Private Smuggling Hope

[Jahzra Rocvard]

Location: Hyperspace​

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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She didn't answer in the affirmative when he asked if she was hungry. Neither did she stop him, and assuming the sale so to speak, off he went. His departure left behind a subtle flicker of disappointment, but there was no reason to stop him either.

Normally, someone pilfering through her galley would have raised her hackles. This was her ship, her space. He wasn't even part of the crew. And here he was digging around without permission or guidance. Perhaps there was some annoyance at the invasion, but at the same time she found herself more curious as to what he might find and then what he would come up with.

Sitting up, she got to her feet and padded back to the galley, settling onto a stool bolted to the floor, elbows resting on the island to watch. The hunter bagged his prizes at last, then set to preparing the spoils. The thought brought a small smile to her.

As he cooked, she watched, noting it was very simple fare and similar to some of the things she made. Being by herself all the time lead to more simple meals and things she could make quick and easy. Nothing extravagant as ... almost always she was by herself.

That he'd landed on similar options made her smile a little more, and she supposed it was comforting.

As he started to finish up, she grabbed her caf from the cockpit, refilled it, and added a drink bulb of some juice she barely paid attention to the name of, sitting back on the couch.

Gingerly she accepted the bowl, letting the heat soak into her palms, then sampled a bite. The normal version was alright, good in a pinch. She had the skills to improve on it and make something she didn't mind eating all the time, with layers of spices and flavors. But the balance he presented drew out a low note of approval and an enthusiastic nod. "Mmm, not bad."

The spare broth was something she'd not considered, and it added a layer all it's own. She made mental notes for the next iteration of this or something like it.

"'Learn to cook.' First rule of the mercenary handbook, according to some friends of mine," she mused to Noah. "But I suppose anything's better than field rations, or you have to find a way to make them palatable."

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

He was happy when she didn't answer in the negative, if she had he would have stopped and allowed her to step in. He also noted the flicker of emotions that escaped her when he left the table but decided to file that away for a later time and deal with what was currently in front of them.

Her presence on the stool, sitting and watching him as he worked, was noticed and even perhaps a little wanted. He was a little disappointed when she left but it was washed away when she came back and refilled her caf, gently nudging his own empty cup towards her in an unspoken request for a refill.

He gave her a small satisfied grin when she gave her approval of his meal. "Thanks, you've got a pretty good set up to be honest, could use a bit more organizing but most everything was easy to find." Sitting down opposite of her he mixed the noodles and eggs together, the broth binding them together so he got a good portion of carbs and protein in each bite.

Swallowing a mouthful of food he nodded at her words with a chuckle. "Indeed. Though I learned to cook long before that." His face had a bit of a nostalgic tinge to it as he tried to decide whether or not to let her into his personal life a little more and in the end his growing appreciation of her won out.

"It was actually my dad that taught me how to cook." He looked at the bowl and mixed the contents up before taking another bite and counting his speaking. "My family is well off but dad grew up poor on the mid levels of Coruscant and didn't want me and my siblings growing up thinking we were above anything. We lived on an estate but didn't have servants or a staff. We did our own laundry, cleaned our own rooms, had chores that needed done and everything else."

Swallowing another mouthful he smiled at her and shook his head. "He taught us life skills too but didn't push anything we didn't like on us. For me? It was cooking. I enjoyed the sounds and the smells so it was easy and something we bonded over. I refined it later on in life, my time in the army and as a mercenary…”

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

Jazz nodded, listening as she ate, letting him talk as she wished, enjoying the way he lit up when talking about cooking. It was an art, with principles and techniques, and a little bit of science to it. Baking was all science and chemistry. As much as he might express himself with a gun, he was just as handy with a spatula.

"So what else did your father teach you?"

"What about your mom?"

 

[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tags: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior was not usually one for talking about himself, usually letting his actions speak for him but around Jazz he was much more comfortable and dare he say looser around her. He swallowed another mouthful of noodles before he spoke, not wanting to be rude and having proper table manners from growing up. Chuckling he shook his head before answering her question about what else his father had taught him.

