Private The Edge of Night

[Aren D'Shade]

The Eternal Engine, the best cantina Aren had ever been in, was the one place she went to regularly. They knew her here and before she reached the bar, they had her drink ready. With her most recent job completed, she had a few extra credits, and as it was early in the evening, not many people were there, so she offered to buy a round.

If the truth were known about Aren, they would know money would never be an issue for her. However, she chose to live like most people outside of her home. Inside, it was a different story, and very few people got to see that side of her life. Those present were blind to it, and she wanted it to remain that way.

Taking the first of the many drinks she had planned, she turned to toast to the person next to her.

"To a new life just getting started."

It might confuse him, but she didn't care. She just wanted somebody to share a few drinks and the evening with.

Lucaant Vaneric

 

[Lucaant Vaneric]

"Oh, my God will certainly forgive you... But unfortunately, I won't."
⏵ Play Theme
Location: The eternal engine • Cantina
Objective: Drink | Understand the stranger
People involved: Aren D'Shade
---​

Luccant turned slightly at the clink of glass, the words catching him more than the toast itself. He hadn’t expected company — let alone one that spoke like they meant something deeper than the surface.

His expression didn’t shift much, but his eyes lingered. Calm. Measured. Curious in that way people get when they’re trying to decide if the moment means more than it looks.

“To a new life,” he repeated, lifting his drink and letting the echo settle between them. His voice was rough around the edges but not harsh — like it had weathered long silences and grown comfortable in them.

He took a sip, slow and thoughtful, then rested the glass on the bar’s edge. “That yours or mine?” he asked, without turning fully toward her. "’Cause if it’s yours, I’m guessing it didn’t start with this place. And if it’s mine… well, I guess I should say thanks.”

There was no smirk. No lean-in. Just a small curl at the edge of his mouth — not a smile, exactly, but something that threatened to become one if he let it.

“You always toast to strangers?” he added, voice quieter now, like he was offering space for her to answer or not. “Or just the ones who look like they forgot what living’s supposed to feel like?”

The question hung there a moment — not invasive, but personal enough to show he was paying attention. Then he exhaled through his nose and shrugged lightly, letting the tension fall away.

“My name's Luccant, by the way. What's yours?"

He glanced at her again, more directly this time. There was nothing in the look — not yet — but something sharper: a kind of focus that said he wasn’t just here to kill time, or kill. That if she was offering something more than a drink — a story, a shift in course, maybe just a night without masks, just honesty — he’d listen.

Or maybe it was just the drink talking.

Either way, he raised his glass again.

“And here’s to not drinking alone, yeah?”​

[/CENTER]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

The toast completed, Aren took a sip of her drink as she looked at the man she had spoken to. His dark blue hair appeared natural to her eyes, and that caused her to blink a little in surprise. The color was as unexpected as the metallic grey hue to his eyes.

"Why not both? What has brought you here, Lucaant? I'm Aren D'Shade."

Pausing to take a drink, she set the glass on the counter and turned to give the man her full attention. The drink was at her elbow. He looked road-worn and almost seemed happy to have a bit of peace.

"No, I didn't start here. Not by a long shot. This is my home, though."

The bag she had been holding onto was set on the footrest by her feet, and her leg supported it so it didn't fall. Her pants had seen better days, but they weren't entirely worn out yet. Her headset hung down around her neck so she could hear the conversation.

"Have you forgotten what it's like to live? I toast when there's a good reason to, Lucaant. A new opportunity was given to me and I toast to that."

Taking her jacket off, she slung it on the chair behind her. Returning her focus to Lucaant, she raised her glass again with him.

"To not drinking alone."

Tipping it back, another was placed on the bar when she had lowered it.

Lucaant Vaneric

 

[Lucaant Vaneric]

"Oh, my God will certainly forgive you... But unfortunately, I won't."
⏵ Play Theme
Location: The eternal engine • Cantina
Objective: Drink | Understand the stranger
People involved: Aren D'Shade
---​

"Why not both?" Luccant echoed, his voice a low rasp. "Perhaps. It depends on the price of the choice." His metallic grey eyes, cold and steady, met hers, unfazed by her initial surprise at his dark blue hair. The name she offered, Aren D'Shade, registered without immediate significance. He was used to names, used to people, but rarely did they stick.

He saw the road-weariness in her, a reflection of his own constant state, and the fleeting sense of peace she alluded to. "Live?" he mused, a humorless ghost of a smile touching his lips. "I remember surviving. The rest is... negotiable."

When she raised her glass again, "To not drinking alone," he merely watched her. He didn't believe in repeated gestures, not for shared company, and certainly not for opportunities. He preferred his own battles, his own victories.

"New opportunities are merely new burdens," he stated, his voice flat, his gaze unwavering. "New debts to collect, or to pay. Sometimes, they're just new ways to disappoint." He took a slow sip of his own drink, the bitter taste a familiar anchor. "You seem to welcome them. That's a luxury I rarely afford."

He set his glass down on the counter, the clink a sharp punctuation in the ambient noise of Mek-Sha's underbelly. He didn't offer a name in return, nor a reason for his presence. He wasn't there for pleasantries or shared experiences. He was there for what he could gain, or what he might be forced to take.

"To what, then, is this 'new opportunity' tied?" Luccant finally asked, his metallic grey eyes piercing. It wasn't curiosity, but a pragmatic assessment. He sought information, always. He sought leverage. And he sought the path that would lead him to the next step, whatever that might be. The peace she spoke of was transient, a distraction from the constant grind of what it meant to simply be.​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"I won't charge you anything."

Then again, he might mean something more than credits, but that was the first thing to pop into Aren's mind. She listened to his comment about living, but she couldn't entirely understand what he meant. Her life had been an easy one, and she knew this. Two loving parents, even if she was adopted and a pet. Along with access to technology, which led her to the path she was on.

It didn't bother her when he didn't return the second salute, but she finished her drink anyway and got the new one. He did have a point about new opportunities being a new burden. She hadn't thought of it that way, but he wasn't wrong. Looking into the depths of her glass for a moment, she was trying to assess what Lucaant was really trying to tell her. Aren was not one to read between the lines well, and that's why she preferred the company of droids. They could not fool her.

"A new avenue of life for me and a road of credits. That's why I did the toast as I did. To a new life, getting started. An opportunity came to me not long ago, and I'm celebrating it."

Not going into any details, Aren didn't think he needed to know that. Right now, she wanted to drink and have company doing it. She didn't have any friends, so she reached out to this man. Maybe they could become something, or maybe not. After tonight, she would know.

Lucaant Vaneric