Such a Lovely Place, Such a Lovely Face

[Sarge Potteiger]

@Coryth Elaris

Corellia Orbit
Storage Hangar 1734c

CEC hadn't always been run by Exarch Cater, that much was true. But what was also true was that the expansive shipyards of one of the most prolific shipbuilders in the galaxy had plenty of storage space for small freighters - if you had the credit to back it up, that is.

A long time ago, he'd stored a vessel here in a hangar under the protection of an old friend of his. This particularly friend was one of his oldest, outdating even his time with Ayden, but his original personality had long since gone away over the years he'd been left alone to care for the aging vessel.

But he needed someone here with him for this; he wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was afraid of the memories he'd find aboard the ship, perhaps not. Regardless, he'd told Coryth to meet him here, just outside the sealed hangar, so that he could pull his home away from home out of storage and use it once more to travel the galaxy.

He'd need it considering his departure from the Protectorate.

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#2 Coryth Elaris


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Posted 16 October 2013 - 03:53 PM

@Sarge Potteiger

A sigh came when she got the call to join Sarge again, this time to retrieve a ship. She'd barely spoken to him since the last time she'd seen him, back on Naboo. She'd lost her control that night, the darkness ripped her under and very nearly drowned her then and there. It was something that hurt her more than she ever wanted to say. Frightened her beyond belief because the darkness in her had wanted so desperately to reach out and kill Sarge. A man who she actually loved, in some regard. As to what regard that was, she had no damn clue.

After all of that she had retreated, taken time away from work and withdrew from most of the people she had become friends with. Things she just simply wanted forgotten. To just be forgotten about because of that night. It pained her so damn much. Even more so knowing, and feeling the pain of the claws within his flesh. The sound of skin tearing still haunted her. She shuddered at the thought. Still, he had asked her to come, so she was going to do exactly that.

Sad grey eyes fell upon Sarge as she came to the front of the sealed hangar. As much as she wanted to smile, she just couldn't in that moment. "Hey Sarge."She said softly, so much sadness and shame hung in the air around her. Try as she might, she couldn't contain it all within her, not this time. Not with shades of her dark past having risen up so recently in such a bold manner. She had her doubts how much longer she could keep the darkness tamed. How much longer she could keep everything in line. "So, what are we pulling from storage today?"

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#3 Sarge Potteiger


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Posted 16 October 2013 - 04:25 PM

@Coryth Elaris

"An old home.", the man says with a smile as he leans down to wrap his arms around her waist and hoist her up into a bear hug. He'd not truly contacted her out of spite or lack of understanding, but simply because that's how he was. Unless he ran into you, he didn't really go out of his way to communicate.

Call it a character flaw. "A YT-1300 I christened the Hotel California." The man seemed positively happy to see her, despite the sadness radiating off of her, and he figured that if it was important she'd say something about it. If it was something truly bad she'd have come to him already, so he wasn't going to ask, not yet.

Hitting a button to open the hangar door, the man gave her a wink as it slid back to reveal the hum of an active magnetic field shielding the bay from the vacuum of space. "Now that I've taken my leave of the Protectorate I'll need it as a mobile home of sorts."

Even at first glance, the ship appeared to be in marginally OK condition. There was some rust, but the friend left in charge of it had orders to not only keep up the interior but also take it out into the vacuum of space periodically to help prevent too much rusting. But even despite those precautions, he was expecting quite a bit of renovation to be necessary.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Cory felt a little awkward pulled into the bear hug. She still felt so damn bad. None the less she managed to return the hug as best she could. Giving a nod, that she understood, the Prophetess being her home. Though there was a place on Fondor now that she could consider home. Sighing she pulled away and looked to ship within. It didn't seem so space worthy if you asked her, but then again she had a habit of crashing ships and taking out control towers ... her version of space worthy was something else entirely.

"You sure that thing will fly?" She asked timidly, almost afraid of it. Truth was .. she was. She and ships never got along. .. . Ever.

And on those words, she spun on her heels to face him. "Come again?" A mix of a emotions flooded her, ones she could in no way hold back in that moment. He was leaving. Surely she'd misheard him.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I'm sure it will. It's survived worse.", he says, setting the small woman down from the hug. It had finally hit him how awkward she had felt, and figured she likely still felt bad about being angry. Placing his hands on his hips, he looks down at her, head cocking to the side. "Mhm. Just doesn't really feel like... home, anymore."

