Off The Charts

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

Stomachs full and legs feeling sore. Those were the key words for a victorious night all-out dancing and eating until you couldn't stand either because you physically couldn't or your belly was full of food given that you ate like a hungry Rancor.

Turning to Ra, Ar'ekk wondered where things would go next. He had hoped they would stick around together longer as he was having too much fun personally, the girl was really nice and their friendly conversation was simply great.

"So... What's next?"

The walk out of the Château was really short as they passed through a marvelous fountain with beautiful flowers and a garden sorrounding it. Water ran calmly out of the fountain while the wind blowed gently against their faces.

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[Ra'a'mah]

After the drinks, dance and food, the two of them left the party arm in arm and at least a little comfortable with each other. Not yet knowing what the rest of the night held for either of them. The next few days would be very trying for Ra and this was enjoyable enough she didn't want it to end.

"Maybe a walk along a beach. I've never been here and my own home doesn't exactly have the type of weather to go beach walking with."

The sound of the fountain filled their ears and the smell of flowers was almost intoxicating. She'd only had two drinks, so Ra certainly was not close to being drunk and had all her wits about her.

"Personally, I'd like to get out of my dress and into something more comfortable."

She suddenly let out a small groan and would have facepalmed if she could have. What she just said could be taken a couple different ways and she wasn't sure how Ar'ekk would hear it.
​
[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"Easy there, sweetheart! We ain't there yet."

Obviously, he said that with a very high-pitched tone of voice that was sort of jokingly and somewhat serious but equally teasing. Aware that she made a comment that was more than unintentional and the double-meaning wasn't meant to be there, Ar'ekk agreed with Ra.

When was the last time his feet touched the sand and not the downpouring rain or wave pavement?

"Sounds like a great idea. Should we find the beach, then?"

Truth be told, when his eyes sized Ra's beautiful figure up and down to appreciate her dress and heels he couldn't feel but sorry for the pain that many women had to endure when using high heels. Their trip to the beach side would mean they'd get to relax a little, enjoy a beautiful night in a foreign planet they've never set foot in before and the rest remained unknown.

It'd be nice.

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[Ra'a'mah]

At his exclamation, Ra was thankful for the darkness of night around them or he would be able to clearly see just how red her cheeks were. He had of course taken it entirely the wrong way and stated they weren't there yet. Closing her eyes, she took a breath in the hopes he wouldn't comment any further on what she said.

"Sounds like a good plan. Do you know where any are though? It's not like I have a map of this place."

Not one to complain, she hadn't given any thought to how much her feet would hurt by the end of the night. In fact, as of yet they weren't starting to hurt. For that, she was thankful.

Her whole routine was rather simple, but Ar'ekk did not need to know that. What she had was natural and she did little to enhance what was there.

@Arekk

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"Hold on. Wait here for a moment."

Holding his index finger upwards and making sure that Ra held her thoughts for a second, Ar'ekk jogged to the balcony of the château to get a good view of the horizon. They were up a few levels from the bottom and for their convenience or surprise the beach was right next to where the dance was taking place.

To one side were some stone stairs that would lead them directly to the beach side, the waves hitting the shore calmly for that evening.

"Looks like we're in luck. The beach's right here."

He let Ra hold his arm once again and in exchange he'd lead both of them down the stairs until they reached the lowest level of the château where the marble stones and luxurious designs were changed for the soft texture of sand and the tranquility of the ocean in the distance.

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[Ra'a'mah]

She looked at him curiously when he said to wait just a moment, but soon enough it was clear what he was doing. Just a simple a scouting to see what was around them. Something she should have done, but didn't think of it. In the past, she certainly would have, but her days of an assassin were behind her and those habits had almost been taken out of her life. Perhaps they would need to go back in. Giving herself a mental shake, she came out of her thoughts when Ar'ekk came back.

Giving him a small smile when he said there was a beach right here, she laid her hand on his arm again to allow him to lead them down the stairs. Once they were at the bottom, her shoes came off to make it easier to walk on the sand. No need to even attempt such a thing in heels.

"This is wonderful. Nice to get the opportunity to walk where it's not raining acid or too cold to do anything."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"A beautiful evening by the beach side with a great companion, what else could I ask?"

