Private Dangerous Giggles

[Iris Arani]

Working with the others to try and lessen the load on Corin only got so far. A scrap factory front ruined, a Giggledust trading point sabotaged. Information on the Hyena, the Shistavanen that was selling the Giggledust all throughout Denon, gathered. And honestly she still had no idea what to do anymore. Giggledust was still being sold. Distributed en mass. The 'home' she had here was just the abandoned building she'd found when she asked Zoar for his help early on. With him, she got it at least secured. Camera'd up and such. She was living here when she could.

When the nightmares came, at least she wasn't going to affect anyone at the Temple on Coruscant.

She stared at the ceiling, curling up towards it. Daily workouts. Crunches, hanging upside down. All while she studied over the reports she did have. There was no new information on where the Hyena was getting his deliveries from. No new information on where the money from it all was going. Had he figured out what happened and took precautions to hide the information? Was it Corpo interference? Too many questions she didn't have an answer to.

Iris dropped from where she was hanging, waving a hand to pull the sheets from where they'd been floating to settle on the table. With the rest of the mess of papers she had scattered. Messy, like a lot of this place. When sleep was an enemy of it's own, she stopped caring as much about organization. Her frazzled mind could at least make sense of it all. And maybe Corin would be able to help her sort this all out enough to find where The Hyena was hiding.

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

On the streets of Denon, word was that there was a new supplier of that poisonous Giggledust. Someone under the name of the Hyena controlled the distribution of the new surge, with obvious connections to whoever the chemist behind the creation of it was. It tore through the old slums like wildfire, able to offer their since addled minds a momentary sliver of euphoric joy until the crash that settled them back into the cold starvation of nigh homelessness, pining for more and falling headfirst into the pitfalls of addiction. This variant of the narcotic was strong, dangerous, and sometimes lethal in consumption; people wandered off ledges, into traffic, into comas.

It needed to be stopped.

Corin had done his own preliminary research on the matter, with scarce details included in his notes before Iris called on him for aid. Directions to the abandoned building made into a makeshift home had been followed, through the winding streets and descending cityscape until the vigilante allowed for upwards scanning glance to absorb the details. A shame, Corin thoughtfully noted at the sight of where it was Iris was living. If not for the other identities housed within his shared dwelling, he may have offered her a place to stay.

Some pang of guilt struck him with the familiarity it shared to his old home, that poor attempt at a shack in the Suicide Slums. But there was a time to think on that, and that time was far from now.

He strolled forwards and further in with his hands stowed in the pockets of his leather jacket and the black eye-covering mask settled over that portion of his face, the white fabric that shielded the orbs was all there was to see of them. "Charming place you've got here." He said with a smirk and pivoting head that examined each minute detail. Force of habit.

"How've you been doing?"

 

[Iris Arani]

"Right, so- Wait, huh?"

The sensor outside had let her know Corin was coming in. That, and the cameras. There were at least three hidden away on the staircase up. Much like the room, Iris was a mess. Paint covered the tanktop she was in. Her skin, including the spiraling scar she usually kept hidden away under a couple more layers of shirts. Not that she was embarrassed or sensitive about it, but the looks people gave, how their colors changed.

She didn't like that. Pity. Concern. She was fine.

Iris looked around the room, head tilted to the side. Was this place charming? It worked for what she wanted. "Uh, fine. But- C'mere. Look." She brushed aside any pleasantries in favor of pointing towards a board she'd been using to track the Hyena's movements. Conspiracist level board. Papers, with paint acting as the lines between them all. And several random doodles she drew while deep in thought looking it over.

"So he was using the scrap refinery as a front for the shipments, but I took that down. With Zoar. You know Zoar, right? I think you met him. Doesn't matter, anyway. With that shut down, I figured he'd y'know, be stuck. Have to shell out a lot of cash to get a new place running. But he never did. Even after the loss of all the Spice he had stored away there was nothing. So what if that means he has a whole different place? Something better, more expensive and protected."

She smacked the picture of a pale woman. Rakatan by appearance. Corpo.

"I think he's working with Corpo directly. Selling the high end stuff to the high class folks. What's filtering down is just scraps, y'know? So! Why don't we go party with some Corpos and see if there's Giggledust being sold?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

It was with arms folded over his chest that Corin observed the various notes scattered about, no matter how chaotic. His focused eyes found each detail with ease, even as Iris informed him of all that she found so far. Theories, and more. Theories were a start, but the mention of other missions on Denon caused the lift to his brow and a turn to face his new partner, as it were. But there was another time for all that, the masked teen decided as Iris remained rather focused on the task at hand. In her element, maybe.

