Under Our Parent's Shadows

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Just as she was about to wack the screwdriver again, Lori stopped in mid swing. Did [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] say Carnifex? "Your Dad is Carnifex? The same Carnifex that held my Mom hostage and tried to capture me and my brother?" Well that changes things. Somewhat.

She couldn't hold it against him though. Why punish someone for the crimes of their parents? It was silly. And Kahlil already apologized for attacking her and her Dad before. So as far as she was concerned, the slate was clean.

"Well if any of them try to do anything to you while I'm nearby, I'll help to stop them.
But first....you gotta help me
" Lori set down the screwdriver and put the edge of the crowbar underneath the part of the tracking device that she had managed to lift. "Help me break the suction, please. You're bound to be stronger than I am."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The same, yeah." There wasn't another Carnifex in the galaxy to Kahlil's knowledge, though the idea of it sent a shiver down his spine. Right. His back carried the mark of his father, a mark that could indeed make the reality of multiple Carnifex true. "I appreciate it, but it's not as if we're friends. You shouldn't try to risk your life for me." He scratched at the back of his head as he glanced again to [member="Loreena Arenais"] briefly before back out to the plains. It would be nice to have another friend.

"Ask me that a couple months ago and I'd have laughed." That was a lighter topic, and one he clung to for dear life. He really didn't want to talk about how much his, and by proximity her, life was at stake. He pulled off his jacket and let that hang on a nearby antenna as he took hold of the crowbar, pressing down. Kahlil strained for just a moment before the pop signaled the end of the suction.

His training really had been paying off.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"True, we only sorta just met. Sorta. But that doesn't mean that we can't be friends." Lori tended to make friends easily. Maybe it was due to her positive attitude and the influence of her parents. But it could be that [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] just didn't want to have anything to do with her at all.

She watched him set to work, using his strength to break the suction. "Yes!! Thank you!" Lori grabbed hold of the tracking device. Her eyes narrowed at it. "No wonder they just let us go..." Lori chewed the inside of her cheek. "Wanna smash it with the sledgehammer? Gotta do it on the ground though. I don't wanna have a dent put in the hull."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"No, that doesn't does it." Kahlil laughed. "Imagine how our parents would feel, us becoming friends. What I wouldn't give to see his face." There was an actual smile on the young mans face for once. It'd be nice to be friends with her, especially after what he'd done. A chance to make up for past wrongs. "Could, but there's somethin I've been practicing. If I mess up we'll go with the sledge." With that said he held out a hand for the tracking device, giving [member="Loreena Arenais"] a warm smile.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori found herself smiling too. No doubt both of their parents would find their friendship to be unacceptable. But isn't it their job to be rebellious? It could also be a bridge that divided the two families. Or at the very least, an olive branch.

Of course they could also be barred from ever seeing eachother too.

"I think that both of our Dad's would have a problem with it.
So let's just not tell them!"

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] held out his hand for the tracker. She raised a brow and then grinned, placing the device in his hand. "What kibd of trick are you going to do?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I haven't even told my father I'm not a Sith, so I doubt I'll tell him anything like this." He grinned to [member="Loreena Arenais"] , winking. Kahlil definitely seemed far more relaxed now that he was more sure on how the pair were interacting. With the big 'I tried to kill you once' out of the way he was just more.. Him. He took the device from her as his grin widened, and he tossed it in his hand.

"Let's see if I'm any good." The ex-Sith stood up, still idly tossing the tracker in his hand. Without any more warning he chucked it high and pulled free his blaster in a quick motion. From the hip he fired. Trick shooting had become a pass time for him after his workouts had become routine. With a loud impact the shot slammed into the center of the device, burning a hole right through it before it landed on the ground below.

Kahlil blinked in surprise. "Huh. Not bad."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori smiled, well assured that [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] would live up to his word for both their sakes.

As he tossed the tracker up in the air and shot it clear in the center, her eyes widened and she couldn't help but applaud him. "Wow! That was fantastic!
I don't know why I didn't think of that! You're a great shot! Let's set up some more targets for the both of us. Make a game out of it. Whattya say?"

She had learned how to shoot well enough when she was in training with the Mandalorians. Her eye was pretty good.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Yeah, sure. Why not." He smiled wide to [member="Loreena Arenais"] as he held out a hand to help her to her feet. Nothing wrong with a friendly game. "Got any prizes in mind for who wins?" He left that open ended as he jumped down from the roof, landing on the ground with ease. Kahlil turned then, holding out a hand as if he'd catch her. "So, what are we gonna shoot?"

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori took his hand as [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] helped her up. "Thanks." She gathered the tools and started to walk to the edge where she climbed up earlier. "Prizes?..Umm...hmmm...How about if you win, I'll let you take a spin with my jetpack! And if I win...umm...I dunno actually."

Kahlil sure jumped down easily enough. Well he was also over a foot taller, so that made a difference! But Lori wasn't that skilled of a jumper. She pocketed the screwdriver and held onto the crowbar as she climbed part way down. His hand was held out for her and when she could reach it, she took hold and then jumped the rest of the way. "Oh I've got some empty bottles we can use."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Jetpack? I'm not much of a.. Personal flyer. How about.." He paused, scratching at the back of his head for a moment. Then an idea hit him. Kahlil grinned as he helped [member="Loreena Arenais"] down, nodding. "Lunch. Winner pays for lunch. Sounds good?" At the mention of bottles he began looking around for them, his gaze traveling over the plains. Was she actually a litterer?

