Private Be Pink, Do Crime

[Yula Perl]

“You uh….you sure?” Yula blinked the surprise from her eyes. Given everything that happened so far, this seemed par for the course. “You’re sure.” Tone more decisive, she shrugged. First aid wasn’t her specialty anyhow.

“Ah don’t worry about me, Uncle Nate.” The Perl kids had a slew of honorary aunts and uncles across the galaxy, so Yula accepted her new family member without hesitation. Even as she waved away any concern, an explanation was offered. “They got me in for fixing a shock-boxing match. Like any of the matches down here are clean.” She snorted, pressing her palms to the duracrete and leaning back enough to see him. Him and the needle, thread, and bottle. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was about to do.

Yula cringed. “Sorry I can’t offer you anything for the pain. Cops took everything offa me.” She patted down the front and sides of her jacket in demonstration.

Probably not the best thing to say to someone who could report back to your mother, but her head was killing her from the scuffle.

“How’d you find me, anyway? Oh, and do you know Uncle Dax, too?” Another ward of the outer rim, Dax Fyre had acted as a mentor and gifted her his lightsaber long ago.

Her eyes followed the needle, watching carefully as it punctured his flesh. The Zeltron had cauterized emergent wounds before, but never went so far as to sew her own skin back together.

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

A deep chuckle escaped his lips while listening to her, his gaze meeting hers with a raised eyebrow. On his last two stitches his gaze returned to his work before snipping the thread. Tossing the now empty bottle and replacing it with the one that remained unopened, eyes ran over her, slightly squinted.

Flames softened under the glaze of concern and a bit of sorrow. Almost like in a holo-flick; everything around him slowed down, her words being drowned out. He could feel his face deadpan watching her. Even just her youth and naivety, reminded him of his daughter. Such small things hit in one of his softest spots, a sudden streak of pain forming under his sternum. She would have grown immensely without him, his exile hurting more than just himself.

Best not to think about it.

Dax. The question springing him from the brief and painful moment of tunnel vision. Clenching his jaw he looked away before answering, rising with a small groan. "Yes. Dax and I have been each other's guardian angel for quite some time now." Gaze still adverted he turned, slowly pulling the corner of his shirt back down his torso. Guardian angle was an understatement. The two had been inseparable. At least until Won Shasot, it was there the duo separated, Dax returning home to a family left in the dark. Soon filling the empty void left by Nate as husband. And father.

"I just... haven't seen him in a long time." Collecting all of the now bloody bandages and empty suture kit, he turned back around to face her, his flaming gaze no longer dim. "And I watched you and your cellmate get picked up from across the street while I was at a Catina." Reminded of such drinks, he raised the bottle towards her openly.

"Lets go clear your record."

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

"I just... haven't seen him in a long time."

“Yeah, me neither.” It had been a long time since she’d seen anyone from her outer rim days. Dax, Zak, Eldin—where had they gone? Or was she the one who’d left, trending more corewards towards her family?

She accepted the bottle readily, forgetting the fact that he’d used it to sterilize a wound- or not caring.

A healthy swig of the harsh alcohol had her choking from his next statement. Forcing herself to swallow, she gasped through the burn and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You saw that??”

Not one of her prouder moments, but hey, there’d been worse days. A lot worse.

She took another drink, this time with her head tilted back as far as it would go. She returned the empty bottle to him, not even bothering to look sheepish about it.

“How you gonna do that?”

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Nodding silently he began to clean the slight mess that resulted in his attempt at being an impromptu medic. Nodding along at her words his mind too traveled towards old friends and relationships. Her small outburst after her hearty acceptance of his bottle brought his flaming gaze to watch.

Being unable to help but chortle, he caught himself having a smile break across normal stoic and rugged features. Said smile was soon replaced in slight disbelief at the emptying of the last bottle. Speechless. "Yeah?" Reaching out to take the bottle, he sent it flying over the roof with a flick of his wrist, soon moving over to the edge he came up.

Smiling to himself, a step back took him towards the ladder, a foot reaching a rung. With a raised brow his voice carried across the roof while peeking over the wall, slowly making his way down each rung while speaking.

"You're gonna take me there. But first," Kissing his teeth, he relaxed his grip after moving his feet to let him slide down the ladder. "We're going to need another drink."

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

“Ha!” She snorted as he tossed the bottle away, a distant shatter clinking somewhere against the ground below.

