Awful Fancy

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Yeah, yeah I know," Kairon replied. He silently chastised himself for finding it difficult to put the boy - no, not boy - out of his mind. They'd spoken often on this, had even considered sending him off on his own courier runs alone to give him a bit more responsibility. He chastised himself because he knew it was selfish on his part. Finding himself responsible for the teenage stowaway had been his tether to civilised life.

Turning and following Mal to the other crew, he silently vowed to try and explain that to Asmus. Maybe before his twenty first birthday. It was, perhaps, only because of Mal that he could picture a life with Asmus having gone his own way. But perhaps coming back here was simply making him emotional.

Kairon made his introductions with firm handshakes, realising that for once he didn't look the least comfortable in formal wear. A welcome change.

"Been working for the Descarts actually," Chad replied. "Got us on retainer so to speak. Good money and we get the odd shindig! Assume your motley crew picked up a contract too?" he asked.

His eyes gave Kairon a curious glance. "Rees..." he mumbled to himself before Mal could answer.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal noticed the look Chad gave Kairon but she couldn't figure out why. Chad had not been this way when last they were on the Alliance payroll. Eriaduan politics? Hardly a place for a spacer like him to get involved. If the Descarts had a contract with a smuggler, were they all looked at as though they were luxury accessories? Not a thought she wanted to entertain.

"Not quite. We're guests of Mrs. Janes. Her son is one the Warden's crew."

It was a neutral answer, that did not name drop Kairon's family, in fact that did not connect them to Schmidt & Rees. If Kairon wanted to connect those dots, she would leave that to him. She could be carefully neutral. It was like talking to officers in the Navy. Or playing a good hand of sabacc. Never lay all your cards out at once.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Chad gave a shrug and expression that suggested he didn't know Kairon's sister. Kairon noted Mal's expression. Despite playing cards with her plenty, sometimes with stakes if entirely unrelated to credits, he had never managed to get a read on her when she closed it down. However, he could tell when she was keeping the cards close to the chest.

"How'd you find these bashes?" Kairon asked. Part of him was trying to relax. Best case he could catch up with some family, they'd smile in front of the other guests. He could tell them a story of fighting for Eriadu and the Alliance, embarrass Mal a little by telling them how amazing she was, and remind them how exemplary Asmus' last results had been. A few drinks, a little dancing and all done.

"Yeah they're good. Not paying for a thing eh? You know they brought Zed's crew to one of these?" Chad replied.

"Damn...messy?"

"Oh yeah. His loss. Good business networking these. When the Republic and Omega looked after most places they had easy days. Lot a political borders to deal with."

"Right...right..." Kairon shot Mal a quick look when Chad turned back to swap his empty glass. He was starting to put some pieces together. Anara had been awful cagey about why she was so keen to meet Mal. Damnit. His nice little notion of how the night might've went was starting to seem less likely.

 

[Malia Afredane]

She had been chatting with Chad and Kairon about the latest bit of spacer gossip when she caught sight of him through the crowds of fancy dresses and colorful waistcoats.

Lars Rathiir.

He was walking with a cane now, although it looked more for show than anything to her. Lars didn't do just waistcoasts it seemed, he was dressed in long black formal coat, with a red silk waistcoat under it. His salt and pepper hair was sleek and stylish and he wore an easy smile for everyone with twinkling hazel eyes that graced Mal's features.

She didn't want to think about how or why he was there, but he hadn't seemed to notice her yet. Perhaps Kairon wasn't the only one who would be having a run-in with relatives tonight.

She couldn't hide from him, not here and just about the time she thought about moving away from him to prolong the meeting, he saw her.

Feth.

He limped lightly over to where they stood and beamed at her, slightly taller than her and next to his daughter the family resemblance was strong.

"Malia, my dear. What a surprise."

The tone of his voice dripped with an icy coolness as he had her in a social setting where she would dare not act out. He was enjoying this.

The taut smile on her face didn't go all the way to her eyes.

"Lars Rathiir. A pleasure."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

His face out of view from her father, Kairon's eyes widened. His shoulders drew back as he took a sharp breath in through the nose and dresses himself him. Angling himself to stand before Lars he offered his left hand for a shake, despite being right handed.

"Oh, sorry," he offered, before swapping hands. Petty, but his tether was already short today. "Kairon Rees, nice to meet you," he said with a firm shake, standing close enough to look down his nose at him.

