Private Unwanted Advances / Advancements

[Aymeric Rouche]

It'd started as just a defiant response to his effective enslavement, but as the days went on Aym genuinely was starting to miss the homey confides of this manor's spacious dungeon. It'd been so nice down there; quiet, and a lot warmer than his last few hideouts as well. Absolute paradise in comparison, all the better to soften the blow of finding that the blind woman from earlier had laid claim to him. After being so close to death, it was nice to bounce back so quickly from his grievous wounds; although, the method used was less than desirable. Bacta, or whatever, just wasn't natural; he felt so dirty after each mandatory session. That was the gist of every interaction with either the barbarians or the traitors so far, foreign ideas and forced complience. Hell, that's what'd coaxed him out of his lair and back into the manor that day: Xobos wouldn't get off his back regarding this stupid mechanical arm. Even now he was fifty / fifty on ignoring the order again. What was so wrong with just wanting to stick with what he had left?! It wasn't enough that she lopped off his forearm, now she was dictating what to do with the stump! When would this madness end....

All in all, the hunter had openly defied his enslaver's attempts to convert him over to the corrupted thinking so many of his fellow Illyrians now followed blindly. The change of clothes he'd been left hadn't even been touched, instead abandoned to let them rot, and he'd given his assigned room the same cold shoulder. "Comfy mattresses and soft pillows are the death of all warriors", or so the old adage went. Honestly, that was exactly what had happened to the entire planet; too damn many comfy pillows! To get his point especially across, Aym had gathered up the tattered gear he'd been wearing when captured, saved it from the trash, then got to work putting it back together. There was barely enough for a full wardrobe this time, so he settled for a horribly patched shirt and a similar pair of frayed, leather pants. His boots had been unsalvageable, so he'd be barefoot until he could find some tools to make another set. That could be put off for now, yet he felt like he'd get an earful from Xobos if he didn't at least go for an estimate on the new arm.

"What, never seen a guy this handsome before? feh" Aym stated harshly, after one of the manor's guards had the gall to look at him funny. He hated these guards, traitors the lot of them. This latest one seemed to be constantly sizing him up, perhaps looking for first blood. Sadly, without his weapons he couldn't take down the whole guard contingent in one shot.

There was a part nobody told you; the guards, the guests and the manor itself made this place damn near unlivable. Simply too many people around. The hunter had mostly kept his eyes down as he wandered the halls looking around for some doctor or mechanic; he couldn't remember their name for the life of him. This last door was the third place he'd tried so far, yet he still hadn't given up quite yet. So, it was on to the fourth!

"HEY, OPEN UP!" Aym yelled, interspersed with hammering on what he hoped was the workshop's door with increasing roughness.

 

[Cali Ziiva]

A low tremor in the floor preceded the doors sliding apart. Whatever Aym expected to see it probably wasn't the twelve-foot tall military droid on treads that crouched down before the doorway with two heavy, repeating blasters for arms. Good news though -- the blasters weren't spinning up, so Aym had that going for them, which was nice.

"Goliath, move aside. I can't see him around your massive frame," a high pitched voice, likely female, called out from further in the chamber.

A low mechanical sound followed the request, one which might have been taken for a grunt if they'd been organic. Slowly one of the treads reversed so it would turn back and away from the door.

"Oh, hey," a pink woman in overalls waved from within the large chamber full of various mechanical constructs in varying degrees of being built. From where she leaned over something resembling an engine or massive weapon, the Zeltron waved cheerfully overhead to her latest guest. "Sorry about the 'you will be ter-min-ated' welcome. Goliath gets kind of defensive when people bang on the door demanding to be let in. He's usually really sweet otherwise. Very protective of all the cool stuff in here."

"Come on in!" Cali waved to beckon Aym inside. She straightened up and moved around toward her Chill Zone. "Want anything to drink? I got all the good stuff. Nyoom juice? Want some nyoom juice? Maybe some liquor. Oh, maybe not that yet, huh? I mean, unless you're not here on business than totally the liquor." She giggled as her pink self sauntered into the living area with plush accommodations, fridge, and mini-bar. Engineering is thirsty work!

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Aym was starting to wonder if the seemingly normal door he'd been beating on was really more reinforced than it looked, given how it sounded while opening. However, that mystery was solved rather quickly, as he was soon staring face to crotch with a massive droid literally filling the doorway. It certainly was bigger than the mining droids he'd seen up to now, even making them look dinky in comparison, and this was the first he'd ever seen with blaster cannons of those...not leg things. The hunter was sure this ugly hunk or durasteel was used to folks cowering away from it, but he simply wasn't the cowering type, for better or worse. He frowned and glared deeply into what passed for its eyes, waiting a moment before speaking up. "Wanna get outt-" he stated coldly, really hoping he wasn't going to have to fight this thing, until a feminine voice from over the armored shoulder rather ruined the showdown. The droid would live- well exist, another day it seemed.

