Private Down in the Gutter Again

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"See you soon!"

Aiden smiled faintly as he heard the voice of the bartender call out to him from behind. A part of him wondered if it was a bad thing that he visited so regularly the staff already knew he'd be back very soon, but this was perhaps the only place where he felt some comfort. Or at the very least, it helped numb the pain that otherwise plagued his mind constantly, and kept him from focusing on much darker thoughts.

Now outside, he took a moment to breathe in some fresh air and looked around the neon-lit Coruscant street. It was already fairly late, but there was no work tomorrow, so plenty of younger folks around his age were out and about to celebrate their time off. It reminded him of the days he and his brothers in arms would look for cantinas on planets they were deployed to, and the fun they always had exploring.

Different times.

"Stop! Let go!"

The voice of a woman drew his attention away from a huttaburger advertisement, and to a group of drunks who had gathered around someone. She was being pushed around a little and judging by her clothes and purse, she had plenty of money to spare, whereas the men around her seemed like typical underworld thugs you'd find in the most rotten corners of the lower levels.

"Please! Stop!" she continued, and after looking around to notice nobody else was helping, Aiden made his approach.

"Time to back off, boys," he began with a deep, intimidating voice as he forced himself between her and two of the thugs. "Or else what?" one of them asked with a smug grin on his face. His eyes turned to his friends to see if they were laughing, but the second they settled back on Aiden, a sudden punch caught him right between the eyes and sent him out-cold down to the street. To capitalize on the shock of his attack, he charged another and with a series of powerful punches, beat his face to where it was completely unrecognizable.

But the other two jumped in and started to fight back. Despite this, Aiden held his own for a while, until right after covering his head against a hook, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his stomach. He stumbled back, and instinctively lowered his hand, only to feel a warm liquid run between his fingers. Glancing down, he noticed a knife had pierced into his torso, and he was losing blood quickly.

People all around them began to scream at the sight, as blood soaked up his white shirt, and dripped down to the ground. It was enough to get the two thugs running away, but Aiden collapsed onto his back seconds later.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

'Time off' still felt like a foreign concept to Amani Serys. There was always somebody else that needed help, needed a patch-up. And if there wasn't then she needed to prepare for when there would be. Sometimes it was as if the weight of the entire galaxy were on her shoulders. She just couldn't help it. Her dedication was almost compulsive, in a sense. Maybe not healthy for her, but it meant more people got out of the hospital more quickly.

Thankfully, she had gained some awareness of her own personal need for a life outside of work semi-recently, and when there were opportunities to just exist for a while, she opted to take them. Alicio might worry too much otherwise.

This was supposed to be one such evening. The temple had at least a few more healers on call now. They were still small in number, but the additions of Nida and Aleena had proven even more significant in dispersing the workload than Amani had anticipated. One extra night off. She could live with that.

"Stop! Let go!"

Duty calls. Amani whipped around; The sound was distant, but recognizable. Trouble. The Force confirmed as much, distress rippling through like waves. She hurried off in the direction of the commotion, which only seemed to mount with each passing moment. There was a cacophony of screams that capped off the event, just as Amani skidded onto the scene to see a man bleeding on the ground. Too late. "Nonono-" She approached. He was alive, for now, thank the Force. But someone had done a number on him.

"Hey, hey-" Amani knelt down and pressed a hand against the wound. Excess blood seeped out across the fabric of his clothes and between her fingers, "Just, take it easy. I'm a medic. I'm gonna help you out, okay?" She was unable to hide some of the stress in her voice. This had all been thrust upon her quite suddenly. So much for a night out.

With the force at her side, Amani channeled her healing energy to begin slowing the bleeding.

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Hey, hey-"

The voice snapped him back to reality, or perhaps it was the hand pressing against the wound, but either way, his eyes opened and he grunted from the intense pain he felt. His skin was already looking pale from blood loss, his arms were limb by his sides, and his body also looked beaten — not just from the fight that got him stabbed, but from older injuries as well.

This had clearly not been his first fight recently.

"Just, take it easy. I'm a medic. I'm gonna help you out, okay?"

"I appreciate it, doc..." he said, his deep voice strained from the loss of energy. His face was covered in a cold sweat now, but the Force healing his wound was helping bring back some color to his face as well. He watched it happen with widened eyes and quickly realized he wasn't dealing with an ordinary medic.

