Born on the wrong side of Opportunity

[Fable Merrill]

Although she wasn't an especially dour person, Fable was of a fairly somber, subdued temperament most of the time. It was something she and her mothers had always had in common. They weren't unhappy people, usually, they just didn't laugh much. So Fable was slightly surprised to find herself doing something slightly louder than a chuckle, and arguably a laugh. It only lasted a couple of seconds. "N-no, I'm not a Jedi." She promised with an awkward smile. "Just a hobbyist." Not even that much of a lie, really.

At least when it came to sabers.

Fable sat up, shifted in the chair, then brushed her bangs aside with her fingertips. "But, yeah." She continued. "You don't have to run through fire or anything." Fable promised generously, folding her arms. "At least not for me."

 

[Niysha]

Hm. Curious. Niysha hazarded a guess. "I take it your 'hobby' is mostly physical?" She was unnerved by Niysha's blindness, which implied she didn't understand how someone could see without eyes. She also hadn't commented on the fact that Niysha herself was Force-sensitive, though that wasn't always a dead giveaway for people who didn't see through the Force. Not good to make assumptions, but Niysha did enjoy making educated guesses, and this one was becoming more and more educated by the second.

"Anyway, no need to discuss that if you don't want to. Do you have plans for the evening? Should I get out of your way?" There was a meditation room and a cabin for Niysha to hide in. She would gladly use either, if asked. Honestly, as gracious as Fabula was being, her Miraluka guest was entirely content to be quiet, unobtrusive, and alone for as long as possible. Didn't hurt that Fable was still pretty scary. That much anger in an aura was not healthy. She'd seen it in Sith, but this girl was clearly not Sith.

Plus, most of the Sith she'd seen it in charged into suicide battles with a song in their hearts. Fable obviously had not done that.
[member="Fable Merrill"]

 

[Fable Merrill]

"Mostly physical." Fable confirmed, wondering if that was entirely true. She DID do meditation, and there were a few mental exercises that mom had drilled into her when her education had started. Fable imagined that there'd be even more if she'd bothered asking for tips in the finer points of Force usage that mom seemed to have re-grasped after her time in hell, but to be honest, Fable was fairly satisfied with where she was. Mutakai might be simple compared to the packaged light-and-dark philosophies that ran the Galaxy, but then, Fable was kind of simple, too. Most of her mental energy went towards regulating herself.

Stretching her legs out, Fable shrugged and offered a tiny smile. "I've got to be on the Holonet in like, an hour for something. But that's about it." She explained evasively. Not everyone needed to know how much time Fable sank into Legends of Mytherika 2.

That [member="Niysha"] might be able to use the Force hadn't even OCCURRED to Fable. She was, after all, blind. And Fable was, after all, fairly simple. "Go ahead and make yourself at home." She invited, flicking on the holoscreen. A bad action movie was playing, because of course it was. "And if a girl with a blonde ponytail turns up, uh, just be patient with her?"

Razelle wasn't the easiest person to meet for the first time.

 

[Niysha]

Right. Blonde woman, etc. Niysha gave a nod in return, then found a corner of the livingspace couch to curl up into. "I'll be quiet. Nothing to concern yourself with, there." Truth be told, she wanted to spend some time with friendly company. Travelling on your own was suffering, and suffering built strength, but company helped stave off madness. A weak mind made a weak Sith. In that way, making friends and goofing around was helping Niysha on her path back to the life Lord Adekos had wished for her.

Or something. Self-justifying slacking off was pretty easy.

Keep her talking? Legitimate conversation was such a rare luxury. "So...you're not from around here. From how you moved earlier, I'd say...shockboxing?" She grinned and leaned back, letting her back rest against something soft and supportive. "Been a while since I've seen one of those. I used to love it. The just...unbridled passion of it all." The Miraluka shrugged and considered getting up for another drink. "Like, wrestling's staged and huttball is just an excuse to murder people for fun. But boxing isn't like that. It's pretty cool."

Okay, so mild idolatry there.
[member="Fable Merrill"]

 

[Fable Merrill]

"Heh..." Fable chuckled awkwardly, glancing away from Niysha with a secret smile. "Yeah, it's pretty great."