Yula drifted closer to the ledge, eyes following Nate’s path as he descending down the ladder. “Oh, good. I know a place, yeah.” Once he’d slid to the ground, she clambered down the steps as well. Dusting herself off, she appraised her found Uncle for a moment. “It’s about a block from here, you okay to walk?”

Regardless, the two would eventually make their way to one of Denon’s watering holes; a nondescript cantina that was plain as could be. Clean, but scored by knife marks at the doorway and on the counter from one too many brawls and floorboards that creaked from overuse and constantly being repaired. The barkeep, a large Beorni man filled the space behind the counter.

While wiping a glass, he appraised the pair without so much as a raised brow.

“What’ll it be?” The ursine’s deep voice rumbled like low thunder, not impolite, but very much a no-nonsense man.

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Pausing a moment for her to reach his side, an eyebrow raised at her appraisal, a smirk peeking out at her. "Mm, a shaving nick won't stop me from getting a drink." Reaching up he pulled the much larger than necessary cowl of his cloak down and over her eyes. "My bones aren't that old yet dweeb."

Weaving throughout the crowd alongside a newfound pink niece, his gaze rested upon the building before them, noting the wear and tear. Always a good sign. Squinting slightly under the light due to a few too many concussions as of lately, his eyes widened barely at the sight of the bartender. Large would have been an understatement. The establishments interior having the appearance more so of a cage to the large man.

At the prompted question, he jerked his head towards Yula, in complete seriousness. "Something that'll knock her on her ass." Reaching into a pocket he pulled more than enough credits to cover for the duo. "And whatever bottle you think will give me the most fun."

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

“Oh please!” Yula chortled. “I’m a Zeltron, we’re practically made for drinking.”

It was true in the sense that Zeltrons had two livers, enabling them to metabolize alcohol more efficiently. However, as a mutt, Yula had only one liver.

And that one liver would be put to work on the glass of Ondaran willek juice supplied by the large bartender. For Nate, he selected a bottle of Arkanian sweet milk—a drink with a misleading name. After scraping the credits from the counter into one large paw, he lumbered away to tend to the rest of his clientele.

Yula took a sip of her drink and winced. “Oof.” Thumping at her chest with a fist, she sucked her teeth in as the burn cut down her throat. “That’s strong. And…sour? I’m not sure what this is.”

She took another sip, this one bigger, braced for the impact. “Thanks for paying, by the way. Appreciate it.” Yula flashed him a bright smile. “So…what’s yours like? Not sure I’ve seen that bottle before.”

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Her bright smile was met with an innocent smirk, cocking his head slightly at her in amusement. "Yeah okay." Turning to face her, he rested an elbow on the worn table top. Her reaction was more than satisfactory, shaking his head with a chuckle. A big fan of basically anything that burnt on the way down, his first few sips were surprising.

"On second thought-" Carefully moving to pluck the glass from her hand he replaced it with the bottle. "Let's try a little warm up before jumping in the deep end, yeah?" No offense to the younger pink companion, but he was clearly the veteran between the duo. Last thing he needed was her organs shriveling up. However, that would probably be the least unfortunate scenario they would run into.

Swirling the liquid around in the glass, he raised an eyebrow at her sentiment. "No worries, figured you'd need it." Taking a sip he shivered slightly, holding back a cough. He was completely unprepared for the instant burn, she was not kidding on that one. "Holy shi-" Setting the glass back down in front of her, a low whistle escaped his lips. "Oh yeah, that's all you."

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

“IIIII wouldn’t say no to that.”

Usually huffy when someone insinuated that she had a poor tolerance or was generally weak, Yula wouldn’t argue her case for the strange drink. Instead, she took a swig from the bottle of Arkanian sweet milk. Much less bitter.

Yula flipped the bottle over with a hum, glancing over the ingredients list and alcohol content. One of those that was stronger than it tasted, seems.

While Nate sampled her drink, she cringed in empathy. “Yeah that’s…a new one for me. Did the guy empty an entire shipment of lemons into this glass or what?” She lowered her voice for the latter half, grinning as if she were being sneaky. If the barman could hear her, he didn’t seem to care.

“So, you hang out on Denon often?” By now she’d placed the bottle back onto the countertop and reached for her drink, curling a hand around the glass and glancing suspiciously down into the clear liquid. “Believe it or not, petty crime started going down a bit once the Alliance took over. Still rampant in some places, if you know where to look.”

