Private Hoverboards & Segways

[Inanna Harth]

"Woahhh," Cato nearly stuck his face against the glass display when Inanna pointed out a hoverboard. "I always wanted one like this when I was a kid." He glanced back at her, now looking like the kid begging for a toy. "We should get it."

Alas, hoverboards are only designed to hold one person at a time, and while Inanna had certainly tried to make it work, she ultimately had to find her own ride. Count on Cato to then suggest they race to their destination.

Taking a speeder would be cheating, so she had to come up with something on the fly. Luckily there were hover-segways available for rent nearby. As soon as she could, Inanna took off, making her way through Zeltros' Southern Province. Now that night had fallen, the streets were even more crowded with partygoers, which made maneuvering a bit difficult in a way she didn't think Cato would have to deal with on his hoverboard.

Both modes of transport were otherwise evenly matched in terms of speed. Inanna had the advantage of knowing the way to the club, while Cato had never been there before. But it was still a roll of the dice to see which one of them would reach Euphoria first…

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato was living his teenage dream, riding through the Zeltros nightlife on a bonafide hoverboard. It was one of those unattainable desire, mocking him each time a commercial came on showing just how totally rad it was to own a hoverboard.

Was he too old for one now? Debatable. But frankly Cato found the judgement of those without their own rad hoverboard to be beneath him. Besides it was Zeltros, if anyone could understand the merits of just having a good time, it was the Zeltrons.

Cato took to it pretty quickly. Quick enough in fact that he was confident enough to challenge Inanna to a race the rest of the way. Neither was particular dignified— His wife taking a segway of all things to the nightclub— But it was fun.

At least for Cato it was.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna totally would’ve won the race, if the streets hadn’t been so crowded. Swerving to avoid pedestrians, what should’ve been a straight shot to the club turned into a meandering route. It was as if she were being chased by a gunman and had to zigzag to avoid getting shot.

At last she spotted the familiar neon-lit exterior of the club just up ahead… and Cato speeding toward it on his hoverboard. A honking horn drowned out her curse.

“All right, you win. Barely,” she muttered as she pulled up to the entrance and finally got off the damned segway. At least Cato looked like he’d had fun. “What do you want for a prize?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Once Cato saw the sign of the club, it was all over. The hoverboard was much easier to maneuver around the crowds than the segway, especially combined with his already cavalier strategy. He hopped off the board, and turned around to watch Inanna finish closing the distance, a smug grin on his face. When she approached, he wrapped an arm around her waist, "I already have the best prize I could ask for," Cato said, looking at her. There was still an underlying smugness to his attitude, though.

"…That's the right answer, right? Cause my other answer was a big golden statue of myself." He teased after a beat, "C'mon, let's head in."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Oh, so I’m a trophy wife?” she joked, wrinkling her nose and grinning up at him. “Feth me, I’m going to have to ride that segway all the way back, too…”

A trip through a dark tunnel, and then there was multi-colored laser lights. Pounding music enveloped them, the kind of infectious rhythm that possesses the bodies of all who hear it. Inanna immediately started bobbing to the beat, pulling Cato right along with her. It was too loud to hear her talk, but her challenging expression said it quite clearly. Show me what you’ve got.

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

"Iiiii didn't say that," Cato waggled his finger, "Then again, I am technically the one with all the money now so…" He trailed off, glancing at the Segway, "Probably. Maybe if you're nice to me I'll let you switch rides."

Inanna led the way in soon after, through the tunnel and into a room that might as well have been the dictionary definition of "sensory overload". Bright lights, heavy thumping music, and a crowd of shuffling silhouettes encompassed the space. Cato blinked several times as he adjusted to the climate, finding his rhythmic movement to be almost autonomous. He was pulled along by Inanna, whose body language was clear. He smirked, and began to move in earnest. His dances moves were a bit… cheesy, was perhaps word for it— But well-executed. It wasn't all he had up his sleeve, but he figured he would be funny, or maybe even embarrass her. Which would also be funny. Mid-dance, Cato beckoned with his hand, issuing her the same challenge.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Oh, I’ll be the nicest girl you’ve ever met, if only for the chance to see you on a segway.”

