The Adventures of a Healer and a Viking: Pirates, Part II

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A derisive snort left her nose. "Buy it from you? This is a jedi ship Mister Valkyrien. That's extortion." Mischievous eyes narrowed at their game. She saw his muscles coil. Hers did just as quickly and she lunged to the side, one hand gripping the bag of chocolates.

A giggle like a school-girl escaped her throat.

Was it mature? Absolutely not. She was acting like a five year old and considering she'd never actually been five, it made sense. Plus, what did a little fun hurt anyone?

But she was a hair too slow.

Instead of breaking into the open space and securing her victory, she body slammed into Val's broad chest.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

She was fast, and surprisingly strong, but...well Val was quite a bit bigger than her. There was an advantage to size, and most of that came into effect as she went bumping into him. Val let out a quiet 'oof' as she struck his chest, but the size advantage meant that he didn't even budge an inch. A grin crossed his face as he saw surprise flash across her face, clearly she had expected to be faster.

Before she could get away Val reached out.

His arms immediately shot out, speeding along like striking vipers. His fingers sailed over her hips, and then gently wrapped around her. He tried to pull her up and off her feet, ceasing any complaints that could come from her and hopefully allowing him victory.

"Extortion?" He retorted. "I'm just trying to get my fair share."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

It was like she hit a rock wall. Air was forced out her lungs and she felt herself stumbling backwards. Before she could fall or recover, her feet left the ground. But she gripped that bag of chocolate like a vice.

She snorted as he drew her closer.

"Fair share? This is jedi property Mister Aurelios." Bringing her arm up, she went to bop him on the head with the bag of chocolates. The bag had a high chance of ripping and sending the rich candy flying over them both.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He tried not to flinch too much as the chocolate went spilling all over the place, keeping his tight grip on her.

"Salvage rules, Ma'am." Val answered. "Way of the galaxy."

There was a wide smirk on his face. He'd never quite been in a situation...like this before. She was a Jedi, and apparently one that was a bit of a fiend for all things candy. Val had never cared much for sweets on the whole, chocolate he'd never even tried, but Taheera was apparently well willing to fight for it, at least playfully anyway.

"I believe I took this ship fair and square from the Jedi, and thus it and everything aboard it belongs to me." That was of course rather ludicrous.

He had stolen this craft with Taheera's assistance, and she likely wanted it returend eventually, but for right now that didn't really matter, not when there was candy spilled all over the ground and stuck into the crevices of his coat.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Myrtle ellipses darted around as the chocolate splattered across the deck plating. Eyes narrowed at Val but a smirk was on her face. "By that definition, you're saying you're a pirate Valkyrien Aurelios." Perhaps a tender subject because that's who they were hunting. Although, they were both acting like pirates in a way. Pirating the pirates.

She squirmed.

She thought the exploding chocolate would've been a good enough distraction to twist and slip free but the viking's grip stayed firm. She looked down at him as he held her up. Booted-feet swayed in the air. Hand shook the half filled bag of chocolate in front of his face. "Don't think that I've lost my leverage because I still have some."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Pirate?" He said with mock affront. "No no."

Val didn't really take the term as an insult. Sure most pirates were utterly horrific beings, but he had known quite a few who were actually quite nice. They were usually only dubbed pirates by governments that most would consider autocratic, but...well that hardly made a difference. The term was a broad one, and although generally bad, in this context it certainly wasn't meant as an insult to him, more of a jest really.

"I'm a salvager. Just because this ship used to be owned by Jedi doesn't mean that I'm a pirate." He convinced her as the bag of candy went waving in his face.

"Just means I'm an opportunist." He squeezed her just enough to reiterate that he was holding her captive. "Now I believe it's time to negotiate."

Val still didn't really want any of the candy, but that didn't mean he couldn't entertain himself with this little game.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Nose crinkled. "Hey! Heyheyhey," free hand came up and lightly smacked at one of his that was squeezing her hip. "Negotiate?" She snorted again. "Hmmm," eyes looked around the small cabin in mock deep thought before snapping back to his grinning face.

