if they're watching anyways
Nar Shaddaa was... kinda gross. Just a little bit. Part of Auteme just wanted to get a planetary-grade pack of wet wipes and start cleaning things. Many of the people there were so grimy and grouchy, and if they just had a shower they'd be so much happier. Hygiene was so important; it was known to have a marked effect on a resident's perception of their living conditions, and was an excellent step towards improving social mobility. Perhaps if the police of Coruscant's Undercity actually did 'clean the streets' they might not have to fight as much crime. Nar Shaddaa didn't have that option.
Auteme felt out of place, both in that she was the cleanest person on the street (Charlie kind of needed a shower) and that she had actually been born on Nar Shaddaa. It was a miracle that Auteme hadn't been born with any chronic health conditions on a planet filled with things that might cause them. Then again, she definitely wouldn't remember if she'd had a surgery to fix them when she was young.
Part of her felt like she hadn't entirely been born here. Not her, Auteme -- she'd been born on Concord Dawn, the first thing she could remember. That was the day that the monk had first told her of how he'd found her. From that day on she'd demanded he tell it to her every night before she went to sleep. It went on until she was thirteen, but even after that she'd ask occasionally. She'd listened to him tell it the night he left her on Kashyyyk among the Silver Jedi. Maybe it was childish to cling to the past like that, but Auteme found comfort in the idea that she'd been given a life with no strings attached. That was, until she met her parents again. Life was strange. Life changed.
She squeezed Charlie's hand, the one that felt so warm in hers. Walking around in the evening on Nar Shaddaa -- even on one of the top levels -- would have made her nervous, but Auteme knew that she was safe. Charlie was cute, but she had one mean swing. No one was going to bother them tonight.
So, without Charlie's favorite pastime, they needed to do something else to fill the time. Auteme had brought the other girl out to Nar Shaddaa, so the responsibility fell to her. After another block she spoke up.
"I, um, have a fear of flying," she said. "Well, not flying. Crashing, more like. I've been in two starship crashes in my life, and the first one was when I was little. Our shuttle passed over here, when we were leaving home." She gestured to the tall buildings a few blocks ahead.
"Then, boom. Crash." She made a diving motion with her hand.
"I'm most afraid because... it reminds me of how easy it is to lose everything. Not that I had much. I was, like, four. But I got separated from my parents and forgot everything except for my last name. Just freaks me out." She glanced at Charlie. "Are you afraid of anything?"