Almost every healer Aym had crossed paths with over the years, besides a few ex-soldiers, had been women, so he wasn't really surprised by this development. As soon as the droid had the good sense to get out of his way, he crossed the threshold almost radiating impatience. This distraction had only cost him a minute, but that was still a minute longer he wanted to spend in the manor today. The hunter wasn't exactly sure what to expect of Xobos' healer/mechanic- whatever, but it absolutely wasn't a pink woman in a room full of barbarian junk. This discovery rankled him on multiple levels. Aym immediately took a step back as the clearly alien woman tried to apologize for her droid's suicidal insolence. This was the first xenos he'd ever met, technically barring Xobos he supposed, so he was having a helluva time trying to process this. He'd never expected to run into one ever, let alone so promptly and without warning.

Manners were never his strong point under even normal circumstances, but at the moment Aym just continued to frown and stare at the oddly welcoming pink woman. He took another step back when she drew closer; putting him back into the doorway. Midway through her barrage of pleasantries and offers, he opened his mouth to say something, only for a noncommittal groan to escape instead. 'Dammit, Xobos. You could've warned me...' he thought bitterly, quickly shifting his gaze between the xenos and the hallway; both foreign and uncomfortable, but only the former being a present threat. She was so very pink, and the coloration was really starting to feel more unnatural by the minute. Normally he'd rather die than retreat like this, but sans weapons and an arm, he gave himself a pass just this once.

"Arm. I needed an arm. Don't see one, I'm leaving." Aym blurted, waving his maimed forearm for a visual aid, then spun on a heel to walk away.

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Cali hopped up on to the bar with her feet dangling down the front. She'd plucked a glass and begun to pour some nyoom juice when Aym turned to leave. Zeltron didn't budge. Didn't even stop pouring. Though Aym would find their progress inexplicably halted regardless. His feet were moving like they should carry him away, and it felt like the floor was moving under his feet, but he didn't manage to cross the threshold back into the hallway. Slow. Fast. Leaving didn't seem an option.

"Mmm," Cali kicked her feet a bit after she took a drink. "Oh," she blinked as though remembering Aym was still there. "You know, when one of the best Engineers in the galaxy offers to build someone an amazing limb for free -- well, not for credits anyway -- most people wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave. 'Course, you can. Soon. When I'm done with my drink." The pink woman giggled. "But why? You came here for an arm, didn't you? Just going to leave because I didn't have a mass produced one on a counter for you to purchase? Kind of short-sighted..."

She took another sip as her bright eyes peered across the room at the man over the rim. He probably wouldn't like his predicament any more than he did a few moments ago. All the grump just rolling off him was sure to increase. Zeltrons could see negativity like Miraluka saw the Force. Well, if you believed Cali anyway, and who knew when she was embellishing. But sometimes you had to sit in the presence of grumpy people in order to get them to smile. She learned that before even leaving Zeltros. Today wouldn't be any different.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Aym's mind had already moved on to the topic of what he was in the mood to kill for his dinner that night, so it took him a minute to catch on that his attempts to flee weren't exactly going well. Maybe it was hunger, or the horrid side effects of the manor's climate control on him, but he didn't realize the pink woman was the one hampering his escape until she spoke again. This revelation honestly made him run faster, reputation be damned. When this again proved fruitless, he looked over his shoulder and glared hard enough to project pure hatred her way. It was damn near palpable.

The hunter thought he'd downright been a gentleman earlier, so this display of powerful magic was starting to ruining his day on multiple levels. Fuming, and utterly sick of the parlor tricks, he stopped struggling and took a few steps further into the pink witch's domain. The knowledge he really didn't have any means on hand to effectively defend himself against the barbarian's influence, beyond good ole fashioned bad language, was frustrating in the extreme.

"I don't really care who you are. Let me go." Aym hissed through clenched teeth, closing the distance a little further, but well aware the hulking droid was lurking nearby. He wouldn't put it past a xenos to sic their watchdog on him, instead of sorting this out the honorable way. Even sans an arm, he was confident he could prevail if things came down to a duel. The hunter went to fold his arms after he came to a stop, only to find the gesture difficult while missing most of his left one, leading him to growl out his frustration and give up. Oddly enough, Aym was feeling less rage than what he figured would've come from having his buttons pressed like this, which was worrying in of itself. Was being around so many barbarians starting to lessen his killer instincts?! The thought was downright horrifying.

