The Sand Between Your Toes

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

His fingers tightened almost as soon as she spoke the words, though luckily they had already passed into the water by the time she said it.

Jorg carried several Tattoos all across his upper body. On his bicep was an odd winding tree that denoted his families crests, on his upper shoulder were four playing cards stacked in a row, only their upper most symbol showing, yet the largest and most noticeable was a massive piece that stretched from between his shoulders to his lower back.

That particular tattoo covered almost his entire spine, and was a highly stylized depiction of his original regiments icon. Within that Icon was the symbol of the One Sith, a twist and broken star Dragon holding the One Sith's mark within it's jaws. Jorg had quite honestly forgot that the mark was still there. Many within the 5th Legion carried similar tattoos for various reasons. Some because they couldn't afford to get rid of them, others carried them as penance, and still others just had the more...offending features removed.

For Jorg?

He had never really considered getting rid of them. The mark of his family on his bicep was obscure enough that no one had guessed at it in 15 years, the playing cards were innocent, and his regimental icon? Well it was still an odd source of pride, though he would never admit it.

It wasn't for the One Sith of course, it wasn't for the government that had slaughtered so many. It was for the men and women that had fought besides him, the soldiers that had lived and died at his side. To him, they were still remembered, even if others saw the Tattoo was a mar upon his body. "They're..."

He frowned.

"Leftover." Jorg knew that he had to explain. The One Sith had once burned Zeltros, they were hardly welcome here. "Before I joined the Alliance I was a Stormtrooper."

It was something he hated admitting to people he didn't know, but he had to continue. "Conscripted."

That of course didn't explain why he got the Tattoo, though it wasn't a lie either. He technically hadn't wanted to join the Stormtrooper Legions, though it hadn't been the One Sith that had forced him to go.

"The ink was..." He glanced at the water now lapping up to his hips, then slowly looked at Joza. "The people in my regiment were the only good part of that place."

Again, a version of the truth.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza remained friendly as they waded into the water, though she was unable to keep a curious glance from the symbol that stretched between his shoulder blades. There was a look of familiarity in her eyes, but she kept quiet for now and let Jorg explain.

She wasn’t particularly startled at the revelation of him being a stormtrooper. Well, it had taken her by surprise but she went through the motions quickly. It made sense.

An unfamiliar pang sparked in her chest, it was the feeling of being…unsafe? But it drifted away into the corners of her mind and thrummed lowly. There was always something to fear when you got down to it, and she had no reason to place undeniable trust in this stranger, nor could he for her.

“The One Sith.” She nodded slowly, voice a bit more lax than the gears turning in her head. “I recognize that mark.” They’d fallen quite some time ago, on their decline while she took her first steps into the Jedi Order. She’d still clashed with them numerous times, whether alongside other Jedi or on a more personal level.

She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that he was a former Stormtrooper. She’d never given them much thought, but she supposed they were designed that way—uniformed, faceless and dehumanized in appearance. All the same as far as she had ever been concerned. Soldiers were soldiers, but she had a heavy bias when it came to those who’d served the Sith…willingly or not.

She didn’t know Jorg’s story and she doubted he would tell her.

“And the others?” She gestured to the ink on his arms, finding them more innocent upon closer inspection.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

It was there, in the water, when he first looked at her.

Before he had only taken stolen glances, a sparing gaze now and then, small bits and pieces. This was the first time he had actually seen her, and in an instant it struck her. The notion wasn't exactly flooring, or at least it shouldn't have been, but Jorg recognized her. The small curve of her jaw, the turn of her nose, the emerald spark in her eye. There was no missing the resemblance.

His heart skipped a beat.

For a moment Jorg questioned everything, questioned himself, if he could be right or wrong. His lips thinned, his eyes narrowed for just a moment, and the sudden urge to run away pushed through him fully. Every muscle in his body tightened for just a moment, and then he forced himself to relax. Jorg knew he recognized her, and it quickly dawned on him from where. There was no arguing it, she was the one, the one that he had seen in that cell.

The former Stormtrooper dropped into the water, falling with a splash. It was an odd sort of shock, a mechanism to run but also stay in place, maybe even distract her.

Jorg knew her, or at least he had seen her before. He couldn't remember exactly where, the times all blurred together, but he remembered her from a facility in the One Sith. He remembered walking past her cell, seeing those emerald eyes. He remembered picking her up, throwing her into the hall.

He remembered, and it terrified him.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s head snapped up to his face after he stiffened, able to feel the spike of anxiety in the air. The change was so sudden that a non-Zeltron would likely have noticed the momentary sense of shock.

