Private Words

[Yula Perl]

Yula couldn’t sleep.

Which wasn’t anything new. Usually the problem wasn’t tangible. There was little she could do to soothe the guilt over her sisters, or address her contemporary struggles with doing the right thing that didn’t involve a bottle or a needle.

She hadn’t touched either since the spat with Dagon. He’d left without giving her any answers as to why he’d eschewed his normally level-headed approach to spice. Which was to say, Dagon Kaze was not a junkie.

That thought worried her.

She’d kicked him out, to his credit. Maybe they would have reached a resolution if neither had been so stubborn in their approach. His calm met her fury, neither yielding to one another.

That, and she was afraid that she had known the answer to her own question all along.

Tossing and turning, Yula kicked the sheets off. Stress caused her to overheat, unable to find comfort in her own bed. She wouldn’t say it, but Dagon wracked her mind, equally worried for him and angry at him.

Flipping over, her eyes unfocused in the red lines of the chrono at her bedside. An involuntary groan parted her lips as she reached for her phone.

She typed, then backspaced. Typed some more, and deleted it again. Nothing seemed right. Eventually, she gave up and hit send.

3:05 AM /
u good?

 

[Dagon Kaze]

It was one of those nights. The most occurring ones where sleep evaded every attempt. Exhausted, drained, left with no stamina after a long day and long night dealing with Coruscanti crimes. So tired that his eyes were closing, yet the moment his head hit the pillow - sleep escaped him. The demons came to play, seeping into his conscious. All the mistakes, all the failures that he hid from the public eye came down upon him like a hammer. The only difference? Yula seemed to be at the forefront of his burdened mind.

It would be a long night, a long night to fiercely fight the ghosts. Those alive and those dead.

Beep.

Dagon turned his head lazily at the phone next to his bed.

3 AM? Nothing but problems at this hour.

He sighed, then picked the phone to see something that he did not expect.

Yula Perl: u good?

It would be a lie to say that a smile didn't curve his lips.

Despite all the issues that came with that girl. Especially their last encounter...

3:07 AM
yea u?

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

Two minutes seemed short. Those same two minutes stretched into an unfathomable amount of time.

Vaguely, Yula wondered if she was high, and was starkly reminded of her sobriety when her phone chimed. The light from the screen cast deep shadows along the curves of her face, and she didn’t bother with unlocking the device at first.

3:07 AM
yea u?

She didn’t hate Dagon. He’d taken it upon himself to make her problems his business, and that crossed the line enough for her. Her thumb swiped on the message banner, opening up the keyboard.

He’d been steadfast on Denon. And Csilla, and Sev Tok.

But she didn’t hate him.

3:11 AM /
Yea. checking to see if ur a junkie yet. Better not be

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Four minutes? She'd fallen asleep. Coruscant and Denon shared the same timezone. A part of him couldn't help but wonder whether she was high, what other reason could she possibly have to message him at three in the morning? A faint feeling of disappointment rushed over him--

Beep.

Then the thin smile was back on.

It turned into an involuntary smirk when he read the message.

3:11 AM /
too late
3:11 AM /
i've bought up all the spice here
3:11 AM /
addictions down by 57% in the lower levels coruscant news reports

In the odd string of humor he found, Dagon couldn't help but acknowledge that ever since that day there was a creeping feeling of need for spice. He was told it would take time before that fades away.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula cringed the moment she’d hit send. Did she really just insinuate that he might be a spice junkie? The worst thing he could say was nothing, which is why she was watching the little typing bubble with rapt interest.

3:11 AM /
too late
3:11 AM /
i've bought up all the spice here

She couldn’t help but grin like an idiot.

3:11 AM /
addictions down by 57% in the lower levels coruscant news reports

I wouldn’t trust the coruscant news, they don’t know wh
I wouldn’t trust the coruscant new
I wouldn’t trus

How can you be so sure that
How can you be
How

3:12 AM /
thats great
3:12 AM /
about the news
3:13 AM /
not about spice lord dagon
3:13 AM /
don't do anything stupid

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Text messages had a way of not conveying sarcasm, judging by her reaction; addiction on Coruscant certainly had not dropped by 57%.

Or wait - maybe she did catch the sarcasm? Did she? And she just responded with sarcasm. Did she?

He rubbed his eyes. Man, I hate texting. These social apps, texting and all that really weren't his forte. He much preferred face-to-face, or at least a holo.

Should I holo-call? Someone told me it's space boomerish.

Why am I even overthinking this?

Ugh.

3:15 AM /
stupids your specialty

ok, that doesn't look like a joke.

better add...

3:15 AM /

That oughtta fix it.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

He was right. Stupid was her specialty.

3:16 AM /
ur catching up fast

Yula snickered to herself, an odd noise echoing from the dark of her room. A speeder horn blared as it passed through the next street over, muffled by the sheer amount of buildings on Denon.

3:17 AM /
maybe spend some of that spice money on a new jacket
3:17 AM /
these blood stains r stubborn

She rolled over onto her back, holding the phone above her with both hands. Then, she dropped it on her face.

3:17 AM /
asjjjjkkkkkdFfffJjjhy

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

3:18 AM
nah, you owe me a jacket

The more Dagon's smile grew the more he realized the element of escapism in this 'texting'. They could go on and on chattering crap without feeling the need to address the elephantS in the room. Because thats what usually happened when they were together, the padawan realized.

3:17 AM /
asjjjjkkkkkdFfffJjjhy

He frowned and craned his head closer to the screen of his holo; was that some sort of code? Morse? Was she in trouble?

Dagon was about to find out when he accidentally tapped:

3:18 AM

Yula Perl