"What did you do to me? I should be furious right now!" Aym admitted, raising his voice and accidentally letting the barest hint of fear seep into it. He hated this; chopping off his hand was one thing, but changing his attitude was taking things too far. Gripping his lower jaw, he turned away from the pink woman, silently taking mental inventory and seeing what else had been changed. Nothing immediately came to mind, but that didn't mean much. "I didn't want this new arm in the first place! Xobos is forcing me to, like I need two hands to learn magic!" the hunter admitted, after he whirled around to face his xenos captor.

"If I had my way, I'd stay like this. I can get by with just one." Aym seemed to physically deflate after that last outburst, his gaze trailing down to stare at his bared feet. He seemed a lot more tired and dejected when he looked back up. "Credits are barbarian money, right? I wouldn't have any to give you anyway." he added, seemingly deep in thought while collecting himself. "I hate myself already for asking....but what was it you liked to be paid in instead of credits? My soul? I wasn't really paying attention to everything you said."

 

[Cali Ziiva]

"Told ya," Cali stared across the distance at the man, "when I finish my drink. Or you give me arm designs." Wasn't like the Zeltron engaged in kidnapping. No matter what the Miralukan Sieur said. But sometimes you had to get someone's attention and this one was more than a flight risk -- he was a flight certainty.

A few quick blinks and a tip of the head followed the man's next emotive outburst. Do? Guy seemed pretty upset. Cali wasn't entirely sure what the guy meant. Maybe it was because she was too cute to hate? Seemed a reasonable assertion.

Had the guy paid attention to anything she'd said? Well, no matter. Zeltrons didn't mind repeating themselves. That's why they parties so much -- it never got boring.

Giggles bubbled forth and the pink woman rocked atop the bar for a second. "Your soul? I'm a Zeltron, not a demon. Our currency is smiles and laughter. In your case, however, I was really talking about how I could make whatever arm you want without credits involved, but," Cali trailed off. She paused a moment and looked across at Aym without moving toward him as he seemed on edge as it was. "I can see this whole thing isn't sitting well with you. That's what I mean by it not being free, really. Best I can do is promise to give you a really awesome replacement so you can live a fun, fulfilled, and long life."

"I guess you haven't met my kind before, huh? Well, important thing to know is Zeltrons like feeling happy. We like it so much we try to make everyone around us happy. Sound like paradise? Well, uh, it is. Zeltros that is. Maybe not your cuppa, but believe me you would leave there without a care in the world. Here?" Cali's eyes shifted to scan her shop. "Well, I'm not going to single-handedly free you of all your worries, but you can be sure I'll try." Another giggle followed. "Comes with the territory."

"So," she hopped down off the bar, "maybe you don't need two hands for magic, but it'll make it much easier. Its an unconscious thing. You know how to use your hands; how to lift things, shape things, move things. Easier to apply familiar concepts to unfamiliar ones. Two hands would help, and I'm happy to help you. Name's Cali, by the way."

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Hate was something that came natural to Aym; almost as instinctual as breathing, easily his most felt emotion. If one got down to brass tacks, hatred had more or less been his sole reason to live the last few years; hatred of the invaders, hatred toward their policies, hatred of the wolves, and hatred towards his traitorous kinsman. It was so ingrained with his identity, that he genuinely wondered on occasion if he'd be anything without it? These extremely rare moments of introspection suddenly became incredibly relevant at present, since try as he might, the hunter couldn't bring himself to hate the pink woman. God knows he was trying, even superimposing her into his worst memories didn't help. Somehow, her infectious giggle made even getting mauled by those damn Loth wolves seem like a festive occasion. This was horrid beyond words.

"Zeltron, huh." Aym muttered under his breath, trying and failing to find something disparaging to say about her people's name. The 'smiles and laughter' bit in particular had him grinding his teeth, which only upset the cavities Xobos had promised to have fixed, so he stopped that right quick. The hunter snorted when the woman actually suggested that a new arm was going to give him a better life, a longer one at that. Was this the kind of pitch that'd won over most of the planet, just nebulous promises of things being better due to the barbarian's intervention? How gullible did the city folk have to be to buy any of this? No wonder dad had kept them away from places like this, they were nothing but trouble. All that said, Aym was feeling significantly less inclined to keep up his default defiance in this instance. Without hate to brush it aside, empathy was taking up valuable space in his thoughts; thus, he didn't want to hurt the Zeltron's feelings, for now. It might have been an elaborate trick, but he almost took her seeming sincerity at face value.

