Time for Convalescing

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Coruscant - Lower Levels
Time: Late Evening

A round of applause filled the casino as the thinly clad female dancers on the stage finished up with their performance. The casino had attracted a large crowd tonight, and extra sabacc tables were set up to accomodate the increased number of customers. For the last several minutes, however, many had temporarily paused their various gambling activities in order to pay attention to the performace. Musician droids resumed playing their regular music again as the group of half a dozen dancers, consisting of humans, Zeltrons, and Twi'leks, exited the stage in a single file.

As gamblers returned to their respective casino entertainment behind them, the dancers returned backstage to recieve their pay for the night. Then, they scattered and went their respective ways, some of the dancers simply choosing to go back to entertain individual guests to earn a few extra credits. Amongst the dancers who exited out into the streets was a young human woman, a blonde wearing bright purple dancing veils. That was Paega.

Her life here in the Coruscant underworld was passing by in a hazy blur, and it was hard to remember when had been the last time she was actually sober. She had somehow ended up in Coruscant, and the next thing she knew, she had found herself employed as a dancer, drinking and partying every night, as well as getting somehow caught up in the lower levels' shady spice trade. It certainly wasn't the healthiest life Paega could hope for. But at least it wasn't too boring.

The outside street air, even with its pollution and filth, felt cool on her bare skin as she made her way outside, still clothed loosely only in her dancing veils. Leaning against the wall of the casino, Paega silently observed the various glowing holo-signs in the streets, before pulling out a small tube containing what she had been informed was a variant of the infamous death sticks. Putting it to her lips, she quickly gulped down the bright yellow Ixetal cilona fluid that had been mixed with some alcohol. As the full force of the spice hit her, and the world around her became filled with bright colors, she slid down and curled up against the wall, allowing her head to rest on her elbows.

She knew her addiction was lethal, but she couldn't help it. The spice's trade-off for the temporary euphoria was shortened life span of the user, which Paega didn't really mind. It wasn't like she was planning to grow old to die anyways. "Perhaps a visit to the bar afterwards..." she muttered to herself, as the world around her swirled with a mixture of colors and confusing voices.

 

[Christian Slade]

The night had been long, and he'd only been drinking for a few hours. A far cry from the drunken disaster he was only a few weeks prior when he was all but completely gone from his mind. He had been slipping for months, and it wasn't until his rage sobered him in one, violent, bloody night that he was able to regain his sanity that he'd thought long lost. It had been a depressing state that he remembered next to nothing of, and so he'd set out to rewrite the last 6 months, taking back his place at the helm of the Coruscant Undercity and finding a reason to soldier on through all that had decayed. Not all had been lost, and he was going to find out soon that fate had agreed with that very thought.

Stepping out of a competitors casino, Christian had business on his mind, having run many other owners out of the area already. He was in the middle of seeing what sort of entertainment drew the business that it did of the patrons in the area, though there were few worth the time of actually pursuing, considering the area was predominately poor. Still, it had been an enlightening visit, and he'd gathered some valuable knowledge that he'd be able to put to use for his own workings in the casino business.

As he made his way down the street towards a hangar where his ship was located, Christian felt a familiar presence in the force, a sweet, flagrant essence that he could almost taste at the tip of his tongue. It puzzled him, and as he turned a corner, adjusting his duster so that it would fasten around his waist, he immediately set crimson eyes on a huddle up, blonde woman wearing ridiculous garb meant for public shows. What she was doing out there was beyond him, but why he was draw to her was even more interesting. That's why when he approached the woman with that cool, calm air he seemed to always emit, it didn't last much longer when he knelt down, reached out and pressed a finger under her chin, forcing her to lift her head.

"Paega...", he whispered, his crimson eyes narrowing on the woman in disapproval as his jaw clenched tight, the skin against it rippling in frustration as he watched the woman, beaten by her own addictions.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

For the next minute or so, Paega felt more or less blind. The spice tended to create hallucinations, and produce some twisted version of reality. It 'spiced up the world around you', she had heard some random smuggler joke once. She let out a hollow laugh, burying her head further into her arms. And that was when she heard footsteps approaching.

