Private The last memory

[Cartri Keswoll]

Feels like we're only going backward
Tags: Xan Deesa
Timeframe: Two weeks before the mirror part 3

A cold night was as normal as it got in Denon, especially during training days where they were out on the rooftops preparing for their next mission. A few weeks before each assignment Xan set up the mats on top of the apartments to train, more to spar rather than any high-level preparation. Their apartment was way too small for that sort of thing, so they always settled with the cold embrace of the outdoors. Luckily, the intense training they did normally warmed them up in no time, leaving the cold to be an afterthought when they got into things.

Cartri always considered her training to be tough and ruthless from the start, but he knew it was needed to get where he is today. The ever-constant planking was the worst, by the time they had finished he felt like his entire body was shaking like jelly. Even the sparing was unforgiving, the amount of time he had his legs swept was unthinkable as well as the bruises that used to be a regular occurrence. The one time he remembered taking things a bit too far when he decided to throw a cheap shot at Xan as she did a demonstration, mostly from her constant taunting which really got into his head. To say the least, when the punch landed flush into her jaw she wasn't impressed. Even though the punch didn't hurt her much, she was infuriated enough to grab him by the ankles and almost dangle him off the roof. If it wasn't for his desperate pleading she probably would have just done that, but luckily she was merciful enough to lower him down before the edge.

As usual, Cartri awaited for Xan to make her appearance. His mentor was mad enough to do a pre-training ritual that got her warmed up even before she touched the mats. For her it was nothing, but if he did it every training he probably would have been tired out right there and then. Even with the enhancements, it was still incredible how physically fit she was.

For now, all he could do was stretch off and gaze at the bright neon lights that hovered above and below them. He had to admit, the view was pretty nice considering the dump they were standing on. The smell on the other hand was always present in all of its disgusting glory.

"Come on Xan, I'll be a cube of ice before you arrive" he muttered to himself as he fiddled with some tatty, small sparing gloves, preparing for whatever mad session Xan had planned for him today.

​

 

[Xan Deesa]

It was that time of the week again. Ever since Cartri agreed to it, Xan had been borderline abusing him with the training she gave him. It was the same training she was brought up with. She, a karking combination of specialized genetics and cybernetics. Cartri was just a normal dude. The only thing he had going for him was the force but that was it.

But she knew it would pay off in the end. Despite his unassuming and unimpressive appearance, he would be able to take on any cop, soldier or thug that tried to corner him. It would all be worth it in the end and she felt that it was worth harming their relationship a little. At least he'd be able to defend himself.

While Cartri was waiting on the roof for her, she was busy with her warm-up. Except this time she had a different warm-up in mind...

"Oh stop being such a big baby!" her voice teased from over the edge of the roof. Soon after, her head appeared over the wall as she smirked at him. "Being able to fight in extreme heat or cold is a handy advantage." she continued as she scaled the wall and jumped over. She patted herself down and smacked her hands together. "If you ever wanna give the neighbours underneath us a hell of a scare, just use their window as a place to hold on while scaling the complex." she joked as she flashed him a wink.

She walked towards him as she adjusted her sports bra and redid her ponytail. While she fiddled with her hair, she suddenly launched a kick at him, hoping to test his reflexes rather than simply kicking the snot out of him.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa
​

A voice from the left almost made him jump out of his skin as he snapped his gaze to the source, spotting a more than familiar face peeking up from the edge of the roof. If Xan wasn't crazy enough she decided to climb up the building from their apartment window, while at the same time giving their neighbors a heart attack "For karks sake Xan, why do you have to sneak up on me like that?" he groaned as he slowly got to a standing position "After this, you may want to check up on them, I'm surprised they're still around from the number of tricks you've pulled on them" he said this time with a weary smirk.

As she approached his eyes kept a cautious gaze on her movements, making sure she didn't decide any funny movements while he prepared himself. Xan had the habit to throw surprise attacks when he least expected, something of which taught him to keep his guard up at all times. The same went for her too, even though most of the time she was always one step ahead. Although, now and then he would get a few good hits on his mentor.

