Why Must We Fight?

[Jamie Pyne]

"Excuse me?" She said, insulted. "I've far more personality than you on my worst day." Jamie retorted with a vocal hmph before turning back to the tailor, clearly disgruntled. "Do as she says. Find me something similar in color with a plunging V neckline, racerback, and a side slit." The man audibly groaned, eliciting a sharp glare from Jamie before he wandered towards the back of the shop once more. It was rather obvious he was more than unhappy having to deal with these two women.

She stood in the dress she had on until the man returned with something that fit her description, hanging it to a rack to display it for Jamie. "Will this do, my lady?" His tone was clearly bitter, bestowing the title upon her out of duty of service, rather than respect. Her eyes glossed over the garment, before lifting it from the rack and inspecting it a bit closer. "We'll see." Her feet stamped away toward the fitting room once more, leaving Aela alone again for another minute before returning, abandoning the other dress on the floor of the fitting room, much to the dismay of the tailor.

"Anything more revealing and I may as well show up entirely undressed." Her voice was sour, toxic even. "How does it look?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She watched the tailor as Jamie made her exit to change her dress once more. The man was clearly nervous, eyes jumping from the dressing room, to her, and then out the window.

The last look was what got Aela’s attention, the way that the man shifted his gaze quickly out the window as if he were trying to find something, or someone. There was no possible way that he could have known that Aela and Jamie weren’t who they said they were, and of course there was no way he was a hired spy, but if she had to guess, the man would likely try to find whomever was watching them as soon as they left.

An information.

”Better.” She said finally, though her voice hardly followed along with the message. She still seemed rather, dissatisfied with the dress, yet it was clear that she did not expect any better from the store they were currently in. She tried to play her part as best as she could, finally taking the dress that had been given to her. ”The dress-makers back home are far more suited for this sort of thing.”

She shot the tailor a look as she headed towards the dressing room. ”Perhaps next time we’ll bring one.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The tailor remained flat faced and silent as Aela walked off with the dress she was given. His eyes shifted to Jamie, looking her over himself.

"This way, miss." He ushered her over towards a large, three piece curved mirror for her to see the dress on herself. She stood, turning from left to right to see how well it fit her form and looked on her. The dress itself was very pretty in her eyes. Had she not been required to act contrary to her opinion she would have complimented the man on how wonderful it was. Though honestly she preferred the first dress, not because it looked better or anything, but because this dress was very revealing, almost uncomfortably so. Jamie wasn't all that used to being a focus of attention, certainly not one for that type of attention, so it was mildly awkward for her to wear something quite like this.

As she was admiring herself another middle aged woman wandered into the store, briefly running her hand over a few garments before Jamie noticed her. Blue eyes danced over the woman, then back to the man. "I suggest you escort her out before my sister returns. She will not be pleased if she is interrupted."

Teetering on an explosive meltdown the man quickly saw to ridding the store of further interruptions.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela managed to change quickly, her eyes wandering over towards the mirror in the edge of the changing room. She could remember a time when she’d all but refused to wear dresses of any sort, much preferring other clothing like...well pants. Eventually her mother and aunt had convinced her otherwise, but it had been a trial for them.

”There.” Aela said simply as she stepped out from the dressing room and swaggered through the shop. There was no question of whether or not she looked good, her role exuded confidence, and just a hint fo smugness. She looked at the Tailor, then to one of the larger mirrors within the store. Aela offered a quick spin and then pursed her lips for a moment as if in consideration.

”Good.” For once she sounded satisfied. ”If you’re pleased with yours, sister. I believe we can go.”

The tone of her voice made it clear that such was the preferable option.

She shot another look out the window, though her gaze quickly shifted to the tailor who stood near the door.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

A look of disdain cast over the younger girl's face, nose crinkling and half her lip pulling back with eyebrows lowering while watching Aela twirl about in the little black dress. "If you say so." Was all she said at first, as if passively insulting the older girl's taste for style without outright saying she hated it. Of course it was actually rather nice, and looked quite beautiful on Aela, but it was a whole lot easier to be outwardly rude to Aela than to the tailor, given that she knew full well that Jamie's words were false.

