Private Vagārī

[Artur (Γ013)]

[Aboard the Grey Vagabond, empty space]​

---

It was strange, how despite all the changes that had occurred in his life, both recent and long since past, how the broad daily strokes seemed to remain constant. Drifting aboard a ship, staring out viewports and empty space or stealing naps against the bulkhead. Not that he even needed to do the latter, now that he had his own entire room to sleep in; but old habits died hard, and Artur would be lying if he claimed he didn't sometimes feel more comfortable propped up in a corner against the cold metal rather than lying on a proper bed. The ship was curiously empty, too, designed to hold a few squads' worth of people but designed such that it didn't even need any crew at all.

It meant that when he was curled up in a corner somewhere, he generally didn't run the risk of being woken up, distracted from what he was reading, or just his general search for some small level of solitude.

Not so at all times, however, as he didn't have the ship entirely to himself—a fact that made itself very evident by the sound of footsteps echoing down the silent corridors, gradually coming in his direction. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to suggest they pool their resources together to get a ship, beyond the obvious wish not to bother their previous hostess too much and instead let her get back to her job. He definitely wasn't sure what had possessed the redheaded captain to reunite him with someone from his past, and more than that, he was utterly baffled at what had made said someone decide to seek him out when the chance presented itself.

A topic that they'd both danced around and never really addressed, given that captain Mara was always a few yards away; helpful and friendly as she was, the two of them at least seemed to agree that there were some things that she didn't need to overhear between them.

"Something wrong, Julia?" he asked as the vessel's co-owner rounded a corner and came into view, setting down the datapad he'd been reading from. She may not even have been seeking him out—possibly just pacing around out of boredom, for all he knew—but it seemed best to prepare for the more difficult possibilities in life.

Thus, assuming she actually did want to find him.

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"...Not used to having this much space." She replied, perhaps externalising Artur's own thoughts as she somewhat stiffly perched herself across from Artur. She had been looking for him, in truth, which was an odd thing for her to admit to herself. Kalyn's presence had clearly spoiled her.

She coughed awkwardly, trying to keep herself in a mode that wasn't as standoffish.

"What...uh...about you? You're holding up well, ja?"

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

When she set herself across the corridor, Artur knew that at least some of his fears were accurate. There was no evading conversation forever, after all, and hoping that it could just be kept to meals alone was more than a bit on the naïve side. "It is empty," he agreed after a moment, slightly evading her question. Compared both to what they'd been used to dealing with before, and then what they'd dealt with much more recently; having actual rooms and corridors was very different to a cockpit, two bunks, a refresher, and a cargo hold.

He did somewhat prefer it, however, ambiguous non-answer aside.

"I could ask you the same question. I don't remember you ever..."

Being good at relaxing? No, that would be asking for a fight if he said it that way, and that was one of the last things he wanted. After everything, a calm, quiet ship floating in the void was something he'd rather preserve. "Ever really enjoying downtime."

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"Well..."

Nothing's changed there.

"Sometimes the noise is better than the quiet." Julia finally gave something resembling an answer. "Kothlis gave me a lot of time...on my own."

She trailed off, unsure of how to finish that thought safely.

"...Oh! I...did come up with a new trick. I don't suppose you'd like to see?"

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Artur's eyebrow raised a smidgeon. "A new trick? For what?"

This already seemed a surprise beyond the level he'd ever expect from her, and he hadn't even liked surprises before being taken away. Still, if she was going to be willing to admit to anything as small as she just had, he'd have to give a bit of ground himself to be fair at all. "No, don't answer that. I'll learn without being told."

Not that he was entirely without trepidation regarding what her tricks might lead to.

"Just so long as it doesn't end with me having any new bruises."

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

She grinned a little, Artur's nerves easing her a slight, before she reached under her navy blue canvas jacket. The temptation to draw quickly was quelled by the awareness of who she was with, and so she slowly pulled her machete out, splaying her fingers out onto a nearby table with a wink.

"You ready?"

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Wait, Julia, we just bought that...