His shoes came off almost at the same time as Ra's heels did, feet touching the soft sand for a moment and feeling some sort of relief he hadn't experienced in a while. Having forgotten how the texture of the sand felt while his toes dipped into it made him feel funny and stranged briefly but enjoying it nevertheless.

"There's acid rain and awful storms where I live. This is just a nice change of airs."

Just for once it was possible to enjoy the little moments in life. This was one of them that he could never forget, a magnificent evening with the icing on the cake by enjoying the calm ocean while the stars filled the clear dark sky and a wonderful nebula was visible above their heads.

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[Ra'a'mah]

At least Ar'ekk wasn't going overboard with the flirty comments and limited it to something more conversational and Ra had a better chance to react without blushing.

This was actually one of the first times Ra had been given the chance to walk on a beach. Growing up, she had been far more political and while not quite royalty, it could have happened. As an adult, her life had been business focused and she had little chance to relax as often as she wanted.

"Acid storms where you live too? At least I'm not alone in having to avoid being outside at home."

She looked up into the sky and allowed her feet to wander where they would.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"Yeah. It's only rain and thunderstorms but you get used to it. And to be honest? I kinda like it too."

Growing up in the slums of Coruscant, Ar'ekk had never been at the beach in his life until his late teens. Sanctuary, where he took refuge after the One Sith ravaged the Yutan Jedi Temple, gave him that opportunity to enjoy sand and ocean for the first time.

"I'll definitely take you up on that travel offer. But has to be leisure, not work."

He gave a warm smirk to Ra as he teasingly said so. The sand was ingrained into his toes and soles, the waves hitting the shore made him feel slightly cold.

"Lithios is a nice place. You've got to see it for yourself, though."

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[Ra'a'mah]

"Lithios sounds similar to Vjun, but I imagine it has more life. With it raining acid rain all the time, there's no plant life on there. Somehow though there are foxes, fish, birds and the natives, but none are exactly sentient."

This was the first time for Ra to be at a beach like this. On Vjun, she wouldn't dare take off her shoes.

"But I travel for a living. Would have to include some work to take that vacation, but I would make sure to get more than an evening off to accomplish that with you."

Suddenly Ra started chewing on one of her lips, looked to the ground and wiggled her toes in the sand slightly. She was going to meet with HK tomorrow and may disappear for a while. Unsure of how to tell Ar'ekk this, she remained silent on the matter.

"That would be nice. Go from one cold and rainy planet to another."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"There's more natural rain than acid, though. It only gets that bad when the people from the industries are doing some strange work. Corporacy at its best. Not exactly Vjun but bigger than Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa combined, full of life everywhere."

Lithios was home, definitely. It didn't compare to his homeworld, now ravaged, or the Smuggler's Moon itself. Everything fell short to the magnificency of Ethos City. Highly advanced both technologically and socially with an incredible opportunity to develop further without having to be on the galaxy's spotlight.

"That would be awesome. I obviously don't want to take you away off your work. Don't get me wrong on that."

Ar'ekk noticed that Ra was a little fidgety when she spoke about her job, eyes looking up and down the girl with a quizzical glance forming on his face.

"What's up, though? You mentioned that and I can sense you're trying to tell me something. You alright?"

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[Ra'a'mah]

"Ah I see. Vjun only has acid rain. Not something I go out in normally."

She listened to how Ar'ekk described his home and nodded.

"You know I thought I had grown up on Coruscant for a long time. It was another Core World, but not that one. How I knew you were from the Core. There's no real easy way to hide that accent."

It would be quite different than what she was used to, but being alone got lonely sometimes. Maybe he would understand that, but she didn't mention that feeling or thought. Shaking her head, it was clear she was too focused on work and the problems she was having. Ra tried to push those thoughts away once again, but he persisted in asking what was troubling her.

"I have a bounty on my head, Ar'ekk. There is a chance we won't be seeing each other again after tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to go speak with a friend and ask for help from him, but I may have to go into hiding. Who knows when I will be able to return."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"That's true, I guess. As far as I know, I wasn't born on Coruscant so my true origin remains unknown yet to me it's home."

