Aren't We Acquainted?

[Riamah]

The little joke continued on and Ra blushed slightly at him. Looking down into her cup for a moment until she felt less heat in her face before speaking.

"I've never actually well..." And the blush returned, but Ra returned his smile. At her next statement, Zhin was surprised and said she was braver than his was. She shook her head when hearing that.

"Yes, I was in a shuttle crash and this creature was kept in cryo for the journey. Myself and one other person lived through the crash and I found this unknown to me nexu kitten had been among the cargo the had been carrying. I couldn't let the poor thing just be alone, so I kept her. Not full grown yet or anything. Training her to walk with a leash, hand and spoken commands. She's doing really well too."

Seeing he had finished his water, she offered to get him more and would if he accepted. Listening to his answer, she nodded in understanding.

"How were you weak?"

He tried to move the conversation to her life and she herself got a little bit of a distant look and shook her head.

"I know nothing about my parents. Grew up on Coruscant as an orphan, raised in one and booted out when I graduated school. Have a couple of things I think belonged to my mother though. My cloak which you've seen and a broken double lightsaber hilt that's never worked. Don't even know if I'm human, some sort of hybrid or off shoot."

Her appearance was unique and she'd never met anybody that looked like her. The white hair could belong to a couple of races and the dark skin as well. The gold eyes she's never seen anywhere but her own face.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

The thought of Ra training it made him feel relieved. "Well as long as you raise it right I'm sure it will be a great companion days ahead." he said.

Zhin shook his head to show didn't want more, he thanked her. The question of his weakness came soon afterwards. He evaded it.

After listening to Ra's story of her past, he smiled again. "So you're one of a kind? Hmm." he acted as if he was thinking deeply. "Better get my cage ready..." he mumbled jokingly. He laughed for a moment.

His face now serious, he finally answered her question. "I wanted to become an enforcer of the law. Dad always taught me how to defend myself and apprehend someone. Mom made sure I was mentally strong against the bad guys. I was working hard. Though I worked so hard to achieve my dream, my path changed. For what? For the better? That's what they said and I believed it. However as you may know my optimism ruined me." he stopped and closed his eyes for the next part. "Ra. As a result, there are three reasons I'm weak: I let my wife die, I didn't seek revenge, and I abandoned my friends when they lost just as much as me. It's pathetic. My father wouldn't know me anymore." he opened his eyes and focused them on Ra's.

The usual smile he wore returned. "Even though I'm a weak failure, I'm glad I've met you Miss Ra." he

 

[Riamah]

"Next time we meet up and there will be a next time, you can meet the cat. Have to make sure to keep in touch. You know like exchange of information."

Ra wasn't hard to find since she had put her name back into circulation as a transporter.

"Come to think of I'm not sure I ever told you my last name...Do you remember? I mean you were a little sloshed. And come on here, have you seen anybody that looks like me?"

She stood up, twirled around and sat back down in almost one movement wearing a large smile on her face. That faded a little as he answered her question. It obviously brought up a painful memories. They were alone now so hopefully he was comfortable enough to know he could speak freely. His early life seemed good, but then his path changed. Very likely when he went to the Jedi for training, he didn't say that though. When that happened, his life basically went to hell.

Remaining silent as Zhin spoke much of what he said hit home with Ra. She'd never been married or even close enough to somebody to consider a relationship of that type. He had left his friends. Again, when she had been friends with anybody they got adopted away, so she learned early on not to get that close to anybody. As for revenge, well, she had a little knowledge of that. It wasn't something she thought of and overall not many people had actually betrayed her. Those that had would think hard before doing it again.

There wasn't much she could really think of to say to him because Ra was sure condolences had been passed to him then and by this point would almost be empty words.

"If you were a weak failure, we wouldn't be sitting here talking. You had the strength to carry on when you lost, not everybody could. Life changes people and even if you may not feel who you are now is good, it is who you are. Your past made you that and I for one wouldn't change you."

Life was pain to her with a few good moments when there wasn't any. That could change in a heartbeat though.

"I've not gotten close to anybody since I lost the only person in my life that actually gave a damn. The man that basically adopted me and taught me to run the business. This was his ship until he was killed and now it is mine."

Finishing off her own water, Ra set the glass down and looked across at him. Though her own smile couldn't return his, but she wasn't in a bad mood.

"I'm glad we met as well, Zhin."

She could return half of​ a smile though.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin felt uneasy again when she mentioned the beast. "Sure." he said trying to sound at least a little interested.

Watching her movement he did agree he couldn't forget. Her appearance that is. The last part of her name, not so much. "Ah yes. It's uhhh... Dont worry I know this." he stopped and thought about it.

