Now we can talk about it

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

The duros very slowly and deliberately crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze remained levelled on Kinsey. His expression remained neutral and yet he was still able to convey disbelief through his body language. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence followed.

Xin opened his mouth to speak but Wesseq held up a finger for silence. Then his shoulders sagged, as if admitting that this was something he was actually going to have to deal with.

"You're actually both going with the Nexu story?"

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

Steely-gaze never left the red eyes of the Duros as he held her own. "That's what happened." Flat words left a tired mouth. She held Wesseq's gaze a moment longer, before letting a hand go to the IV in her arm, hooked up to the artificial blood pack. With a grimace, she plucked it out and scooched to the edge of the cot, letting her legs swing over the edge.

"We done here?"

Uninjured hand reached to the small table by her bedside and took some extra gauze from the bedside, wrapping it around the spot where the IV had just been.

"Cause I've got some power couplings to see about."

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Wesseq gave an exasperated sigh. He could tell when someone was lying. And a certain period of his past had given him a keen insight into the workings of the sith. What they described was not beyond their ability. Just part of a world he thought couldn't reach them out here.

"I need to go and work out how to deal with this," was all he said before turning on one heel and departing. Xin watched him leave.

"Well dat was..." He started before he realised what Kinsey was doing. "Hey!" He said, almost immediately moving to block off her line for the door. He rested a hand on the shoulder he hadn't torn up.

"Ship'll be dere tomorrow. Yuh need some rest." For the laid-back nautolan the suddenly stern tone was quick a shift.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"...that's why you get paid the big creds," the mutter left her mouth after the doors had sealed closed from Wesseq's departure. Hadn't been brave enough to mutter them when he was within hearing distance. Couldn't quite hold back the comment either.

"Xin," a sharp argument ready to be fired off froze on the tip of her tongue. Kriff. His hand felt like a million heavy bolts, as if she was a leaf ready to be blown off the tree.

Kark.

"Fine. But I'm not staying here. You got any place that's more comfortable than a medbay? Away from medical droids, stabby needles, and obnoxious monitoring machines?"

Expression shifted into something a bit more vulnerable. More vulnerable than Xin had ever seen on the spacer girl's starburned face.

"And do you trust him? That Wesseq guy?"

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Oh not at all. Well, depends," he corrected. "He'll do what him needs an if yuh are on de wrong side of dat...

"Right now, he's not going to go spreading news. So yuh can trust him dat far." He took a step back and gave a shrug. He half expected her to bolt for the door. This business with the amulet seemed to have her on edge.

"If you're going," a voice behind him interrupted. "You'll want these." A rather pragmatic twilek nurse stepped last Xin. "Painkillers, two a day. Spare dressings. Keep that wound clean and don't stretch it." And that was that. No press to stay for more treatment. The fleet didn't have the resources to treat someone who wanted to leave.

"Come rest at mine and we'll get yuh ah room," Xin offered.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

Surprise crept its way to her cheeks. But not at Xin, at the nurse. She figured she'd be toughing this one out - dealing with no more painkillers. For a moment, she found herself frozen, staring at the offer like she was in some sort of dream-state. Head shook slightly.

"Um, thanks," she grunted and finally found her muscles remembered to move. Pocketing the supplies away, bright blues of starbursts edged with weariness rested back on Xin. "Just no more clinics. I'll only crash for a few hours. Don't worry."

The spacer assumed Xin wanted her gone. Almost everyone wanted their routine back. She assumed she'd been nothing but an inconvenience to the nautolan. Plus there was that restless part buried deep in her bones. Couldn't stay in a place too long. Booted feet walked gingerly, following after Xin.

"Just tell me your place isn't too far away. How'd you get me to the clinic anyway?"

Stars, she hoped he hadn't karkin' carried her.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"I had to karking carry yuh," he chuckled. "Which wah nuh fun wid how dat amulet made me feel."

Xin only had a small cabin. The bed folded down from the wall. The sink folded down from the wall. There was a communal fresher suite for four rooms. It was actually quite similar to the prison he'd been in.

In his opinion she was dealing with her wounded quite well. It was damned stubborn and foolish to get back up, but it was still worthy of admiration.

"It's not so far, but two decks up. A longer walk means we can take de lift," he said to give her the choice. "Yuh in such a rush invisible girl."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"Oh,"she stumbled. Good hand caught herself against the corridor, palm smacking flat to push off against the metal. "Well, you know. Thanks for that."

She was out of her depth.

Each step took double concentration. Body was pumped with painkillers that were finally starting to work. Aw, kark.

She was getting high.

"No," she retorted wobbling off the wall while trying to maintain some sort of pride and dignity. "Everything's fine. No rush."

Felt like she was walking on clouds.