Aym groaned even louder when the pink woman once again went on about the virtues of having two hands, this time from the angle of working magic. Afterward, she actually formally introduced herself. Cali, it was almost too simple a name for a xenos; he always expected them to be a lot more complicated and weird sounding. With a sigh, the hunter slowly approached the bar with his head hung low; if he saw how close he was getting to the Zeltron, he could've faltered out of reflex. Once there, he took a seat a few stools down from Cali, then laid his head on the counter facing away from her. Despite not looking at her, he could swear just being this close to Cali had his mind racing all over the place.

"You try too hard." the hunter finally replied bitterly, chuckling under his breath. "You don't even know me. Either way, I'm not going to live a 'fun, fulfilled, and long life'. That's not for me; Still, like I said, I'll take the arm. What choice do I really have?" he continued, his fingers thumping rhythmically against the bar. "What do you need from me? Let's just get this over with, shall we? Also, you smell nice for some reason."

 

[Cali Ziiva]

"Huh?" Cali's tossed hair flopped about she her head tilted sharply at the man's statement. Tried too hard? Really? Like, she was totally being low key right now. This was Mellow Cali. Oh, Cuteness, this guy was going to flip if he ever saw Rowdy Cali.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you to say," the Zeltron purred.

Wait, she smelled nice? From the guy that fled the second he laid eyes on her? Who was upset they weren't more upset? And was laying their head down on the bar all cute like in a mopey way? This guy wasn't hypersensitive to her pheromones was he? Cali tried to keep them on 'simmer' most the time. Being a part of her physiology she couldn't exactly turn them off, but a cutey knew how to control herself...around people that got the wrong idea more often than not.

Well, it wasn't like she was trying to do it. Cali smiled for a second to shift gears back to business. "Well, you can refuse it, you know. I don't think you should. You can use magic with one hand and your upper arm just fine. I think you'd survive longer if you had another hand to wield a sword in while you hit someone else with an invisible wall. But that's just a humble Zeltron talking; not like we know anything about war." They didn't. Normally. Cali did. Kind of hard not to given how often someone would try to kill you for credits, and all the worlds being set on fire. The galaxy was messed up.

"So, what do you want in an arm? Not every day you get a chance to change something about your physical body. You want something that looks and behaves like the original? Can do. I wouldn't mind spicing it up though. Hidden blade? Plasma torch fingertip? Extendable spikes for climbing or defense? Energy shield generator for when people just won't stop shooting at you? Tons of options." Cali moved a stool closer and laid her hand atop the bar. "Why don't you tell me more about yourself and what you see yourself doing." One step at a time, maybe he'd come to see she wasn't a threat. Maybe.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Aym snorted at the very notion of being sweet; hell, it was almost an insult at this point. He hadn't been called sweet for the better part of a decade, and back then he might have actually had a sliver of sweetest still around. Still, there was something in her voice that he found interesting, maybe even....was attracted the right word? Either way, he kept staring the opposite way and kept his head down; the cold surface felt very good against his scarred cheek. It pained him to admit that the bacta, or whatever they called it, had done a great job piecing him back together after that horrid night with Xobos and the miners; even if his new scars still ached like hell when he turned a certain way. She couldn't see it, but Cali's further insight regarding whether to get a new arm or not brought a brief smile to his face, before it vanished just as quickly.

The hunter raised his head a little to answer the question she next posed, only to hesitate when he realized that he really didn't know the answer to it. "I don't really know. Until half an hour ago, I wasn't even totally sure I was going to get one. Again, Xobos just kept asking about it." he said, lowering his head back to the counter "Look, as long as it has five fingers, and doesn't look too obvious, I don't care. Not even sure what a plasma torch is, if I'm being honest. Same with the energy shield, but let's stay focused here." Aym was about to say something else, when the thought went right out of his head. Somehow he just knew that Cali had gotten closer; sure, his spatial awareness helped with that a bit, but there was something else there too. He could smell her much better.

Aym notably sniffed the air and shuddered a little, then suddenly seemed to zone back into the real world. "....my name is Aym; I'm a true Illyrian. I'd been living alone in the mountains for five years, until Xobos found and enslaved me. I have no idea where my life will be going from here, so I can't tell you that last part. Just...give me something basic." That was about all he was will to share, she really didn't need to know much more about him. His childhood couldn't possible factor in his choice of prosthetics; then again, he'd probably get less funny shapes and monsters carved into it than if he'd lost this arm as a kid.