"A Jedi? Out here?" a short laugh escaped his lips as if he found it extremely amusing that he ran into one here, "Not that I'm complaining." He forced a faint smile and kept his body steady for her. During military service, it wasn't uncommon to get injured, so he was actually a pretty good patient in that he kept himself still and positioned the best way he could for her.

When the bleeding finally stopped, he still felt sore and beaten to hell, but a sigh of relief escaped nonetheless, now that he realized he'd live through this, "I don't suppose you'd be interested in grabbing a free drink after this? I As a thank you, of course..." he proposed with a slightly stupid grin.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

"A Jedi? Out here?" a short laugh escaped his lips as if he found it extremely amusing that he ran into one here, "Not that I'm complaining."

“The Force works in mysterious ways…” Amani remarked with an air of irony, “It’s my night off. Or was,” She snorted quietly, indicating that she didn’t hold any ill will against him for the interruption.

Whatever internal wounds he suffered began to mend over in real time, the blood clotting over and saving him from any further exsanguination. Amani shot the man a raised brow and a smirk, “I don’t do much drinking…” A beat passed as she weighed the question regardless, “...Just as a thank you?” She stressed, wanting to make sure this guy wasn’t trying to come on to her. Flattering if so, but she was happily spoken for.

But if he had the same guilty conscience she did, then Amani would’ve felt bad about rejecting the repayment outright. It was the same reason she tolerated Valery paying for her lunch that one time (and half of her new clothes). “At least let me patch the rest of this mess up before you ask me to marry you.” She joked, then reached down to help pull him onto his feet, where she would continue to act as a support, “Don’t suppose there’s anywhere nearby I can take you that isn't in the middle of the street?”

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"It's my night off. Or was,"

For a moment, he seemed to actually feel bad about the whole situation now. He didn't regret helping the stranger at all, but it messing up someone else's night wasn't great, "I'm sorry about that," he said while he watched her finish patching up the worst of it. He was already feeling much better, but there was still some recovering to do.

"Just as a thank you," he echoed with a slight smirk, but it faded into a more serious nod as well.

"At least let me patch the rest of this mess up before you ask me to marry you."

"Would you say yes if I did?" he asked, but clearly as a joke. With a short laugh, he shrugged it off and got up to his feet, which allowed him to see the bloody mess around him. "It's mostly my ribs, and my hands are busted," he said as he showed them to her. It was pretty clear he hadn't held back in beating the hell out of the attackers, judging by how bruised and bloodied they were.

"But there aren't any medical facilities nearby, so maybe the cantina?" he grinned, "I'm sure we can sit there, and I can buy you a drink. Non-alcoholic, if preferred."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Don't be. What you did? That took guts." She glanced down at his stomach and smirked, "Guts which, thanks to me, you will be able to keep."

His offer of drinks earned a nod, the terms now acceptable. The question of marriage earned a chuckle, and a hiss through her teeth, "Alas, I'm already steady. Happily so." A more sincere grin flashed across her face at the allusion to her beloved Organa. "I'm surprised you're not." She added as an olive branch, acknowledging his handsomeness all the same.

"Cantina it is, I guess. As long as they're fine with the impromptu patch up." She turned, giving the area a once-over before heading to bar, "Got a name?"

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Guts which, thanks to me, you will be able to keep."

In response to that, he just stared at her for a moment, both surprised and impressed, "You're worse than some of the medics in the Marines, and that's saying something," he joked with a smirk as his eyes shifted to the Cantina. "But I appreciate it," he continued again before she went into his proposal for drinks, and replied to his joke.

"I figured that was the case. I'm just messing." She was kind-hearted, good-looking, and funny all at the same time - how could she not be? The comment about her surprise regarding him being single that followed after was just met with a soft, slightly forced smile. There were reasons for it, and he didn't really feel like exposing those to someone he had only just met.

"They're either too drunk to care, or they're about to be too drunk to care," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders before she inquired about his name. "Aiden, yours?" He asked in return as they moved to the cantina and stepped through the doors. It immediately drew the attention of the bartender, who called out.

"Back already, Aiden?" she asked with a grin. "And with some company? That's a first."