Truth be told, even Fable's 'unbridled passion' was pretty damn bridled, or she'd have ended most of her matches with the remains of a carcass splattered across her fists. But it was as close to letting loose as she could afford to do and still make money, given her hard-line stance against murder, and for that alone she loved doing it. "My, uh, circuit is a bit more... theatrical than a professional circuit. And they allow submissions and holds." Fable added, idly massaging her knuckles.

Theatrical was a nice way to put it, given how all of the fighters were scantily-clad women in outrageous costumes.

Fable sat up and offered a warm smile. "You know, I could show you some moved, if you like?" She promised, sounding almost hopeful. "Most thugs'll back off if you show you know how to defend yourself." Or they'd draw a knife, but chances were that that knife was getting drawn, anyway. The girl had gotten mugged earlier, Fable knew that if she was largely helpless and had that happen to her, she'd feel better knowing how to throw a punch.

 

[Niysha]

If Niysha had eyes, she would have blinked. Instead, she simply gave the closest to a confused look that a mouth could manage on its own. "You want to teach me how to box?" The little Sithling's tone was uncertain, as it normally was. The idea of being taught how to punch people by this festering blob of rage and bloodlust was more than a little bit daunting, even discounting Niysha's tendency towards being a bit overly concerned about things that she really didn't need to be overly concerned about.

But then, if she said no, she'd likely upset Fable, who was a barely-contained bomb of emotional instability begging for a reason to go off. And also, her training at the old Coruscant academy hadn't progressed far enough to cover things like hand-to-hand. She barely knew how to hold a lightsaber. It would probably be a good idea to get at least some training if she wanted to survive in a very hostile and dangerous galaxy.

It took her a few seconds, but eventually Niysha nodded. "Alright then. If you're offering, I'm sure I could use the help," she replied with a smile. It quickly turned into something much closer to a smirk. "Plus, free lessons. Who am I to turn down something free when I'm literally squatting in a freighter?"

 

[Fable Merrill]

That got a grin from Fable. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel obligated." She promised earnestly, standing from her seat. "But if you're still interested in the morning, I'll be glad to include you in my exercises once we've had some rest." It wasn't every day that one got to beat the tar out of a bunch of thugs, unless you were Fable. But as normal as that kind of hyperviolence was for her, she was at least distantly aware that being party to it could be an emotionally draining experience for a normal girl.

Fable got a couple glasses of juice for herself and her company, and put on a couple Holovids to pass the night away until they'd both found their beds.

-

Morning was a relative term in space, and especially on a space station. That said, Fable was an early riser - she was already up and moving, showered and dressed for her workout before politely tapping on the door that Niysha's room was behind. Almost timidly, she let the Miraluka know that she was about to start her workout, and that there was a breakfast-analogous shake ready for her.

But if she went back to bed, Fable wouldn't give her a hard time. Truth be told, Fable was in a hurry. She liked her workout. The cargo bay of her ship made for a decent makeshift gymnasium; nothing was especially high-quality, given her salary and habit of burning her way through equipment, but unlike her mother, Fable didn't have a planet of wilderness and a collection of tanks to help her break a sweat. By the time Niysha arrived, Fable was giving the business to a jump rope, a feat made possible only by ridiculous amounts of grav tape.

 

[Niysha]

Morning came far too early.

While not luxurious, a warm and relatively soft bed was a luxury in and of itself for a bum. Niysha was very, very tempted to sleep in, but she already felt as if she was imposing on Fable. When her hostess knocked on the door to the young Sithling's room, Niysha rolled herself to the deck and staggered to her feet. Blindfold. Remember the blindfold. No reason to freak Fable the hell out. Blindfold, then pants.

In a minute or two, a very tired Niysha wandered into the cargo hold like a zombie. She located the drink she'd been promised with an almost predatory acumen, obliterated it in seconds, and leaned back against one wall while she tried to get her bearings. During this whole process, her Sight wasn't focused enough to see more than a meter or so beyond her body. It took another couple of minutes for it to sharpen enough to make out Fable doing her jump rope routine on the other side of the room.

Truly, it would be very distracting to anyone who saw the generous Cavataio figure attempting to infringe on the laws of physics, but to Niysha? Her aura had changed only slightly from the night before. Still interesting, but still terrifying. Not the sort of thing she'd be inherently attracted to, and she couldn't even see gravity weeping all around Fable. Five or six minutes after Fable woke her up, Niysha was finally alert enough to speak. "What-" yaaaaaawn "...what time is it?"