But…she didn’t know why. He was looking at her, not with scorn, but she could only assume that she’d touched a nerve by asking about the rest of his tattoos. Her gaze slipped to them as quickly and covertly as she could to check and see if there was something potentially sensitive about them—a deck of cards and a tree with some symbols—nothing nearly as incriminating as the One Sith symbol. As far as she was concerned, the rest of his markings were innocuous.

They had to mean something though. Something to him, or else why would he be looking at her like that.

He fell suddenly, splashing into the shallow water and she blinked once, twice before wading just a little closer. The water was up just past her navel, making her stomach contract every time it lapped up further with the change in temperature.

“You alright?” She tentatively extended a hand to help him up, looking a mix between amused and unsure.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Fine." He lied.

His heart was still beating faster than he had ever thought possible, and any moment he expect to be slapped in the face or shot, but when it didn't happen Jorg slowly managed to take a breath. Slowly the Soldier steeled himself, his heart returning to a normal pace, his expression growing neutral, and his body settling within the water.

Waves reached over him causing him to bob up and down. "Thought something touched my leg."

It was probably the worst excuse anyone had ever come up with for anything.

"On Borleias we have sand sharks." That was actually a true fact. The reason he had picked Borleias was because one of his squadmates had been from the world. Over a decade of service together Jorg had pretty much heard every story from Borleias that could ever be told, including that of sand shark. "They hide in the sand under water and then come up and bite."

Of course what Jorg didn't say was that Sand Sharks were tiny creatures, only about half a foot long.

They weren't scary, and in fact many locals purposefully allowed themselves to be beaten to catch the creatures and then eat them.

 

[Joza Perl]

Normally she’d leave the anxieties of a perfect stranger alone. But given that they spiked rapidly while around her, she…stayed.

The sand shark thing made sense especially given that she knew very little about them or Borealis as a whole for that matter. She didn’t exactly believe that was what was troubling him.

“Right.” She nodded lowly. “You won’t have to worry about much aggressive marine life here, that’s further out into the ocean.” She gestured out towards the rolling waves of inky black, distant and on the horizon. Almost invisible against the sky as it slowly began to dim.

A thoughtful look crossed her face. “I used to run with the Silver Jedi, so I guess we may have crossed paths at some point. Funny to think about…” Her voice was good natured though somewhat distanced as it drifted, realizing that he probably wouldn’t find that an ideal conversation topic nor should he. She inwardly cringed at her own lack of sense.

She had no idea if it was something he’d been forced into, or if he went willingly, what he suffered or saw. Wasn’t the sort of think you oh so casually ask someone you just met.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

He floated there in the water for a moment.

"We mostly fought the Republic." Jorg said it before he even really knew what he was saying in the first place, his expression growing somewhat dimmed and startled as he came to the realization of what had just exploded from his mouth. He froze in the water again, bobbing up and down.

Then he turned for a second, beginning to swim a bit deeper as if it were perfectly normal.

"Water is nice." He raised his voice a little so she could still hear him over the waves. "Good that there's no sand sharks."

He cringed again, bringing up his own lie.

Jorg had never been a particularly good liar, in fact he was generally bad at it. The Soldier hadn't been trained it doing such things but over the last few months he simply had to lie to survive. It was the only way that he could keep living, the only way he would stay out of jail. "So you're a Jedi?"

He already knew the answer to the question. He remembered small details about her, her file...why she had been held. The whims of a Sith.

 

[Joza Perl]

“There was no shortage of my run-ins with the One Sith.” She shot back just as quickly without thinking, words slipping from the corner of her mouth with no small amount of dry spite.

She didn’t seem that remorseful, instead allowing herself to sink into the water as well, cursing her own lack of thought at not bringing a hair clip or tie of some sort. Instead she let the majority of her red mane dip into the ocean, internally grumbling something about how the salt water would make it even more difficult to manage later.

The cool water did feel refreshing on her skin, from what she did not known.

She blinked at his question, picking up her feet and letting her body bounce gently with the waves for a few moments.

“Not really.” She shrugged the best she could with the majority of her shoulders under water. “Not anymore. I’m not a Sith either, I’m just…here.”

She knew that the Alliance was pretty hard-lined as far as force alignment went but they quickly accepted help from some of her Dark Jedi friends that she had to wonder how far that extended. She only questioned it privately given her own lack of affiliation with either extreme.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Ah." Jorg didn't really understand the force, not the least because no one had ever actually explained it to him.

