Private Needing A Hand Or Two

[Alina Tremiru]

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Alina nodded just a bit before curling herself up more against him. Whatever defenses she usually had up, to guard her mind and emotions, was gone. Around Darth Strosius she didn't feel there was any reason to keep that up. It was almost like feeling safe, if she knew what that actually felt like anymore. Ever since her father died, it was a feeling she forgot.

It wasn't long for her to fall asleep. She'd barely slept over the couple of weeks since she lost her arms. For once, it was a restful sleep.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri glanced away from Alina Tremiru as she got settled, a small yet flush beginning to grow on his face as he tried to ignore just how warm she was. He wasn't really used to being used as a pillow, but he had to admit that it was rather...pleasant. Getting a chance to just relax alongside his friend was a rare enough gift in and of itself.

He was almost tempted to have a nap himself, but he knew better. Someone had to keep watch after all. And keep watch he did, both on the telltale signs of hyperspace, and the occasional glance at his sleeping friend.

"Hey...Alina, wake up. We're dropping out of hyperspace now." His tone was gentle, doing his best to nudge her awake without causing too much of a fuss.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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She wasn't quick to wake, but she would. Having an actually good sleep wasn't something Alina wanted to give up on so easily. But Darth Strosius 's voice was enough to rouse her none the less. Her eyes opened first, staring up at him as they came into focus. But she didn't move, not yet. Even if it was just an illusion, she didn't want to give up the comforting feeling she had resting against him. When she did finally push herself up, she did so with her arms. Even stretching them overhead.

For a moment, she'd forgotten.

The realization immediately ruined her mood and soured her expression. She stood up immediately, her arms move more falling limp by her side. ".. I'll go make sure we have clearance to land." The ship was already set up to land on it's own, but she needed to be alone. She'd stay in the cockpit until they landed, sitting on the floor in a corner, trying to calm herself before they went on the hunt.

 

[Darth Strosius]

He was a bit relieved when she finally awoke, but he didn't urge her to get up or anything like that. Alisteri was content with allowing her all the time that she needed to get properly woken up. That was the reason of course, nothing else. He did his best to suppress a small wince as he noticed Alina Tremiru 's shift in mood when she remembered that her arms were...well no longer flesh. It was tempting to follow her into the cockpit, but he didn't. He knew that she needed a couple moments alone, he had been the same way once or twice after all.

After taking a moment to stretch himself, he had been sitting in the same spot for a couple of hours now, he stood and glanced over his current attire. Right, I need to change. With a reluctant sigh he left his mask on the couch as he changed into his more casual outfit while the ship landed. The last thing he needed was some sort of recognizable feature, like a mask.

It was still sort of hard to part with, but oh well. They had a Sangnir to find.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

Once the ship was landed Alina would head out of the cockpit to her own room. She still needed to change herself. Which was it's own endeavor. The usual clothing she wore was sleeveless, and she certainly didn't want to go without sleeves like this and see the scars. She ended up with an oversized sweater, with sleeves that went past her hands. She should invest in gloves.

Ironic, for if she already had them, she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with.

It'd be a bit before she came back out, hood up to cover her face as she nodded to Darth Strosius . "Okay. We're heading to the underbelly, as a warning."

 

[Darth Strosius]

If Alisteri noticed her change from her usual attire, he didn't comment on it. He did idly think about offering her his gloves but he decided not to draw attention to her arms any more than he had to. "I'm guessing that this underbelly is home to the worst of the worst?" That was his assumption anyway, one didn't name a place 'the underbelly' unless it was a foul place after all. In truth he was very hesitant to even set foot on the planet, let alone go to this underbelly.

He wasn't about to let Alina Tremiru go in there alone though, so here he was.

"I trust you can lead the way there? I must admit I know nothing about this planet other than its...unsavory reputation."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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"The worst of the worst who live in fear of being drained of their blood." That was the rumor they were chasing. The stories fit what she knew of the Sangnir, and the bodies devoid of any trace of blood. Not just drained. It was medically impossible to get all the blood out without some sort of specialized equipment. It was as close as she could find to what they were looking for. "We'll need to get a speeder. Um.." She didn't look to Darth Strosius , but her voice got steadily more and more quiet as she spoke.

"Do you know how to pilot a speeder?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri winced slightly and nodded, idly glancing away as he thought of such a horrid fate as that. It was unpleasant to say the least, of that he could be sure. For a brief moment he wondered how many people lived with that fear, that at any moment a Sangnir could leave them drained in the dead of the night. Then again it was also Nar Shaddaa, so you were just as likely to get robbed or shot as you were to be attacked by a Sangnir. Or so he thought anyway.

He raised an eyebrow curiously as Alina Tremiru began to get more and more quiet. He was tempted to comment on that but decided against it. "Not well enough to win a race but well enough to get somewhere without crashing." Well that was what he hoped anyway, he was a bit rusty on his speeder skills.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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"Good. You can pilot then." That was the end of that conversation. She went right to where the taxi service was, leaving Darth Strosius behind for a moment to speak with them. Where they were going wasn't in the usual routes. It'd cost a bit of credits, but she was always well off enough to handle it. Once she had that squared away, she'd come back over to her friend and offer him the keys.

"I'll guide you once we're in the air. What kind of weapons did you bring?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

The only response to Alina Tremiru was a nod, Alisteri having already become preoccupied with glancing around at the various people and buildings near where they landed. He had a bad feeling about this. Probably just some sort of paranoia, but one could never be sure. He accepted the keys and looked them over as he headed towards the taxi that they had rented.