"Take a step back again, I-..like that perfume of yours, but it's kinda strong." the hunter said, more telling than asking, gesturing with his stump for Calli to give him some more space. "That reminds me, what are you even doing here? Is Zeltros bad this time of year, why else would you be on Illyria of all places? Did Xobos initially capture you too?"

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Aym didn't seem terribly enthusiastic about the arm, but at least they weren't screaming about it not being necessary any more. Didn't seem like he knew much about technology either. Kind of strange, but alright. No creative ideas thrown at the Engineer in Waiting which was a bit of a bummer, but wouldn't stop the Zeltron from coming up with a litany of her own. If Aym didn't suggest ideas then he'd have to learn to live with Cali's; and if he knew more about her that might terrify him. Thankfully, he didn't, so no assumptions were made and she expected he'd end up quite delighted!

True Illyrian? Hm, oh, yeah she'd heard about those. Not the only planet to try the genetic phallus waving contest. Cali was a True Zeltron, though she didn't go around telling everyone that. Well, she didn't need to since it was self-evident, but the point was no one cared? Something the Illyrians would have to learn eventually. Culture was fine to hold on to. Genetic purity -- or worse sheer birth location -- was just an excuse.

"Xobos enslaved you?" Cali tilted her head. "Ohh," a head bob followed, "right, so she decided to do the whole Train a Prospective Apprentice thing. Yeah, she's a cutey, but 'tradition' you know." A little roll of the eyes followed not that Aym likely saw, but he could pick up on the vocal cues. Xobos had probably used the brand-seal-thingy again.

The pink woman slowly stepped back with a silent shrug. Uh, yeah, perfume, right. Five years in the mountains gave this guy a heck of a sense of 'smell.' Probably not what did it, but Xobos probably wouldn't like it if Cali's pheromones led to something... naughty. So a little distance wouldn't hurt. Though the second there was an opening to hug Aym the Zeltron would do it. It was hard not to given how dour the man's mood was. He desperately needed a hug.

"Capture? Me?" She giggled. "No one captures a Zeltron. We're far too friendly for that." Which wasn't entirely true. There'd been a few Zeltrons in history that'd gone the whole 'Hero' route. Cali herself was walking that line. "I seduced the cutey with sheer love and adoration. The endless supply of strange and useful gizmos and gadgets is just a bonus. I moved here to be closer to her. Sure, it's not anywhere near centralized or beautiful -- no offense -- as Naboo, but I have my own ship and stay in frequent contact with lots of people across the galaxy. Everything works out."

"But, you should probably think about what you're going to do going forward," Cali said to turn the conversation back toward Aym. "Like, you don't need to decide today, but think about it, 'kay? Even if Xobos teaches you how to be a great warrior or whatever, it's a really big galaxy. There's tons to do. Illyria can always use a patriot to defend it from the more, uh, genocidal of governments or species out there." Aym never had to leave the planet, but Cali knew if he was being trained there was going to be off-world activities. Most of them probably a pain in the plump rump.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Aym stopped drumming on the counter after Cali seemed to go from understanding to rather insensitive over his state of enslavement; indirectly belittling his turmoil over the whole thing. Also, Cutey!? She had the nerve to call Xobos a cutey after hearing about this arrangement?! Rage, and just pure hurt, rolled off of him like a tidal wave. Ironically, being that angry did a decent job clearing up his head from the unknown thrall of the Zeltron's pheromones. His head slowly rose from the bar as his host kept talking, panning around to give her a hard glare. The "no offense" part did nothing to soften having his beloved home verbally attacked either. Aym's nails audibly grated against the counter, the rigid claw retracting into a shaking fist. Utterly seething or not, he wasn't about to try attacking the pink woman, for various reasons, yet had the unshakable urge to hit something at the moment.

"Going forward..." the hunter hissed from between clenched teeth, his breathing sharp and erratic. He looked damn near ready to explode at this point. Aym raised his remaining hand and extended an index finger like he was ready to deliver a brutal rebuttal, a refutation of Cali and the rest of the barbarian's whole reason for being here, and particularly her saccharine attitude. Except, nothing came out. He sat there shaking, mouth agape to speak, but couldn't find the words. Actually, it would've been more accurate to say that there was nothing really to say. Ironically, in her search to cheer him up, the Zeltron had touched on the reason he really couldn't see himself finding a purpose, let alone happiness.

