First Reply Rolling stone, moss for sale...

[Dante Castillon]

Theme
Location: Unknown Outer Rim Space Port

Stepping backward out of the docked freighter, the young human had his hands up. The reason why was immediately evident as a scarred and angry Trandoshan stepped towards him, barking about a fee in Huttese. Still smiling without much flicker of facial expression, Dante spread his hands wide, shrugging helplessly.

"Look, you already have your fee from me in sabaac winnings, why don't we call that even, and when I get paid from my next job you can fleece me for all I'm worth again and that time I'll even put up a fight, even though we both know you'll win. You'll double your fee!"

A slow reptilian blink, followed by a growl as the captain of the ship jabbed the rifle at the fast-talking human, then retreated back into the freighter. Finally turning around, Dante narrowly managed to avoid being hit by his duffel bag as it was unceremoniously yeeted from within the loading bay of the ship he had ridden out here from the core. Muttering something about ungrateful hosts, he bent and hefted the bag over his shoulder and set off.

Supposedly his aunt had connections to this Levantine Sanctum that had once upon a time been out here in this Sector. Odds were he could find work in such a place while he looked for her. If he was lucky, he might even snag one of the habs he was passing. Maybe one with a functional front-door light and the like. You never really knew your luck until you rolled the dice, after all.

 

[Vismaya Kristel]

Vismaya rolled her lucky dice, grinning as they landed exactly where she knew they would. "Hah! That's a seven. Pay up."

"This is Bantha chit!" Her opponent, a bith wearing a red combat suit, protested. "You have been rolling nothing but sevens this entire game. You're cheating!"

"Nuh Uh. Luck just favours me, that's all," Vismaya replied, swooping up his credits and placing them in her jacket. "You don't have to play if you don't like it."

As the bith stormed off, Vismaya smiled to herself. How gullible people could be! The bith had been her third customer, the third fool who thought he could trust a charming theelin sitting at a restaurant table who offered him a game of chance. A simple game, one in which she and her customer would choose a number, and if the dice rolled that number, they would win creds. For someone with loaded dice, this was easy money.

"Oi!" Vismaya looked up to see the owner of the restuarant, an apron clad duros woman, standing over her. "No loitering at my tables. Scram!"

"But I ordered a drink!" Vismaya protested.

"Yeah, three hours ago! Now beat it, low life!"

Sulkily, Vismaya walked off, placing her dice back in their cage around her neck. Wandering aimlessly, she spotted a man in front of her. He looked young, and had a bag on his shoulder. Perfect, a naive teenager who she could manipulate.

"Hey, kid!" she called out to him, waving. "Do you want to play a game?"

 

[Dante Castillon]

"Hey, kid!" she called out to him, waving. "Do you want to play a game?"

Tilting his head to the side, Dante managed what might have been a smile, but was also a warning almost. A fresh source of income maybe? But the oil in the newcomers voice spoke, and like recognized like, and he shrugged.

"Not if it takes money, that bastard just cleaned me out. But if you're needing a mark, he loves sabaac and is way too prideful of his homeworld...."

Vismaya Kristel

 

[Vismaya Kristel]

"Hmm," Vismaya paused, taking in the boy before her. Clearly she had underestimated him, he had caught on fast to her scheme. Perhaps he wasn't someone to manipulate, rather someone to share drinks with. She gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks, Kid. I'll keep that in mind."

Turning around to walk beside him, Vismaya took out a set of sabaac cards and shuffled them, chatting to him. "Are you new here? I reccomend not going to the Wandering spacer restaurant. It's owned by this grumpy old Duros hag with a stick so far up her butt you can see it when she speaks. We've got a decent nightclub, but other than that, there's not much to do here besides fleece the travellers who pass through. If I were you, I wouldn't settle, not unless you have family here to keep you from boredom."

Dante Castillon

 

[Dante Castillon]

"Family? I really don't know. Supposedly I have an Aunt out there. Somewhere."

With a vague gesture, the elder teen then pulled a deathstick from his jacket pocket and lit it, inhaling deeply and exhaling through his nose, sighing

"I am about out of brilliant plans if she's not here, so I'm probably stuck here a while. Any good food around?"

Vismaya Kristel

 

[Vismaya Kristel]

"Ugh. I know I'm a hypocrite for lecturing someone else about their vices, but those things are definitely the worst of them," Vismaya cringed, turning her face away in disgust at the sight of the teen's deathstick. "They'll kill you faster than any of the others."

"As for your aunt, well, it's great if you find her, but I've learnt the hard way that you can't really rely on family to get you what you want," the theelin said reflectively. "More often than not they'll just dump you with their own problems which you never asked for. Best to just be independent, that way, your problems are entirely your own."

Vismaya seemed to zone out for a minute, her eyes glazing over with memories, before she shook her head, as if to clear it. Snapping her fingers, her usual smile returned. "Food, huh? Well, there is this one place. Follow me!" The theelin set off again, gesturing Dante Castillon forward with her hand.