Course not. Right. Her ships right there. "Get em out. Lets say.. Twenty Five if you have them. Majority wins."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"No? Gosh, you haven't lived until you try. It does take some getting used to, I'll admit.
But I made my jetpack myself!"

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] came up with another idea though. One that was better and far more even. "Lunch sounds good. I like that." She picked up the sledgehammer. "I haven't counted the bottles. So let's look and see." Lori led the way up the ramp and back to the cargo hold. She deposited the tools into her tool kit and then headed over to the kitchen. "There's a bag of them under the sink. Probably best to count them outside just in case some are stinky."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It's just.. Really not my thing. And as much as I trust your engineering, I prefer to have my feet on the ground. Or in a ship. Something solid y'know?" He laughed nervously. There was something about not having something under his feet that made Kahlil uneasy. He followed [member="Loreena Arenais"] back into the ship. Once she mentioned the bag he grabbed a hold of it, heading back out. There he'd start lining them up in more or less equal distance. Gotta keep it fair.

"How is it having a crew of your own? I've been thinking about getting my own ship some time."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"That's okay. I'm not going to force you. My twin brother isn't so fond of it either."

As [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] made his way outside, Lori quickly ran up to her quarters and grabbed her blaster. She checked to be sure that the energy pack was full before heading back down and out of the ship to where he was setting up the bottles.

"It's great. Though it took a while before I found the right people. Crew members come and go and you have to be careful. Some are spies..." Lori had a spy on her ship once; one from the First Order. Fortunately he was just using her to gather intel on one of her missions and for a lift to their capital. So it was nothing too bad.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm. That makes sense. Knowin my luck I'd probably end up recruiting a bunch of Sith Assassins who were planted there to kill me midjump." It was both a joke and an admission of a real fear of his. His whole life Kahlil had been a target, but now he didn't have the protection of being a Sith to keep the masses from coming down on him. Once he finished setting up the bottles he stepped back over to [member="Loreena Arenais"] , his hand resting casually on the grip of his own blaster.

"Right. Count of three?"

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"I can always help you find some. You can even tag along with my crew for a time and see if it's the kind of lifestyle that you'd like." Lori knew quite well of how it felt to be at a cross roads and not know which path was best.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] had the bottles all lined up. And sure enough, there was the right amount required. She licked her bottom lip as her finger rested gently on the trigger of her blaster."No Force use, okay?
That's cheating." She didn't know much Force tricks anyways.

"One...Two...Three."

She brought up her blaster, took aim and started to fire at the bottles. Bits of shattered glass began to fly.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It's a lifestyle I've been living, and one I enjoy." That was how he's been so free these past months. Kelsie and her ship. He loved seeing the stars, loved seeing all the worlds he had. He wouldn't trade it for anything. Once the bottles were lined up and [member="Loreena Arenais"] seemed ready he laughed some. "I don't use the Force anymore, so we're good in that regard."

His power was only good for killing after all.

Once the countdown began Kahlil's eyes narrowed in focus, his hand hovering just above his blaster. At three he pulled his gun free, bursting the first bottle with incredible speed. But that was about the extent of his quick shooting. He had to aim for the rest, slowing him down drastically. By the end he only got ten bottles to Loreena's fifteen. He lowered his blaster with a simple shake of his head.

"I gotta start working on the follow through, huh."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori continued to fire on the bottles. Not really counting them, just doing what she was trained to do. Breathe, fire, adjust, fire, adjust, breath and repeat. She had a lot of practice with it before, so it was almost second nature. Of course still targets were far easier than moving ones. Not to mention that they were spaced not that far apart from eachother.

"Great job! You'll get the hand of it, with some practice.
It's all muscle memory. Aim with your eyes and your arm will follow through. It's kinda like piloting a ship; you use eye/hand co-ordination."

She set down her blaster so that it can cool and then took hold of the bag and moved towards the broken bottles. "We should clean this up, first. Then I think that someone owes me lunch." Lori grinned and winked at [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] .

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I'll get better. Still new to it all." He chuckled some as he helped to clean up the bottles. Probably would of been better to use something else given the shards he kept finding. Soon enough though [member="Loreena Arenais"] and Kahlil would collect them all and get them all back in the bag. He raised a brow and smiled. "Yeah, I do don't I. Got a place in mind you'd like to go to?"

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Practice makes perfect." Or so the saying goes. In some respects it was right, but in others...well, sometimes you could practice something for a lifetime and STILL not get it right. Everyone had a weakness.

Lori continued working with [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] , doing what she could to pick up mpst of the shards of glass. Some were too tiny to worry about. But she surely didn't want some kid to hurt themselves when playing in the grass.

Finally it was finished. Letting out a breath, she answered his question. "I saw a Plenty's restaurant in town. They have the BEST bantha burgers. Be right back." She carefully lifted the bag up and then carried it up into the cargohold of her ship. Then she returned, wiping her hands on her jacket before smacking the button to activate the ramp. As always, it had a few seconds delay, giving Lori time to get down before it lifted and securely closed the ship. She picked up her blaster and reholstered it in her belt. "Okay, let's go."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Bantha burgers? I can't say I've ever had that." He blinked as he tried to think up a time he ever had a burger, period. He really couldn't think of a time, and it made him rather excited to learn just what it could taste like. Kahlil waited patiently as [member="Loreena Arenais"] locked her ship. That was something he understood. It was one of the first things Kelsie had taught him afterall!

He slipped his own blaster back into it's holster and his hands into his back pockets, walking alongside her. ​"I'm definitely hungry now."