Cartri looked over to the gloves that were on the mat and leaned down to get them, only to see a kick being swung at him at the same time. Using his nimble speed the teen leaned back up and stumbled back a few steps, avoiding the kick and saving himself from a bad blow to the chest "You know how much I hate that..." he grumbled while lifting up his guard. Coldly staring at her face he carefully shuffled around and kept on his feet, judging a good time to strike. For the first time in a while, he decided not to use the sparring gloves that were scattered on the mats below him. If he tried to slip them on now Xan was sure to make the most of the opportunity. Suddenly, after a few seconds of silence Cartri's face would form into a small smirk

"I'll really feel sorry for the man who will have to deal with your trickery in the future. Well, if you find one that can handle your annoyance first. Which is almost close to zeroooo" Cartri taunted over to his mentor, before suddenly firing a side kick to her thigh with surprising speed. Right now they were both testing the waters, but the war of words and the fight itself were sure to pick up at a moment's notice.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan smirked at his comment as he decided against putting on the gloves. "That's the point. I'd be concerned if you loved getting the snot kicked out of you." she quipped as she discarded her own gloves. Bare knuckles wasn't likely the smartest option, but she wasn't going to hold back if he planned on trying to inflict pain. She was likely overthinking it as she searched for justifications to beat up a little ginger kid. The day where she lost her cool with him was still fresh in her mind. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she enjoyed watching him squirm as she dragged him to the edge of the roof.

She chuckled at his comment before sliding back to avoid his kick. "Don't act like you're swimming in contacts. Just remember who can see your search history and hear you in the evenings." she jabbed right back before fainting a charge at him.

Her posture was laid back, her hands were by her sides, overall she looked like she was an easy target. But Cartri had likely learned his lesson the last time he tried to charge at her with her laid back defence.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa​

Cartri's once wide grin soon diminished when Xan came out with the comment, leaving him stuck in the mud on what to say back. His mouth opened to say something, but he soon shut it and instead showed her a middle finger to express his discouragement to the statement. Xan was not only a pro at fighting but a master of words, she could easily make the coldest person turn into a raging bull within a matter of minutes. Luckily, she only took it easy on him.

The same could be said about the sparring, if she wanted to Xan would have decked him out on the mats and snapped him in two by now. Luckily, she was more light hearted than it seemed. Although, from the looks of her gloveless approach it seemed the training was more serious today. It made sense since the next mission they were going on was the most important in Darkwire history. If that meant getting a few bruises to get in shape then so be it.

"You better watch yourself now, you don't want your hair to turn ginger after a goodnight sleep do you?" he said in half joking manner, even though he was still planning on doing it one day. From the start Cartri had threatened to dye her hair ginger from all the jokes she had said over the months about it. One day, when she least expected he was determined to do just that.

Cartri kept on his feet and retained a guard, his glare staring at the lackluster posture that Xan portrayed. She had done this before in many trainings, most of the time to bait him in and get an easy shot. The first few times he did that Xan made sure to waste the moment, so he was more than qualified to deal with the problem now, surely?. "What's the matter Xan, tired already?" he said to almost make her think he was falling for the same trick, yet that wouldn't be the case.

Cartri shuffled towards his mentor and looked to throw a right hook, however, he would suddenly transition into something new. Going low he almost gets into a crouching stance and throws his leg out for a unique single leg sweep.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan couldn't hold back her smirk as she shut him up completely for a few seconds. She paced around the mat and waited for some sort of retaliation... though what she got was rather underwhelming. "I'd still rock it better than you, so feel free." she quipped with a wink.

Her golden eyes watched him closely. He was looking for some kind of opening. He wouldn't fall for the same mistake again. She had put him on his backside way too many times. He tried to take a jab at her but she merely scoffed. "I'm waiting for a challenge. Hopefully I'll get one before I go to bed." she fired back with boredom thick in her voice. It was a guilty pleasure with their training, being able to get under his skin. Though it wasn't just for her own sadistic enjoyment, if she could get him to block out comments and insults, it would help his fighting tremendously. After all, he was extremely dangerous if he lost his cool and involuntarily used the Force. Thank goodness her armour was built to resist it to a degree.

He finally made a move. Xan's hand came up to block but he dropped down, kicking a leg out from under her. Xan was quick to react as she went with the fall and rolled away. She was on her feet in a second and facing him fully. "You're getting quicker. I'm glad to see you're doing your exercise. Hopefully you can impress me in a couple months." she jabbed as she calmly walked towards him.