"We were just having a discussion on how dangerous it's been for bounty hunting this year, care to offer any thoughts?"

Feth, but he'd probably spend the rest of the evening trying to corner Mal in a place where she couldn't cap his other knee. Brilliant, just brilliant.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Lars' eyes cut from his daughter's face to Kairon's, the smuggler taller than the mob boss by half a foot. There was a grudging coldness in his features as they cut back to Mal, but he found placidness in her eyes. As far as Mal was concerned he got what was coming to him for pulling a stunt like that. Izzy could have been killed by a bounty hunter. People were just commodities to him, even his lover and daughter.

"Sadly, none. Bounty hunters are savages. Dregs of the underworld if you ask me."

Lars turned his attention back to Mal, his eyes locking with hers.

"No Shard this evening?"

Mal smiled with sly blink of her eyes.

"No, Rusty is attending to business on Dressel, but he'll be so disappointed he missed you. Speaking of business, what brings you here? Branching off Empress Teta?"

"Always looking for new ventures, my dear. Say, any buyers for that seedy little place Azalea ran on Balmorra?"

"Bar's not for sale. Neither are my ships, my crew, or me." Mal held a firm but pleasant look on her face. She wouldn't provoke him here. But she certainly wanted to. Heavens how she wanted to.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon didn’t need to actively participate in the conversation further. Mal was perfectly capable to deflecting any nonsense he had to throw at her today. With a tight smile Kairon took a couple of steps back to stand at her side. An arm around her would have been unnecessarily possessive, a statement there was no need to make, but he did reach for her hand.

He held his focus on her father for a moment, mind reeling at the sudden introduction. This was her biological father and yet there was even more bad blood between them than he had with his own father. Opposite problems in a way; Kairons father didn’t want his son involved in his life at all.

Looking over Lar’s shoulder he saw the second batch of trouble for the evening. Anara Janes looking resplendent in a shimmering gown that seemed to float as she walked. On her arm her dutiful little pet: Pilth Janes. Nearly half a foot shorter than her, balding and with a particularly pale complexion. Kairon might mock Asmus for taking his mother’s effeminate features, but the Janes family were not known for their looks. They were known for their wealth. Pilth was now CEO of Schmidt and Rees, though it was well known that Anara made many of the decisions still. His background in number crunching was seen as the stabilising influence the corporation needed.

Looking to Mal he gave a subtle raise of the eyebrows to try and indicating the storm headed their way. Anara hadn’t seen him yet, but she would soon. Ah, a reprieve. He heard her squeal from across the noisy hall as she spotted Asmus and made a beeline for him.

 

[Malia Afredane]

A portly man in an atrocious mustard colored waistcoat purloined Lars' attention from Malia and with her fingers laced with Kairon's, she tugged him away from the conversation and off into a quiet corner for a moment, away behind a throng of other guest. For a moment, she let the veneer crack, and the frustration at seeing him here flashed across her face as she blew hard through her lips.

"So, that's my father. The one I shot. Kinda wish I had a gun so I could make his knees a matching set."

She glanced out around a small group of gossiping young teenage girls, who looked at her suspiciously then began whispering again. It hadn't occurred to Mal that her scars from the dust up on Zeltros would be gossip worthy. The one streaking down her face could be made less noticeable with makeup, but the one on her right upper chest was distinct. It also should have probably told the girls that this was not someone to whisper about.

Mal's eyes found Asmus and played over the woman standing with him, fussing over his coat and and cravat and his hair. That had to be Anara.

"Momma bird found her baby. Think we can ditch now and just scoot out the back?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Yeah, it was a pleasure. Is there anyone else we really don't want to see who we could have wheeled out? Maybe one of my old pillaging buddies."

Kairon sighed and knocked back half a glass of bubbly. "You get the food, I'll steal some booze and I'll meet you in the gardens," he said, doing his best to conjure a smile. It was strange seeing Asmus with his parents again. He found that he didn't really know how he felt about that, but it wasn't simple.

"We should go and introduce you," he said, nodding as he gathered his courage. This time he placed an arm around her waist as they started to make their way through the crowd. "We get this over with and we can just drink and dance right?" he asked hopefully.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I vote we do it anyway and if we're awful enough, maybe they won't ask us back."

