Stand My Ground [Gilamar|Preliat]

[Lief]

The child clutched at his hand and stayed close, and as they left the alleyway the children who had always been there to bully her stood to one side, eyes wide - they knew better than to attack someone who was at the side of a Mandalorian, and while she felt safe in that knowledge she could not help but step a little bit closer to the man. "I trust you" she whispered to him, chewing on her lower lip as she waited to see where they were going.

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

@[member="Tali Skirata"]

"Trust is something you earn, Tali. And I'm glad I've earned yours. Come on, I bet you're hungry."Preliat said, bringing his legs together, stopping and glancing around. He turned back down to her."Is there a place around here that you wanted to eat at...but never could?"He said, the hand that wasn't holding hers going onto his hop, ina moment of thought.

 

[Lief]

Tali was indeed very hungry, but at the same time she didn’t know any of the local cantinas or diners. It had never been a thing of hers to windowshop, to get her hopes up, because she had known that she would never have what she wanted. It was not a right of hers, it was above her station, and besides hope was something the other children used against one another. Instead she shook her head, keeping a tight hand held within his. “I never thought about it before” she confessed, with a very small shrug of her shoulders.

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"Well how do you feel about...a diner? I'm not exactly wearing restaurant quality armor.."He said with a chuckle and a grin behind his helmet. Talk would be wise to pick up on helmet talk, the unspoken language and facial expressions of helmets.


@[member="Tali Skirata"]

 

[Lief]

[SIZE=10pt]Tali stared up at him, chewing on her lower lip. She could sense the humour behind his voice even before he chuckled. Was he mocking her? She looked to her feet for a moment, trying to figure it out, before deciding that he had no reason to be, right? All the same she halted in place, uncertainty in her averted gaze. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, cautiously – she wasn’t used to anyone ever trying to help her, it felt wrong. What if he wanted something in return? Tali had heard brutal stories from other street-urchins… But this man was a Mandalorian, and they had honour… Or so she had been told. It was clear she didn’t know how to react, how to respond; it would take a while for her to adjust.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]@[member="Preliat Mantis"][/SIZE]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Preliat entered a down-and-out diner, good food, bad atmosphere. Like most moons and many of the planets he had visited. He sat down at a booth, and presumably, so did she. He took off his helmet, and then bit his lip. He leaned forward, folding his hands."Because I know it is to be, growing up in the gutter. Fighting everyday. Nobody to depend on. Before I was a Mandalorian, I lived on Ordo, a desert planet. I didn't have someone come and grab me. I had to play a sport to get off the planet, to do something with my life. The Mandalorians picked me up a little while later..."He paused. It wasn't that long after that the Dark Harvest happened, and his life changed. He tapped his hands, picking up the menu. Paper, man this place was old school.

"I want what's best for everyone. And besides, you've got something that I don't see in a lot of people."

@[member="Tali Skirata"]

 

[Lief]

Tali frowned to the words of the man and found her eyes drifting down to her lap. Her stomach rumbled, and she lifted a hand up to try and hide it, colour rising in her cheeks as a result. Chewing on her lower lip she pondered for a moment, it was all beginning to make sense now. "I understand" she murmured, not yet finding it in herself to look up. "What could you possibly see in me, though?" That part confused her - Tali was nothing, scum of the earth, a gutter rat. There was nothing she could bring to the table, nothing she could offer. Yet he was willing to help her all the same. It didn't make sense.

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]