Once she reached a distance she liked, she launched forward with both hands at the ready. A few quick punches were thrown at him before a sweep to his front leg joined the fray as well. Time for going soft was over.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa​

"I tell you now, ginger Xan would never be able to pull it off better than me" he shot back, his head shaking from the cheeky wink. Cartri could see through her bluff, there was no way Xan would be able to thrive without her purple style. She was sure to be mad when the day arrives, and Cartri was going to have pleasure witnessing every last minute of it. Well, as long as Xan didn't throw him out the window.

Through the tone in her voice, Xan seemed bored of the spar so far, almost as if he had given her anything heart racing to deal with yet. Although, she was sure going to have something to think about after the swift leg sweep. Thankfully, his leg sweep knocked one of her legs away, forcing her to make a quick roll away to save herself from Cartri pouncing on the chance. The teen got up and jumped up and down lightly on his feet, confident with the good start he has had so far.

Yet, after that move, Xan seemed to pick things up a notch. Cartri wasn't impressed by the very least about his mentor's comments, which seemed to downplay the good start he had "Oh, I'll impress you alright..." he said openly to her, his demeanor turning serious as she started to calmly approach.
Cartri's natural reaction was to keep his distance and keep a guard up at all times, knowing that getting too close would be a bad move on his part. The first punch she threw was fast and clean, almost taking him off guard as he turned his head and body to the right, leaving the knuckle to skim his cheek. Although, he didn't have enough time to dodge the next punch thrown his way. Using his arms to block the punch the teen grunted and stumbled to the left, only to be caught out by a dreaded leg sweep to his front leg.

Carti's leg extended forwards and forced him down to one knee, leaving him to perform a roll of his own to avoid another certain attack by his mentor. Even though he blocked the punch, it still stung quite badly. That's why he always had to keep his distance because there was a limit to how much he could physically stop. And today, he didn't fancy a dead arm. Swiftly, he got up to his feet and snapped into a guard, his confident look replaced with one of concentration

"Not bad old timer..." Cartri said over to Xan as he grew closer, his eyes spotting something on the floor in the corner of his eye. He didn't normally use his force powers in sparring, especially on Xan. But, he knew this sort of thing would give him an edge. It wasn't going to hurt her by any means, and who even fought fair these days anyway?

"By the way, did you see the story about the robbery at our favorite food place?" Cartri said to lead her on, deciding to throw a few feint punches to keep her interested "I heard it was a real page turner!" he said before suddenly hovering his hand to a small pile of newspapers on the floor beside the mats, flinging it into her line of sight to blind her. He runs straight at her using the opportunity, jumping up high to throw a right hook into his jaw with some force behind it.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan scoffed at his comment with a smirk. "Who are you calling old, kiddo?" she quipped as she watched him carefully. She could see he was planning something, she just wasn't sure what.

Her focus was on him as he spoke and then attacked. Calmly she leaned this way and that, avoiding his punches with minimal effort. However the papers flying into her face was a new trick that did its job perfectly. His fist clocked her across the face and earned him a grunt, but she was quick to counter as she grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards her, her opposite arm driving back with the intent to knock his wind out. It wasn't hard enough to seriously injure him, but it would certainly be a little tender.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." she spoke with genuine praise in her voice. "I'm surprised you waited this long to do that... though you shouldn't pull your punches. On the mat I'm not your s-friend. I'm your opponent." she instructed, stumbling over a word she almost let slip. For a second her mind froze up at the prospect of what she almost called herself.

The issue was that second was a prime opportunity for Cartri to get an easy shot in...

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa
​

Newspaper fluttered everywhere as they collided into the face of his mentor, giving him a great chance to land a clean strike on Xan. His fist slammed into her jaw, forcing a grunt to emerge from her mouth when he felt the impact. He normally didn't get a chance to land a punch, let alone get a reaction. Nonetheless, he had to keep up this pace in order to push himself further.

Quickly trying to jump back, his eyes widened when he realised he was too slow. Xan tightly grabbed a hold of his wrist and roughly pulled him forwards into a swift fist, making the teen let out a loud groan as he crumbled down to one knee before her. Thankfully, Xan wasn't putting her full power behind it, else he'd probably have more than a bruise. Yet, the punch she threw was enough to still cause him problems as he was noticeably breathing heavily. Using her chance, Xan gave him a lesson about how they weren't friends on the sacred battle mat and instead rivals looking to get the better of each other. However, she made a rare mistake. Her tongue seemed to trip over a word, almost as if she was about to say something else but stopped at the last second.