Or at least it used to be like that, not anymore. Disassociating himself from Coruscant was hard enough considering he wanted to forget everything that occured there such as his adoptive family's death, growing up in a tough neighbourhood and experiencing things no child should witness.

"A bounty." he said while trying to gather his thoughts before finally speaking out again. "That's not easy business. I have been there."

Resting his palm on Ra's shoulder to give her some peace of mind, Ar'ekk tried to reason with the girl and make her see she had more than one option on this matter. Disappearing wasn't difficult because he was someone who was trying to do that, vanish from the galaxy map and try to live a "normal" life.

"Come with me to Lithios. If hiding's your only option, then that's the ideal place to do it. No one will dare to lift a finger on you or me there. The planet's not on any holomap and the people there doesn't care about the rest. Trust me, I've been where you are right now and it worked. It can for you too."

There's that. Hopefully, Ra would be able to take the right choice for her future. Ar'ekk had given her one but at the end the decision was in her hands.

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[Ra'a'mah]

"I wasn't born there either, but did spend some years in my late teens in an orphanage. Eventually I got hired on a transport freighter and got my start as a merchant."

She had also not done any​thing on Coruscant for a few years now. The last thing she had done was pick her apprentice up and take him back to Vjun for training. What would happen to him now, she didn't know. However, Drogh had been on his own since before they met, Ra was confident he would be fine.

Eventually she said what was bothering her and Ar'ekk placed a hand on her shoulder. Maybe in sympathy, but it seemed it was more in the manner of offering support. It was something Ra was unable to accept. Her fate had been sealed and she had to face it.

"No hiding is quite my only option. But I have to decline. If it's learned I'm in hiding only, the person that put the bounty on my head won't give up. He will keep finding ways to come after me."

Ra knew what was going ​to happen when she met with HK and everything would be fine in the end. The bounty would be taken care of and she would be a free woman.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"Fair enough. But at least you know where to find me in the future, for what it's worth."

He accepted the facts that Ra laid out, the entire planning was smart and more than enough to secure her freedom. Whatever her arraingment was, it would help her case of being hunted by someone. They would be able to reunite another time in the near future without any sort of interruptions.

"Just be careful after tonight. For now? Let's enjoy the rest of our evening."

A smile broadened amidst the frowns and worryings, the most important thing right there and then was to enjoy the little time together. If fate, the Force or life had something in store for them then it would cross their paths and reunite once again somewhere in the Galaxy.

He was hopeful of such thing to happen.

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[Ra'a'mah]

Giving more or less a simple nod at what Ar'ekk said, she knew where to find him, but maybe not the how since he hadn't actually given her any way to do so. He had her information so maybe that would be enough. If he was a slicer like he said, then maybe just her reaching out when the time was right would be enough for him to know. Ra wasn't a slicer, but had an idea of what could be accomplished. It wouldn't be difficult to get in touch in again.

He asked her to be careful after tonight and she would be. She had to be to stay alive.

"Agreed."

The rest of the evening ​was one Ra would remember. Just two people chatting, walking along the beach and enjoying life. Shared company, good food, drink and dance. It was something rare in her life and it ended all too soon. The dim sun started to come over the horizon and she turned to look at Ar'ekk. Taking a hold of one of his hands, if he allowed it, she would stand on the tip of her toes and plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I did have a good night with you, Ar'ekk. Sadly, I need to go and I'm not sure when I'll be able to contact you again. You'll know when I do that."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

GALLAINORE​

Château Loire’an, Dimitor​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Ra'a'mah"]​

"I will see you soon, Ra. Thank you for this."

While she held his hand and planted a kiss on his cheek, Ar'ekk couldn't help but return a warm smile. The sun began to rise in the horizon and their evening had finished right there and then. A luxury for most, true, but it was the best thing that happened to him in a while.

He hated watching the red haired girl go but it was necessary for her own sake, for her survival. As a man who always had a plan, he revealed the planet where they could meet in the future and a very specific location on Ethos City: Jovim's Noodle Shop on the Merchants' District. That's all she needed to know.

When the time was right, they'd meet again and he would be able to sense her coming to Lithios through the Force or simply bumping into her by mere coincidence in the busy streets.

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