with half-pleading eyes, "You understand, don't you?"

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi "]

Spoiler

pffffft I knew, she didn't. Neither one of us care though xP

It was a rare moment indeed when Dryzl laughed (she couldn't even remember the last time she did). She really wasn't much for excessive displays of jollity or amusement. Even so, Akio's comment earned him a rather loud snort as she made her way to the table, sitting herself down with care as Can'a settled into her lap. He placed the food in front of the woman, and she began to dig in, her mouth involuntarily drooling at the scent. She had never been one for breakfast food, but this was quite good. Dryzl had forgotten how skilled of a cook Akio--

By the stars. He's leaving me again.

​The piece of toast slipped from Dryzl's hand and landed on her plate, her body jerking back as if she'd been touched with a live wire. The dragonette on her lap made a disgruntled noise before shifting into a better position. Meanwhile, the Chiss's brain reeled as it processed his words. Her skin visibly lightened to a pale icy blue. She sat there for a long time, not speaking. It felt like someone had dropped her on one of Csilla's icy oceans.

Dryzl knew she was being selfish; she also knew that Akio's words rang true. He was right; this place was​ a dump, and unhealthy to the both of them - especially her, with her low strength and low immunity right now. Last thing they needed was for her to catch some sort of disease; or for them to be caught in the crossfire of a gang war. But it hadn't even been three weeks since she'd found him, and already Akio was going to leave again, going to leave her.

​You're going to die. You're going to die, and I'm going to be left here, all alone again, only this time I don't think I could handle it.​ No, no she couldn't say that. It would crush him. But there was no way she'd leave him again.

So instead, eyes still firmly planted on the half-eaten food in front of her (she'd lost her appetite), Dryzl murmured quiety, "Veo k'ir nah tir?"

 

[Akio Diachi]

This was going better than he thought, all things considered. Yes, Dryzl did jump and she was apparently displeased with this proposition but he had no plans of going without her. After searching for months, years, without a word or a single sign of her, he wasn't planning on letting her out of his sight any time soon. She had been lost to him, but now she was found. He didn't search to just lose her again. And he knew that she would feel the same way. There was no way he was about to do that to her. Not when he could help it.

He wrapped his fingers around her free hand with a warm and gentle squeeze. "I'm not going without you. We leave as soon as your ready."

He moved through the kitchen, cleaning up his mess he had made cooking for her as he let Dryzl finish her breakfast and pack. Just because they were poor didn't mean they couldn't take care of what little they did have. The irony of doing house chores before going dungeon crawling wasn't lost on him. Akio dried the dishes, put them back in the cupboards and wiped down the counters.

When she was ready, Akio grabbed her bag(s) and began to follow her to their ship. It too was a clunker, rusty, dusty, and frankly, in horrible shape. Even Akio, who didn't know how to drive or anything about technology at all knew this thing was probably on the top ten for most scrapable ships in the galaxy. But it was enough to get them from point A to point B, and for now that was all they needed.

"Your coach awaits you, Madam," he said with an ironicly grand gesture towards their scrapheap. "Please enjoy the finest luxuries the galaxy has to offer."

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Akio Diachi"]

Dryzl released a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding. Sinking back in her seat, she squeezed Akio's hand and pushed her plate of food away. The Chiss was not going to let something as silly as low health and strength get in the way of being with her beloved. The two stayed like that for a moment, then Akio got up to tidy up breakfast. After placing Can'a on the ground, she helped as best she could with the cleaning. Not that there was much she could do - by the time Dryzl had the food put away, he had everything else done.

Her mouth puckered slightly at the small reminder of her handicapped nature, but the moment soon faded. There were better things to do than mope.

It wasn't long before all of Dryzl's possessions were stowed away neatly in one, medium-sized bag. She didn't have much, nor had she ever had much, to be honest. Though, she did miss her Clawcraft, ​Icy Horizons.​ She could only hope that it was in good hands.

Once the both of them were ready, Dryzl scooped Can'a in one arm, linked the other around Akio, and walked with them towards the ship. "I'm content as long as you're with me," she replied bluntly, gently attempting to pull her bag away from him. "I can carry this, I'm not entirely​ helpless."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio savored feeling Dryzl's touch around his waist. It wasn't often that she was one for physical affection or touch at all. It was a rare treat, and he enjoyed every moment with a half smile.

"At least I get to fly with the greatest female bandit to live," he said with a half smile, against her gentle pulling and protest he wrapped his blue hand around hers and pulled her hand to his lips for a romantic peck, "I know, but I am also not entirely without manner either."

He and her had been away for years, he was going to take every chance he had to treat her well. Inside the ship he stored her bag and his in the small--and only--quarters there were inside before doing his best to make the lumpy bed more hospitable. He had a feeling he would only get in the way with the cockpit, so he stayed here doing what he could to bide his time as Dryzl worked her magic. I wonder if I can force-imbued this mattress to make it more comfortable, he thought.

There was only one way to try. Tendrils of shimmering energy flowed from his hands, weaving themselves into the bed itself. After a few minutes of doing it, as long as it would take Dryzl to get the ship up and moving, he arighted himself and stretched out. Well, that's that, hope it made a difference....

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]