The complaint died before it ever reached his lips. She wouldn't listen even if he did voice it, and given the dangers of travel among the Outer Rim, not everything in the ship would stay in one piece forever. He crossed his arms with a small sigh, glancing down at her fingers to see if he could see any noticeable or new scars, anything that looked like something beyond what they'd each accumulated in training or over some of their missions in the past. "Please don't hurt yourself trying to impress me," he cautioned.

Hoping she'd take it as actual concern, and not as a challenge to try and do better than she might have before, if she'd picked it up as an entertainment on Kothlis. Very few there would've been able to match her reflexes and speed like Artur could, so now she might have a chance to really try and show off, and he didn't particularly want that or the mess that might result. "Do you want me to time you?"

Please say no.

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

The scar on Julia's lip stretched, portraying the most malicious and daring smirk Artur had ever seen from the girl.

"Of course."

She then immediately sent the machete down between her thumb and her index, and rapidly began the dangerous skill she'd mastered on Kothlis.

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

It only took a short moment for Julia to run through the full sequence of her new game, quickly enough that it wouldn't have been worth timing if she'd even given him a moment to grab a timer. A quick glance showed the new scratches where the point of her blade had dug into the table, but luckily there wasn't any blood accompanying them. One good thing, at least. "You could do that painfully slowly and still win over most of the galaxy."

Not an exaggeration; not even a compliment so much as it was a statement of fact.

"What inspired you to pick this up, anyway?"

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

She'd almost have blushed, were she not wholly aware he was absolutely right.

"Time off made you a charmer, then?" Another smirk, this one a tad warmer. The blade went right back into her jacket, cleanly. "You know how I said I don't being like left idle? When your skills are as...specific, as ours, you don't really have hobbies. This...you could call it a compromise."

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Artur nodded along as she spoke. It made sense; always carrying around some sort of weapon, at least pulling out party tricks like that would be a good way to keep the hands active and keep down any urges to try something else with the blades. It all made sense. "Jah, I can see—"

Artur stopped. Frowned, glancing back at Julia. At her smirk.

At what she'd just said first.

"W-wait, Julia, that's not what I—"

He cut himself off again, biting down what he was just about to say. True? Yes, certainly, but he had no idea just how she might respond to it. Even if she was only pulling his leg, letting himself finish off some sort of statement that could itself be construed as some sort of insult was never a good idea. He turned his head back away, looking off down the corridor at nothing in particular. "That's not fair."

At least the Captain Mara'd had the excuse of not knowing him at all when her well-meaning acts and attempts at conversation had pushed him into frustration, flusteredness, and then finally withdrawal, but Julia knew him. She had to know better.

"Why."

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

Julia laughed for a second. The pleasant sound drowned itself out when she began to
quickly realise that, completely having slipped on her usual defenses, she'd made him withdraw. Even after all she knew about him.

Are you serious, Julia?

She didn't approach, knowing getting closer wouldn't help. Truthfully, she didn't know what would, she hardly had experience with others dealing with her wounds, and her and Artur's scars were for all intents and purposes, different.

Okay, so she'd keep her distance. Speak softly. Don't make it an attack.

"Hey. Hey, hey. Artur, I was just...just fooling with you. What you said...it was kind." She spoke hushed, trying to meet his eyes and failing.

"Sorry."

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Artur's frown remained, as he kept looking away. His heel bouncing against the floor being the only recognizable marker of his moment of frustration. "Well, you are fast," he replied after a moment. "One of the fastest, I recall." Not that wasting energy looking back into that time of their lives was a good thing to do. He sighed, turning his head back but still keeping his eyes down. Avoiding looking up to meet hers. Now, on top of everything, she felt like she had to apologize, the same as Captain Mara had, and multiple others before.

Maybe she did need to apologize, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear it. He just wanted to avoid anything leading to either of them having to apologize at all. "Why—"

No, wrong direction. Too open-ended.

"How is it that you—that so many of you can just...have a conversation?"

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

It was a emerging fact that Julia had thought less about Artur's past than she thought she had. It was at that moment she considered how fragmented her memories were. The stasis, the constant use of adrenaline were one thing, but anything before Gregor's death was washed out, hard to recall details of. Everytime she thought of her battles, Gregor was first in her mind, not Artur, not Sara.

