Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Outta Sorts

The Admiralty
Codex Judge
[member="Sortz"]

Daro looked down at the credit chit.

Positively peered and weighed the offer, before shaking the head.

"Naw, would be a drip in the bucket compared wha dis is worth and ya def need it more." It hadn't all been gathered all that legally either, which only expanded on the worth of this fething thing. Ugh, ugh, ugh. It was making his brain freeze just thinking about the amount of time he'd have to pour into salvaging this thing. Had he known this would be the result of tryin' and being kind?

Might'a left her in the gutter and be on his way.

But... here they were, no? She looked like a lil sad pumpkin by the way she was cradling the chit... then his attention shifted to her muscles again. Yah, might'a been a bastard thought considering who she reminded him of.

Feth it though.

She owed him, sad face or nah an' da was dat.

"Alright, look- clearly ya need some sumthin' to do an' somewhere to stay while ya figure out da feth's going on with da brain-chip- so lessay it like dis: ya will work for me, muscle, brain, whatever I need ya do with no questions." Oh, Daro would accept her help to fix this crap too, four hands (even oversized ones like hers) were better than two as far as he was concerned, but that didn't make 'em square, eh? "Once da server an' crap is fixed I will consider da debt forgiven. Ya will have a place to sleep, food....... might need to buy some new glasses tho."

He puttered that last bit out when noticing the glass shards.

Hadn't been on his mind before.

"Sum stronger stuff probs. So, ya in?" His hand -- cybernetic one -- reached out for a shake. It didn't really seem like a real choice though.
 
The fact that he turned it down actually made it worse.

Her face fell.

Not that it had looked all that cheerful before, but this was definitely even more disappointed and guilty than even a minute ago. Shoulders slumped and she started picking up the pieces of glass from the one she'd broken because she didn't know what else she could do. Of course, her fingers were too big to pick up the smallest pieces, and that just made everything seem a hundred times worse.

She looked up from the self imposed task when he offered his solution, literally starting to nod before he was even finished. Relief, that there was some way to make up for this.

"Um. I'll pay for bigger glasses," she said guiltily, looking down at the shards she'd managed to pick up. Her skin was thick enough it hadn't even given her so much as a nick. "I was careful until, well, everything exploded. So. Not careful enough I guess."

She didn't even really consider. She knew just how expensive a set up like his was worth. Not down to the credit, but way more than she could reasonably pay back in basically any other way.

"Thanks," she said, carefully trading the glass to her other hand, wiping the water off on her pants before reaching out to shake. Gingerly, her hand dwarfed his, and she was feeling particularly oafish right now.

"I.... I'll try not to be any more trouble for you, and make up for the damage I caused." Earnest, sincere.

[member="Daro Tarsi"]
 
The Admiralty
Codex Judge
[member="Sortz"]

The grip on her hand in the shake was firm and strong.

Stronger than he had any right to be- Sortz would probably be more surprised that it was a shake that she could actually feel rather than shaking air. "None of da," Daro said before waving the issue away, "Ya work for me now an' ya debt is being paid, no more feeling bad, ya?" It was her expression and soft voice that almost made him reconsider, but he was Daro Tarsi. That other person, that would have forgiven with a smile, had gone away with his arm, his eye, his leg, his love.

Men are made by their experiences.

By the pressure of life.

Daro Tarsi had gone through much life an' few of it had been pleasant. "Wha I need is a strong arm, fast mind, someone dat can make up for me being..." Head tilted before snorting and shaking his head. "Well, ya see what I am, no need to draw more attention to it, I reckon."

Old.

A drunk.

Body wasting away the more years passed and it wouldn't be long, before he- not something he wanted to think about now. "Alright, go clean dis up an' I will see about the damage, maybe sumthing can be salvaged." It would have been impossible for anyone else. It might still be impossible for him, but Daro had made this thing from scrap. He knew how it worked, could turn it inside an' out while blindfolded. If there was anything to be salvaged here?

He'd figure it out.

"Mebbe make us some food, I am starving, eh?"
 
She didn't know how to answer that cause, yeah, she knew exactly what he meant but she wasn't going to say that. She also wasn't going to lie and say he wasn't that. Silence and a nod seemed like the safest option in this case.