Even in her current drug-influenced colorful world, she could detect an odd, familiar presence about whoever was coming towards her. The blonde woman didn't bother to try and recognize who could possibly be approaching her. She was determined to just keep to herself for the moment, and to try and enjoy the euphoria that the spice had given her while it lasted. She blinked in surprise when someone's finger lifted her chin, forcing her to raise her head. Paega responded with a knee-jerk reaction that anyone could have anticipated.

"Feth off, you creep.." she muttered, before using both of her hands to try and shove back whoever was infront of her. She could have sworn that she had heard her name be whispered, but then dismissed it as part of such hallucination that the death-sticks were giving her.

As the euphoria evaporated, to be replaced by a rather irritating headache, Paega leaned her head back against the cool wall. "If you want some death sticks though, stick around. I'll sell you this one vial I've got left for only 20 credits." she informed, her words slightly slurred, as she held up the tube containing the spice with one hand, while she used her other hand to rub her forehead.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian looked disgusted with Paega as she slurred her words and made slow, limp movements. He couldn't see how such a young beauty like her, so talented in the force, could let herself end up like this. A drug addicted dancer of some sort. He was sure she was probably just a show dancer or performer, but he wasn't a fool. He could see Paega lowering herself to becoming a stripper, or worse, just like anyone else could. In their lowest points, people did things they never would if they were sober or stronger, and such a thing he couldn't hold against her. She was not herself, but that didn't mean he couldn't be angry with her.

Grabbing her arm with a tight grip, Christian snatched the woman up from the ground with one hand and pinned her up against the brick wall. He then reached up with his free hand and grabbed her by her jaw, pressing her head against the wall as he bore down on the woman with angry golden brown eyes. "Look me in the eye, woman.", he demanded as he held her there, watching her with those stone features, angry with what he was seeing, unwilling to let it continue.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Just when she had thought she was by herself again, a strong grip lifted her up and shoved her against the wall. Another hand grabbed her jaw and pressed her head against the wall, making her head spin, enough to make her feel quite nauseous. Paega swore loudly, as she dropped the tube she had been holding up. She then heard the man order her to 'look him in the eye'.

Slowly, her unfocused, dilated eyes looked back at the person that had her pinned against the wall, still struggling to make sense of who the person was. Usage of the spice had certaintly made her quite vulnerable, and she remembered several occasions in the past in which this sort of thing had happened to her. Occasions where she gained unwanted attention from men, and woke up later in random locations, feeling sore and with a splitting headache, with little recollection of the night before. She wondered if this would be another one of those instances.

"I told you to feth off..." she muttered angrily, her green eyes squinting and trying to focus in on the face of the man holding her. "Do I know you...?" she added somewhat unsteadily, as she tried to escape the tight grip that was holding her.

 

[Christian Slade]

"In all my years, you were the last one I thought I'd come across looking so cheap.", Christian growled at the woman, disappointed and still trying to figure out how this had happened. Had this been his fault for allowing himself to tumble down a dark and liquor soaked road so unlike Paega's? Had she gone and lost herself to drugs and alcohol because she had no one to look to for guidance or direction?

His thoughts were riddled with question and confusion, wondering if he'd really been the one to blame, but he forced them from his mind. He was too angry to start blaming himself, though the disappointment in himself for letting her become this cheap, used up, thing prodded at the back of his mind as he held her there.

As she tried to get free, Christian's grip tightened a bit, stepping in closer to the woman, still watching her with those golden eyes which slowly began to pool red, showing his anger and frustration. He turned his head and allowed the light that was cascading down upon them from a street lamp to wash over his face, illuminating the features of his strong jaw and prominent cheekbones.

"My face isn't one you simply forget, woman.", he said sternly as he watched her, knowing that in a moment she would realize who she was speaking to.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Her vision was shifting in and out of focus now. At one point, her sight focused in on the fact infront of her for long enough that Paega was able to recognize the familiar face, belonging to one Christian Slade. He was one of the handful in the Galaxy that Paega had closest to a family, and she thought back to the time when she had resided with him back in his Zeltros mansion.