Truth was, he knew he'd come back before long. He was a bit of a ramblin' man at times, leaving just long enough to know to come back. But Coryth couldn't have known that because he'd never told her.

And now he too felt concerned.

"I'm tendering my resignation with OmegaPyre.", he says flatly. This was going to end badly.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

Coryth blinked. She couldn't have heard that right but again, there it was. "What?" She seemed baffled, confused, and entirely uncertain as she took a step back.


"What happened? Why would you leave?" She shook her head, "You can't go." She whispered wanting very much for him to stay. This felt too familiar, like a stab in the back. He got her settled in OP gave her a new life and the idea of the person she'd been closest too leaving was too much to bear for the little redhead. "Why?" She repeated a little more firmly. Pain was written so clearly in her eyes and likely better felt than anything else.

"I don't understand." Things seemed great to her, on her end. Clearly she didn't see the big picture or the reason he was leaving at all. She sighed shaking her head slowly. Hurt, certainly. The question is how much worse it would get before it ended here today.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Coryth...", he begins slowly, hands itching to reach out and grab her shoulders, impart his strength into her tiny body with their weight and grip. But another part of his mind, the part that warned of danger, told him that to do so was likely a singularly bad idea. His brows furrowed, eyes becoming momentarily confused as he partially panicked.

What had he done? Was this her fear of abandonment, or was this something else entirely? Was she angry? Sad? Pained? A myriad of questions fluttered through his mind and as soon as one left another cropped up, a never ending symphony of worry playing it's way through his mind.

Breath catching in his throat, he impotently flexed his right hand and bit his lower lip in pensive thought. The corners of his eyes cast themselves downward, weighed down by the combined pain of the pair. "Why?", he asks quietly, as though the word had set him adrift on a stormy sea with neither sail nor paddle.

"Why?", he repeated, utterly powerless before this diminutive woman. One word. She's stumped arguably the deadliest man in the galaxy with one word.

Inhaling audibly, he wet his lips and swallowed, collecting what amounted to his thoughts. "It's not home, right now, Coryth. Ayden and I came here when OmegaPyre was still just a PMC running a bare handful of worlds. We brought with us Corellia and a host of other Core Worlds, and, in a deal, joined ourselves with the Pyre."

Slowly, he looked to the floor, head hanging a bit in shame. "We began the rise of the Protectorate with our information hubs and connections, and it was our merger that lead us to where we are today. But I'm an old dog, Coryth; an old dog surrounded by young pups just now reaching maturity."

A breath is pulled in through his nose and he closes his eyes, exhaling and opening to level his gaze at her now that he was a bit more composed. "I'm not needed. I stand around an office, protecting a woman who doesn't need protected. No one takes me seriously. I'm just a relic they couldn't bring themselves to let go... so I'm going to do it for them."

Slowly, he took a step forward, although he did so in an unusual manner.

He made noise.

He wasn't concentrating on stealth for once. She was his focus.

Inhaling again, he takes another step, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. "But I'm not leaving you, Coryth. That's not what this is about. I will be around, and I won't be far. We had an issue or two on Elrood that seems to be leading us to Dagobah, and once we're done investigating there I'll be done."

Slowly, awkwardly, he came to a stop in front of her, gloved hands reaching up to hopefully cup her cheeks. "I'm a wandering soul.. and sometimes I have to move on to know where I need to come back to; to remind myself of what I have. I'm leaving my post, but I'm not leaving you."

Lips curling downwards in a frown, he casts a sad gaze to the floor before looking back up at her. "Please, don't be hurt.", he pleads.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

She was in a panic, feeling like she was in somewhat of a free-fall. This couldn't be happening it felt so familiar. Too many times had she lost people, padawans leaving her for the darkness, for the grey. Her own fiance' on a few words spoken in anger. Swallowing hard she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.


She shook her head, disbelieving. A hand went to push her hair back, something she often did when she felt uncertain, worried. Closing her eyes, she could feel the tears spill over and down her soft ivory cheeks. "Then why does all of this feel like you are leaving me? Part of me gets the reason. I'm the same, I've never stayed in one place long."


"But Sarge, I'm here for you. I came because of you. Because you were the only one I could trust, who I knew had my back all the way." She sighed, looking away, still feeling as crestfallen and shocked. To her it was coming from no where. "I don't know that I even belong without you here."


"I'm trying not to, but it still hurts. I still feel like you are slipping from my fingers. Gone." Her words so soft, scared would be the word. "Because a planet or two here is a lifetime away. You .. could be dead or hurt or missing and I'd never know."