"Your hips look wider than usual though." Shrugging she started back towards the fitting room to change back into her clothes.

"We should get a discount, don't you think sister? We're paying premium prices for these dresses, surely more than anyone else was going to spend on those cheaper dresses on the racks." Before waiting for anyone to answer she disappeared behind one of the rooms and shut the door, quickly slipping out of the dress and into the clothes she'd been wearing when they came in.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She sniffed. "We're not cheap, sister."

The questiom from Jamie had been a good one. The Tailor had grit his teeth when shed said it and it clearly put the man on edge. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to sell them out at this point, something that was good for them, as long as they made the correct impression. She shifted slightly and then looked towards the man.

"We'll pay full price." Her voice carried loud enough for Jamie to hear. "It's not like this is anything too fancy anyway."

Snobby schuttas, that was the role they played

Something they played well apparently.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The man's face, though less irritated than only the moment prior, was still rather perturbed. He was overly eager to rid himself of these two girls as quickly as humanly possible. Wasting time with them when he could have dealt with much more pleasant customers, customers who had likely shopped there in the past too. Instead he was stuck listening to Jamie and Aela banter back and forth, insulting his work and trade square in front of him as if it were nothing but common conversation.

"Fine!" She shouted from behind the door. "Use uncle's credits then! I'm not paying!"

Jamie hung the dress back on to the hangar and emerged from the fitting room, taking it over toward the front desk.

"I need cute new shoes too. We'll have to go somewhere for them next."

Oh was the man ever so pleased to hear they would be leaving.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She changed out of her dress just as quickly as she had changed into it, reappearing in the hop and waving for the man to pack everything up as swiftly as he could. There was a clear haste to leave this place, and the distaste that was spread across her face when they’d initially entered the shop was still strongly showing. ”Father will reimburse Uncle.”

Aela said in simple answer.

”Not like it matters.” Money wasn’t supposed to matter to them, though oddly enough that was true for Aela’s normal life anyway. Either her own parents or the Jedi Order paid for everything that she needed, and much like her mother she had very few luxury items. ”Lets get going. I can’t stand this place.”

By now she was beginning to feel bad.

They had insulted the Tailor, put down his work, and belittled him more than they had any right to, but if she was correct, then he would immediately go running to the man that had been watching them.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The tailor finished prepping the two dresses, and despite his pure hatred for these two still managed to put on the galaxy's most fake smile, as well as ensuring that the dresses did not suffer any wrinkles or creases. This was more likely associated with his disinterest with having the two back in his establishment again than anything else. He was dead certain if they found the smallest thing wrong they would be back to complain until they were both blue in the face. He wasn't sure he could endure that, nor was he entirely sure which of the two were worse to listen to.

"Good. Let's be on our way then."

Not even a thank-you, or a good-bye was offered to the man as she turned to head out of the store. "I need shoes. I need to eat. And I would like to see something on this planet that doesn't look as dreary as a black hole. Surely there has to be something worth seeing here." Reaching the door to the shop she pushed it open, waiving for their driver to come take the dresses from her and Aela. Obviously she couldn't carry it to the car. That wasn't her job.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

As the driver took her dress from her Aela couldn’t help but peer out into the crowd. She could see the man that had been watching them slowly sneak along the edge of the sidewalk, moving in such a way to blend with the crowd but still clearly glancing at the both of them.

”If you eat any more…” Aela’s voice half trailed off as the man disappeared into an alleyway behind the shop they had just walked out of. ”You won’t fit into your dress.

Someone behind her snickered, likely the tailor. She half turned towards the man and offered him a complete sneer. ”Let’s go.”