"The usual, a lightsaber and a small vibroknife. Why? Don't tell me we need something special." He replied in a hushed tone, hoping that no one else overheard them. The last thing that they needed was unwanted attention. Upon entering the taxi and starting it up, a small smirk did cross his face however.

It had been far too long since he got the chance to pilot something.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"We'll get you a blaster some time. When we're trying not to be Sith, lightsabers are gonna have to be the first thing to not use in a fight." She only had a basic blaster herself. The heavy blaster she used on Bastion remained there, with her arms. She let out a sigh, quickly hoping into the taxi to sit beside Darth Strosius . Those weren't memories to think about. "Though, probably good to use a saber against Sangnir. They don't like fire."

More useful facts. Though, that was the extent of what she knew. She let out a frustrated sigh as she sat there, trying to move her arms somewhere out of the way but didn't hurt the actual part of her arms. Which was them laying in her lap, something she didn't actually want to do. "This isn't me being desperate, is it?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

It was clear that Alisteri was a bit rusty on his speeder piloting, mainly highlighted by the fact that it took him almost a minute to get the speeder into the air. Once he had it going though, he seemed decent at controlling it. "Yeah I suppose you make a good point. We need to keep a low profile here after all." Waving around a lightsaber did tend to garner a lot of attention, usually the wrong kind.

"Desperate?" He glanced back at Alina Tremiru in surprise. He had never really known her to second guess herself. "Some would say that you are I suppose. Hunting down a myth on the hopes that it will restore your arms does seem a bit...crazy at first." He admitted, quick to speak again to add on to his statement. "But we are Sith."

"The odd and arcane is our specialty. It is only fitting that we find an unconventional way to restore your arms."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"Odd and arcane certainly are." She let herself smile at Darth Strosius 's reassurances. It wasn't very Sith, but she didn't really feel like one. At least, not around him. In truth, in the more recent time they've spent together he hasn't felt anything like how she felt around other Sith. The mistrust and danger constantly nagging the back of her mind was never there when she was with him. The trip wasn't going to be long, but she spent it in silence. Mulling over her thoughts.

At least, until they were about to reach their destination.

"After this, when everything's fixed. Do you want to go on a date?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri was content to ride in silence, focusing on getting to where they had to go. Well that and trying to remember which button did what. This speeder was a bit different from what he was used to, but it wasn't another machine entirely either. It was certainly far more modern. Then the silence was broken by Alina Tremiru with a simple question.

"WhAt!?"

It took all of his willpower not to swerve the speeder out of sheer shock, his face lighting up red as he looked back at her for confirmation of what she had said. "Date? Like-like a date??"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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For the first time in a while her own cheeks actually turned a shade of red. Darth Strosius 's outburst at her simple question definitely threw her off just as much as her question threw him off. She retreated somewhat into her seat, her face only getting more and more red. "I.. Yeah. I just.. I like being around you. I feel.. Safe." She frowned a little. No, pouted, really.

"Sorry if that's too much."

 

[Darth Strosius]

It took a couple of moments of silence until Alisteri could muster a response, still trying to wrap his head around the question. In truth, until Alina Tremiru had spoken again, he wasn't sure if she was serious or not. "It's not that..." He responded quickly, although it took him a second to continue. "I...I'm just surprised is all. I didn't think that...I mean you...I..." He paused again, taking another moment to clear his throat and try to recompose himself. Keyword being 'try.' "I wasn't aware that you were...well interested in me is all..."

A small, nervous laugh left him as he continued. "I didn't think that I was your type...I...I'm glad I was wrong."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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"I don't really have a type." She muttered under her breath, her eyes closing. Her dating life, if it could be called that, consisted of getting black out drunk and usually waking up with a stranger she kicks out immediately. Or, was. Now that she doesn't have her arms, drinking was off the table. Messed with her cybernetics too much. It'd get easier, but that's not what she wanted.

A soft smile formed at his last words though. Alina's eyes opened to glance towards Darth Strosius . "We gotta go find some vampires fist."

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small hum of surprise was his only response, narrowing his eye slightly as he tried to spot somewhere decent to land the speeder. It didn't take him too long thankfully, evidently their destination was unsurprisingly not all that popular. He supposed that the threat of potential Sangnir attacks did that. A smirk formed on his face at her last remark, glancing back at Alina Tremiru as he landed the speeder. "Easily the best thing you've ever brought me on thus far. Especially when you put it like that."

"Now, let's go a hunting then eh?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

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"Oh yeah? Chasing a myth of a supremely deadly creatures is better than the swamp?" Alina flashed a grin as they landed before hopping out of the speeder. For a moment she forgot the cybernetics and anger, though using her arms reminded her once again. And yet, already it wasn't bothering her as much. It was temporary. Had to be temporary. A challenge, not loss. Determination took over her features as she lifted her head high. With Darth Strosius beside her, there'd be no trouble.

"First things first. Gotta find the source of the rumors. Means time to go bar hopping."

 

[Darth Strosius]

A scoff left the usually-masked man as he slipped out of the speeder, quick to lock it behind the two of them. He didn't want their only source of transportation to be stolen after all. "Much better than a swamp." He muttered under his breath, glancing around warily. To be fair, at least a swamp only has creatures and humidity. Here there was the worst obstacle of all, people.

"Barhopping in the underbelly, now that sounds wonderful." He supposed that it was good to have a plan at least. "So where do we start?"

Alina Tremiru