"How about...you put me down and I'll share a third of the chocolates with you?" She lifted the half-full bag of chocolates into the air above them both and shook the contents. "Orr, I could always start pulling out your arm-hairs." Free hand latched around his wrist and slipped under the sleeves of his coat, fingering his skin there to prove she wasn't bluffing.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He perked an eyebrow. One thing that she had likely noticed about him was his general wealth of body hair. It wasn't really his fault, genetics really, but the threat was not one to be taken lightly. A frown pulled at his lips for a few moments and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Go ahead."

Val had survived, blasters, shrapnel, and all sorts of blades. He could survive this.

"A third is a tad low." He told her as his fingers gently maneuvered beneath her shirt and came to rest on her side. "Especially considering the weapon I have at my disposal."

What was he talking about? Why the scourge and bane of all women of course, tickling. His fingers gently jabbed into her sides, hoping to illicit the proper reaction.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"HEY. I AM NOT TICK-HAHAHAHahahahaha," she trembled, sides shaking. Her hand jerked against his wrist and she probably pulled out a good few arm hairs of his. Somehow, she managed to keep a strong grip on the chocolates and maintain their altitude. Though her arm swayed a bit.

"You are a scoundrel and a cheater." She tried to smack his hand away. Legs swayed and she squirmed some more.

"If you think I'll give you half, that's just crazy-talk viking man!"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

If he was fazed by the pulling of his arm hairs he didn't show it, in fact his face remained completely passive. It was mostly the memory of having shrapnel pulled from his back that allowed him to do it, remembering that recent pain allowed him to keep some focus as she plucked his arm. He did squeeze her a bit, though it was mostly involuntary, his fingers twitching into her side again...not so much. A smirk danced across his face as she began to slip into negotiation.

"Well." He began as she squirmed in his grip.

Her wriggling likely would have been a problem if Val hadn't been such a large man. It was an advantage that he'd always held, even with Aerith who had by all accounts been a rather tall woman herself. It was one of the small things he thanked his unknown father for.

"I guess." He halted her wiggling with an adjusting of his grip as she yelled at him some more. "You'll have to figure out some other way to pay me."

Val had no idea what a Viking was, but he liked the sound of it.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Pay you?" She snorted again. Leg involuntarily kicked forward as he not-so voluntarily tickled her again. Her foot may have kicked into his shin, or knee, or thigh. "You, sir, have quite a high medical bill as it is."

Finger tapped against his wrist, her own grip tightening.

"Let's see." She was still grinning and still gripping that chocolate tightly.

"There was that one time in the cave. And then that second time. Yes, I think if anything, you still owe me."

Of course, this was all in jest. "I mean, what did you do before me? I'm surprised you haven't hired a healer to travel around with you for all the trouble you get in." Pot calling the kettle black.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I saved you from that speeder getting blown up." He reminded her, though she was right in a way. She had saved his life once or twice, though he would argue that he likely would have made it out alive in the end anyway. Perhaps not from the cave...but, well he was pretty confident he wouldn't have gotten into that position in the first place had he known that Thaeera wasn't coming back.

Pretty sure.

"Besides, that's hardly relevant right now." He switched the subject. "You wouldn't compare a life to some chocolate would you?"

Perhaps she would, Taheera seemed to value the sweets quite a great deal. He smiled at her for a moment and then considered her last statement. He had gotten injured quite a bit recently, though it wasn't exactly always his fault. Really he got dragged into these situations and then had to fight through them. Val was no hero, he was just a man who sometimes got mixed up into the thick of things and had to get everyone else involved out.

That was what he told himself.

"And I've done just fine without a healer following me around, thank you." He said with a tiny bit of mock indignation.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"I dunno...," she feigned disinterest. "Chocolate is pretty valuable these days and it might be comparable to saving a life...," she grinned. A chestnut brow lofted, grin turning into something more lopsided.