Aiden just rolled his eyes and moved over to a table, "Just get me a beer, and whatever she likes. Put both on my tab." He sat down and turned back to Amani with an almost apologetic smile, "You could say I'm a regular here these days."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani nodded with a sense of realization, “A marine, eh? I suppose a ‘thank you for your service’ is in order,” She dipped her head briefly in acknowledgment, then snorted, “I spent three years as a locum tenens in the Outer Rim. I’m afraid your jarheads got nothing on the sassy Quarren grandma I had to deal with on Lamaredd.” Her padawan years as a healer were simple enough. But out there, one had to show a little spine to earn some respect, even if you were the only reason someone else still had a spine to begin with.

“I’m flattered,” He seemed a good man, if nothing else. His actions tonight were enough to earn her approval. “Sounds to me like you’re spending a little too much time in the cantina then,” She regarded with a smirk, nudging him to try and coax a more genuine smile. She didn’t press any further though, only introducing herself in turn, “Amani. Pleasure.”

Back inside the cantina, the bartender more or less confirmed her comment about his frequent attendance. Amani stifled a quiet chuckle, and finished helping Aiden rest at the table. “Uhhh, beer, sure.” She answered idly as she stared at her hands, still painted red and sticky with blood. His comment earned a knowing hum, before she gestured towards the refresher room, “I’m uh, gonna go wash up real quick, cool?”

After a brief trip to the sink and a thorough washing, she came back out looking a little less like she’d just punched through someone’s chest cavity. “Kay, show me your knuckles again?”

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Sounds to me like you're spending a little too much time in the cantina then,"

That was quite an understatement, and his brief nervous smile did little to hide that fact. But when she nudged him, he couldn't help but flash a more genuine smile. "The pleasure is mine. My life depended on it today," he said with a soft chuckle before he made himself as comfortable as he could within his chair, and placed orders for their drinks.

"Beer as well? Didn't think you were the type, but hey, I'm not judging," he teased in a friendly manner before a nod in the direction of the bartender got her to grab some glasses and fill them up. Looking back at Amani, she asked him about washing off the blood, which he agreed was a good idea — right now everybody understood why her hands were bloodied, but it could create a bad look out there. "Of course, take your time."

When she finally returned, there were two large glasses of beer on the table, and some snacks as well. There were some benefits to being a regular at a bar, after all.

"They look worse than they are..." he muttered to downplay the actual pain, as he held up his hands for her to see. In the middle of a cantina like this, it felt a tad embarrassing to him, but he knew better than to argue with this outer-rim medic, and he had a feeling she'd see through any lies as well. Jedi could do that, right?

"So uh, do you often come to places like this on nights off? Not exactly the most welcoming," he inquired to try and get a little conversation going that wasn't about her putting his guts back together.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani shrugged, "Alcohol in general isn't my type. But I'm assuming you know what's decent around here," She smirked, making sure to whisper the next part out of earshot of the bartender, "Besides, I'm assuming this place isn't carrying any high end Alderaanian wines." No offense intended.

Upon returning to the table she sighed in satisfaction, happy to be free of the sticky blood that had previously coated her from fingertip to wrist. The sigh slowly transitioned into one of surprise as she saw the particularly large glasses, "Wow. That's…" a lot. Amani simply gave AIden a knowing glance and sat down.

"We'll see about that," She let his hand in hers, and with the other she began to gently feel over each of the knuckles for noticeable breaks or depressions, "Tell me if any of these hurt when I touch them." People often tend to forget that hands were not necessarily evolved for the sake of punching things. Hit something hard too hard, and it was a rather easy fracture to suffer. And yes, skulls were most definitely a part of that list.

"Not exactly." Amani chuckled, "I've only recently started living on Coruscant, so, I guess I'm still just trying to get a feel for it all."

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Don't worry if you can't finish the whole glass, it's a lot," Aiden said in response with his deep voice, but it had the slightest hint of a challenge to it as well. He wasn't going to push her to get drunk or drink more than she actually wanted, but it was fun to poke a little at her and see how she responded to it all. Or perhaps it was just an attempt to not have her focus too much on his busted han-

Nevermind.

His downplaying of his hands wasn't just taken for granted, and as she began to feel over his knuckles, she could quickly tell the left hand seemed to be fine outside a little bruising and damage to the skin. But the right had a fracture, and despite his attempt to look tough when her thumb traced over the index finger's knuckle, the pain showed in his eyes. "Okay..." he said as he drew in a sharp breath, "...maybe this one is pretty bad."