She had remarked to him as he maneuvered them through the crowd of people, the captain's best naval smile back on and her posture straight and regal as though she were wearing a uniform and not a ballgown.

Asmus caught sight of them coming and something about the look on his face changed. Mal couldn't quite figure it out, but as they stopped next to the Janes, she found she was less concerned about the look on Asmus' face and more about the look on Anara's.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Anara, Pilth," Kairon said. He tried, really tried to keep his tone civil.

"Kairon," Pilth replied, he barely even looked on his direction.

"Pleasure to see you here again Kairon," Anara said through a sweet mile. Kairon had the distinct sense that there was danger here. Asmus was no use, he looked a little strained from being ambushed by his mother but didn't give him any hints.

"And this is..." Kairon started.

"Malia Afredane!" Anara said, her face lighting up. She raised both arms and glided over to her and air kissed her cheek. "Asmus was telling us all about your last bit of trade on Alderaan."

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal found the Eriadu custom of air kissing cheeks to be rather strange and as it continued to occur, it did not endear itself to her. She returned the gesture with a polite and neutral smile, the kind a captain reserves for their junior officers. Her eyes flitted to Asmus to see if she could read what he would have said about Alderaan to his parents, but he was as blank a canvas as ever.

"It was a profitable trip. The Alliance has always been rather fair with the merchant fleet and the Grey Warden is one of the larger vessels in service to their cause at the moment."

She smiled at them, pausing to pluck a fresh flute of champagne from a passing tray.

"The war between the Sith and the rest of civilized society has left many wanting for their luxuries as supply chains dry up. I am fortunate to have the contacts to keep commerce flowing."

Gambling wasn't about knowing when to play a card or move a piece. It wasn't about the game you were playing. It was about reading the other person and looking for a tell. Right now, Mal was looking for Anara's tells. Everyone had one.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Well if she was having another, so was he. Kairon raised his eyebrows at a nearby waiter who quickly brought him another champagne. He'd been about to say something to Anara, but she was entirely focused on his partner.

"Yes indeed. There was another dreadful religious campaign over the far side of the disk as well, as if we didn't suffer enough with the Moross! Do you run your smaller ship separately these days? And what about you Kairon, what happened to that ship you stole from us?" Anara asked, becoming ever more sweet as she spoke. For now there was no physical tell, her poker face was a match for Mal. Only her line of questioning would draw attention.

Asmus stood dutifully, looking a touch more panicked. Kairon knew that for his faults, the boy didn't deserve to get ambushed back into a career - a life - he didn't want. Clearly he was off his sorts, as his eyes barely even followed the girl in a slinky black number that passed them.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal was about to answer when Anara switched her focus and immediately launched into asking about the Quin. And bringing up that it was stolen. Well, that was delightful. Mal didn't pull her eyes off Anara's face, though she could almost instinctively feel Asmus and Kairon tense up at her words.

If Mal had to guess, Anara had been calling the shots all her life. She was spoiled, used to pushing those around to get her way. The problem was that Mal didn't bend to bullies. She swung her arm out with her champagne flute in her hand in a gesture meant to catch Anara's attention. The younger woman turned her attention to Mal, a flash of fear that Mal might slosh a bit of champagne on her dress. It was a calculated move on Mal's part, to draw Anara's attention.

"I do still run the Wicked Grace, but I find being the captain of the Grey Warden to be more fulfilling. I also know better than to bring up personal family business in front of a stranger but then again, I'm the ex con daughter of bar owner from Balmorra so perhaps I am lacking in the correct manners for a merchant ball on Eriadu."

There was a sweet smile on her lips as she pulled the flute to her lips for a sip, but her shrewd eyes narrowed at Anara, almost daring her to push it.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Anara almost entirely mirrored Mal's expression. The smile was just a little too sweet, her eyes narrowed. After an uncomfortable silence her features softened. "Of course, how rude of my. I do apologise Kairon, that's such old business. Water under the bridge."

"Think nothing of it Anara," Kairon replied. Pilth simply looked uncomfortable with the whole situation.

His sister looked between them all in turn, clearly considering something. "Well, we should probably go and mingle, shouldn't we Pilth?"

"Of course, of course."

"We'll catch up to you later, I'm sure," Anara added before she swanned off. Kairon was certain her eyes paused on Mal.

"You alright lad?" he asked Asmus. It wasn't often the boy looked relieved to be in Kairon's presence, with the notable exception of when he'd dropped himself in hot water of course.