"I've lost too many friends. Too many people that were so much more than that, on simple words. Simple promises broken that they'd be around. Be there, never were." She gave a shrug, "Doesn't matter now cause they are all dead. Not a damn thing I can do do change it. This just does feel like I'm loosing you. And I can't... I can't.." She shook her head frustrated, unable to completely the sentence.


"I don't .. I don't want you to go." But she knew better than to try and keep him here. It wasn't right, wasn't fair. She couldn't ask him of it.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Silently, mentally, he cursed her empathic ability as she began to cry. All the signs of anxiety were there; the hair brushing, the lack of eye contact. Everything added up to a conclusion he had already known would occur.

He'd hurt her. How he hated having to do that.

She was an intelligent woman, that he knew, and while she was hurt, he hoped that she'd listen to him. It was fervent prayer that she not hold this against him, because in trying to live his life, he didn't wish to upset hers.

With that in mind, a finger slid up and over the flesh of her cheek, the fabric of his glove wiping away the salt-trail of a tear that was immediately soaked into the covering. His lips parted slightly as he took in small, shallow breaths. Life was crumbling through his hands, and despite her being within his grasp... he'd never been farther from her.

His heart hurt. Lord did it hurt. The muscle hung like a dead weight in his chest, pulling him down into an abyss from which he hoped to free himself. "You've nothing to worry about, Cory.", he whispers gently. "I'm only ever a call away. You know where I live, on Corellia and Naboo... but I can still do Freelance work here."

Weak was how he felt right now, a man devoid of power. It made him distinctly uncomfortable, nervous. Control was something he liked to have, because it made him feel like everything was going well. But she'd stripped that from him, like he'd stripped the feeling of security from her.

Leaning his forehead down to press it against hers, he sucked his lips inward for a moment before exhaling. "I have to go... at least to Dagobah. But you can't come; it's not your place to. I won't put you into that sort of potential danger." Sighing faintly, he shook his head ever so slightly.

"But... I don't have to go.", he says finally. "You've got work. You've got money. You've security and a new life. It's... selfish of me to just up and leave so soon." It pained him to say that, but it was true.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

She could only watch as he shifted a hand up to brush away her tears. Leaning into his hand ever so slightly, she longed for him to stay. Longed for it but would never ask of it. She sighed softly her eyes closed for the moment, trying to calm herself. "But I do worry. I will worry. I cannot help it." This was much harder on her than she ever imagined it would be. But to her surprise, she wasn't angry, just hurt. "I didn't plan for it to happen, but you've become such a large part of my life and I don't wish to lose that. I just ... I .." Another sigh, "I can't loose you and I fear that you walking away will lead to .." She stopped, silencing herself. Recalling he had asked her not to tell him the future, she wasn't about to start telling him the things she saw of him.

With his forehead pressed to hers the pain only intensified for the little redhead. Such close contact made it impossible to block out what he was feeling on top of her own feelings. "I know you have to leave. I understand, Sarge. Whether or not it shows, I get it. I won't be the one to stand in your way. I won't ask you to stay." She gave a small shrug her eyes still closed trying to handle the storm of emotions as best as she could.

Something in his words gave her pause. "Sarge? Danger lurks everywhere. You may wish to protect me from it, but you will never save me from it completely. Never." Slightly annoyed at the phrasing, "I'm not challenging you, but I'll remind you not to remind me of what is my place or not. Something happens to you, I feel it, sense it, hear rumors, see it in a dream .. don't care I'll risk everything to find you." She huffed a sigh, trying to focus now, needing not to be a sobbing mess. "Whatever on Dagobah, may be your business and I won't press into it. But I will work in my own ways to keep you safe, if I feel a need, clear?"

She shook her head, "But you do. Your heart is pulling at you, telling you that you need to go. And again I will not stand in your way. I won't be that woman. Ever." She managed the tiniest of smiles, "I love you enough to let you go."

Finally she opened her eyes and looked into his. "None of that means anything to me, darling. None of it. I've lived so long without all of it and ... I can go on for much longer without work, without money, without security, without this new life. I've still found just as much joy in following the force wherever it leads me. It is what it is. Some things just aren't nearly as important as what is in your heart." She laid her tiny hand softly on his chest, just above his heart. "It's what is in here that matters. It's what drives you, makes you who you are. And as long as you follow your heart you'll always end up exactly where you should be, understand?" Sure she was hurt, pained but somethings just had to be that way. Saying goodbye was never easy.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Standing silent sentinel to her words, the ex-Sergeant Major cast an ashamed glance downward as she spoke from a place of strength he'd kill to have. For all his bluster, all his skill, he was a ravenously insecure man with a myriad of mental and emotional issues that would make any psychiatrist cringe.