Even though Ra tried to assure him that he wasn't weak, he would feel this way forever. Ra talked about losing someone close to her as well. A caretaker. "Man. It's tough losing someone you know but losing a man who basically secured your future is even worse. I'm sorry for your loss." he said sincerely.

Zhin smiled and nodded when she said it was a pleasure meeting him too. He noticed she didn't smile fully. Must be all this depressing talk. he said thinking to himself. "Miss Ra, you should smile more. A pretty lady like you is so attractive when smiling after all. It might be hard to do because we are bringing up sad stuff, but do not yield to the sadness. Fly high and achieve happiness!"

"That should be my signature quote.." he said quietly, joking.

He remembered he was supposed to say her last name. "Unfortunately Miss Ra, I cannot find your last name in my memories. However. The first name is the crucial part. I won't need to know the last, but you know... If you married me and took my name it'd be way easier to remember." he said jokingly. Zhin wondered if his flirtatious jokes were going too far.

 

[Riamah]

Ra could tell her talk of the nexu bothered her friend so dropped that topic. He stumbled over trying to remember her last name for bit, gave up and continued with the conversation. He extended his condolences that had been missing from her own life. She had told very few people of her past and the man she called her captain. When he had died, she did her best to continue on and keep the business going. While she didn't do as many jobs as they had together, Ra did enough to keep her ship, a home and a few other things.

He said she should smile as she so attractive and that certainly made her blush. He put some cheer back into the conversation though and lightened the mood. Reaching across the table to touch Zhin's wrist lightly, Ra looked across at him with her gold eyes before speaking. He would tell she meant her words even though her face was still blushing.

"Thank you, my friend. That would be a good saying for you, whereas mine would be life is pain."

Letting go of him if he had allowed the contact she would just chuckle when he said he couldn't remember her last name and blushed more at his last comment. He probably meant it in joking manner, but if not it was quite an amusing proposal.

"It's Numare and come to think of it, I don't know yours either."

Did he really just propose? She thought that to herself and hoped he couldn't read thoughts.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin would not move as she touched his wrist, still listening. He returned the warm look. "Well. I can say myself that life isn't easy and sometimes I'd rather be nonexistent. However I try to be positive at least a little. I mean think about it. If you didn't become independent, you might not have met me." he said stopping and thinking. Oh crap, I hope she doesn't take that the wrong way he thought.

Numare? He nodded "That's a lovely name." he said praising her. Zhin noticed Ra blushing and this made him want to make another joke, but he held back as it was a serious matter to speak of. She then asked his last name in a way. "My last name?" he acted confused. "I... I don't remember."

Instead of laughing he smiled and spoke. "I'm just kidding . Zondaar is the name of my family."

 

[Riamah]

She had said it before and would probably continue to say it in the future, "our past made us who we are today. To have the ability to change that in anyway, would change who we are now. Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing."

Zhin's words weren't lost on her and they were certainly true. If her captain had lived, they may not have met or if they had, it was unlikely they would have as close of a relationship as they did. It would be far more businesslike, less social and friendly. She rather liked it the way it was and wouldn't change anything.

He said her last name was a lovely and pretended to forget his own for a moment. Letting out a snort of a chuckle at him, when he did say it, she rolled the name around a few times in her mind before speaking.

"Ra'a'mah Zondaar. What do you think? Hum maybe Zhin Numare instead."

Giving him a wink, she went to get herself more water and waited to see how he would react.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin agreed all the way. Even though he missed his best friend, changing things would certainly be out of question. He nodded while she talked showing this. There was that part of him that might have said differently but he's no more. The old, or younger Zhin.

Ra got up to get something and said their names combined. He was slightly shocked. Mainly because he didn't know Ra was a short version of a bigger name. In the moment, he had to be comedic about if of course. "Ra'a'mah Zondaar does have that ring to it." he said with a grin. While he joked about marriage, it would probably never happen again with him.

His eyes followed Ra's movement. Zhin turned a little in the seat to view Ra. "It's great we can joke like this. Everyone I worked with seemed to be so serious and if they joked it wasnt like they enjoyed it." he said mentioning work at the bar. Some time passed and he asked a question. "What about you, have you always been the jesting type?"

 

[Riamah]

He repeated her name with his last name, with a grin. Ra shook her head and didn't take it seriously. It took her too long to open up with somebody for her to be worth the effort and she felt love would never be something for her. She didn't have any clue what it felt like anyway, so it wasn't something she missed.

She felt his eyes on her as got herself more water, but didn't think anything of it other than him looking at her as they chatted. He mentioned the joking, the fact he didn't have much in his life and then asked if she joked much before she got back to the table.

Looking across at him, she shook her head before speaking.