"Oh, it's you." she almost said. Instead, she kept silent, trying her best to not let any sign of having recognized him show on her face. Christian had been one of the last people to have seen her in her normal condition, and it was no small wonder why he seemed so upset about seeing her in her current state. Even in her present condition, Paega felt quite ashamed. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was face someone she knew from the past. She had needed Christian before she spiralled down into what she was now.

"Look, I don't know you. Go away, whoever the feth you are." she said simply again, her attempts to break loose getting more violent as his grip tightened on her. As she spoke, she tried her best to avoid his eyes. She felt too guilty.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian only became more angry with the woman as she fought and resisted him, not even bothering to really try and realize just who the hell she was talking to. "Idiot woman.", Christian grumbled as he lowered let her free from the wall only to pull her away from it and sweep his free arm under her legs. He swept her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing, which really, to him, she did not. As he did, however, he could smell the drugs on her breath, and what he thought might be traces of alcohol still fresh on her tongue. It repelled him a bit, which forced a rather displeased look on his face for a moment, but he didn't have to bear it for long.

His speeder wasn't that far away, and his long, quick strides got them both there quickly. He circled the speeder, letting the top down before he placed her... well... honestly he dropped the woman from his arms into the passenger side seat, not caring what she would think about the rough landing considering he was so disappointed in her. He then made his way back around to the other side, got into the vehicle and locked the doors, the top coming back up as he started the vehicle and raised it up, darting off into the night only a few moments later.

---

About ten minutes later the speeder slowed to a stop on a third level, layered parking lot of the Red Dragon Casino. It was a Casin and resort combination that Christian had built almost a year ago now, and he had currently been taking up residence in the master suite which he always kept reserved for himself if he wasn't off planet.

Exiting the vehicle, Christian circled back around the car and pulled the woman out, not responding to her if or when she fought against him in protest. He picked her up in his arms and left the parking lot, finding a turbo lift, which he entered and activated with a secret code that would access the master suite. When they'd made it to the top floor suite, Christian waited for the doors to open and stepped into the first room, stopping and looking around to the dimly lit establishment, which he actually preferred to be dark. It was more comfortable a setting for him as he'd always worked, screwed and drank in the comfortable dark he'd grown so accustomed to.

Carrying Paega across the room and entering another neighboring room, Christian leaned down and laid her on a long, plush white couch in the living room they'd come to. He then circled around her to a chair next to the couch and plopped down, taking a moment to sigh as he closed his eyes in frustration before those crimson oculars reemerged and circled to the table next to it where a bottle of whiskey was sitting. He reached down without hesitation and began prepping him a glass, looking over his shoulder to check on the woman and see if she might have already fallen to sleep as he did.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Paega gave a startled yell as she was abruptly scooped up by Christian, before quickly moved to his speeder to be dumped inside. "What do you think you are doing?" she yelled, cursing as her head hit the passenger seat as she fell into Christian's speeder. Nausea filled her head as they sped rapidly away, to wherever Christian was taking her.

She found herself going in and out of consciousness, and the next thing Paega knew, she was inside a turbolift with Christian. Then, she found herself in some dimly lit location, lying down comfortably on a couch. She tried to sit up though, as she didn't want to pass out already. For a few moments, while Christian decided to get himself something to drink, she observed the room around her. It seemed to be some luxury hotel suite, and she thought she remembered something about Christian being into casino business or something. At that point, however, she felt a bit too wasted to recall anything very clearly.

"I suppose you won't offer me some whiskey..?" she mumbled, leaning her head back comfortably gainst the sofa, her eyes closed for the moment. Paega was not sure why Christian had even bothered to bring her here. What exactly did he want her for? For the time being, however, looking at how things were going, Christian's desire seemed to be no different from any other typical men's.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian rolled his eyes as he heard the young woman make her testy little comment, assuming that he would be offering her no whiskey. She was very right. She wouldn't be drinking or ingesting anything until she'd sobered up, and even then he would only be allowing her to have a drink if she so desired, now and again. "Shut your mouth and go to sleep.", Christian demanded, having no interest in taking advantage of a well worn and less than half coherent woman.