Cartri snapped his head up to her blank face, one which seemed to be in another world as it pondered on what she was going to say. He noticed the slim opportunity and took it, not even thinking twice about the word she was going to say. Springing from the kneeling position, he shot upwards and threw his fist to her chin once again, landing a powerful uppercut this time to answer her request of not holding back.

The teen made sure to shuffle back swiftly this time, a pained smirk painted across his face from the shot he just delivered "Is that better Xan?" he said in a cocky attitude, his mind focused on capitalizing on the opportunity while he could. He quickly shot forwards and got to a risky distance, firing a sharp knee at her stomach to try and silence her criticism.

 

[Xan Deesa]

That one second of shock for her was all he needed. He seemed to take her lessons to heart as he gave her a hard punch. Her jaws slammed shut and her head recoiled back. Her body followed as she dropped to the ground with a hard grunt.

Sitting up, she rubbed at her jaw with her eyes focusing on his. It was a perfect shot and in the back of her mind she was genuinely impressed with him. But that wasn't important now. Her eyes might have been cybernetic, but there was no hiding the sheer anger in them as she looked at him.

Lifting her legs up, she brought them down and used the momentum to get back on her feet like a martial artist out of a movie scene. "School's in session now, ginger boy." she threatened as she charged at him, intent on getting back at him for the punch. Only difference was now she wasn't holding back with her speed as she threw punches and kicks at him.

She justified the revenge attack by seeing it as an opportunity for him to defend himself... against an angry cyborg physically superior in every way. It was fair, that punch actually hurt. At least she pulled her punches significantly, only letting one or two actually hurt to get back at him.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Cartri was on top of the world right now. He had just shut up Xan and dropped her to the mat with one of his best punches. A wide smirk spread across his mouth only proved his confidence as he eagerly kept on his feet, his gaze kept on his mentor who put a hand to the impacted jaw. Although, when she started to get up he could tell things were going to get serious. Her eyes were filled with fury and malice, dead set on getting revenge for the punch "Oh... uhhh..." said the boy as he watched her get up like a king fu master.

The thing that broke his grin was her words. When she said things were in session it really did mean that, in the cruelest way possible. Cartri slowly began to back peddle from his mentor up until she suddenly charged, throwing a quick kick at his chest to start the barrage. His reactions saved him from the first kick by jumping to the left, only to be caught by a lightning fast side kick to his side. Cartri grunted loudly and stumbled right, barely able to keep on his feet as he struggled to get his breath. With his guard down Xan had free range to what she liked and that one thing was to drive a fist into his cheek. Luckily for him, Xan was pulling her punches, else his head would have been clean off. Nonetheless, the punch was hard enough to send him spinning. His whole body almost spun around until he fell to the mat, a hand stuck to his cheek as he sat like a sitting duck on his hands and knees.

Groaning to himself his mind was frazzled, the punch had seemingly rattled him as he struggled to lift himself off the mat. When he started to make progress he didn't see a looming Xan to his right, who sort to gain some payback for his trick from earlier. Looking to teach him a lesson on fairness, she threw a stiff kick into his stomach and sent him rolling across the mat. Cartri gasped for air and leaned upwards once he came to a halt, his face slightly red from the lack of air in his lungs "T-hat was cheap..." was the only thing he could muster out as he tried to recover the best he could

Xan Deesa​

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan stood over him, fists curled and her breathing heavy. Finally her fit ended with his words and she looked away. ”Yeah...” she muttered with guilt in her voice. She was quick to help him to his feet before walking over to roll up the mat. ”Go take a shower. I’ll be down in a sec.” she spoke as she set their things aside and walked over to the wall, leaning against it as she stared out over the slums in silence.

She stayed there for a while as she mulled over what just happened. After nearly half an hour of blind staring she decided to head back down to their flat. She put the mat and items away silently and made her way to the kitchen. After getting a can of cola for the two of them she finally managed to look at him. ”I’m sorry, Cartri. That was pathetic of me, losing my cool like that.” she apologised softly, though she kept quiet about why she did it. With a small smile perking up she nodded to the door. ”You’re getting good, though. Form, movement, reflexes, the works. If we keep up the training, you’ll be able to take on just about anyone you come across. Especially if you get some mods when you’re older.” she walked over to him and pulled him into a hug for a while. ”I’m really sorry, Kes.” she apologised again before letting go.