"All the same though, we should take the lift." And suddenly she thought that idea was rather funny. But laughing would land her on her arse. On that fluffy cloud ground.

"Wait, wait, wait. You saying carrying me would've been fun without that amulet making you feel like chit? Didn't realize carrying girls was what you enjoyed doing in your downtime."

Teasing was easy and safe and something a person getting high on pain meds could do.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Oh-kay come 'ere before yuh walk into a wall," Xin chuckled. With no chance to protest he slipped an arm under hers and around her. "Would have been funny to watch yuh get in dat ship and crash right into a bulkhead."

"And oh yeah, carrying girls as dey bleed out is one of mah pastimes."

She could try and protest. Doing so would probably have her stagger and fall of course, but he wouldn't have put it past her. She seemed quite a stubborn soul.

"Yuh need some sleep," he said, repeating the message again. He needed rest to. He could feel how much that amulet had drawn from his own reserves for the transformation.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

If she wasn't starting to feel that giddiness of pain meds all over, Xin may have found a quick elbow into his side with his proximity. "You just watch where those wandering hands of yours go," she quipped instead, a sloppy grin cascading briefly across her mouth. For a few steps, she walked stiffly next to that nautolan and his strong arms. Why did the man never wear sleeves? She was half determined to still make it on her own until she hit a slight incline up to the lifts.

Fingers snaked around Xin's waist to steady her steps and ground herself as they continued on. "Sleep and then food," she blabbered. Starburst blues seemed to get lost in staring at the opening doors of the lift. Missed a curious and pointed glance given to Xin from a barabel getting off the lift. Or was he getting on?

"Kriff," fingers tapped absently against Xin's side. "These are karking strong pain meds."

Was she talking loud now or did the lift just have an echoing affect?

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Oi yuh big lizard come here!" Xin called out as Brak walked past. The barabel had been curious about what was going on so turned on his tail and followed them back into the lift.

"Kinsey, yuh wid me or want me to get Brak to help carry yuh back?" he asked. It didn't seem as if she was actually losing consciousness but he was growing concerned that she was going to lose the coordination to use her own two feet to get back. It was one thing to run through a ship with her in his arms and covered in blood as he called for a medic. It was quite another when the destination was his room. Especially if the drugs affected her faculties and she started saying odd things on the way.

“Medical bay is the other way?” Brak asked. In the cramped elevator his voice was particularly loud. Xin could felt it through his chest.

“She’s just going fah some rest fah now, unless she gets worse.”

“Please say you’re not asking me to carry a girl back to your room?” Brak asked. An awkward silence followed.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

Kinsey's shoulders trembled. A strangled giggle bubbled from her throat, immediately breaking the silence. Head bobbed back, looking up, up at the barabel. Head shook sloppily.

"No, no, no. I'mperfectlycapable." Words were definitely starting to slur together. Eyes closed for a minute, head still tipped back. That lizard's toothy grin still showing up behind closed lids.

Stomach dropped as the lift went up.

Eyes opened in slits, still looking up at Brak, head half cradled against Xin's shoulder. Who knew those muscles could be so comfortable? If she wasn't high she'd be karking mortified. "No offense. Bark." Was that his name? "I'm sure you're great. Juuuuuusgreat. Bunkmates? Cause if so Xin mightasmell like wetacat." That sloppy grin returned briefly before her head snapped off Xin's shoulder.

"Is it karking hot toeweguys?"

The lift dinged to a stop, doors sliding open.

 

[Xin Boa]

With an exasperated sigh Xin looked towards Brak. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other was enough to tell him that she wasn't going to make the rest of the way on her own two feet.

“Come on den,” he murmured. Taking a step back he wrapped his hand around the backs of her knees and hefted her up. Drained from what had been an awful couple of days he let Brak take her from him as they stepped out of the turbolift.

A passing human looked to Kinsey and shot them a suspicious glare. Xin matched it.

“We're taking her back. To our lair. To eat.” He shook his head as the man scurried off to the sound of Brak laughing.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"Heeeehooo," she sputtered. A low whistle left her mouth. Well. At least the other crew members they passed would just think she was drunk off her arse. That was probably better. "I go good with salt and rosemary!" She hollered down the hall. Shoulders trembled from her own quiet, chuckle.

Not so quiet.

Bandaged arm was hugged tightly to her body. Brak was nice. "I like you," she murmured out-loud. Hard to tell if it was for Brak or Xin or if it was meant to just be an internal though. Most likely the latter. Fingers of the non-injured hand began to pick at the buttons on her shirt.

Too karking hot.

There was a sudden whir of a door as it opened and she found herself staring at a small common area. Little kitchenette and refresher. Four other doors. Squinting, she spotted a Togrutas Gone Wild calendar.