Sensory overload was a good term for what they were thrust into, though the experience was made all the more visceral by the sheer volume of pheromones in the air. It was Zeltros, after all.

Inanna wasn’t sure what she expected him to do, but Cato’s dance moves were… Well, they were exactly the sort of moves Cato would do. A cheesy dance done with absolute confidence and commitment.

She laughed, and eagerly took up the challenge. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery; she started out by putting her own spin on his moves, before moving on to something more her style—sensual and enthusiastic, but never too self-serious or flashy. If anyone else stared at her, she didn’t seem to notice or care.

The crush of bodies eventually forced them together, where she kept dancing with Cato. Er, dancing against him, technically. “This place is a lot more popular than I remember!” she shouted, though she wasn’t sure if he could hear her. She could barely hear herself think.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

“Oh, I’ll be the nicest girl you’ve ever met, if only for the chance to see you on a segway.”

"We'll see about that."

Inside the club, Cato broke out his signature style. The saying, "If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid" very much applies to dancing. This dance especially. He left it all on the dance floor, in defiance of that stupid arcade game. And of course, Inanna could not help but fall into the same rhythm, until putting her own spin on things.

Gradually, the shift in the crowd forced them closer together. Cato was practically back to back with another dancer, with Inanna pressed up against him, and was more or less relegated to shimmying in the space he was given. She finally dared to try and talk, and Cato did his damndest to listen, "Yeah?!" He was pretty sure he understood what she said, "Quieter, too?!" He laughed.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“You want to go somewhere quieter?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. “They have private rooms…” Even if he couldn’t hear what she was saying, her expression was certainly suggesting something. Assuming he could see her face clearly in the dim laser lighting, anyway...

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato slowed down as she draped her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her hips and hummed, his lips shifting side to side, "Mmmmmaybe," Trying to have a conversation on the dance floor was becoming maddening anyway, "Lead the way?" He shifted to follow her, trusting that she knew the place better than him. Other dancers continued to move and sway, bumping into him as he stumbled his way out of the mess of lights and noise and pheromones.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Taking his hand, Inanna led the way through the crowds to a hallway lined with doors. Approaching one particular door, she produced a keycard—almost as if she had planned all this ahead of time—and unlocked it.

Inside was a little room with some comfortable chairs around a table. There was a small device on the table which could be used to order drinks and whatnot from the bar. Even with soundproofing, the noise from the club was faintly audible from outside, but it was much quieter.

Locking the door behind them, Inanna wrapped her arms around Cato once more. “Well, here we are,” she said softly, kissing along his jaw. “What do you want to do now? How about… a lap dance?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato moved on autopilot as Inanna guided him to the room, a thousand other stimuli all vying for his attention until all suddenly stopping at once. The inside of the room muffled the distractions, whiplashing him back to focus. He grinned and pulled Inanna against him, enjoying the tickle of her lips on his jaw.

"Oh?" Cato's grin widened, "And which one of us is doing the dancing?" He half-joked, sneaking in a kiss of his own, "Sounded to me like you were volunteering."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"And which one of us is doing the dancing?"

"Wait wha—" She was cut off by his kiss, turning whatever she was about to say into a wordless wanton whine. Pheromones didn't affect her anymore, so she couldn't blame it on Zeltros.

"Sounded to me like you were volunteering."

"Hang on. Would you really do a lap dance?" She lifted one eyebrow, her lips curling into a smirk. Of course, if he didn't want to do it, that was fine. But clearly it was the better option here.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato pulled back with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow. Inanna jumped on the possibility of the roles being switched from what was originally implied. He chuckled, "Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut," A joke, even if he was looking forward to being on the receiving end. Cato could still enjoy himself with this new opportunity.