Releasing his hand (stronger, but then, he'd also steadied her earlier in the alley so she was less surprised and more confirming from before), she nodded again.

Not that him telling her not to feel bad was going to make her magically not feel bad. This man had invited her into his home and she'd already broken half of what she'd touched. Which made her a little anxious about going and rifling around his kitchen to get some food going but she was working for him now right? She'd worry about just where that line got drawn later (in the back of her mind she wondered where the expectation would lie- and just how much strong arm vs fast mind he was looking for). For now, she finished cleaning up the shards (as best as she could, she'd look for a dust pan after). Then, pushing herself up off of the floor, she lumbered into the kitchen.

It was, of course, a kitchen sized for, well.

Not Sortz.

Every utensil, every pan was like a toy in her hands. She felt awkward, too large, and ridiculous as she carefully maneuvered, trying to take stock of what she had to work with.

Did she even know how to cook?

Just like everything else, there was no way to check but to try.

*****

When Daro came in to check on progress, he'd find the toaster at work, and Sortz awkwardly leaning over a sputtering pan. Her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, three eggs already in the pan, she was painfully careful in how she cracked the forth one. The first few hadn't gone so well, and he could see the shells that had gotten painstakingly picked out of the pan when they'd exploded in her hand instead of cracking nice and evenly.

She got this one however, and went on to the next, all of her attention on the details of the task.

[member="Daro Tarsi"]
 
The Admiralty
Codex Judge
[member="Sortz"]

It was honestly the only real answer that was good here.

Deny? Daro would snort and dismiss her.

Agree? Well, that would make him either laugh an' agree or give him a foul mood- depended on the mood he was in. It was tough to say in the here and now, but considering his gear just got wrecked? Probably the latter, if they were being honest. Once she left and Daro finished surveying the damage he sighed, then with a groan settled back onto the couch.

He took another beer.

Halfway through opening it, he put it back down and sighed. "Feth's sake, D-" To himself, murmured, before stretching a bit. Eventually after laying there for a while he would go and visit the kitchen.

"I-." Daro watched her work and nodded. "-looks good, we will buy some crap ya can actually use comfortably too, if ya gonna hang 'round me for a while." He wandered over to the fridge and got out some milk, pouring him a glass. "Ya wan' sum?" If so, Daro would pour her one too, but instead of using a glass (every single one of them was undersized), he'd use a metal pan for it.

Way better size-wise.

"So, how's ya fighting skills? Can punch someone through a wall, if need to?"
 
She didn't jump or startle when he spoke, but a couple of things were clear by the way she cast her eyes over then back to what she was doing. First, she hadn't noticed he was there until he'd spoken. Second that she was concentrating very, very hard on not shattering these damned eggs. And third, and at least some small part of her had been half expecting him to tell her she was doing it wrong and take over.

"Oh, uh, I can work with this, it's okay," she responded. In fairness, she was doing okay, it just looked like an adult playing house with a child's toys. And she was being very careful to not ruin any more of his things.

It just looked ridiculous.

The question about the milk she nodded to, a bit hesitantly. Not because she didn't want it but because she was worried about another glass. So when he used a sauce pan there was some relief there.

She kept at her task, cracking all twelve eggs into the pan. It was all there was. She didn't know how many eggs Daro would eat, but she had no doubt she would have eaten more if they were there. She wasn't still starving like when she'd come to, but even half the eggs seemed a little light on calories in her mind. Letting the eggs fry a bit, she popped up the toast with a claw and added another pair of slices.

A couple of minutes later they were settled down- well, sort of. Sortz opted to squat next to the table. There was no doubt in her mind she'd break the very flimsy looking kitchen chairs. She held the fork between thumb and fore finger. Couldn't call it dainty, but as always, she was careful.

"Uh, not sure," she said after swallowing a mouth full of eggs. Putting the sauce pan (half empty now) of milk down, she flexed her hand into a fist, then shrugged. "I think I can take care of myself."

Strength, it was clear, absolutely wasn't an issue. And with how carefully she applied activity to everything, body control likely wasn't either. Could she throw a punch? No idea. But if she did, as long as it hit, well. That was all she'd need.

"So. You said, uh. Whatever you need. But, what, you know, does that...... uh.... entail?"