Taking a step back, she looked him over. ”You wanna climb in bed or do you wanna go do something fun?” she asked with a smug look.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa
​

Panting heavily he could see the legs of his mentor, almost half expecting another strike while he was down. Luckily, Xan saw that he was down the count and stopped before things got it of hand. Cartri sighed and slowly leaned up after a few seconds, an arm covering his aching stomach from the strikes it had sponged. His cheek and body were sure to reveal the battle marks in a few days, but the teen knew what he had got himself into. Groggily, Xan grabbed a hold of his arm and got him to a standing position, his eyes slightly cloudy and empty as he looked up to his training partner. She suggested for him to take a shower while she packed away the mat, an order to which Cartri replied with a small nod. Silently, he staggered away to the apartment, leaving behind Xan to pack away the mat.

He couldn't help but feel disappointed from what just happened. There was no excuse for Xan to get that mad at him, especially after doing so well. Things always got heated on the mats, but not to the point where she almost went all out. He knew the point of all this was to prepare him for real life situations, but that exercise felt a little too real.

Following her orders, he took a quick shower and slipped on some fresh clothes, choosing to wear a long sleeved shirt and jeans that were comfy enough to chill in. He walked into the kitchen and reached in to grab a bag of frozen peas from the fridge, slowly putting it under his top as he slouched tiredly in a chair by the kitchen table.

Thirty minutes later Xan finally came down and make her appearance in the kitchen. Cartri chose not to look at her for now, instead choosing to continue his tasty meal of a ham sandwich. To say the least, Xan knew that she had to somewhat hold back on him, yet today she chose to throw all that out the window and replace it with a furious rage. Eventually, Xan looked down at him and expressed her apology, fully knowing what she did wrong. Cartri finally made eye contact with his mentor and hesitantly accepted with a few nods. Although, he couldn't help but release a small smile when she sang his praises about how his training was progressing "Thanks..." he said in a quiet tone, his head lowering slightly, almost shy to take any positive feedback from a strict teacher like Xan.

Xan walked over to him and pulled him up to his feet, giving him a long hug, something of which she didn't do often. Cartri still wasn't used to hugs, after all, he didn't have a mother or father to give him one. But when they did happen, it was probably one of the best feelings in the world feeling wanted and loved. Xan couldn't help herself but say sorry again, something Cartri was more than willing to accept from the hug alone "Don't worry about it... even the best of us make mistakes don't we?" he smiled before deciding to pull away, his hand encouragingly patting her back.

His face lit up when Xan asked if he wanted to do something fun, but after the fight, his body was aching like hell "I can't lie, after you threw me around the mats I'm kinda exhausted..." he led on, but after a few seconds a small chuckle came from his lips "But even I know fun comes first, sleep can be done later" Cartri smirked before playfully nudging her on the shoulder and walking over to the door to slip on his shoes "What's the play?" he said over to her excitedly, his face wincing slightly from the pain still coming from his midsection.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan found herself relieved that Cartri was cool with her. It surprised her every day when she noticed moments like this. Before Denon, before her relationship, moments like these didn’t exist. It was all part of the mission. Play with their emotions, flirt, talk, apologise, spoil, whatever it took to get her closer to completing her mission.

But now it changed. Seeing moments like these reminded her that she made the right choice, for better or worse. She wasn’t going to give up on these moments or the people that made them for one second.

”Just something casual. No fighting or anything serious... but it will definitely press a few people’s buttons.” she explained with a devilish grin. Raising a finger at him to let him sit tight, she disappeared into her room and emerged with a backpack. Opening it, she set it on the counter to reveal neon spray paint of various colours. ”How would you like to vandalise some corpo property and eat junk food afterwards like a total boss?” she asked with a dangerous glimmer in her golden glowing eyes.