Some people were Jedi and wanted to help, others were Sith and just wanted to help themselves. The distinction between them was really only easy to make because of the bright yellow eyes and some other minor details, but...well Jorg had never really understood what made a Sith a Sith and what made a Jedi a Jedi.

They both seemed to be everywhere regardless.

"I." He began, realizing that she was starting to float perilously close to him and not quite knowing what to do about it. His face became a little bit more pale, and flashes of the last time she had been this close to him erupted in her mind. He saw his hand wrapping around the scruff of her neck, his fingers gripping her, tossing her out of the cell. His heartbeat began to pick up once more. "Don't think I..."

Jorg trailed off again. "Know the difference..."

He tried to toss something out of his mind.

 

[Joza Perl]

She almost snorted. “Depends on who you ask. Some people believe that if you have ‘The Force’ you can be only a Jedi or a Sith. But there are a lot of us who don’t feel like we subscribe fully to either code. Sure, Jedi tend to want to help and do what they think is right and the best for the galaxy but they’re still people, and people have different personalities. Same with Sith, though they operate more out of self-interest than anything, which isn’t necessarily bad, but usually they…”

At some point she’d been comfortable enough to start babbling, floating gently closer and closer to him.

The spike of his anxiety crept into her senses again and she stopped talking, planting her feets on the sea floor as firmly as she could, lifting them whenever a wave rolled over to keep from being submerged.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe we should get out of the water.” Her voice was laced with a friendly concern, not wanting to have to deal with a potentially drowning man. Idly she wondered if she could swim back to shore with him on her back.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"No." He told her. "It's fine."

In truth Jorg had no idea how he was going to get himself out of this situation, in fact he felt like he was a bit trapped. His fingers grew a bit numb, he wiggled them within the water to try and get some feeling back but all he could think about was what he had last used them for around her.

His lips thinned. "It's just..."

Jorg had to think, he had to...a lightbulb went off in his head.

"You're a very beautiful woman." Yep. That would be the excuse he went with, and in truth it might have been a valid one if Jorg was truly effected by those things. Of course he was a man and he did find her attractive, but ever since he'd youth he'd wanted something deeper than just looks, something more. Right now it was a convenient excuse.

One that would hopefully work.

 

[Joza Perl]

The emotionally intelligent part of Joza didn’t quite believe him.

However, the vain part giggled and glowed with the compliment. That was one way to get her to be more amicable, not that she was being particularly sour with Jorg. Instead she smiled at him, grin just a little too big to be exactly genuine.

“Thank you,” She nodded her head once in a grateful gesture before drifting closer, standing on her tiptoes until she was uncomfortably close to Jorg. Not uncomfortable for her of course.

“You can touch them.” She shifted her head down a little, peering up at him through her lashes as she indicated her chest with a tilt of her chin. Her voice was low, just on the edge of sultry as she watched him.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"What?" It took him a second to realize just exactly what she was talking about, though as soon as he did his gaze drifted south, then north to her face once more.

The Soldier wasn't exactly innocent on that front, he'd had his trists as a youth and of course he'd been engaged. Couple that with being a Soldier for most of his life and the weekend he'd had on Bespin...well he'd had more than a few women throw themselves at him. Still, her offer was entirely unexpected, especially since he hadn't meant...or wanted this to happen.

"Err...mmm." He stumbled over his words, not quite sure what to say. "I..."

How the frak did someone respond to this? Would he insult her if he said no? Should he ask for more? Maybe some context? This was a whole new level of problem that Jorg didn't really quite know how to tackle, especially considering the fact that a few years ago he had thrown her against a wall and held her prisoner. His lips thinned, his face turned an odd color of red and blue.

Then finally he spat something out. "Can't I just take you to dinner instead?"

The words sputtered slightly.

It wouldn't have been his first choice, or second or even fifth considering their past, but...it was the only thing he could think of.

 

[Joza Perl]

After a few beats of silence, Joza burst out laughing.

She wasn’t making fun of him or how awkward the situation was, but rather how sincere his response was. It was unexpected, though in truth she wasn’t sure what to expect from Jorg. He didn’t seem the type to take her up on her offer, but then again she’d witnessed a hidden hunger in men before.

As her laughter died down she drifted one step back from him, hand at her chest as she sighed in satisfaction. “Sorry,” She breathed, giving him a bright smile as if to thank him for the chuckle. “I didn’t expect you to say something like that. How about instead of dinner…”

She turned, twisting slightly and squinting before gesturing towards the far end of the shore. “We go and get ice cream. There’s a vendor a little way’s up.”

