Thera Pardalis

Vi shook her cloak off and threw it over the arm of the fraying couch that sat in the middle of the room. She flicked a switch, and three coloured lamps responded, adding an orange, purple, and blue hue to each corner of the room. The nautolan disappeared into a tiny kitchen which sat right across from the entrance. She pushed a hanging star-catcher out of her way, which was strung with clear beads that caught the light and reflected dancing dots of colour. The sound of running water and the beep of a machine was heard.

She popped out of the kitchen and crossed her arms, her silver hand appearing purple in the reflected light. There weren’t many options for seating in her small apartment, except for the couch and one of the two chairs at the table, so she leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. She sighed.

“Sheena’s had a stalker the last few months. A patron who took a liking to her,” Vi’s gaze darkened. “He came to the club more and more often, which wasn’t alarming at first. We get regulars all the time.”

The machine beeped again and Vi stepped behind the wall. “But then he showed up at her apartment,” she called. “When she was shopping, she spotted him. She started to see him everywhere,” Vi growled. She reappeared with a mug, her eyes downcast in fury at the caf. “We tried to deal with him, but he wouldn’t take the hint.” With Thera’s drink successfully delivered, Vi returned to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She returned with an opened bottle of wine and a glass.

Even if Vi had gone to the authorities, she'd likely have been wasting her time.

By the time the Nautolan returned from the kitchen Thera had found her seat on one of the table chairs. Upright and less comfortable, but that was the point; it helped keep her focused as she listened. When the caf arrived she pulled the mug closer toward her, hands lightly around it as she let it cool a little, and looked into the liquid as if it were a scrying pool.

" ... OK." Thera said after a moment, fingertips tapping briefly, "Questions. I don't expect you to answer all of them immediately, I'm just putting them on the table. One - how did he find out where she lived? In my experience that's something a dancer keeps close to the chest. Second, security holos. Do you have visual on this guy? Third, how did he pay for service? Did he use a card of any kind?"

The signs that they were in for a scorching day were present before sunrise, ingredients to a recipe that he knew from experience were going to be troublesome for him to endure. Still, ever the stoic trooper, he had opted to tag along, expressing a wish to accompany Thera, rather than spend it back at the apartment alone.

All until a combination of the searing heat, the blaring of traffic that felt an octave or two higher than usual and the intense vibrations of nearby construction work had seen him express a wish, front-loaded with apologies, to retire, ending up on the couch. Dozing on and off, the combination of the wet towel applied, and the apartment's shaded interior provide Miguel with a small amount of relief for the tension headache that ailed him, but fortunately, additional remedies would find him shortly.

Having kept his eyes closed, they peel open as she settles, hands and arms en route to reflexively curling around her back when he spies what's in her hands. "You reckon?" He lacked the heart to tell her his doubts, but effective or not, he'd settle for a placebo if it helped to redirect his thoughts to a different subject.

Reaching first for the glass, the foil is turned over so that the medicine capsule within is shown and soon released with the pressing of a thumb, showing in turn a degree of knowledge with how ingestible tablets are handled. "Down the hatch, I suppose." And with that, the provided medication is placed in his mouth, washed down with a quart of water, settling again soon after.

"You never know." The Ibuprofen is worth a try - or more precisely won't do any harm, and the cool water will be good for him regardless. Thera settles herself more comfortably across his lap, fingertips brushing a single lock of hair from his forehead. "Maybe it just makes me feel better, too."

Miguel still hasn't caught on (or maybe just doesn't want to) that she would rather take care of errands on her own than drag him out into conditions that he could endure but didn't need to. Or maybe he's just so stubborn that he prefers to stare down any discomfort than cut himself a break by avoiding it. The fuss about his being half-spider forgets he's also half-human, almost certainly the source; a spider might be more feral, but it has the instinctive sense to look after itself.

That forgotten, or at least neglected, half still exists, and if she can't convince him not to inflict the world's conditions on himself she can coddle the big idiot (a little) after the fact.