"Yeah, yeah, she just fussed and promised to introduce me to some people. Just insisted I don't mention running off and let her claim it's all part of some big scheme. If you don't mind, I'm going to go back to hiding from them.

"Fair," Kairon replied before turning to Mal. "Don't like it. What're you thinking?"

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mission accomplished. Anara and Pilth made their excuses and headed off into the party, with Mal looking a little too calm. She turned back to the pair, her champagne in her hand.

"Listen. She has the power over you because you let her. Asmus, legally you're an adult, you have a job and you are not financially bound to your parents. If you want to talk about your adventures and how you got there, do it. Kairon, same thing. Don't let her control the narrative. Be unapologetic. Be the guys you are when we're sitting around the table on the Warden. Be guys who have my back in a barfight. This is me, having yours in a different fight."

She winked a sly smile at Asmus and shook her head at Kairon.

"Sorry love, you have the worst tells known to the galaxy."

Truthfully, it made no sense to her why Anara would be trying to spread a certain version of events when she'd previously tried to have Kairon arrested for kidnapping. Something wasn't adding up.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon was nodding slowly, some of the tension melting from his features. If she was going to approach this as a game of poker, then surely he could approach it as he did a trade negotiation. The problem was the merchants were all better at that than him, even if it was the one skill that he had over most smugglers. Anara wasn't half as clever as she thought she was mind, and if it came to it he knew how to wind her up better than she could in return. That thought brought a mischievous little smile to his face.

"Thank you again," he said quietly as soon as Asmus had headed back off to another social circle closer to his age range. He heard a band strike up in another hall. "Well then," he said in a brighter tone. "A dance perhaps? How is your polka?"

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Yes, let's do the one thing she doesn't want us to do." Mal smiled as she finished the champagne. "Have a good time."

She took his arm and they made their way into the large hall. Mal could dance, some years of lessons when she was a kid kicked back in here and there and soon they were whirling around the floor. If there was a worry, there wasn't one on her face.

Secretly, she wondered if Lars was going to pull anything. She wondered if Anara was saving a grand finale. She wondered if Asmus would take her advice. She wondered if Kairon would remember that his life was not here and so sod his tightly wound family if they wanted to treat him like this.

The group of gossipy teenagers caught her attention again as she was perusing a buffet line and after a offhanded remark from a wisp of a girl about the scar that peaked out of her dress on her shoulder, Mal leveled the girl with a deadpan look and regaled the story of how she fought a Yuuzhan Vong warrior in a dance club on Zeltros and got stabbed, so unless she's willing to go toe to toe with one of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy and live to tell the tale, then perhaps she should pay more attention to something that actually mattered.

The teenagers fumed, turned bright red and stormed off. Chad, who happened to be standing near by looking over a tray of grilled prawns nearly choked from laughter. Mal grinned at him.

"They will never think smugglers are a society novelty after this."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon had started to thinking on Asmus again. He was on age, now. Hadn't been when he'd taken him off on adventures. Perhaps that was why it wasn't as easy as it should have been to tell Anara to shove it. Guilt was a powerful thing.

All that faded away as they moved across the ballroom floor. Ballroom dancing was hardly worth changing his lifestyle for, but he was finally starting to enjoy himself a little. Perhaps they could round off the evening by stopping in at a speedthrough burger joint and grabbing some beers.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught Anara pretending not to watch them from out of a circle of confidantes. Catching the tail end of Mal's rant, he approached with full plate in hand.

"What did you silly little thing say then?" he asked with a smirk. Now he was a few drinks down and starting to relax he was starting to pay attention to other things. Like the fact that Mal had chosen an off the shoulder dress, knowing full well what they did to his knees.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"She looked rather put out and ran off. I really don't think these kids know that the galaxy is like. Hell, Asmus has been on the Warden for long enough and he still doesn't understand the whole thing. He's just too young I think. The Sith couldn't knock the corners off him."

Mal had wandered over to Kairon and stolen a piece of fruit off his plate, his blue eyes seemed to have relaxed at least for the time being. Mal had been standing and dancing most of the evening and now the fact that she didn't wear heels very often was starting to be obvious. She managed to get him alone to have a seat for a few minutes on a bench outside the main house, overlooking an expansive garden.

"Are you having a good time?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]