"If we can find ourselves in that crowd, we can follow the crumbs. From customer to dealer, to distributor. To manufacturer," an almost devilish smile creased at the corners of his mouth in the realisation. "You know, I'm impressed. You came into your own here pretty fast."

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's a longer trail than I'd like. All it takes is someone to notice and they might cut it off. But who'd expect a couple of corpo partying punks to be trying to figure out where the spice is coming from?"

It was a good plan. And also the only one she had, so it had to be. She was already starting to go through a list of parties she'd figured out were going on that night. It took a couple seconds, but she suddenly paused and shot him a glare.

"You realize I was a street rat too, right? All my life. Just, blurred by the colors. .. And I wouldn't be so weak if I hadn't been thrown from that train. I'm not coming into my own. I'm just, coming back."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

"Try not to be so defensive about it." He remarked dismissively, even as that piece of her life was unknown to him until now. Still, there was no need for pity nor pitiful reassurances. That was her lot in life, the same as his. Handle it, move on, that's it. That's life.

"I meant this," Corin waved a hand towards his own face, aimed closer towards the mask itself. "This life. It's not for everyone, and it definitely takes some getting used to. So yeah, I meant what I said. You're coming into your own here. Even if you're coming back from something else."

 

[Iris Arani]

"Defensive? I am no- .." She cut herself off from digging that grave any deeper and just nodded her head. That, and he was talking about something else. Iris just nodded as she picked up the wooden mask she had. Plain white, like ivory. With only a couple spots for her to see out of. It had paint that could only be seen under an ultraviolet light. To normal eyes, anyway. For hers, she could see it all. Colors without names.

"I like helping people who need help. If wearing a mask lets me do that, I'll do it."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

Her idealistic optimism caused the corner of his mouth to crease into a smile, even if not so far from his own variation of that call to arms. It made Corin feel better, a better person, a better Jedi, even underneath a mask that concealed those often boyish features. If someone like her could share the same mission as him, maybe she was right: he's not as bad as he thinks.

Corin nodded in affirmation, "Me too." His voice hardly above a whisper, as if it croaked out - words meant for himself rather than Iris.

"But from the sounds it, we won't need masks tonight. Maybe some better clothes if we're to sneak ourselves into a Corpo party, eh?"

 

[Iris Arani]

"Oh. Huh. Yeah, no masks. That's not.. That won't make problems, will it?" The masks were supposed to hide who they were, right? If they weren't wearing those, did that mean they needed to avoid doing certain things? Were there extra rules she didn't know? Probably, now that she thought about it.

"Have you ever been to a party like this before?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

It was with stowed hands that Corin idly wandered the space, his eyes shifted about to examine both the broad and finer details of what amounted to Iris' new home on Denon; far from the cramped apartment that Corin resided in with three others, and yet still a home within itself. He pitied her somewhat, albeit briefly. Such was life.

"Eh," the crimefighter muttered with a shrug. "Not as long as we keep a low profile."

His head rolled over his shoulder and settled his gaze over Iris, "I've not been to a party, period." He said, humoured by the notion.

 

[Iris Arani]

Low profile. So no fighting. Yeah, that should be fine. Though- Oh. Well, no. That's not good. "I went to my master's wedding. .. That's about it for parties, though." Good, great. Part of the plan assumed Corin at least knew what was going to happen in the higher end parties. Sure, he was a street rat and such, but as a vigilante wouldn't he of ended up in a party? At least once?

Failure on her part, to just assume.

"Okay, okay. We can still do this. Do you have like uh.. Clothing? Do we need better clothing?"

She looked down at her workout outfit. This was probably the fanciest thing she owned, now that she thought about it. That wasn't covered in some kind of paint anyway.

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

Some form of a sly smile crept across his mouth, "I can guarantee you this much: you'll notice the difference."

His experience with these parties, these balls, these galas was from the outside. Situated on a roof, with all the homemade tech Yula could muster in order to peer into the lives of the elite - of the corrupt elite, his mind wished to forewarn, with their endless bodies of alcohol and enough to substances to funnel hordes of credits into the accounts of whatever backwater skughole that manufactured them.

"I have clothing," he dryly mocked. "Not Corpo clothing, no. But I carry a certain someone's card in the event I need it. And for this, yeah I need it."