❛  you're going to burn in the sun if you don't put on sunscreen.  ❜

❛  i got sand everywhere. e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.  ❜

❛  come on, the water is perfect!  ❜

❛  i haven't been to the beach in ages.  ❜

❛  can you help me look for seashells, please?  ❜

❛  you're not seriously building a sandcastle right now.  ❜

❛  if we leave now, we can still catch the sunset.  ❜

❛  you make even the hottest days feel bearable.  ❜

❛  i wish summer could last forever.  ❜

❛  i'm not sharing my popsicle with you; get your own.  ❜

❛  that seagull is looking at your food suspiciously.  ❜

❛  are you trying to get sunscreen in my hair? if so, you're doing a great job.  ❜

❛  did you seriously forget the towels?  ❜

❛  if you splash me even once, this means war.  ❜

❛  i think i swallowed half the ocean.  ❜

❛  this is why i don't like the beach.  ❜

❛  i already told you i'm not getting in the water.  ❜

❛  it's summer, how can you still be this cold?  ❜

❛  i didn't think i'd be spending my summer with you of all people ... but i'm really glad i did.  ❜

❛  i should have known you'd be dramatic about sand.  ❜

[ sunscreen ] sender helps receiver put on some sunscreen

[ splash ] sender splashes receiver in the water

[ float ] sender and receiver float together in the water

[ ice cream ] sender takes receiver to go get some ice cream

[ sandcastle ] sender and receiver build a sandcastle together

[ volleyball ] sender and receiver play beach volleyball

[ bonfire ] sender and receiver attend a beach bonfire

[ sand ] sender buries receiver in the sand

[ shells ] sender gives receiver a pretty seashell they found

[ aloe ] sender gently puts aloe on receiver's sunburn

[ shade ] sender pulls receiver into the shade

[ wave ] sender pulls receiver closer when the waves get rough

[ stars ] sender and receiver lie on the beach until the stars come out

[ shiver ] sender notices receiver is cold after swimming

[ ferris wheel ] sender and receiver ride a ferris wheel at a seaside fair

[ rain ] sender and receiver get caught in warm summer rain

[ beach ] sender and receiver go to the beach together

[ market ] sender and receiver explore a market together

[ beach promenade ] sender and receiver walk along the beach promenade taking in the view

[ sunset ] sender and receiver watch the sunset together

She crossed the lounge and joked.

“Don’t remind me,” Niner scoffed. “You ruined my favourite shirt. Do you know how hard it was to get personal items cleared by the higher ups? I hope I left a blood stain that took a few days to get out.” He playfully pushed her shoulder. “Some retribution.”

It was strange standing in her ship again. It brought back memories Niner didn’t particularly want to remember- a time when he had no agency over his own life. Now that he had tasted freedom, he rarely reminisced about the Niner who was a loyal soldier to the Republic, the one who didn’t want to desert.

He was glad he did in the end— he was happy with his family on Kyriomount, and watching his nephew grow up was a blessing he never took for granted. However, he still carried the guilt. He had abandoned his other brothers in the end. There was no longer a war to fight, but the Empire was still at large, hunting Jedi. Niner had witnessed first hand how dangerous a fugitive like that was. He still flinched when Rede ignited his trophy saber in the training area. There were clones losing their lives to blades like that.

They'd find out soon enough, as she took out a short glass and poured a measure. The scent wafted up, sharp enough to make her nose wrinkle, but it was the comment about the shirt that made her actually snort. "I said you could use it as a crop-top, and you said no! And it was like glitter, I kept finding spots of it for weeks!"

It was funny now. It hadn't been back then, when 'bleeding all over the floor' was an exaggeration but not by very much. When the red bloom on that shirt had scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Thera handed Niner the drink, then went back into the cabinet for some Firecream for herself. She didn't actually know the whole story of him deserting - it just seemed logical that once a soldier ran out of war, he moved on to other things. After all, something similar had happened to her. She lifted her glass, the mild tilt of it that invited a clink with his, then took a sip - only to raise both eyebrows a second later.

Annoy them, ask them invasive questions, ask about their rps/ships, send them gifts, whatever you like! 

Alistair handed her the keys with mild protest. "If you insist, but I am perfectly fine to drive." He got up from his seat and stumbled slightly. "Okay, perhaps I'm not exactly fine to drive and neither are you. So, how do you plan to get us home, Miss Landsend."

Thera had her mouth open to reply before she caught herself, realising she was about to make the exact same protest as he had done - and honestly she couldn't be sure if she really was fit to drive or it was pride talking. Better not to tempt Fate!

"I plan," She answered instead, taking the grudgingly handed keys and stowing them in a pocket, "given you're unlikely to call for a driver and let them see you squiffy, to make use of the British institution called Black Cabs." Where to would be the next question, since she didn't know if he had any home address other than HQ, but she supposed they'd get to that.