"Not exactly." Amani chuckled, "I've only recently started living on Coruscant, so, I guess I'm still just trying to get a feel for it all."

"Oh yeah?" He asked with a tilt of his head, "Well, it doesn't get better if you go deeper down. Unless you want to risk running into more stabbings, I think the upper levels are going to be more to your liking."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

His inclination towards a challenge earned a knowing smirk from Amani. Whether or not she actually took him up on it remained to be seen. Hell, she didn’t even know if she’d like it yet.

The left hand felt fine. Nothing that wouldn’t heal on its own with time. The right however… “Ayep. That’s a fracture.” The index knuckle was deformed and shifted under the touch of her thumb, and even Amani winced in vicarious pain over his reaction. “Gotta keep those punches straight. Otherwise you end up with this.” She set his hand down on the table and reached for a hard case on her hip, which acted as a miniature medkit. “Although I will say an index break is pretty rare in these cases. Maybe you just got back luck.” Another wry chuckle.

“So I hear. Think I can’t handle myself?” Amani pulled out an elastic bandage roll and set in on the table, and stared at him for a few moments as if waiting for a reaction. But then, she spoke, “Treatment for this kind of fracture is simple enough. Buuut I’m going to have to reset the bone before I can splint it…”

“…And we don’t have any anesthesia here…”

“…You wanna take a few swigs of that beer first?”

Alcohol was the closest they were gonna get.

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Gotta keep those punches straight. Otherwise you end up with this."

Aiden grumbled slightly at the comment, "It's harder than you think when you're fighting 4 guys at the same time," he said in response before he used his good hand to reach for his glass. He took quite the swig, set it back down, and watched her ready a medkit to take care of his right hand. But as she prepared herself to patch up this final injury, it seemed that a comment he made sparked something in her as well.

"So I hear. Think I can't handle myself?"

He met her stare with his own for a few seconds, before he finally grinned and shook his head, "I'm sure you would have taken those 4 guys out without breaking a sweat. You Jedi are tough. But that doesn't mean this is a fun place to be for a night out." It was perhaps an odd statement, considering the fact he had been exposed as a regular here. But his reason for wasting time down here had nothing to do with having a good time.

"Aye... beer and I've got one other idea." After downing most of the beer in one swig to make sure it'd hit hard enough, he removed his belt and bit down on it. A classic trick that would hopefully be enough.

"Alright, let's do it," he mumbled with the leather belt in his mouth.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

“Fair enough.” Amani relented. Even a skilled hand-to-hand fighter would find themself one the ropes against multiple opponents. Especially one without the sort of abilities she possessed.

“Also fair enough.” She added with an exaggerated nod. “I’ll try to keep my nose out of places it doesn't belong.” Like him, she couldn’t very well ignore a cry for help, but that didn’t mean she would go out looking for trouble.

Aiden took a final swing and clamped down on his belt, “Good call.” She took his hand again, carefully and gently to minimize the distress. “Alright, I’m gonna count to three, and shift it back into place, ‘kay?” Her hands positioned around the fractured knuckle in preparation, “Ready? One-”

CRACK

And on one she immediately snapped the bone back into proper position, hoping that the unexpectedness of it would minimize the pain, as opposed to letting it build up in his mind all the way to the agreed upon count to three. Right after, she rolled out the bandage and began taping it around his index and middle finger, using the latter as a natural splint. “There, not so bad, right?” She said, unable to help a slight smirk as she knew it still would have hurt. He could take it, though.

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"I'll try to keep my nose out of places it doesn't belong."

He chuckled and just dipped his head lightly. As a Jedi, she probably had a lot more reason to be down in the lower levels than he did — criminals were everywhere, and at every street corner were people who could use help. But at the same time, he also understood the Jedi already had more on their plate than they could handle.

"Alright, I'm gonna count to three, and shift it back into place, 'kay?"

"Got it," he said as he began to prepare himself mentally. But Amani had other plans and caught him by surprise when she snapped the bone back in place on count one. "Ah fuck!" he exclaimed loudly, almost with a flash of anger in his eyes from just the pain. But he quickly realized why she did it and shook his head with an amused smirk, "Not so bad? It hurt more than breaking it on the dude's face."