And that had been before his work with Ayden.

Here. Now. A tiny woman who'd been through as many horrors as he in a much shorter span of time... here she was telling him to be himself. To be happy. Do what his heart desired. For all her own insecurities, imagined and real, in that moment in time she looked more secure to him than she ever had before.

It took a solid foundation to put aside your own pain for someone else. A bedrock she likely didn't know she had. In her mind, perhaps, this was just something she had to accept as a means of her life going against her one more.

But he saw so much more than that. Blinking momentarily as a pale hand found it's way to his chest, he blinked away a few tears for a moment before he composed himself, shoring himself up from the pain she radiated in dull waves. Without much thought put into the action, he cupped her cheeks and pulled her lips up to his own.

"Kark, do I love you.", he murmurs as, in marked difference from the usual pecks he gave her, he pressed his lips forcefully to hers and kept them there.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth had no true idea of the strength she held and often so many others around her underestimated the tiny woman's strength. But it was what had carried her through all the trials and tribulations thus far. It took someone chiseled from stone to weather the storms she had thus far in her short life. Even through the tears, the agony she felt, just she knew in her heat that she had to let him go. And the time had come. If it was meant to be, he'd find his way back to her someday. And this wasn't so much good bye as it was I'll see you when I return.


Hearing the words in reply, seemed to shock her. For so long she suspected she was on a one way street. Knowing now it wasn't only confirmed that letting him leave was the right action. It karking hurt her but it was wrong to try and force him to stay. Without another word, she relaxed into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his body and drawing him near to her. Never, ever did she wish to let him go from her embrace. If she could have, she would have clung to him for a lifetime.

No words needed to be said, nothing more done. They both knew, nothing was left behind the masks they wore. For the first time in what seemed like forever she had laid it all out on the line and told him everything she felt, all of it ... Without hesitation. Oddly enough in the painful goodbye, she felt for the first time in as long as she could remember, that maybe, just maybe everything was going to be alright.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Smiling faintly against her lips, he savors the moment and the sensation of her mouth upon his. Finally, reluctantly, he lets her go, staring into her eyes for a moment as if searching them for the answer to a question he didn't even know he had. But, finally, a smile creases his lips and he brushes his nose against hers.

"C'mon.", he says, taking her hand in his and leading her into the hangar. "Let's get this ship spaceworthy... I've someone I want you to meet."

There was plenty of work ahead of them, but if it was time with her, then that was all he could ask for.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

With him pulling away she managed a smile, hard as it was for her. The last thing she wanted to do was make all of this harder than it had to be. Sniffling a couple times she pushed passed her tears, wiping the remaining ones from her cheeks. With his hand in hers she followed along side him, a little nervous. Ships did that to her. A small shake in her hands would be all that showed through of her feelings about what was before her.


Giving a nod Cory sighed one more time. As much as she might not like ships, she was here for him. In whatever way she could manage, to spend every remaining ounce of time with him. For she knew too well in an instant all of it could be gone. "Oh?" She asked curiously wondering who that could possibly be meeting.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Giving a nod, he smacked a button hidden away in a recess of the ship and the whine of pneumatic pistons heralds the lowering of a boarding ramp. Visibly, the man cringed at the smell of stale air that wafted from inside. "HK.", he calls, voice echoing into the freighter as he walks up the ramp and leads her into one of the strangest vessels she'd likely ever seen.

Floors that should be metal were wood, and the common area looked more like a houses living room than a freighters common area. In fact, the entire ship screamed 'flying house', down to the paintings hung on painted walls. "HK!", he barks again.

"Weary response; Yes, master. I heard you the first time." Stepping into view was a dilapidated HK unit, faded green photoreceptors scanning its master before its attention shifted to Coryth. "Curious observation; she's not pink." If it were possible, the droid almost sounded amused.

Sarge gave the droid an unamused glare at the reference to Abbi and shook his head. "Yeah, she's not pink. Coryth, HK. HK, Coryth."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth blinked for a moment. Another HK? Ohhh.. I don't know if I can handle it.Too many snarky droids in my life as is. As she moved onto the ship behind Sarge, she was oddly quiet. In shock at what she was seeing, "Weren't kidding about the home part, were you?" The distinct feeling she got from the place, one full of memories, and well .. it was quite homey. A ship like this, she could get used to.