With a snicker she zipped up the backpack and returned to her room to get dressed in her “work” attire that everyone knew. She slipped her holographic mask on and slung the backpack onto her back with an audible clatter of cans inside. ”There’s a new bank branch that opened up the other day in the good area. Lots of business peeps and other stiffs that will likely love some free art on the doors and walls tomorrow morning.” she explained as she leaned against the counter, waiting for his answer. Though she knew what his answer was going to be already.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa​

Once the shoes were firmly placed on his feet, Cartri looked up to Xan who gave the rundown of their night out. Pushing people's buttons? that seemed like a promising proposition already. Even without knowing Cartri seemed to be a specialist in doing that, almost as if he was born to be a troublemaker. The teen could only smirk as he made his way back into the kitchen and sat down, soon seeing the true intentions of Xan's master plan.

A bag full of neon paint cans was put on the counter, something of which made his eyes sparkle as he reached over and carefully examined one. At the same time, his mentor explained the perfect mixture, vandalizing corpo property and junk food "You kidding? it would be my pleasure" he said with a chuckle. Xan knew his tastes to a tee at this point, nothing was better than pissing off some snarky corporate lackies and stuffing your face with food at the end of it. Hopefully it wouldn't be noodles, because the last time Xan got some from a local vendor he almost puked his guts out in the toilet.

He placed the can back into the bag before she shut it, allowing her to wonder off and get changed into her walking light show that she considered work clothes. Cartri couldn't help but grin, he always found them humorous to look at "A new branch? Ohhhh! that's a perfect place to put our masterpieces. I'm sure they'll love the commitment, especially once they've found out it was sprayed by her royal purpleness" he said mockingly with a laugh, before getting off the seat and walking to the door. He leaned up against the wall and waited for Xan to open it, looking for a good chance to bolt out and gain an early advantage "Last one down the stairwell has to buy grub!" the teen shouted, pushing past Xan to make a break for it down the stairs.

 

[Xan Deesa]

Sure enough, Cartri was onboard with the idea. He quickly got ready while Xan patiently waited for him. When he waited for her by the door, she knew he was planning something. Though she expected him to trip her or something nefarious, not to challenge her to a race. For a second she blinked and watched him go before pursuing with a smirk. Her modifications would have allowed her to catch up and pass him easily, but she hung back and made sure to let him maintain his lead. When they reached the end, she caught up with him and wrapped an arm around him to ruffle up his hair. "Alright, alright! I'll buy. You want those amazing noodles again from last week?" she teased him with a wink as she let go of him.

The trip was a relaxing one. Between some strolling and catching a cab, Xan enjoyed the pleasant moment she shared with the person she considered the closest thing she had to actual family. There was a question she had but for her to ask him wouldn't be appropriate. So she let it slide as she glanced at him with a devilish grin displayed on her mask.

They finally arrived at the bank in exactly the situation Xan had hoped for. The place was dark with the security doors locked tightly in place. Xan knew they would have cameras on the outside to prevent the exact deed they were planning on. Xan motioned for him to hang back as they approached the location. After a bit of fiddling around on her datapad, she managed to loop the outside cameras watching the alleys and entrance of the bank. "There we go, time to let loose." she quipped as she dropped the backpack on the ground. She immediately went for the magenta can and studied the door for a moment. "Now what should we go for? Can't be too on the nose." she muttered. After a few more seconds she gave a nod and started with her masterpiece.

After a while of painting and putting a few lines on Cartri's back with the neon paint, she was done with her work. It was vibrant, bright... and one could argue that it was still a bit too on the nose.

She decided to draw a few more rude and obscene pieces in different colours before she glanced at Cartri with a bright grin displayed on her mask. "I'd say we didn't do half bad at all." she quipped with a mischievous snicker. With their spree done with, she slung the backpack onto her back and motioned for them to get lost. From a distance, she turned back and couldn't hold back a laugh as she looked over the bank's entrance. "Oh man, they're gonna be ticked off." she muttered as she made her way to an alleyway. With a few taps on her datapad the cameras were back to normal and no evidence of their presence was left behind. In all honesty, Xan didn't care if she was recognized. Her concerns were for Cartri.

She led him to Baker's Row and waved at the vendor of her favourite burger stand. "Better than the noodles or should we go check out a five star restaurant for his royal gingership?" she joked as she gave him a gentle shove.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa
​

The plan had worked perfectly, almost too good as he swiftly ran down the stairs with Xan in tow. She kept close behind him for most of the way, but clearly held back until he reached the end. With a victorious yell, he declared his victory and smirked from ear to ear until Xan wrapped an arm around his chest and began to ruffle up his well kept hair "Hey! watch the hair!" he giggled playfully while trying to break free of her dreaded grip. Although, those struggles would ease when she mentioned the disgusting delicacy known as noodles. That word alone almost made him gag, he really didn't want to relive that night again "Don't you even dare Xan, I was close to dying that night you know!" he said in a joking manner as his mentor let him go.