Illyria was lost, and without venturing out into the galaxy he hated, there was nothing really awaiting him now other than dying for the sake of some foreign dictator holding on to the poor planet with their dirty claws.

Aym's mouth slowly closed, while his eyes blinked rapidly and turned glassy. He whipped his face away from Cali hard enough for his neck to throb with pain, then dropped his forehead against the counter with sufficient force to make quite the 'THUNK'. "Is this all just a game to you?" the hunter asked earnestly, growing muffled as he pulled his arms around his head. "Just follow some conqueror you find 'cute' in subjugating a planet, and trying to fix things that aren't broken? I just...don't get you barbarians." He banged his head against the counter again. "Heh I don't want to go out into the galaxy, and yet largely this planet isn't worth saving anymore. What the hell am I supposed to do, keep living under this castle until Xobos bored with me? I-" There was the slightest hint of a sniff, which he tried to cover over with a forced cough. "You know, it would've been more merciful for her to take my head off, not my hand. I can't tell if she was trying to be merciful, or cunningly cruel..."

 

[Cali Ziiva]

"You're supposed to find a reason to live, Aym. Not survive. Live. Now, I don't know a whole lot why you keep calling me a barbarian, but you obviously think Malvern conquered Illyria. And, you're pretty much right. Then again, I have to wonder what was the point of all that fighting before he arrived? And I'm here thinking of ways Illyria can grow without turning the planet into a toxic pit of chemicals -- and that's happened on planets strip mined by greedy people elsewhere. From where I stand better education, access to medicine, and the ability to converse with your neighbors without wondering if they plan to kill you would be good things."

"Is it perfect? Probably not. Especially from where you sit. But, Aym, that's what I'm asking -- you just going to sit there, or worse beg for Xobos to kill you so you don't have to worry about all this? Or you want to protect your planet? And don't tell me it isn't worth saving. You're talking about a planet, full of people. Not a handful you only care about. Maybe even a very ideal that Illyria is supposed to be. Well, it'll never get there long as people don't take one step at a time no matter how many times they'd brought low. I've seen that too. Hopeless causes managing to win in time to make a difference -- because the people cared that much."

"Then again, I'm just a humble Zeltron that likes to party. Insurrection'll get a lot of people killed, so I'd rather you didn't. A bloodless guiding hand is better, but that takes real commitment, intelligence, and above all patience."

With a sigh, the pink woman drifted closer to where Aym sat. "You don't have to change into someone else, Aym; but you do have to adapt. If not for your own happiness, then for something greater than yourself. Something you can hold on to. Because if you don't have that..." Her voice softened the closer she got. "Wanna tell me about the Illyria you know?" The man sounded and looked like he needed a hug, and someone to talk to -- especially when he couldn't manage to form the words.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

Defiance ran deep with Aym; it was a cornerstone of who he was, so his first instinct was to shrug off Cali's advice. However, the zeltron's efforts to reach him through her words were rather hard to ignore. Honestly, he couldn't help but feel downright pathetic having someone he wouldn't even have spoken to a few days ago give him sound council, and sincerely sound like they cared about what happened to him as well. It was...weird, just weird. Beyond what she said, the undercurrent of wanting to help and genuine kindness just permeated everything the pink woman did. The hunter would be lying if he said he didn't admire her for it; although, at the same time, it also shined a nasty light on everything he was as a person. The rage was still there, and futilely trying to reignite, but it seemed Cali had smote it down to the embers.

"Enough. You've made your point." Aym finally admitted, spitting the words like they were as physically distasteful as they were mentally. His voice was a lot more steady now, and any unintended emotions had thankfully died down from a minute ago. "Y-you talk like I'm on the same level as the common rabble just going about their lives, like somehow I'm just an attitude change away from achieving great things, if I've understood you correctly?" he continued, letting out a sharp sigh of annoyance. "You want me to tell you about the Illyria I know? FIne, I'll tell you. It's....nothing, it's a boy raising himself in the mountains. Too busy just trying to survive in that wasteland; too busy to really think about how worthless and shallow his existence really is." The hunter actually started to laugh when he described himself honestly, wiping away any veneer of nobility in his past hardships.

"Far as I can tell, my father hailed from deep within the wild regions, far from the reach of the noble houses, and left to go find his fortune when advancement within our clan proved too difficult. I don't know where he and my mother met, but they got married and immediately started having children. Besides myself, they had my older sister, my younger sister, and several others that didn't make it out of infancy. I try not to think about them. The planet was still plagued with war back then of course, and my father made a fortune following battles and swooping in to loot the corpses when the dust settled, then flipping the weapons and armor to noble houses that needed to rearm quickly before the next one. One of my earliest memories is my father helping me wade through the blood, and showing me just where to stab to finish off stricken warriors in heavy armor."