Without any further moment of hesitation Aela moved towards the speeder door. The driver jumped and pulled it open for her, allowing her to slip into the vehicle without even a momentary beat of hesitation.

She was getting too used to this.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie scoffed at Aela's comment. The girl's eye raised, nose twitched, and lips thinned as she prepared her retort.

"I'd still be the pretty one in this family, dear sister."

The blonde scooted in beside Aela, the desire to laugh was repressed, though with some difficulty. And while she did feel terrible for berating, insulting, and demeaning the man and the really beautiful dresses, she did understand that his presumed opinion of them was more important right then to what they were here on Bastion for, than his personal feelings, or her empathy for his feelings.

Jamie hadn't caught sight of the man as he stepped into the alley behind the store, as she had been interacting with the driver first, and hadn't seen the man once he slipped into the crowd. Even still, she was certain that whoever it was that had been watching them from outside that Aela had spotted earlier, when they talked to the tailor, they were sure to get an earful of ranting and raving over how rude and undesirable she and Jamie had been.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

It was important that they were framed in the correct way. That was what she thought about as Jamie slid into the speeder and closer the door behind her. They needed to come off as rich, spoiled, and above all, unthreatening.

They were supposed to be two girls, sent here for nothing more than a few dances.

That image was key. If no one suspected them of anything, then they would have more room to maneuver, if everyone thought them to be ditsy airheads things were much simpler when the time came to manipulate their target. A part of that image was cultivating...hatred from those who Bastion considered to be ‘lower-classes’. Aela hated even thinking in those sort of terms but it was sadly true. ”Good job.”

She said to Jamie, a bit of warmth in her voice.

”We have the day ahead of us still.” She said quietly, as if fearful of what was still to come. ”But there was a man watching us, I suspect the Tailor is now speaking to him or will be very shortly.”

Step one.

Now they just had to keep doing it for the rest of the day.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I see." That explained why Jamie had noticed Aela observing out through the window for a short while earlier. "Same person from last night?" She'd ask, curious to know whether or not they had multiple people now following, or if it was still just the person from the night prior. It wasn't terribly important either way she figured, but it was good to know if they had multiple eyes on them now or not.

"Where to from here?" She wasn't sure exactly where they would need to head to next. The day was still quite early, likely to the tailor's displeasure. At this point the poor man would want to simply go home and relax away the headache he'd suffered at the hands of Jamie and Aela. A headache that could last days in fact.

The girl looked at the dress once more, able to openly admire it now that they were out of sight and earshot of anyone else.

"I actually really liked that other one. I'd have worn that regularly. This one though?" She paused, her hand running along the fabric. "A bit more open and revealing than I'm used to, most particularly the neckline. It's pretty for sure, but far more cleavage than I'm used to putting on display."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”Sorry.” Aela said with a smile. ”I think we were coming off too friendly at the time, and if they think there’s...competition between us, then they’re more likely to want to exploit it.”

That was a terrible thing to think about siblings, but it was true.

They wanted to paint an image of distaste and bitterness, or half competition and catty attitude. Royalty was fickle, and the people at this party needed to think that insulting one of them didn’t necessarily mean insulting the other. That was an important thing, it made them able to move apart from each other. ”Food next I think, then shoes.”

Doing what they had said at the shop would be best.

”I’m not sure if it was the same man.” She answered finally. ”Probably, but there’s no way to tell. Either way, we keep moving the way we have been and it’s alright.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Hmm." She murmured, now curious if they had multiple tails or not. "I'll have to keep a better eye out later, maybe see if one of us can get a better discreet look at the one outside the estate." She wished now that she'd brought along her camera. It would have been a perfect way of discovering if it was the same person or not. Even at a great distance the zoom wouldn't have had any trouble picking out every small hair on his face. It was too bad that she'd left it in her room at the estate. Nothing to do about it now though, she'd just have to hope she could get a bit better view next time.