Both of them soon exited the run down apartments and began their journey to the bank, a smile wide on the teens from the amount of fun they were going to have. Hanging out with Xan was always a treat, she knew what he enjoyed the most and made sure that it was memorable. She really did care for him like no one else did, and treated him more than a friend at times. Even though they weren't related in any way, Cartri always considered her the sister he never had. She was certainly a pain in the ass at times, but those kinds of things only made them closer.

They finally arrived in a cab next to the bank, making Cartri shoot an excited grin back to Xan as they got out of the stinking transport. As they drew closer, Xan motioned him to hang back so she could deal with the security feed. The teen did what he was told and gazed over to her handy work, always eager to learn from the best and improve his own ability. It only took her a few seconds to perform the deed and give them free rein of the landscape around them. Rubbing his hands the teen reaches into the bag and grabs a full can of magenta, eagerly walking back to the wall to perform his masterpiece.

Cartri was a decent artist in his own right, but he wanted to make something equally as disgusting and great. A face would be perfect for that.

After a short while of painting, and a few lines of his own on Xans back, he had finally finished his masterpiece. He was sure the ugly mug shot would "impress" the bankers coming into work tomorrow, as well as give out an indication of what he thought the corpo's looked like. Cartri himself also sprayed a few obscene side pieces to add icing to the cake, some of which made him release a proud cheeky smirk "You're right, I'm almost disappointed I won't be able to see their faces" he chuckled as they wondered into an alleyway to turn on the cameras.

Both of the shadow runners made their way back into bakers row, in the direction of the tasty stand that Cartri believed to sell the best burgers on the planet. A mention of noodles soon made him scrunch his face and look up to Xan with a shake of his head "You're never going to let that go are you?" grinned the boy who gave her a gentle shove back "I think I'll take a burger, considering a five star restaurant is way out of our league. Considering we live in a shabby apartment..." he said up to her sarcastically as he made his way over to the stand nodded to the vendor.

"Ahhh! Welcome back young Cartri! what can I get you? the usual?" the upbeat Duros said to his regular customer, clearly happy to see the pair again come back and enjoy his food "You know me too well at this point" he chuckled back, the vendors eyes looking back to Xan "And I presume Xan wants the same?" "No actually, I heard she wanted something with more kick. If you get what I mean" Cartri whispered, hoping his mentor wasn't in ear shot to hear his cunning plan of the infamous red hot molten burger. The alien knew instantly what he was up to and nodded to his request "Coming right up..." he said before turning around and starting his cooking.

Cartri stood beside Xan and stared into the crowd of various people walking in front of them, a smile still spread across his lips "You know what? I think we've done a good job today" he said out loud, a hand going up to a bright bruise on his cheek "Considering you almost sent my head rolling earlier" he joked while nudging her on the arm "You're turning into a raging nerf by the day"

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan smirked when he shot down the idea of a five star restaurant. If only he knew how deep her pockets actually were. "You'd be surprised what people in shabby apartments can afford because they live in said shabby apartments." she quipped slyly. Perhaps she could take him out in a couple weeks to see what the luxury life was like. Though it all depended on how the corpos would react on their plan.

They reached the stall and she let Cartri do the talking. "BLT chicken for me, Kes. With a cola." she muttered as she handed him the creds and backed off to let him order. She looked around them, taking in the goings-on of Baker's Row. Unfortunately she wasn't paying attention to Cartri scheming behind her with the Duros manning the stall. She was drawn back to the present by Cartri bumping her arm. She glanced at him with a smile and nudged him back. "Kark you too." she quipped with a chuckle. "We should be able to break into the security systems, see their reaction when they pitch up for work." she suggested. Their food finally arrived and she took a seat by a table close to the stall. She helped herself to a few fries then turned her attention to her burger. She was oblivious to the blistering filling between the buns as she picked it up and sank her teeth into it. Then it came.

Her eyes went wide and her face turned bright red. Her gaze turned to Cartri as she kept as straight a face as she could. She swallowed the bite and took an abnormally long sip of her drink as she maintained a constant eye contact with him. The burger came up and she took another bite as her eyes glared daggers through him. The silence remained until she suffered through the burger and cooled off with what was left of her drink.