"My father had hoped to earn us vassal status under one of the noble houses, but that's when the monster...Malvern, I think you called him, showed up and changed everything." Aym remarked matter of factly, still keeping his eyes averted. "My father was one of those that resisted, so he died. At first my mother hid us away to see what the new barbarians had in store for our planet, but that situation drastically changed when we got reports of peace and not genocide. She and my sisters decided to abandon our home and make for the capitol, I chose to stay. I refused to abandon the way I'd been raised; so, I burned our old house down and started living further in the mountains. I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier...anyway, I lived all alone for five years out there. Just me and the will to run away from my problems..."

The hunter trailed off as his brief life's story approached the most recent events of it, and he lifted his head from the bar. Leaning forward, Aym steppled his fingers and stared over them to the bar's back shelf. "Ultimately, I think what I'm trying and failing to get at, is that I don't belong in this world anymore. I really didn't have a place in the old order of things, and a certainly don't have one now. Hold on- before you say anything, let me explain. Okay? Anyway, I- absolutely hate myself for admitting it, and damn you for being approachable, I'm a relic of a past that might have only existed in the mind of my old man. I was under equipped to deal with the finer points of the world beyond combat and survival back then, and now I'm basically a joke. All this new technology and jargon, it makes me sick just thinking about it. I want to go back to a simpler time, where the world wasn't so confusing and frightening, but now I can't, thanks to Xobos."

"Just being in this castle is enough to drive home that I'm perhaps a step above worthless, and that's only because I can use magic. Other than that, I'm nothing. I can't even read!"

 

[Cali Ziiva]

"So?" Cali answered once Aym finished his spiel.

"Aym, you're talking about skills. Things you can learn, and that have no limit when someone with the drive or stubbornness sets to learning them. I'm talking about you as a person -- and that's only something you control. Not even Xobos can make you change. Maybe," the Zeltron acknowledged, "she and others can give you every reason to change for better or worse -- berate you, counsel you, beat you, or hold you -- but your choices define you. Just as if you refuse every resource in your reach being here now, there's only one way that ends -- nothing ever changes."

Cali slipped in closer to wrap her arms about the man from behind. "Dare to dream, just a little, Aym. Imagine who you want to be, and what you want Illyria to become, and then let us help you grow strong enough as a person to make them reality. Please?"

Xobos was a cutey, but the Miraluka still had a lot to learn about people. If Cali wasn't there, Aym probably would have become a hardened warrior biding their time until they could slid a blade between Xobos' ribs. No guarantee that thought would be expunged even with a pink woman nearby, but the Zeltron would try. Just because she weathered the winds of darkness that swept about the planet didn't mean Cali supported bloodshed and war. She hoped Aym wouldn't either.

Provided the man didn't throw her off or seek to physical distance himself, Cali would start to pet the top of the man's head after several seconds. Aym really had felt like he needed a good hug. From his story it sounded like he hadn't had one in a long time. She'd optimistically presume his mother had hugged him at some point even once. "You have a place right here. Goliath can protect you too," she'd add quietly.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche

 

[Aymeric Rouche]

"So?"

The word hit Aym with a weight he hadn't thought possible; staggering his soul, smacking down an indignation before it even tried to rise. The bluntness, brutal as it felt, was fully warranted. He couldn't even be mad at the statement, it was the perfectly encapsulated answer to his admittedly long-winded origin tale. The hunter found himself chuckling under Cali's latest pep talk, but hung his head a little when it really sunk in that in the grand scheme of things, he more or less hadn't considered himself a person up until perhaps this afternoon. Sure, he was always the first to champion individual achievement and freedom, but at the end of the day he'd always been an amalgam of his father's skills and lessons, crammed into his head right up until the old man's death, and violently reinforced against change. Looking back, it started to make a terrifying amount of sense why his memories were a rather spotty mess, besides supposedly valuable lessons and battles. He couldn't recall his tenth birthday, but he remembered the first man he killed very clearly.