It was selfish. She was still stuck in her own past and head. Maybe she hadn't been ready to reunite with him at all. Not while she couldn't even help herself.

"I'll leave you in peace." She said, looking down and away from Artur as she slowly stepped off to leave.

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

"Julia."

As she turned away, Artur glanced up to see where she was going; in a single fluid movement he kicked up off the floor and reached out to grab her arm. Not like he was trying to force her to stay, but just heavy enough to give her pause. "I don't mind having you near, you know?" He held on for a moment longer, before letting his hand fall away as he stepped back. "I am just...not good at talking. I always let Sara take care of that."

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

She instinctively flinched when Artur grabbed her, even though his grip wasn't at all strong. She was frozen for but a second. Feet to face, to eyes. He probably couldn't maintain eye contact with her for long, but she tried anyway.

"...We're different. Sometimes I forget that the Empire didn't just leave us all the exact same mess." Julia looked away finally, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'll stay, then. You don't have to talk if you don't want, though."

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Unsurprisingly, Artur didn't manage to maintain eye contact for very long himself. Already embarrassed and uncomfortable over the quick negative turn the conversation had taken with his inability to have one like a normal human being, meeting her gaze seemed a bit too much at the moment. "Certainly," he said a bit uncertainly. That would prove fairly awkward in and of itself, potentially moreso than if he tried to just respond in kind to whatever she threw his way.

He certainly wasn't good at it, but it seemed like it might be better than just remaining silent while she basically talked to herself, if she decided to do that.

Artur bent down, picking up the holobook he'd been reading and glancing back at the table. Barely anything more than a workbench with some chairs, it wasn't the best for lounging around at. Even if he had just been hiding away in the engineering space because his actual room seemed too comfortable. "Come...come with me, will you? Let's see what we have in the lounge. I know there—there's a holotable, at least, it might have dejarik, or chess...maybe shah-tezh, if they programmed with the older stuff?" He wasn't really sure.

But at least some sort of activity they could share would make more sense than him sitting around reading and making her talk to empty air.

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

The girl looked a little warmer now, nodding in affirmation.

"Lead the way." She said, softly but returning closer to her usual tone of voice.

Artur (Γ013)

 

[Artur (Γ013)]

Progress was progress, in Artur's mind.

He nodded back absent-mindedly, already turning on his heel and quickly leading the way back to the crew lounge. Like everything they had on the ship, it was fairly spacious for the two of them—something to be expected when it was designed to accomodate a crew of anywhere from zero to twelve with a reasonable measure of comfort—but he didn't mind that in the least bit. After a prior life always being confined to the most cramped spaces possible on a ship, having one almost entirely to himself was a welcome change.

An odd one, but a welcome one.

"Now..." He hadn't yet taken any actual stock of what was present in the lounge space. There was a large holotable for all sorts of things, a checkered gaming table—which, he noted with some distaste, was set up in the common circular shape used for dejarik and holochess—and one entire wall even seemed to double as a viewscreen. Of course, at his insistence when they'd obtained it, it was also well stocked with holobooks, the furniture was simple but comfortable, there was cooking space, food storage...

Where would he find any games that weren't just holograms downloaded into the gaming table?

"One—"

He strode over to the cabinets above and behind the gaming table, pulling them open and rifling through their contents. Games he didn't recognize the names of, games whose names he couldn't even pronounce, trivia games that he might never play unless specifically asked to, sabacc (too random and with too many options to ever develop a proper strategy at play for his taste), pazaak (slightly better), stored controllers for whatever hologames were already installed between the viewscreen and the holotable...

"Moment—ah!"

He pulled out a square checkered board, with the sound of various items rolling around in it. "Okay, so, we have...we have proper chess, various holographic board games, the card games, the holonet and all it entails, games I...I can't even pronounce, and..." He squinted down at one of the controllers he'd set aside searching for the chess set, looking at the name on the side of it.

"What's shronker?"

Julia (Γ101)

 

[Julia (Γ101)]

"...I have an answer but I don't think you'd want to hear it." Julia stifled a laugh. "Sorry. Cards is probably best...unless you fancy spending an extra few hours teaching me something else, hmm?"

She stroked her chin for a moment. "Which is your favourite?"

Artur (Γ013)