"I will send your browser history to Daiya, I swear." she muttered as she worked on the fries, trying to decide on if she was angry or amused by his stunt.

Cartri Keswoll

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Xan Deesa​

Her quick reply made him smile, always happy to see their constant back and forth rivalry was still alive. Although, when she mentioned possibly watching their reaction his smile only grew wider. This had been a great day, and to see the reactions of the workers tomorrow would put a cherry on top of perfection. Soon, their food was cooked and ready to eat. The pair picked up their food and wondered to a nearby table and sat down, eagerly beginning to tuck into their grub.

Cartri couldn't help but guiltily look up to Xan as she ate, his mouth forming a sly grin as he slowly nibbled at his wholesome burger. Eventually, her hands formed around the extremely spicy burger and took a bite out of it, forcing the teen to slowly giggle from the shock coming from her face. When she reached over for the drink he couldn't hold it in any longer and began laughing hysterically, his foot stomping the floor out of pure joy "BAHAHAAH!" he wheezed, his stomach beginning to hurt from how hard he was howling "Your face! you looked so disgusted!" he gasped, a hand coming to his chest to try and calm himself down "Good luck tonight, you'll be seeing the toilet more than your bed!"

This was a perfectly executed plan! and a great revenge act for that fateful noodle day months ago. Now it was her turn to suffer, although to the teen's surprise she managed to finish it off quite fast. He finally composed himself as Xan finally broke her silence, shooting the grin of the boy for a brief second "Hey! no far! you wouldn't do that" he said, trying to call her bluff "Even if you did try, you wouldn't be able to get into it. Believe it or not I've added more security just so you can't snoop into my business" the kid said smugly with a fold of his arms, playing it cool in front of his mentor.

Leaning back in his chair he raised a hand up to his cheek and felt a clear bruise starting to form. Catri knew Xan didn't mean it, but he had a feeling why she went that far. In the real world, people won't take it easy on you, no matter how old you are. It was a lesson he needed to learn early on and to not take lightly when a real situation happens "You know, did we even finish the training? I felt like we cut it short today" he mentioned, the hand on his cheek slowly moving down to scratch his neck "It's unlike you to do that, especially when we're so close to a mission. What's up? was something on your mind?" asked Cartri while tiredly looking up to her, a slight frown crossing his face

 

[Xan Deesa]

It was a dirty trick from his part, that was certain. But she couldn't be mad at him. Not after the noodle incident. His bluff about the browser history earned a laugh from her, followed up quickly with a light kick to his shin under the table. "If I can break into CorpSec HQ and bypass their security, I'm sure I can get into your personal browser." she threatened with a menacing grin. He was right, though. She wouldn't do it. That was low, even for her which said a lot.

There was a moment of silence until he brought up the situation around their training for the day. Xan looked away as her smile faded for a moment. "Yeah, it did cut short..." she muttered as she looked back to him. She had something on her mind. Something very important and arguably urgent to talk to him about. But she couldn't. Whether it was pride or anxiety about what it could do on their relationship, she wasn't sure. However there was something else on her mind that was also bothering her. "The mission. It's big. It's ambitious. For Darkwire, this is probably the most important thing we'll ever do. It's make or break for us, victory or death. Failure isn't an option on this ride... that's not what bothers me." she explained softly as she looked at him.

"I don't know why... but I just have a bad feeling about it. Like something will go wrong. On paper, we shouldn't fail. There's me and you, there's Cassus and Daiya, Anakin, a bunch of other as well. All of us are capable, dangerous and have always pulled through on even the most dangerous of missions. But no matter what, I just have this thought in the back of my mind that something will happen to us. To me and you. Something that I can't figure out or plan out. And the fact that I can't figure it out is what frustrates me, because the more I look at the plans, the more I keep thinking that there's no way this mission can fail." she spoke, a hint of nervousness clear in her voice. "I don't want you to go. I don't want to risk your life. But you will probably go anyway." she chuckled with a shrug.

Rising from her seat, she gestured for him to follow. "Come on, let's bug out. If I'm gonna be in pain for the rest of the evening, I'd like to be home at least." she quipped as she led the way back to the apartment.

Cartri Keswoll