Her eyes came upon the dilaidated droid, eyeing it carefully. Droids were not her favorite being, for sure. For Cory had a love hate relationships with tech and droids were part of that. She lofted a brow and looked to Sarge and mouthed 'not pink?' Oh boy was she a touch confused, but there would come a time to ask about that later.

"Hello, HK." She said softly, a little timidly. "A pleasure to meet you."

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I don't kid.", he remarks dryly, a wry smirk plastered on his face under his cowl. Unclasping his cloak and deactivating its photoreactive fibers, he pulls it from his shoulders and tosses it onto the couch, reluctantly leaving her hand go in the process. Frankly, when she mouthed her question, she surprised Sarge.

Raising a finger to tell her to wait, he disappeared down a hall and into a room. He'd shown her Abigail once before, and she'd been the last woman in his life that HK had ever met. "Feigned happiness: Yes, I am overjoyed to make your acquantance."

"HK.", comes a recriminating tone from the other room, voice dragging the letters out like a scolding parent. "Apologetic Statement: I am sorry." Snorting, Sarge dug through a drawer and came up with what he'd been looking for.

Almost immediately, his mood darkened and he sighed. He'd not been on the ship in centuries, so it's not like he ever had a chance to get rid of anything - HK had been ordered to maintain the old and fix things up as needed... which he'd done.

Coming out of the bedroom, he gives an unamused look to HK before he gives a weak smile to Coryth, clearly saddened. "Pink.", he says, handing her a picture. "I showed you a picture of Abbi once before... but last time HK saw me with a woman it was her... four centuries ago."

Clearly, he hadn't wanted to bring the subject up, but HK had made it so, and if anything, Sarge didn't like leaving people in the dark when he cared about them.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

She gave a smile, just watching Sarge for a moment. Her eyes moving with him, but she remained still as Sarge wandered off from her for a moment. HK's comment, the snark, brought about a bit of a chuckle from the still saddened redhead. "Apology accepted," She said softly, smiling a little brighter.

Even with Sarge in the other room, the change in his mood was quite obvious to her, and when he returned handing her the picture, she now understood. She'd forgotten about Abbi, when they had talked of such things. It seemed so long ago from this particular moment but now she got it. "Right..." Then stunned silence. Four centuries. She knew he'd been about for a long while, but still hearing it had quite the effect on her now.

Everything within the ship made sense, the rust on the outside, the dilapidated droid inside, but still the ship within remained in wonderful condition for the age. Handing the picture back, she landed an apologetic hand on his shoulder. "Sorry for inquiring, Sarge. I ... forgot and I shouldn't have. I should have remembered for your sake." Sighing, she moved to the couch and took a seat for a moment, not sure what else to do.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"HK's been a loyal companion, thankfully." The droid merely nodded and went towards the cockpit. "You're fine though, Coryth, really. I should have remembered that you can feel memories." Or, rather, the emotions related to memories. Most of which, in this place, were happy.

Until, of course, she entered the medbay, but that was something else entirely. "But, I know you aren't good with ships - it's mostly shipshape... mostly. Just gotta get 'er refueled and restocked. HK already replaced all the bedding and the like." He smiled. "All the bunkrooms are more guest bedrooms, really. You'll always have a home away from home here."

It was true. He'd open his door to any of his friends whenever they needed it. Contrary to popular belief he was actually a helpful human being who was, in fact, genuinely nice at heart. "Which reminds me." He motions for her to follow him, headed down the hall. "May as well show you around, no?"

 

[Coryth Elaris]

She nodded, it was hard for her to wrap her head around droid companions. "I'm glad, darlin'. Seems like ya really needed someone there, even a droid." A smile on her lips again, "Well, sorta, just the emotions that go with. Gives me a good idea of what's going on in someone's mind. Though I can't see the memories within, unless the person opens their mind to me and with you, I'm almost certain such will not work."

Rising to her feet again, she came back to his side. "No, not at all really. As I've said before, ships and I don't get along well. But it's not only that. Most of technology and me don't get along. The stars only know how many times as a young Jedi that I struck myself in the leg, arm or even head while training with my saber, but another story. For another time."