"But sure. Yeah. If the missus wants it, then who am I to say no?" He dipped her into the nearby seat, "I can't claim to have any professional experience, but I like to think I could make it work," He slipped off his shirt, "Just sit back and enjoy the show…"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“I’ll enjoy it regardless.” Because it was Cato, and Cato made everything more fun. Stifling a giggle, Inanna sat back…

---

An undisclosed amount of time later, the lock suddenly disengaged and the door slid open. Inanna yelped in surprise. “The door was locked for a reason, nerf herder!” she exclaimed.

Standing in the hallway outside was a Zeltron male, dressed like a typical clubgoer. There were only two remarkable things about him: he was extremely tall—probably a little over seven feet in height—and holding a handgun. The weapon was pointed down, and his practiced stance revealed that he clearly knew how to use it.

He seemed puzzled, looking around like he expected to find someone else. Upon seeing Inanna, he tucked the gun behind his back. “My apologies, Miss Hoole,” he said. “Enjoy your evening.”

“What the f—“ Inanna began, but he had already shut the door. She turned to Cato in bewilderment. “I don’t know who that guy was, but apparently he knew me.” That and the whole gun thing were more than a little concerning.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato almost didn't even notice at first when the door was unlocked, not until Inanna's yelp startled him into cognizance. He twisted around, staring at the hulking zeltron man like a deer caught in headlights. Or just a deer stuck in a compromising position, "Uhh-" The man backed down as soon as he realized who Inanna was, which earned a raised eye brow from Cato.

The door shut again, and his look grew more bewildered, "Jeez. You'd think they'd know to knock around here," The moment was pretty much killed now. Cato scrounged around for his shirt, and shook his head, "How is that? I mean, you used to work here, but if you don't know him…" It was all rather suspicious, "…Think we should check it out?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“No kidding.” Handing Cato his clothes, Inanna wiped her mouth and sighed. “I probably should’ve known better than to come back here. This place attracts some… really weird types.”

Standing up, she unlocked the door and peeked out—just in time to see the Zeltron force open another door. The pounding music of the club drowned out any exchange of words between him and the occupants, but Inanna saw him raise his gun, take aim, and fire!

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

"Like us?" Cato smirked wryly, throwing the shirt back on. He followed Inanna to the door, peeking out over her shoulder just in time to see the giant Zeltron break into another room, "…What the hell is he-?"

The weapon fired. Cato immediately took off down the hall, springing at the gunman to try and tackle him to the ground.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Like us?"

“Exactly,” she replied. “Only we do it better.”

"…What the hell is he-?"

Before Inanna could even formulate a reply, the Zeltron fired his gun and Cato rushed to the rescue. “Wait!” she managed to choke out, her feet already moving her forward. To do what? She didn’t know yet.

Screaming right next to her, impossible to ignore. She turned her head to glimpse a woman fleeing from the room the Zeltron had broken into. Then beyond the doorway, a body slumped on the couch…

Cato’s body slammed into the Zeltron—but the Zeltron didn’t move an inch. His bones were hard as phrik, his flesh cold and unfeeling. Whether Cato bounced off or managed to maintain a hold on him, he lifted an arm to push him back, the gesture as casual as if he were swatting at a fly.

Terrified that this man—this thing—might kill her husband with a single blow, Inanna screamed, “Stop! Don’t hurt him! Please!”

The Zeltron froze. Inanna blinked, surprised that her plea had worked—then pinned the Zeltron’s body against the wall with the Force. He was heavier than he should have been, denser than a human. Was he not human? Some kind of droid?

Cato Harth

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato felt the impact reverberate through his bones. He had hit big guys before, but this was more akin to running into a brick wall. His inertia came to an harsh stop, only for him to then be flung back again. He hit the ground with a groan as the Zeltron tossed him aside, "Whaaat the hell?"

Whatever his next plan, Inanna's words stopped the Zeltron in his tracks. Cato's head tilted to the side in confusion, and he approached the man slowly once Inanna had him pinned to the wall. He tried to touch the Zeltron's mind telepathically, finding a lack of organic material to latch onto, "He's like a… a droid! Why is he listening to you?" Cato looked at Inanna, "Ask him what he's doing."

Inanna Harth​