Redbone

[Imogen Daniels]

Imogen wanted out. Her mind was spinning, going a thousand different directions at once and for once she was thankful for the alone time she had found herself with.

Since her arrival on Maena things had become strange between her and Jacob. The air was awkward and tense and she couldn’t help but find herself thinking the same thoughts that had haunted her since she was younger.

She was the problem.

Being sent to explore the galaxy she had jumped at the chance. A quiet departure lead her into the ship she had been gifted and off and away from Maena - away from the thoughts that consumed every waking moment of her brain. Rapid fire neurons shot back and forth, and frankly Imogen found it exhausting.

She wanted to forget, at least for a little while.

Her travels ended her up on Nar Shaddaa. A planet she had only ever learned about in the pages of books she found in the Asylum’s library.

It was nicknamed “Smugglers Moon” and from what she had seen so far, she knew it to be true. It was dangerous, elusive, and absolutely perfect.

Imogen had wanted to end up somewhere she could blend into the background, not be on anyone’s immediate radar as they were too busy with the happenings of their own lives to worry about her.

​

Currently, she was at the back table of a bar, head lowered so her hair kept her hidden, eyes staring blankly into the chipped detailing of the table. It was worn with age, and pieces were missing here and there. She had planned to drink until she could forget though not all plans worked out how they were initially intended.

Imogen, was far too familiar with this, and was about to be once more.

Fingers tapping idly into the small craters of missing wood, she did not notice the man approaching her.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Imogen Daniels"]

See, there are half a dozen ways to approach a woman and make her yours, but Itash's fan-favorite was the Groanin' Bantha.

It involved three stiff Corellian Value's, a fur coat and five bandages spread around in strategic places. By the end of the night the lady in question was all but enamored by you... and that was the Itash-guarantee. Sadly the Tapani Lord did not have any bandages around and his fur coat was still languishing back at his ship. There were exactly three things that Itash did have right now- his smile, brilliant as ever; two glasses filled to the brink with Corellian Gold (not as good, but this dinky bar didn't have anything better) and last, but not least? A line that was so mind-boggingly perfect that it amazed him he had come up with it after four glasses.

"Hey," Itash mumbled to himself while playing around with the tone. "There's a darkness in my heart that can only be filled by your beautiful shine, do you wanna light me up, babe?"

Yeah, that was perfect.

Let's go.

His elbow rested on her table now and he was about to say something, "He-" when Itash noticed she wasn't actually paying attention. Brows rose a fraction and made him confused. This was definitely a first and Ita wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. So, he casually placed the glasses on the table and tried his smile.

"Ain't no light without a shadow, ma'am." He tried the different route. "Mind if this shadow warms himself by your light?"

Ooph.

That was even better.

 

[Imogen Daniels]

Imogen hadn’t intended to be rude.

She also hadn’t intended to jump slightly when she did finally notice there was a man standing next to her table.

Embarrassing? Sure.

Was she going to do her best to hide it? Yes.

He was attractive and had a killer smile. Imogen’s brain screamed at her reminders of where she was and why she was there. Reminders she suffocated under the sounds of clinking glasses, arguments, and the man in front of her.

She needed a distraction, a way to forget. So she relaxed her shoulders from the initial fright of the man appearing and leant back in her chair.

Her lips turned up into a smile - yes this would do just fine. "Hello."

Instead of answering him she motioned to the seat in front of her, waiting for him to sit before she leant forward slightly, forearms leaning on the table.

“Imogen Daniels - and you are?”

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Imogen Daniels"]

Well.

This was going swimmingly, wasn't it?

Oh she hadn't responded to his beautifully smooth line. But at the very least there was an invitation here to accept, instead of being forced to sound the retreat and flee the scene with tail between legs, there was the offer of success here and Itash was geared towards delivering promises made. "Imogen? I like it, exotic, fierce, it has a bite to it." The Mecetti scion retorted with another dazzling smile and the push of the second glass towards her, while taking up his own.

"Lord Itash of House Mecetti." A slow inclination of the head was followed by a fractional raise of the glass. "To fierce and exotic names, miss Daniels, may there be many bites for us in the future." Smile turned pleased grin, before his mouth disappeared behind the dark oak liquid.

Firm stout tapped before his eyes.

The nobleman wouldn't trust anything else from these hooligans, but sometimes a man had to make compromises, if he wished for miracles to occur.

"Tell me, what does one such as Imogen do to find herself in this cesspit?"

The burn of the stout was still fresh on his tongue. A pleasing taste, hard, hitting like a herd of bantha letting loose and showing just how much their weight was an advantage once they were over their supposed passivity and pacifism.

Itash wondered how she would taste.

 

[Imogen Daniels]

Itash was the first to react to her name, something she was unaccustomed to - setting her off and causing a reaction of surprise to form on her face. It seemed he had no plans to go away, and Imogen thought for a moment that this was good - a conversation at the least could surely keep her distracted.

With a raised eyebrow she gave him a grin, finishing off her own glass before accepting the one he passed to her. Raising it in the air slightly she nodded her head towards him, taking a sip before setting it down.
By this time the alcohol was starting to create a light buzz within Imogen, allowing herself to open up a bit more - shoulders relaxing just slightly.

The man before her was a nobleman - one of the firsts she had seen in a while, and most certainly out of place from where she was used to running into them.

A noncommittal shrug of her shoulders with an impish smile followed his question, Imogen paused in her answer to take another drink - both because she wanted to loosen up more, but also to think of a proper answer.