"Nice wall art." Head flopped against Brak's arm, getting a better look at it as they passed closer to one of the doors.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"One of mi favourites," Xin said as he got his door. There wasn't much room on the other side. There was currently no sign of a bed, only a desk. Xin moved to it, pulled a latch and pushed down. The desk fell to floor level and the bed that had been pressed to the ceiling fell down into the space it had occupied.

Realising what that hand was doing Xin placed his over hers before too many buttons were unfastened. Brak nearly struck his head on the bulkhead as he stepped into the room and placed her in the bed.

"I've got to head down to engineering," the big lizard rumbled. But he didn't go. He stood and looked at Xin as if waiting for something.

Xin's eyes opened wide. "Oh come on! She'll be fine."

Brak watched the nautolan for a moment before turning and walking away. His tail snaked over the doorway and he was gone. Xin turned to a cupboard to find a sheet for Kinsey. He doubted she would stay awake for long.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

"You have nice friends," she mumbled, flopping onto her side and still cradling that arm of hers. Shirt had gone unbuttoned from the bottom up to just below the curves of her chest. Skin across her midriff was pale. She saw more starlight and artificial bulbs than sun on any given day. Clearly evident.

She made no complaint about the size of the room. It's what she was used to. Reminded her of Alliance prison too. Bed was a bit more comfortable, though. And he actually had a pillow. If she hadn't been so drug-induced she might've noticed the few holos Xin had on the wall. Or had enough energy to ask about them. They weren't Togrutas Gone Wild calendars. Looked almost like family holos.

Feet impatiently kicked off her own boots as she flopped on the bed. One hit the doorway and the other sailed for Xin's torso as he walked back in with a sheet. "You need rest too," she muttered, completely unaware of the boot missile and scooched over on the small bed, so she was against one of the narrow walls, leaving him a bit of space next to her if he was brave enough to take it. Eyes were already beginning to close.

Thing was? By the time the pain meds wore out and she woke up again, she wouldn't remember half of what she said or what happened.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Xin looked at the boot in his hands. He dropped it unceremoniously to the floor. Raising his gaze he eyed the space she had made for him and the unbuttoned shirt. In his head he could see Braks accusing glare again.

As she drifted off Xin busied himself looking over her medication. If she woke up still disorientated he could at least sort out the pills she was supposed to be taking.

Now came to dilemma. He did need rest. He could run a bath in the room two over and sleep in that. It had given Brake a heart attack one morning to find him there. The chair was no good for sleeping on.

When Kinsey woke she would find a pair of webbed feet against her waist. Xin was propped up against the bulkhead at the foot of the bed. His legs were alongside hers pointing in the opposite direction and he sat upright.

For a while he had sat there and checked she didn't need to go back to the med bay. Eventually he had dropped off. His jerkin was rolled up and wrapped around the back of his neck and his mouth hung open.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

Must've been asleep for awhile because as she stirred, head already felt a bit clearer. Arm throbbed to the beat of her heart. To be expected, though. Probably have the stitches in for another four days.

Long dark lashes stirred as her wide-blue eyes opened in thin slits. They were a deep blue, like the color the sky turned just before twilight with pinpricks of bright white from stars just becoming visible. They opened wider still, bandaged arm moving slowly beneath a sheet which she quickly pushed down, fingertips lightly catching against a pair of...feet?

Sandy-brows scrunched together and she froze. Wait. Why was her shirt nearly off? What the kark happened last night?

She remembered the clinic. Wesseq. A giant talking lizard named Bruk? Rest was super fuzzy.

Had she and Xin?

Chit.

Well, maybe nothing happened. Yeah. Yeah. Probably nothing happened. Frozen hand snapped away from the webbing on Xin's foot and went to her shirt, fumbling with the buttons as quickly and quietly as she could. All the while, inching down the foot of the bed on her rear to get out of the tight space.

Chit.

 

[Xin Boa]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"For de record: yuh undid dose," Xin mumured. One eye opened to a slit regarding the woman lying opposite him and then closed again. Her panic had been enough to wake him through his empathic senses.

"Yuh will need anodder dose in a few hours. Best get yuh your own bed before dat."

He shuffled left to right a little but fell silent. He'd found an oddly comfortable position and was too exhausted to get up. He has also forgotten to ask about about another room.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"]

She paused, legs dangling off the foot of the bed. Feet swung in the open doorway. It really was a tight space but it felt like...home. Growing up on a spacer colony did that. There were no wasted spaces and everything was used. Not much privacy either.

Fingers fidgeted with the buttons, having to take twice as long as normal.

"I mean. That's all I did right? Nothing else I should um, know about?" For some reason she felt the need to whisper.

And another dose? Yeah right. That stuff was crazy strong.