First Reply For My Family I'll Even Go To A Black Market

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Well I won't know if I agree if you don't tell me what they are."

She perked a brow, watching him for a moment. Then looked around again. Just to keep an eye on the streets. Make sure there weren't any of the guards that might see them just hanging about.

"Why don't we talk somewhere else?"

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

He took a step closer to her, lowering the pitch of his voice ever so slightly. Not enough to where he was truly trying to be secretive, but just enough that the average bystander wouldn't hear. "I need someone to be like a bodyguard. Someone who's also willing to let me feed on them."

"Why don't we talk somewhere else?"

Jacen blinked, then looked around. He had led them into a convenience store. The only people inside were the droid cashier behind the counter and a Rodian browsing the liquor section. Meanwhile Jacen and the blonde were standing near the candy aisle.

"Okay. Where to?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Oh. Bodyguard. That's sim- wait what feed?"

She blinked rapidly at that before tilting her head. What did that mean? He needed to be spoon fed something? Weird, but whatever. Then she shrugged. Glanced out the window again.

"Oh. Uh. I don't have a place in mind. I kinda just.. Hitched a ride here looking for something."

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"Oh. Bodyguard. That's sim- wait what feed?"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed. "I'm half Energy Vampire. I have to drink blood to survive, but I want it to be given willingly. Not forced." Paying someone to let him feed on them was the most logical and surefire method he could think of when it came to securing his next meal.

"Oh. Uh. I don't have a place in mind. I kinda just... Hitched a ride here looking for something."

He impatiently waited a few seconds for her to elaborate, but she just kept staring out the window. "What are you looking for?" he finally prompted. As for where they could go... "I have a ship. We could go there?" It was safer to stay in a public place rather than going aboard a stranger's starship, but maybe blondie didn't care. She seemed like she could take care of herself.

It occurred to him that he didn't even know her name. "I'm Jacen," he said. "Who are you?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Oh. .. Huh."

Her first thought was gross, but she did have a dagger made from the blood of the sacrificed. So she decided against it and moved on. Especially at the mention of what she was looking for. That practically had her expression light up. Perfect. Maybe she could use him.

"There's rumors of an artifact being sold on the black market. Sith in nature. It used to belong to my family, so.. I just want to get it back." Get him asking more, and maybe she can get him interested enough to want to go after it himself. Hook line and sinker, right? Something like that. She was pretty sure she read that in a book.

"Aliris. Your ship'll work."

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"There's rumors of an artifact being sold on the black market. Sith in nature. It used to belong to my family, so... I just want to get it back."

"Sith artifact?" he echoed. Then did that mean... "You're a Sith?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Yeah. Duh. I think."

She shrugged indifferently. She knew her family were. And they had some connection to the artifacts she wanted to get, so.. She must be Sith. Nobility, even. Not that she had a family left to claim that with.

"Why?"

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Ew. What the feth?

"Why?"

"Uh... No reason," he said, though she may still have caught the way his nose wrinkled when she confirmed that she was, indeed, a Sith. "It's just not something I normally see people... admitting out loud. In public. Where people can hear them."

A beat passed. Should he even bring her onto his ship?

Eh, screw it. "Follow me."

Jacen's ship was an antique yacht, but still a very nice one. It seemed too big for a single person traveling alone. Once they were aboard, he turned to Aliris. "Uh, here we are. What's this artifact you were looking for?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

She, surprisingly, did not catch it. Or just ignored it. The Ashlan's were venomous in their hate of the Sith, but she had a different fantasy in her head on just who they were. "No, people don't like it. But we're talking about working together for an artifact so.. Not gonna lie, I guess."

Aliris shrugged before walking after him towards his ship. A yacht? Old as it was, she stared up at it in wonder. Kid must be loaded to have a ship like this. Even on board it just looked.. Rich. ".. Hey do you have food? I- Oh, right. Uh. Not too sure. When my family's home was ransacked a lot of things were stolen. It's an amulet that I tracked here. I dunno what it is or what it does, but.. It's all I have to go off of. To figure out who my family was."

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Once he came home to his ship, it was as if the full weight of the day's events dropped on Jacen. He was suddenly more acutely aware of how tired and sore he was. Popping a couple pills to deal with the pain, he sat down on the couch in the lounge with a glass of water in hand.

"Help yourself." He pointed her in the direction of the kitchen. There was some food to be found, although it was all preserved rations with a long shelf life. Nothing fresh.

She explained that her Sith family's home had been ransacked and the artifact, an amulet, was stolen. Apparently she had tracked it to Narsh. "You're doing all this just to figure out who your family was?" he asked, sipping his water. "Don't you have more important things to do?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Help herself she did. Ration packs or not she found at least three to rip open and just rip in to. It was a wonder what having food around did to remind someone of their hunger. She was biting between at least two different ration bars as he started to ask some questions. Which got a frown from the younger teen.

"I grew up in an Ashlan orphanage and they denied me any knowledge of who I am or who my family was. I've really got nothing better to do than learn about them. Why is that bad?"

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"I grew up in an Ashlan orphanage and they denied me any knowledge of who I am or who my family was. I've really got nothing better to do than learn about them. Why is that bad?"

"It's not bad. It's just kind of a dumb thing to do when you're barely surviving as it is." He gestured. "You're eating that food like you're starving. When was your last meal? You said you hitchhiked here. Why not wait until you have a ship of your own? How old are you, anyway? Shouldn't you be in school, or getting a job?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"I dunno, a day ago or so? I mean, that's kinda why I followed you. You did offer a job. And ships are expensive." She shrugged indifferently before taking another bite. And frowned. What did her age have to do with anything when she straight up killed several people just earlier today? Aliris was capable, for sure.

"Why's that matter? You're probably barely older than me."

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"Why's that matter? You're probably barely older than me."

"I'm older than I look," Jacen muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It matters because your priorities are fethed up, Aliris. You can't just throw yourself into dangerous situations unprepared and expect things to go your way. You're setting yourself up for failure right out of the gate."

She probably doesn't have a choice, he realized. Dead family, ransacked house, apparently no memory of who she really was... She might be acting like she had things well in hand now, even though only an hour or so ago she had been desperate enough to throw herself through the black market doorway and almost got them both enslaved, but that could be a front. A way of coping with her powerlessness. Hell, she had followed him here even after he admitted to being a vampire.

Jacen sighed. "I'll help you find the amulet. You can stay here for tonight if you want. There are a couple of bedrooms down the hall, take whichever one you want."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Well yeah I figured that much out."

Her first outing trying to find the artifact, and yeah, it didn't go how she expected at all. Aliris frowned, staring down at the food as she took another bite. The food was welcome, but he was right that she needed to make sure she could survive on her own if she wanted to get the objects in question. Then she blinked. Her eyes stared at the boy for a bit before she just grinned wide as possible.

"Awesome. Yeah. That sounds great. .. I'll go sleep, yeah."

She was pretty tired, all things considered. So to the back she went, going right into the first room she found to zonk out for a bit.


Jacen Nimdok