His offer of a home away from home, struck her ... No one had offered her such, save her fiance' rest his soul. It brought a hint of tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "That .. means everything to me Sarge. It truly does." She smiled brightly, wiping away any trace of tears as she pressed beyond that. "Don't have many people in my life that have ever offered me a home. A real home, like I can feel this is." Her eyes moved down to the floor, debating for a moment. "I think, I may just take you up on such sometime soon. As you know, the Prophetess, is really the only thing I call home these days. Would be nice, to not be in some place alone all the time." Strange enough Coryth could be in a crowd full of people, and still feel like she was completely alone.


With the offer to show her about, she rose extending her hand to his, just seeking to be closer to him while she still could. Never in her life could she, would she take a single moment with someone she loved for granted. For she knew far too well, it could be the very last time she saw them. "Might well, dear. I want to know your home, and all the things you care about. For, that are important to me, and I want to care about them too." A genuine effort to get to know him, all of him in whatever way he would allow her.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Oh, no, I didn't spend time with him, but that's a story for another time. He was the caretaker here after I left the Rebellion." That had been the last time he'd ever been on the ship, really. Finally, he gave Coryth a curious glance. "Coryth, I think it went without saying when I let you sleep at my place... you were always welcome in my residences."

He'd literally done that to make her feel ok about her nightmares.

Reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, he pointed to a door on the left and tapped a button to open it up. Inside was his bedroom, with a small attached refresher. It was about what she'd come to expect from him; quality furniture, but not ostentatious. One nightstand on the right side of the bed, a drawer, a warddrobe and his usual set of pictures of loved ones.


"Most of the guest rooms are like this, minus the refresher. Same size bed, same furniture." There was a number of paintings on the wall, all depicting various nature scenes, and the lighting was dim in a way that implied he enjoyed low light settings. "It's not much, but it's home." Was a far sight more than most freighters had.

"I've three guest rooms, so if you ever need a place to crash... I'm here." Tapping a section of the wall next to him, he smirks as a hidden panel extends and reveals a scattergun hidden beneath. "Hidden around the ship in case it gets boarded." Smiling at her and tossing her a wink, he steps from the room, leading her down the hallway a bit further and stopping outside a fully stocked medbag; bacta tank and surgery droid included.


"Self explanatory, no?" Likely, this would be her favorite part. This was as fully stocked as a freighter got in terms of medical and surgical supplies. It was quite possible to do surgery in here, and it was evident no expense had been spared in bringing it up to date.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

"I see." She said softly. And then his next words brought a bit of a pink hue to her ivory cheeks. "Some things, just aren't as obvious to me as they should be. Character flaw I suppose. I just .. I don't always pick up on those things." Shrug, she tried to push away her embarrassment at the situation. But he'd been so kind to her, helped her through some of the worst nights she'd had since returning to known space.

Her smile returned with the gentle squeeze on her shoulder. Her eyes moved slowly over the room as he showed her through the bedroom area. Nodding in reply to his words. "Not much? Sarge, to me a place like this is a mansion. I've never been used to having things, to have much more than a shoebox that my entire life can fit in." As she moved through everything, idly her hands came to a small heart shaped locket that she had always wore beneath her clothing, likely something Sarge had never seen. It was from her father, something he'd given to her mother and when she died he had held onto it for the day Coryth was of age. The thoughts, she kept to herself for a moment.

"Thank you, darlin'. I do really truly appreciate it." It had been so long, so very long since she could recall being so close to anyone. Close enough that she'd happily share the same living space with. She chuckled a little at the scatter gun, it shouldn't have surprised her. "Always prepared for everything, something I've always admired about you."

Coming to the medbay, her eyes lit up a little. Healing was her life, and stepping into the room she couldn't help but feel like she was right at home. This was her element. Idly she traced her fingers along the walls, eyes moving slowly over every detail. "A fine place, should the need ever come that I need to patch you up while I am around. Looks quite like I could do surgery in here with ease."

Coming back to stand at his side, she reached around her neck and undid the locket. She coiled it up in her hands and looked at it for a moment. It was one of the few very important things in her life. "Sarge, this is something I want you to have. I will not accept no for an answer."

A happy sigh came from her as she looked down to the locket, and opened it. In it were two photographs, one of herself as a young girl, no older than seven. And another women, who looked so like Coryth in every way, but clearly an old picture, at least a good fifteen to twenty years old. "This locket, my father gave it to my mother, and when she passed on, he gave it to me. I don't own many things, but I want to share this with you. Keep it with you, it's kept me safe all these years but now.. Now I want you to have it. So that you can keep a little piece of me with you, wherever you may go." Reaching out she took his hand in hers and pressed the necklace into his hands. "And if you won't accept it as an outright gift, then hang on to it, till you come back to me again."