"Hehehe, the better question is what did he NOT teach me." He took a sip of his caf before another chuckle rose for his lips. "Being Mandalorian he taught me the typical things for that kind of upbringing. Marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, edged weapon combat, explosives and demolitions, multi-environment survival skills, etc." Another sip of his caf before he continued.

"He also taught me a lot of other stuff too. Besides cooking I can mend clothes, fix just about any piece of machinery put in front of me, forge and fix weapons and armor and he also taught me history and languages.”

When Jazz asked about his mother he smiled even more than when he had talked about his father. "Mom was…well if you called my dad the 'pragmatic' one then mom you'd call the ‘philosophical' one." He chuckled again and gave Jazz a nostalgic look. "Mom taught me philosophy and morality but never pushed one on me, she let me develop my own brand of it. Though she did impart practical lessons too. Being a former Sith and Jedi at different points in her life she taught me about the Force and how to use it and also trained me in lightsaber combat."

Finishing up the last of his noodles, fast eating being a trait he'd developed growing up in a large household and further reinforced by his time in the army, he leaned backwards and fixed an inquisitive eye on Jazz. "How about your family?"

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

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Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

Jahzra shrugged. "There's not a lot to tell. We didn't have a lot, but we also didn't need a lot. My dad and mom worked for one of the agracorps. Lived on one of the big automated farms. Didn't own the land, or the profits. Just maintained the droids and machinery. Worked the land, managed it. Just us four. Then five. Dad, mom, older sister, then little me. Then my little brother."

"I suppose dad got me started on some of this. Was helping him fix droids, harvesters, other machinery and equipment." She frowned, picking at her food as her gaze turned distant. old pain rolled off of her as a mix of grief, loss, and heartache. "He was kind of my world. Him and my big sister. She was always helping mom. Keep the home fires lit."

"Then my little brother came along when I was twelve. For a long time I felt like it was his fault." She shook her head lightly. "Dad... disappeared before Okie learned to walk. Felt like he abandoned us. I can't imagine why he would. One day he was there, the next he wasn't. I still don't have any answers as to what happened. But I never saw anything in him that hinted he would leave us."

She lapsed into silence for a time, still holding the bowl, not eating. "I didn't do much better. My grades started free-falling. I started showing my ass a lot. Soon I was doing anything I could to be anywhere but the farm."

Jazz frowned. The last thing he needed was her sad sob life story. "Sorry, getting off track. I learned a lot about machines and fixing things from my dad. Learned domestics from my mom when I had the time. Some things I learned since I left home. I'm still not super great at some things, but at least passable."

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[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tags: Jahzra Rocvard

Junior laid his bowl onto the table and became transfixed by her words, not just a feigned interest but an actual want to hear her story about her family and Jazz would be able to feel this if she probed his emotions.

He chuckled and shook his head when she revealed she was a middle child. "Hehe sounds like we're both middle children." He nodded along with her words when she mentioned her dad was the reason she got started in technical work, it was definitely a similar story to him.

Then he heard the sadness creeping into her voice and what she said next almost broke his heart. He couldn't sympathize with her, having grown up in a rather stable home but he had heard the stories from his father about his own father leaving.

She let her speak, let the sadness flow out, he could feel it in the Force. He decided to comfort her so he stood, walked around the table and sat next to her, sitting silently and a bit awkwardly for a few seconds before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry Jazz."

His tone wasn't belittling or pitying but simply understanding of what had happened and what she had gone through. "Well no matter what happened in the past you've seemed to go through it pretty well."

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

Location: Hyperspace​

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

She let her speak, let the sadness flow out, he could feel it in the Force. He decided to comfort her so he stood, walked around the table and sat next to her, sitting silently and a bit awkwardly for a few seconds before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry Jazz."

The ache came to her in a feedback loop, but Zeltron children were taught from shortly after the time they could walk to manage their empathy, their emotions, lest they spiral out of control. Violet eyes shifted to him as he stood, watching at first where he would go but as he came closer, she wondered why. Then that sense of compassion, care, wanting to make it better, rolled over her, as he dropped into the space next to her.