It was painful to admit, but Aym had always just been a tool, and not in the way his enemies probably referenced to him as. At first as a chatty wheelbarrow while looting with dad, then eventually a killer in his own right to speed up the process. In hindsight, he'd been just as suicidal as now when the barbarians arrived and changed everything, depriving him of a clear goal or someone to direct his impulsive nature. All things considered, it's a good thing he decided to use his skills to genocide the wolves, instead of presumably becoming a serial killer targeting the invaders. Despite his explicit hatred of the foreigners to his planet, the thought of just slaughtering them like varmints made his stomach lurch something awful. "I-" was all the disturbed young man managed to say before he was hugged from behind, which understandably changed his focus in an instant.

Just having Cali hovering nearby early had made him feel 'off' in a not totally uncomfortable way, but being in direct contact was another beast entirely. Aym took a very noticeable, lengthy sniff of the air, and damn near purred when her subtle scent crossed his nose. 'Did all Zeltrons smell this good?' he had to wonder, while practically melting into her arms. "I will, I promise." the enraptured hunter replied, smiling as he tested the air yet again. Beyond the olfactory stimulation, this was the first time in what seemed like forever since he'd been held so intimately by a woman, and back then It'd been his mother's hug when they last parted ways. This obviously had a much different context and air surrounding it, which took his mind to places he hadn't visited in a very long time. Getting his hair jostled by Cali's deft fingers was also an experience he didn't know he wanted until he had it.

Aym opened his mouth to say something at first, but held off upon realizing he had no idea really how to proceed, or the experience to know whether to quit while he was ahead. Besides that, his more defensive side was screaming in the background, just railing against having these thoughts about a barbarian, and a xenos no less. "I'm still living in the caves, can I stay up here tonight?" he asked shakily, silently berating himself even as the individual syllables fell out of his mouth. This was downright embarrassing. The hunter sighed heavily at his verbal failure; citing that he could clean and quarter just about any living creature on the planet, but was clueless trying to get his point across to a woman he felt...something for. As usual, when his limited understanding fell through, he just decided to fall back on instinct.

Rolling his head, Aym worked his scalp harder into Cali's comforting grip, closing his eyes just to drink in the moment. "I don't know what's in your perfume, but it's got me thinking a few things. I-er, think you're pretty great." he remarked, with still no clue where to take this. The hunter went from floundering ineptly to just working his scalp harder into her hand, and frowning slightly. "sigh ignore me, I don't know where I was going with that..." he lied.

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Cali smiled when Aym agreed to dream. It was important to imagine what might be no matter how outrageous and impossible it seemed. Like, who wanted to think practically all the time? 'I will never lead the planet because...' because you won't even try! Like, don't even think about what your hurdles are when the very first one is the largest of them all. Hecc, forget try, you won't even consider it as a valid option let alone try.

Yeah, maybe the dream doesn't happen, but that doesn't mean you failed. Something came of it. You met some new people, found something or someone else along the way you came to came for, realized some personal truth... Something. People weren't droids where you gave them a task and that task is all they did. Even if you failed to rule galaxy something else came of the attempt. Hopefully something positive, but a Zeltron couldn't promise you nothing but rainbows and sunshine if you went fascist.

A quick blink followed Aym's next statement and question. "Of course, Aym," the pink one giggled. "You can always stay here. And don't worry about the super soft bed. We can change that. At least you'll be warm, dry, and can get a hug whenever you like here." Xobos wasn't Adron, but Cali still figured the man might need someone to lean on time to time. Just because they had a kind of break through here didn't mean the storm had broken. Aym seemed all kinds of heady with her pheromones and their influence wouldn't last forever. More akin to a drug than a proper change in thinking, but that was okay because they weren't in a hurry. One step at a time.

With how smitten Aym seemed with her petting and head scratches, Cali continued to dote the affection on him. Least a cutey could do.

"It's a Zeltron thing," she replied gently. "I meant what I said about Zeltros. Entire planet wants nothing more than to feel happy, and for any one of us to feel happy we all have to feel happy. And we do feel it, Aym. I feel it every day here on Illyria... the struggle to find the beauty in the sunrise in the morning. The desire to cup a rose in one's hand without being pricked. I can't change the world by myself, but you can be sure I'll try." Cali gigled again not feeling the least bit ashamed of such an outlandish idea. Nothing wrong with a good dream -- something beautiful to aim for in the hope one day it'll be realized. An entire galaxy full of happy people. One person, one planet at a time.

"You want to lay down for a bit, or should I take some measurements?" Hadn't slipped the fluffy haired woman's mind at all that Aym needed an arm. Take a little time for Cali to build it though. No mass-produced garbage in Cali Ziiva's workshop! Well, not when it was a gift for an individual anyway; and mass-produced things got made in a proper factory.

Tag: Aymeric Rouche