"Ohhhh-ho - really? You've been doing just fine, huh?" Arms crossed. Shoulders shrugged absently. "Whelp, guess that means you don't need me and you might as well put me down. Your arms will get tired eventually, anyway."

She pretended to study her nails out of mock boredom.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Think so huh?" He said still holding on to her.

Perhaps he would have gotten tired...after a few hours. In truth Val felt pretty refreshed, and he thought he could have stood there for a good day and a half. At this point it was more of a force of wills...a contest that he could quite easily win. He had the test of time on her, one hundred and twenty years, an entire marriage, raising children, oh yes it was all on his side. Patience was his strong point...or one of them anyway. Still, he smiled and decided he would move things along a bit faster.

"Though I think you're forgetting again." His fingers twitched into her side. "I can do that."

Not to mention the candy.

Her hunger, or perhaps greed, for the tasty sweets would eventually overcome her. All Val had to do was wait, and perhaps tickle her a bit to get his point across.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"hey - HEY!"

Free-hand came down and latched around his fingers at her side. Those twitchy-little-devils. Those cheating digits. She squeezed. "I thought we discussed this and your cheating ways." She stuck her tongue out at him.

She gave off a big, dramatic sigh.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. You can have half the chocolates if you just...," the ship lurched suddenly to the side suddenly. Even held in the air, she felt her flailing limbs pitch forward.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He stumbled, and unfortunately for him there wasn't anything to grab onto, or rather, his hands were occupied with keeping Taheera pinned to him. The Viking felt himself tipping over, the odd hyperspace lurch sending the ship rocking once, and then a second time. "Poodoo."

Val had just enough time to say before he fell.

Luckily for Taheera, he managed to fall backwards instead of forward. Had he gone the other direction he likely would have ended up squishing her, his weight being considerably higher than hers and his size...well she would have been pinned quite easily. Instead however he fell back and into the cargo hold, his arms tightening around Taheera out of mere reflex, as if she could somehow keep him from falling over. She didn't of course, and thus they both went tumbling to the ground.

Val hit the deck with a loud thud.

His head bounced back and struck against the heavy metal, splitting pain instantly erupting.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Ack-oomph," she flopped against the space viking's chest hard. Head smacked against his chin with a loud crack and her hair went flying. So did the contraband chocolate.

Nonononono - the precious chocolate. At least it was individually wrapped. She groaned and shifted against him, palm coming up to cradle her forehead. Definitely bruised.

She grimaced.

"What the frex was that?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Supernova." He groaned. "Passing comet, blackhole."

There were a number of things that could upset a ship once it was in hyperspace, usually massive cosmic occurrences that happened fairly often. Most ships didn't notice it because they were either too small or too large to actually feel anything, but sometimes...sometimes timing and a little luck could make things coincide just right. Then you got a bump. Val knew that mostly because he'd once watched a holo-doc on such phenomenon.

Though the documentary had been about a Quasar obliterating an entire Star Destroyer while in Hyperspace.

"Shouldn't happen again." He said, his arms still clutched around her.

Once was rare enough, twice? Unheard of.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She winced, still clutching her head.

As long as they weren't under attack.

Head cocked and eyes closed for a moment. She let herself dip into the river of the force. No sudden danger. Things seemed to be okay. Perhaps he was right and it was just a fluke. After about a minute, the healer re-surfaced.

Green orbs fluttered open.

"You can let go of me now," she whispered.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He waited a moment before answering. "That depends."

His hands still rested under her shirt, and as he spoke they slowly began to slide back slightly, arms pulling away from surrounding her and instead sliding so that his palms could gently floated across the small of her back. Fingers gently grazed across her skin, half circling, half pressing into her in a calm massage.

"Are you going to stay where you are?" The quesiton came with a small smile attached to it, fingers gently kneading her back.

His eyes fixed on hers.