"Food sounds good. I'm a bit hungry now. Speaking of!" She exclaimed, reaching into her purse. "I almost forgot I had this!" She brushed the apple she'd taken from the house off on her top before biting into the fruit. Mmm! The sweet flavor and juice of the apple was a pleasant snack, even if they were on their way to eat. After all, what harm was a snack before a meal?!

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”Knowing when you’re being watched, and being able to see who's watching you is a very distinct skill. Not a lot of people are capable of it, and those that are usually train for years to be able to do it properly.” She knew that because she had done so.

Part of her training from her parents had been about more than just the force.

Her family was an important one in the galaxy, they had a lot of influence, money, and power. With that came certain bonuses, but it also brought a lot of enemies. Her father had said there would be many that would want to see her dead just because of the name of her grandfather. It was something that she’d always kept in mind, and her training had been a reflection of that.

”Don’t worry too much about tracking them” Aela said as Jamie enjoyed her apple. ”I and the others will do that.”

She didn’t want to discourage Jamie, but something like that shouldn’t be a priority. ”It will become more important at the dance, however.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Crunch. Crunch. The blonde chomped away on the apple as quietly as possible, though its' crisp texture made it a bit difficult. She gave Aela a few nods of acknowledgement to not worry quite as much about trying to watch out, though if it were important later, she figured it best to at least try somewhat now. At the very least to see what the person looked like, if nothing else.

"You know," She muttered between bites. "I just thought of this."

Crunch. Another bite, a short pause to chew and swallow.

"If that guy was going to talk to the tailor when we were leaving, then surely there's multiple people watching us."

She held the apple off to the side in her right hand. "Think about it. If they went into the shop, how would he continue to follow us if he doesn't know where we're going exactly unless there was someone else to pick up the tail? Would he really risk losing us to ask a tailor what dresses we bought?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela nodded her head. ”I have no doubt that someone else is following us. Multiple people probably.”

The assumption was a good one on Jamie’s part.

”You also have to remember who we’re dealing with.” Aela took on a more serious face for a moment. ”There will of course be those spies that we can see and easily follow, but some of the families have been doing this for hundreds of years. They have agents that can blend seamlessly with any crowd.”

They were good at finding people, but some were bound to slip through the cracks. ”I don’t doubt we won’t find half of who's watching us, and those we do are likely amateurs.”

It was an almost scary fact.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Chomping her way down to the core of the apple the blonde thought for a moment on Aela's words, before turning towards the small window and, with a bit of help from the Force, launched the core from her seat into a passing waste bin on the side of the street as they sped past, sinking it with a quick thud.

Clearly pleased with herself, she turned back to Aela and smiled.

"As long as nobody is looking to try and kill us today, or tomorrow, then they can watch us all day long."

Thinking about it, Jamie felt almost like a celebrity of some sorts. People following her, watching her do rather mundane activities and take note of where they were. It was almost like being a real celebrity, except that it would only be temporary, and it wasn't exactly fans that were following her and Aela around all day.

The car slowly stopped in what looked to be the city center, dozens of stores and chains up and down the street.

"Plenty of places to go here, it looks."

Theed was pretty large, but it was nothing quite as large as this place seemed to be. Tightly packed buildings all around, a sea of people everywhere. It was rather impressive to the Nabooian.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She shook her head. There was no doubt in her mind that they were being watched, but she highly doubted that anyone had sent killers after them. More than likely the families expected Aela and Jamie to appear at the dance, do some talking, then retreat for the night and come back to the next dance. It was what anyone else would have done after all, and in their society they hardly ever broke.

Of course, assassinations weren’t exactly uncommon, but sending trained killers after two girls who were ostensibly only on Bastion to find suits was a bit much, even for this place. ”They won’t try to kill us.”

Unless they found out who they were anyway.

She knocked on the divider between their small space in the speeder and the driver.

”Clear these people away, please.” She told the disguised soldier. ”Can’t be running around in crowds.”