Her sleazy grin implied that they were in the exact place she was talking about.

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Scoffing softly he graciously traded her drinks, the sweeter, cloudy drink washing down the sour aftertaste. Still listening, his eyes moved past Yula and around the establishment before returning to meet hers, flames dimming down to embers. Nodding along he took another sip, shaking his head before speaking.

"Uh I wouldn't say often. More so just a pit stop" Shrugging slightly he looked back over the countertop and assortment of bottles on display. "Lucky draw this time I suppose." Pushing the bottle back between them, he smiled briefly, blinking slowly. Crime could always be rooted out but the essence would still cling dearly to wherever it was. More than likely to just relocate than be completely exterminated. A pest that could extorted for personal gain, maybe even good.

"You're just at home down here then huh?" Smirking at her he did one more glance around, just second nature at this point. However her words brought a slight reminder to watch his pockets.

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

“Lucky for me, yeah.” Yula had seen the inside of a jail cell more than a dozen times on a collective handful of planets by now. Some were easier to slip out from than others—if she couldn’t trick or bribe her way out, she’d try calling in a favor or two. It was becoming increasingly difficult to dodge the authorities on Denon with the charges mounting against her.

Enter: Nate. He’d saved her from anything between a few more nights in a moldy cell up to being shipped off to an actual prison.

“Yeah, I’m settled here for now. Sometimes I hit up Coruscant.” At the NJO temple where Dagon bunked when he wasn’t with her. “Moved here after the OPA collapsed, started my own garage doing droid repairs and speeder boosting.” It was as legal as a business like that could be on Denon. Yula sipped from the glass again, wincing a little as the battery acid slithered down her throat. She was becoming gradually accustomed to the odd taste and figured it was best to take it slow.

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Nodding along he rotated the bottle along its riveted edge, thinking to himself. Not a big optimist or steady believer in good luck, his sudden rescue was just a fortunate circumstance for the duo. Despite being stabbed, bruised and now beginning to have a slight buzz; he couldn't really complain.

At the mention of his former home and long time safe space, his features dropped slightly. "Droid repairs and speeder boosting?" Chuckling he took another sip, pushing off the bar to his feet. "Such minor almost innocent things, yet now you got corpos up your ass and some pretty hefty charges. Been there before." Rotating at the hips with a soft groan he felt a few small pops along his spine, the pressure relieving.

Inclining his head towards the door he brandished the bottle with a smile. "C'mon, lets go see if we can't persuade these fools to stop messing witcha hm?"

Yula Perl

 

[Yula Perl]

At the mention of the OPA’s decline into obscurity, Nate’s features sobered for a moment. It was in that moment that Yula was reminded that the Outer Rim had been the only home some of her friends had ever known, either born into it or forged by it.

She felt at home there, but in the end, she always had Zeltros to fall back on. Joza had created a space for her children to be safe and protected, as much as they all seemed to fight it in their own way. Yula was fortunate.

“Exactly innocent.” She agreed, and the conversation returned to life easily. “I’ve no idea where they’re getting their charges from.” Rising to her feet, Yula stretched with both arms above her head before letting them drop to the side, heavily. She followed after him, quickly at first to catch up, then slowed her pace as a round of dizziness threatened to take her. A grin snaked its way onto her face.

“Y’know Uncle Nate, I bet they got the wrong person entirely.”

Nate Phantoms

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Holding the door open for her with a heavy hand his eyebrow raised, a common occurrence with his younger counterpart. "With that grin?" Scoffing and soon following behind, his voice rumbled from behind her. "Riiiight- Then that makes me a holonet model."

Strong and calloused hands capped the bottle to prevent any unnecessary losses as the duo walked deeper into the nightlife of the city. Nudging her with his elbow he teased, "At least don't get caught." Past endeavors and many scars would say otherwise, but luckily they couldn't contradict his hypocritical jest. Trouble always found a way to slither into his endeavors, just took some time to get used to.

As the crowds shifted and changed, the taller, wealthier central hub came into sight. Stopping at a corner, a few steps offset him a bit from her. "Alright girly," Turning around he held up his free hand, waving it about dismissively at the colorful sight. "who's pulling the strings here?"

Yula Perl