"No, actually. Only where I'm comfortable and with a person I feel I can trust."

Tipping her head in his direction slightly to emphasize her next statement he would hopefully understand just how much it meant.

"You I trust."

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

You I trust. This made his whole body change just from them words. It was as if he didn't expect to hear that. What did he do to earn any trust? That is what he focused on. "I am grateful for that Miss Numare." he called Ra by her last name since he knew it now, that's how he usually addressed someone, and he was a little more serious now.

Zhin continued speaking. "If I may ask, why? I don't know what I did to deserve such an lovely lady's trust." he thought about it. Nothing came to mind really. It was a mystery that could only be solved by her answer.

The whole trust thing only messed with him because of a memory. It wasn't a bad one but angered him a little. He didn't reveal this through his face, but his tone and body moving could have indicated something was different. Returning to his normal self he waited for a reply.

 

[Riamah]

When she said her last statement, her friend appeared to tense up and get angry a little. It confused Ra, his body language and emotions were different than what his words were when he spoke. He also called her by her last name which felt odd.

"Oh please, just call me Ra.
As for why, well, you haven't done anything to demonstrate a reason not to trust you."

Until he did, her trust would remain there.

"Why does the trust of another person in you bother you?"

She placed an arm on the table, but it was more done to show her own body language as being open and wanting to talk with him.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin understood what she way saying. He nodded and she said the call her Ra like before. "Let's hope it stays that way Miss Ra." he said with a warm smile.

The trusting issue was really with his self, or the inner him. He just didn't trust himself. Before he left the order the focus was to train and get stronger. Protect each other. He failed at doing so and ever since then, hes grown darker. Maybe not in the force but in the mind.

When she asked about his trusting problems, he laughed. "That's not a fun story so let's stay away from this one. Id like the hear about your adventures though. Any love... near death experiences... or maybe you did the dirty deed of killing someone?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra looked across the table at him and raised an eyebrow even though he included a smile with his words.

"Why wouldn't it stay that way? You know getting my trust is actually difficult. On a personal level, I mean. Businesswise though, if I find a poor client, then I just have to take my losses and spread the word that they are bad business."

He said it wasn't a fun story and wanted to move onto knowing more about her, but things should go both ways. Perhaps, Zhin would be willing to talk about the subject later, but Ra wasn't going to push it now.

"Oh, my adventures are hardly worth anything." She shrugged her shoulders slightly and fell silent in thought. "No, I've not loved, in fact I don't have a concept of what that is. I was told there was a form of love between my captain and I...like that of father and daughter. It really bothered me when he died." Letting out a sigh before continuing, she looked away as she answer, "yes, I threw one of my knives killing somebody once. This guy was attacking another person and I...well that's a long story too."

For a moment, she clammed up and closed her mouth. She hoped that she had killed a guy didn't make her friend feel any different about her. After that moment passed, she looked across at Zhin again.

"Have you?"

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

That would be a question he might have many answers for but he treated it lightly and tried to reassure her. "Well various things could happen contributing to our possible conflicts. I don't think I'd let it get to the point where I no longer have faith in you however. After all, I do plan to meet your nexu. On good terms I hope." he said laughing about the last part.

When he asked about love he listened and also smiled when she talked of her relationship with the captain. Like a family there was really nothing to this thought. He sometimes missed his family, mother and father. While he could visit them that wasn't really on his mind. In fact he never planned on going home since the beginning of his train to the end.

Ra added to her story that she killed someone. This made him chuckle a bit since he figured she was joking. But then she asked him if he had claimed a life, he knew it was no joke then. "Yes." he said looking at his empty glass. "I did it without thinking because he took something from me. I don't regret it. It's the only reason I am still here." he said with a straight face. What the thief took was priceless.

 

[Riamah]

"Well, of course you would meet her on good terms. Unless you somehow turn into some sort of prey. She's not actually attacked anybody yet and is trained not to unless the command is given. Haven't needed to do that yet though luckily and hope I don't need to."

Ra wondered what could happen between them, but didn't ask for clarification on his thoughts. He did smile when she mentioned the relationship with her captain, but made no further comment on that.

He answered her return question about killing somebody and she nodded. What was taken, she could only imagine and again didn't ask. She was curious though and her eyes would show that.

"I didn't think of it either when I threw my knife. Funny thing about that, I actually saved the life of my only enemy. What thanks did I get? None. I'm sure if I ever see that man again, we're going to end up trying to kill each other. It's happened three times now! Each time he tries to kill me. Last time it almost worked too."

Across her stomach was a scar and Zhin was the first person she had told about that fight. She had beaten that man and should have left him to die, but the light in her kept her from doing that and she saved his life a second time. They had yet to meet again.
​
[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin laughed when she spoke of him becoming prey. "Ha! Theres no way since I am always the predator." he was only joking. He shook his head feeling a little stupid after saying that.