Adrenaline was a wonderful thing sometimes.

"And I saw that grin, doc," he teased a little while she wrapped up his hand. "How long before I can start throwing punches again? Not that I will look for trouble, of course, but you never know."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani finished applying the bandage, the two fingers now stiffly wrapped together. She gave her work a once-over, and a satisfied nod of approval, before she flicked her gaze back up to the marine, "Oh, you handled it fine. As long as you don't start crying I'll call it a win." She teased.

"I'd give it maybe… three weeks before it should be more or less back to normal. Maybe wait to start punching people until after four or five, though? If not for your own sake, then for mine. Jedi keep me busy enough as is." A smirk, "Ice it, soak it in batca, whatever. Should help with swelling and let it heal a little quicker. Take some pain meds, too. Other than that…" Amani shrugged, and took a sip of beer, which immediately made her grimace.

"What about your ribs?"

Aiden Rennek

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"Crying?" he grumbled and brought his hand up after she patched it up to take a look at it. He had been hoping to sleep it off and give it a few days of rest, but it looked like it was going to take a lot longer for it to properly heal. Looking back at her, he wondered if that fancy Force-y stuff couldn't just fix it up instantly.

He wasn't going to ask more of her, though.

"Three weeks?" he blinked and looked a little shocked, "I can barely get through 3 days before some nerf herder tries something around here."

"If not for your own sake, then for mine. Jedi keep me busy enough as is."

"Well, if you put it that way..." he teased with a smirk of his own. "I'll make sure not to end up in your hospital," he added before he watched her try the beer with an even bigger grin. Nothing needed to be said — his expression made it clear he thought it was very amusing.

"What about your ribs?"

"Well, they hurt," he chuckled and lifted his shirt enough to show the lower ribs. There was a lot of bruising there, but whether or not they were broken wasn't as easy to figure out. "You think they're broken? One of those guys did seem to like aiming for them, so it's possible."

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani stared at him with pursed lips. Apparently her prognosis was unsatisfying, but there was little to be done about it. Well, that maybe wasn't entirely true. "I can try and do a bit more healing for it, accelerate the process, but bones are a little harder to mend perfectly than soft tissue. They'll still be a bit more… brittle than you're used to. Better than now, but, I still wouldn't recommend hitting things with it if you can help it. And more importantly," She gestured to his ribs, "I'd like to make sure you aren't suffering anything that needs serious healing in your torso before I potentially burn myself out on healing your finger."

It might not take much, but healing could be a taxing process. Better to make absolutely certain that more immediate injuries are dealt with first. "Is there a sharp pain when you breathe especially? Any difficulty breathing in general?" Regardless, she laid a hand over the area and began to apply her Force healing all the same.

Aiden Rennek​

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"You make some good points, doc," he said at the mention of not wasting her healing energy to fix some broken knuckles. It explained why she hadn't done that earlier and instead opted to painfully fix them up. But with that answered, he sat still and allowed her to place a hand over his midriff.

"Nothing too painful, but it's not pleasant either," he said, which likely meant they had taken a decent beating but hadn't punctured anything or caused really bad internal damage. Either way, the Force healing worked wonders, and rather quickly there was a small sigh of relief that escaped his lips.

"I think I owe you more than just a beer you won't finish after all that," he smirked. "If there's something else you prefer or anything I can do to repay you, just let me know, alright?" There was a more serious and genuine smile now, as he truly felt that she had made a huge difference to him.

And not only because he got to keep his guts.

Amani Serys ​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Hm. Probably just some bruising. Still likely going to get some lingering soreness over the next few days, but this healing should do the trick." For now at least, he'd feel much better. After that she laid a hand down over his knuckles and gave the bones a little more energy as well, going until a bit of tiredness hit her.

The mention of her beer got Amani to take another look at the mug, and chuckle sheepishly, "Sorry." She felt bad, having effectively wasted this man money on something she likely wasn't going to get much out of. As if to prove otherwise and justify the purchase, she took another drink. Her eye twitched at the taste, but it went down smoother than the last, at least.

"Well, I'm still waiting on that wedding ring now that you're all patched up," Amani managed a smirk, and another sip. A few moments passed before she spoke again, taking on a more genuine tone, "But no, I can't ask anything else of you." A shake of her head, and a tired smile, "Just glad I could help."

Aiden Rennek​