Joza’s lips parted as she was about to mention how her son loved going there, but instead she hesitated for a few moments before turning back to Jorg.

“You do like ice cream don’t you?”

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

The laughter helped defuse some of his stress at least, the thought of her forcing herself upon him hadn't been completely out of the question until she'd broken out into near tears of mirth.

It was a relief, a big one.

Now however he was stuck with another problem. She hadn't said yes to dinner, something he was secretly glad for, but she'd diverted his question to another. In the pit of his stomach he knew it was a bad idea to say, he knew it wouldn't go right, but at the same time he knew he couldn't say no. Suddenly denying her and telling her that he couldn't go would eek her suspicions. Whatever she was, Jorg highly doubted that she was any sort of idiot.

"Uhh." The syllable came out without thought.

He hadn't had any sort of frozen treat in probably decades. The only sweets he'd had in the last few years were the ones that came with ration packs and half of the time those got thrown away because of old soldier superstitions.

"Yes." Jorg said calmly. "Probably."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza was already heading towards the shore, pausing at Jorg’s response. Half-turning towards him, she cocked a brow.

“What do you mean probably? Have you never had ice cream before?”

It seemed unlikely to her given how widespread and popular the frozen treat was but she had to remind herself that the galaxy was a very, very big place.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Not in a long time." Jorg admitted.

There was an almost weary look in his eye as he followed after her, his lips thinning for a few moments before he began to speak. There was a part of him that wanted to keep everything a secret, tuck it away in some portion of his mind so no one could ever question him, but he knew that wouldn't work.

Not now.

"We didn't get much leave under the One Sith." He stated flatly. "When we did it usually wasn't in a place where ice cream was available."

He trailed off for a second. "Since I joined the Alliance I just haven't taken the opportunity to go anywhere."

Jorg left unsaid just how long he hadn't gone on vacation, had a treat, or anything of the sort.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza paused, face falling from its good nature for a few moments. She didn’t look sad, rather more quiet and humbled.

“Oh.” She said softly, giving a shallow nod in understanding. “That makes sense.” For her interaction with the One Sith, it had been one sided. She had never worked for them and had little idea what it was like to live under them or even serve them. To her they were just monsters trying to sate a craving whether it be for blood or power.

“Well now that you’ve made it here, I could show you around a bit. The city isn’t just brothels and clubs, there’s a lot to do there.” She gave Jorg an encouraging smile as they exited the water, wringing out the wet ends of her hair with both hands.

“Ice cream’s on me as a welcome to Zeltros.” A little wink there.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Would it be mean to say no?

Would she be suspicious?

Paranoia took over. He still had those flashes of her, tossed half-way across a room, bloody, bruised. He remembered the expression on her face, the fear mixed with tinges of anger and hate. Would she know? A frown pulled at his lips for a moment, unsure of what to do, what to say. His hands balled into fists for just half a heartbeat, his lips thinning for just a few more moments until he had no choice but to part them and finally speak in answer.

"Sure." It was the only thing he could do.

He didn't want to risk her finding out, didn't want to risk her suspicion. She already knew that he had once been a stormtrooper due to his own stupidity, plus...she was a Jedi, or used to be one.

Though others had explained things to him a few times, Jorg still had no idea what the limit of the force was. He knew that she couldn't read minds, but apparently a few of them could do something similar. Reading emotions, intentions, things like that. His worry was that if he turned away now she would feel something off, question it...and then somehow realize that they'd met before. It wasn't a risk that he could take, not now. Not with how tense things were with the Legion.

"Let me get my shirt." He said simply, heading past her towards where they'd been sitting earlier.

 

[Joza Perl]

Whatever was going on in that man’s head was close to giving him an anxiety attack. That much she knew—but there wasn’t much to say or do about it beyond treating him like a normal person and not pointing it out. Like the rest of her species, Joza was naturally friendly and social so it didn’t take much to her to take a liking to someone who showed her a bit of kindness.

Even if he was acting weird, but her danger sense didn’t flare to life so she wasn’t particularly worried.

Retrieving her dress, she draped it over her arm rather than put it back on. Maybe later once it was cooler and a chill settled into the night air, but for now she was content in her underwear.

The ice cream vendor was a modest structure near where the grass met the sand, pictures of colorful treats plastered over every inch of permacrete. There were a few people lingering around the area, mostly families who were taking their time in leaving for the evening.

“Which one do you want?” She’d give him his time seeing as how this could easily qualify for a sensory overload.

[member="Jorg"]