 

[Iris Arani]

Ah, crap. Shopping. If it wasn't for paint supplies, she actually wasn't that good at knowing what to buy. Even food she just followed the regiment laid out by her master. "Then I guess we go on a shopping spree for a Corpo look to blend in?" Blending had to be the goal. Stand out, and people will try to figure out who you are, where you're from. She nodded once at her own train of thought before heading right for the door.

"Alright, then, let's go shopping!" She paused at the door. ".. Where do we go?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

Corin sauntered forwards tot he exit, able to move beyond the doorframe and Iris without so much as a fault to his step. She was small, not a whole lot of space to occupy. He aimed a lazily thrown wave towards the vast levels overhead, their sounds cascaded down as if from heavens above once compared to all that occurred on the lowest levels; on the filth-ridden streets, with spice more common than a warm meal. "District-19," a hand pried the mask from his eyes and allowed it to sink into his pocket, "It's the Upcity, it's all Corpo up there. So if we want to be Corpo, then that's where we head. I'm sure your party is hosted up there, too."

His kind, the lowest of the low, was chased out of the Upcity on more than one occasion. Perfect for a dumpster diver, on the account of the rich elite careless as to what is thrown out - can always buy another, that may as well have been their motto.

"You should probably clean up first." He scratched at the back of his neck, "You reek of sweat and B.O."

 

[Iris Arani]

She blinked. Then cleared her throat as she discretely smelled herself. Sweat and B.O., huh? Iris grimaced. "Just- gimme like five minutes." Then she fled back into the makeshift apartment to take a shower. Not that the place had running water, but she had her own little contraption for it. She'd come out a couple minutes after the five she said, fixing up her still damp hair in the most basic and unpainted attire she had. Top. Jeans.

Still covered in some paint, though.

"Okay. I'm good."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

Corin waited outside.

His eyes trailed starships and speeders in the meantime. He listened to the sounds that descended from the Upcity, as if songs to yank him from the harsh underworld of Denon onto their wealth-laden strips. Then to the mean streets, the distant curses, the traffic, the animals, even that of shattered glass twice in the span of the five minutes on offer. He kicked rocks, then a brick.

Corin muttered something foul under his breath, shaking his foot back to life.

"Sweet, awesome." He replied, eyes lingered with the sight of Iris in normal clothes. Huh, okay. He started off and waved with his head, walking down the street.

"So, Corpo parties vary. It's either formal, or maybe formal-casual. Casual-formal. Either way, think of that and then it's the douchebag version of what you're thinking."

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's a bunch of teens looking to party and get high. .. Do they dress formal for that? Or just, y'know. Uh.. Semi formal?" Yeah what the difference is she didn't know. But hey, she'd figure it out soon enough. She followed after him, turning her gaze around the town. Then blinked. "Oh. I should probably cover up these scars, huh? Make it harder to identify me. Got any suggestions for that?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

"True..." His earlier comment had thrown them all in as one, adults and teens alike. His eyes upturned with a furrowed brow for a moment or two, then returned over Iris with a fresh, more current explanation. "Just think of it like this: if you think you're better than someone because of your credits and someone shows up without some kind of brand on you, you look at them weird. You and I, to them we're beyond weird. I want no eyes on me when I'm there, anyways."

He said as much with hands about in the air ahead of him, all there to add to his point with all the subtle and non-subtle movements.

"Erh, synthskin maybe?" It was an uncomfortable topic, an iffy one. "Should do the trick."

 

[Iris Arani]

"I'm allergic." Synthskin, the bane of her existence. She frowned for only a moment before shrugging her shoulders. His uncomfortableness was clear as day in the colors. Was it her? Him? Scars in general? Didn't matter too much, just she knew to drop it at least. Better to focus instead on the shopping. Maybe she could get something with long sleeves and such to cover as much as possible.

"So we go to a store, get as many labled bits of clothing we can, and.. That works? .. People are honestly weird."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

DANGEROUS GIGGLES
Iris Arani

Ironic. He could stand there and think someone is weird, and think there was no issue in a mask settled over some eyes in order to beat criminals senseless and offer a hand to the downtrodden. Perhaps the weirdest bit of all was that there were those with all the wealth one could dream of and chose to sit on the sidelines and allow others to suffer.

"I mean..." He mulled his answer over, "Think of it like a uniform. It shows which side you're on. If you're unable to afford the nicer clothes then you're one of those surface dwellers, stuck down on the streets. If you can, you wear them because it tells people that you're not like those that cannot afford it."