The short mental fumbling about as to how to help then settling on wrapping his arm around her. It wasn't predatory or possessive, but meant to hold, protect, comfort. She stiffened for a moment, but then she relaxed and melted against his side.

"It's not your fault, but the compassion is appreciated."

... you seem to come through it pretty well."

Jazz nodded "I'm trying, but I just keep losing people. I've had to get real comfortable with being alone."

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[Noah Corek Jr.]

Tag: Jahzra Rocvard

His arm around her shoulder tightened and pulled her closer as she melted into her side, projecting calm understanding and compassion to her, knowing she'd be able to feel it through her natural empathic ability. He couldn't understand it himself but he felt the need to hold her and protect her if just to comfort her in the moment.

Leaning into her he placed his cheek on top of her head, letting the heat radiate through their closeness. When she mentioned losing people Noah took his cheek off of her head and leaned back, arm still around her shoulders, too gaze at her.

He took a few moments to study her face and features, almost getting lost in them before he shook himself back to the present. He heard her words about being alone and having to adapt to be comfortable with it and he found himself both understanding what she meant and being saddened by it.

Once again he was mentally fumbling on how to comfort and help her, a few situations passing through his mind in the brief moments and a few were maybe a little too forward so he decided on something else. "Just because you're comfortable doesn't make it right or good for you. When I left home for the first time I got comfortable with the same thing for different reasons but eventually I found it was better to be around others…"

 

[Jahzra Rocvard]

Location: Hyperspace​

Tag: Noah Corek Jr.​

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The thrum of the ship filled the empty air, and passed though the lounge seating. When he shifted to look at her she didn't move or meet his gaze, instead soaking up the warmth and radiating it back against him.

His gaze lingered, bordering on uncomfortable, but she sensed no ill intent. Instead, being wrapped up in it, forgetting for a moment. That soft tinge of sadness, echoed aches.

How much easier would it be to pretend? Pretend they hadn't just met? That she wasn't actually alone. Or was it easier to pretend she was happier, more comfortable alone?

His words filtered through her reverie, drawing her back to him. They came on, like he'd read her mind. Almost. Or perhaps her heart. Neither mind nor heart were his, but it seemed they weren't completely unshielded or unknowable either.

She gave him a tiny nod after a couple seconds. "Maybe. But it's not easy to have that in this line of work. And things get complicated and messy otherwise." On the heels of those words, she scrunched up smaller, tighter. Whether withdrawing into herself or against the pains floating through her soul it was hard to say.

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[Noah Corek Jr.]

Location: Hyperspace
Tag(s): Jahzra Rocvard

Hyperspace wasn't the most comfortable environment for Junior, much preferring the feel of actual ground beneath his feet but for some reason the hum of the ship wasn't bothering him, confusing him as to whether it was his growing familiarity with ridding the hyperlanes or maybe it was his current company.

He felt the sadness that had been lingering below the surface much more freely now, the aching heart that came with it almost piercing his own with emotions he himself often tried to keep under wraps, sleepless nights after hard battles coming to the forefront of his mind, the loss of friends and even those he considered family, yet another reason he left the service.

His heart nearly broke in two when he saw Jazz retreating back into herself, a far cry from what he had seen before so he increased the positive emotions that he had been exuding, letting her sense the warmth, comfort and understanding that he was trying his hardest to project.

Besides the mental he decided to try and physically help her, his arm around her dropping to her back and gently stroking rubbing it in a soothing manner, lazy patterns meant to distract traced in her skin. Her words were as expected and so he decided on some more encouraging ones of his own.

"Nothing in life worth doing is easy, be it flying, fighting, romance or otherwise." His words were comforting but tinged with a bit of humor that seemed to be trying to convince her. "As for things being messy and complicated?" He gave her a shrug and shook his head. "Again most stuff in life is worth it and whoever says different is lying or selling something."