[member="Daro Tarsi"]
 
The Admiralty
Codex Judge
[member="Sortz"]

He looked up from his glass of milk when she started asking for details.

Eyebrow rose.

Coincidentally Daro also had a milk mustache, but that was quickly solved with a lick of the tongue, before he shrugged and leaned back against the seat. "Ya know, usually folk ask da details first, 'fore dey make a commitment to a thing ya know." Tarsi remarked before pulling the plate towards him, starting to carefully cut an' take a piece between his teeth.

Nom.

Nom, nom, nom.

It almost looked like he was reviewing the very structure of the egg, before swallowing and nodding. "Das a good egg, Sortz, I dig it. Ya can cook 'ere more often." As if that was some kind of reward, rather than him giving her more work.

"As for da job- carry heavy stuff, have my back, help me fix da crap an' maybe I will throw ya some slicing gigs if ya can handle it." A shrug. She had figured out the connection between himself and Cogmind after all. That meant something, dangerous something possibly. But she couldn't remember and there wasn't a point prodding at it right now.

"Might need ya to hurt people for me. Some bad, some desperate, ain't gonna lie to ya 'bout it, s'ugly work sometimes."
 
"Usually people getting a new job didn't break a whole bunch of expensive equipment before getting hired," she said reasonably.

"Oh, uh, thanks," she muttered, looking down to focus on the eggs in question. She felt weird, even if it was a really casual one, getting a compliment. Hadn't she just mucked a whole bunch of stuff up?

Still, it was nice. She just didn't know what to do with it.

She ate while he explained, a visible pause in chewing at he said the last part. Up until then she'd kind of half nodded along. Slowly, she swallowed, took a drink of milk and swallowed again. Looked like she was going to say something, then considered before actually opening her mouth.

"I'd rather not hurt anyone," she said quietly. "I mean, if someone tries to hurt you, that's no issue. But....."

She trailed off, looking down at her hands.

That wasn't what she wanted those hands to do. That was a deep, almost intrinsic part of her. She couldn't fish out the why she felt that way, just that she did.

She looked up at him, squinting a bit.

"Won't kill anyone for you," she said, a little blunter than she meant to.

[member="Daro Tarsi"]
 
The Admiralty
Codex Judge
[member="Sortz"]

Daro squinted at her.

Positively peered.

"Wha, ya 'ear me say anything 'bout killing?" He shook his head and went back to his milk. "Wha am I? Fething Zareca or da Exchange? I said hurt- couple'a bruises, teeth knocked out, maybe a broken kneecap if dem folk get fethy." Didn't mean Daro was against killing- these days... he was just too fething tired to give a kark, if he was being perfectly honest.

Everything hurt.

He was alone.

What did it matter to him if someone expired before their time? S'far as he was concerned it was just the right time with how the Galaxy burned around them. It was practically doing those poor bastards a favor. "Not everyone got ya politeness, luv, some folk like to take advantage of me." He set his jaw at that, that angered him more than he wanted to let on.

"They ain't gonna accept a pet on da head an' a please, ya?"
 
The look he gave her sent her gaze back to her plate and fork. Focusing on something not meeting his eyes. That didn't change anything though. She didn't back peddle on her stance- not that she thought he wanted her to anyway. And even if he had, well.

"Didn't know," she murmured, "So I figured I'd let you know. To be clear. Sorry, wasn't saying you were, just that.... I'm not."

Wasn't she?

It felt right to say that but also wrong somehow. And that bothered her more than she could put into words. Sortz didn't really know what kind of person she was. What kind of person she wasn't. So despite the grit in that statement when she said it, part of her doubted.

She finished her own portion of the meal, mopping up the last of the yolk with the crust of toast and washing it down with the rest of the milk. Carefully, she stood, bringing her plates over to the sink and starting to clean up, washing the pan, pot and plate, dropping the sponge several times because it was just too small to use easily, but keeping at it with a certain dogged persistence. Whenever he finished up, she do the same with his. Not because he asked or expected it, but just because she was already there. Besides, it gave her something to do with her hands instead of thinking too much.

"Uh. Thanks. For helping me," she said finally.

[member="Daro Tarsi"]
 

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