Ra told her story of how she ended life. She ended up saving her enemy while killing someone attacking him he assumed. "Ya know, sparing your enemy isn't always bad. But I know it didn't help based on what you told me." he paused before asking a question. "Why is he your enemy if you don't mind me asking? I'll tell you something in return." he said smiling. Sharing secrets was a part friendship. He was wanting to know.

Before he would let her answer, he'd say one more thing. "Do you want you kill him?" he looked away and back and continued. Zhin spoke very softly and leaned in. "Whether I'm a Jedi or not there's people who I would kill if I knew I could do it. People that stabbed or even shot me, it's unforgivable. I'm just wondering, again would you kill him if you had a gun to his head?" he said staring at her eyes once again.

She may have seen this as a joke or him acting strange but he was serious.

 

[Riamah]

"Always the predator huh? I guess I should be scared."

Rolling with the joke, Ra laughed with Zhin in this.

"You I really like."

Listening to his words and his ​question, she had the feeling whatever answer she came up with for the last part was very important to her friend. First he asked why he was her enemy and that confused even her.

"It's really odd story. Our first meeting was actually about the time we met, I had returned to Coruscant and this creepy guy almost ran into me. Ok fine, we're at a market and I didn't think anything of it. We both went to the same vendor and he did it again, just brushed right past me to order food. Well, I was slightly miffed, but didn't say anything. He got his items and walked away forgetting something. I tried to be nice and catch him, but he instead attacked me. In the end, he ran away.
Our next meeting was in the same market a few months later, that's when I saved his life. Some guy was going to shoot him and I threw a knife at the guy, killing him. Well, he had a friend with him and they both tried to attack me, so I ran from the scene.
The last time we met, we met alone at the ancient ruins of the Jedi temple on Coruscant. There we fought almost to the death. I beat him badly and almost left him to die. But I went back and bandaged his wounds, waited until he woke up as he had passed out due to blood loss and as we were leaving the ruins, they collapsed and separated us."

Ra took a drink, not to delay in answering his last question, but because she was thirsty after all the talking she had done. Zhin was the first person she had told of Drogh and this story. As she spoke, her eyes had almost lost focus on him as she remembered their meetings. When she finished and took her drink, she looked across at Zhin.

"No, his life was already in my hands and I saved him. I would only kill him if I had no other choice."

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin chuckled in response to her carrying on the joke. "Good. My prey should like and fear me if they don't want to be devoured." he cracked a grin after saying such a ridiculous line.

As Ra shared with him how they became foes, Zhin listened with great interest. The story was truly odd like she said. A man follows a woman and forgets something before leaving, while the kind woman tries to return this thing he attacks her. "That's defiantly strange what happened." That's really all he had to say about it. He got his answer anyways.

"All right. I said I'd share something with you." he cleared his throat. The tone of his voice wasn't angry nor happy. Somewhere in between. "When I was just a child I was almost murdered. It was a sudden scare for me because I was in my own home with my parents there. They didn't even detect the danger. But then there it was, BAM! It struck so fast I couldn't keep up, I was at a disadvantage from the start. I started choking from the intense pressure. That piece of meat came close to stopping my everlasting breath." by this point Ra probably noticed it was another one of his jokes. He started laughing and put a grin on his face afterwards.

 

[Riamah]

Ra didn't continue with the joke, but shared in the smile with him. After she told her story, all she could was nod.

"Yeah, he's just very odd. If we meet again, I'm pretty sure it's going to be us fighting again. I beat him once though, I can do it again as long as he doesn't have friends with him."

Shrugging slightly when she finished, she listened to what he chose to share with her about his past. When he finished and before he started laughing, she just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, I'm glad it failed in its attempt to murder you."

She said this as straight of a face as she could, but her eyes glittered with the hidden laughter.

[member="Zhin Zondaar"]

 

[Zhin Zondaar]

@Ra'a'mah

Zhin smirked when she replied. "I know right? This world wouldn't last long without me roaming around." he chuckled at such a comment about himself. He soon returned back to a straight face after looking at his digital watch.

The time wasn't too alarming but it appeared he still had things to do before he went home. "Miss Ra. Its been great talking with you but I have to get some things in order." he hated to leave because he was enjoying time with Ra, however he was still unemployed at the moment and that could cause issues.

"Hey, uh I swear I'm not hitting on you." he stopped and knew after how he acted it would seem that way no matter what he said. "Okay I totally am. Anyways, how can I contact you while we part ways?" he stood up and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his wallet, and a pen from inside his coat.