“Is this not a great place to vacation? I must have gotten my information all wrong.”

A laugh followed her answer, as light as air before she continued. “Just needed to get away for a bit, thought this would be the perfect place to disappear. What about you? What is a Lord such as yourself doing here?”

Imogen wondered if his intentions were as aligned as hers for being on this planet, or if his was filled with much more meaning. She knew though, that from this moment on Itash Mecetti would scramble up everything she thought to be true and leave a lasting impression.

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Imogen Daniels"]

Disappear here, huh?

Well, Imogen was right about the possibility, if perhaps a little bit naive on the why. It wasn't difficult to imagine her walking past an alley, then before she knew it being swiped right off the streets by one black soul or the other. Enslaved, sold off, mugged, worse, maybe killed if she was lucky. But that wasn't his business and she was giving him the opportunity to talk about himself... so why worry too much, yes?

"Oh, me?" Her smile was answered with another one of his dazzling ones, showing brilliant whites and sharp canines hungry. Now the question was how honest he should be.

She smiled again.

Oh, what the heck? "Ah, well I am currently gathering together a band of adventurers, to find a long lost library of the Sith, reclaim it and become filthy rich in the progress." Her eyes shone and the smirk grew wider. "Well, richer anyway."

"What is it that Imogen is vacationing from, if I might be so bold to ask."

 

[Imogen Daniels]

Itash’s admission of what exactly his plans were, the reason why he was on Nar Shaddaa had her sitting up a bit straighter in her seat.

A long lost library of the Sith? Now that proved certainly interesting.

It also played straight into one of the things she loved the most - libraries.

Flashes of Jacob entered her mind at the thought, the Asylum’s library coming to the forefront of her mind, all the days and nights she had spent in there. Both with and without him. The library had quickly become her getaway, the place she could go to when there was nothing else that could calm her.

Too bad it was a part of the place she was currently vacationing from.

Before she answered Itash’s question, she found herself giving him a charming smile. An adventure out to look for a long lost library? Sign her up. It was the perfect distraction method she could think of - just what she needed to clear her head.

She could only hope Itash would allow her to join.

“I’ve got to say Itash, you certainly have peaked my interest. How much of a chance does a girl like me, that you just met in this dive bar, have at joining you on your adventure?”

Imogen paused, taking a sip of her drink before she finally answered his question - maybe if she played her cards right he’d allow her to join.

“A sort of boyfriend so to speak. Things got a bit… tense between us, a bit confusing so I’m taking some time away from our place to do my own thing.”

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Imogen Daniels"]

Head tilted softly at the admission of implied occupation.

Did Itash care that she already had a boyfriend?

He thought about it, turned it around in his head over and over again, watched it from every single perspective, before coming to a resounding conclusion: a mental shrug followed by a mental grin. Not really. If she was here and he was not, that told Tash all that he had to know about their budding relationship. What was made, could be unmade, yes? What was once strong could be broken. And pretty Imogen looked beautiful enough for Tash to put some effort into such an outcome.

"Oh, hmmm." Calm eyes brushed down the line of her jaw, sweeping farther around her clavicle and lingering further and further down, before dragging storm blues back up to meet her eyes. "Imogen, it would be my pleasure to help you with your... education."

Another sip and the glass empty was placed neatly on the table between them.

"Another then?" Two fingers were already up in the air to signify that they needed refills and plenty of them.

 

[Imogen Daniels]

It was fairly obvious.

The way his eyes trailed her form, along the length of her jaw, travelling down over her clavicle, and further down - it was all but screaming his attraction to her. It was something unfamiliar to Imogen however.

Jacob had been, until that point - the only man to ever show interest in her, and even that was out of nowhere. A building attraction that had crackled and fizzed under skin, nerve endings set alight every time they were around each other until Imogen finally cracked under pressure. Feelings they both tried to hide had led them to this, Imogen to this particular dive bar on this particular night.

It had led her to meeting the man in front of her. Frighteningly exotic, sexual by nature, and not afraid to hide his attraction. He was suave, and Imogen imagined he was well versed when it came to the opposite sex. Though she recognized all of this, it still didn’t stop her cheeks from flushing slightly at his open looks, and his comments towards her.

There was a tilt on the way Itash had said education - one that had Imogen nervous and all too thankful for the arriving refills of drinks.

Too many thoughts. She needed to forget.

The drink burned on it’s way down, and it was welcomed. She felt the fire as it moved slowly - encasing every inch of her throat before it ignited further within her stomach. Eyes closed she forced her thoughts away - trying terribly to focus solely on Itash and on the drink in her hand.

“How do you plan to help me out with that?”

[member="Itash Mecetti"]​

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Imogen Daniels"]

Itash watched her as she closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the burn.

Amusing.

She was new to this, all of this, but that wasn't a huge issue to him. It was interesting to coax and educate, until they... well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? "Oh, there are a healthy amount of options for us..." He refocused his attention from the curve of her lips to his own refilled glass. Taking a sip, a second one and then draining it in one fell swoop.

Mmm.

A smirk played as Tash closed his eyes and enjoyed the burn himself this time around. "I have a ship, for instance." The nobleman shared in a tone of confidence, as if he was sharing a grand secret with her. "You could join me there, if that is your wish." A shrug followed- suggesting that while it would be the preferable option, that he would not be the one to pull and pull too hard to get her to agree.

Either she was on-board... or she was not.

But only with the former option would she get a taste of what could be, the latter? Just the same old story she had been playing all night long.