He was a dark and intriguing man, young and attractive and not to mention rich beyond almost all measure. He could have any woman he wanted any way he wanted unless they were misguided by a certain connection to the force that drove them away from the darkness he soaked in so willingly. There had only been a few women like that he'd met, and he had to admit they were all the more enticing.

The heart did want for what it could not have after all...

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

The blonde woman swore loudly as Christian told her to shut up and sleep. "Don't tell me what to do.." she replied in an ill-tempered tone. "I'm not feeling sleepy at all." Paega protested. As the colors from the spice slowly faded away, however, she found herself growing incerasingly tired. That seemed to always be the case, with using those spices.

Determined to stay awake just to annoy him, Paega sat forward and crossed her arms, shivering slightly due to her loose outfit. However, after yawning a few times and rubbing her eyes a bit, the blonde had already dozed off. The death sticks had worn her out quite quickly like always. Blonde strands of hair fell infront of her face, as she slumped sidways and slept overtook her.

 

[Christian Slade]

Around ten hours later the sun was in full effect, though Christian typically kept the shaders closed all the time. That day, though, he cracked them open a bit to let the light in, which he assumed would wake Paega up eventually when he caught a gleam of the light in her closed eyes. He waited until that time, preparing for her a cup of hot stimcaf, which he brought and sat down on the table right in front of her, pulling the blanket he'd laid on top of her the night before up over her exposed shoulders as he did.

Soon Christian found his way back around the table and plopped down in a large, plush chair, which he got comfortable in before he turned on the holoscreen and began watching the galatic news as they began sharing coverage on the war on Zeltros.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

When Paega awoke, she was slightly confused to see sunlight glaring down at her. It had been a while since she last saw sunlight, having become accustomed to the continuous darkness of Coruscant's underground world. She looked around her surroundings, and it took her a minute or two to remember fully what had happened. Then the headache and the nausea hit her.

She found Christian watching the holoscreen comfortably from a chair, which was displaying coverage from some sort of violent confict in Zeltros. She did not have the faintest idea what it could be all about, not having been caught up with galactic events for the last several weeks. Looking a little green, she struggled to stand up from her spot on the couch. "Where's the bathroom?" she asked, stumbling forward.

She wasn't feeling very well, at all. It felt as though that nausea and headache from using spices increased in severity after sleeping.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian glanced up at Paega when she had begun to stir. She looked a little out of sorts, certainly confused and disoriented. She also looked a bit ill, which he didn't necessarily prefer. He'd hate to have to clean up after the woman when she voided what was in her stomach all over his room.

Leaning back in his seat and settling in a little more snug, Christian limply raised his right hand and extended his index finer, pointing in the direction of his master bedroom, in which there was the Master bathroom that she could use to get herself together. "Take your time, Love.", Christian said as he watched her with light disappointment written on his face.

The last thing he wanted to see was a pupil of his that he actually had cared about just crumbling away into something so much less than what they should have been. Paega was worth so much more, but it was clear that she didn't agree.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

As soon as he pointed her towards the direction of his bathroom, Paega quickly walked to where his finge was pointing, without bothering to hear whatever he had to say to her. Her left hand covering her mouth, she nearly lost her balance as she staggered into the master bedroom. Opening another door, she entered the bathroom just before collapsing on the cold tiles.

It took her some time to get herself sorted out. Throwing up food from the day before was never a pleasant experience, and it didn't help at all that the waves of nausea were accompanied by a very harrowing headache. After several minutes, she rejoined Christian in the main room, and took a seat on the couch next to him. Her hand nearly reached forward in search for some alcohol out of habit. Getting drunk had proved to be her primary, and rather temporary, solution to combating the disastrous aftermath of deathstick usage.

For the time being, though, she decided to at least be polite enough to address Christian, who seemed to be a bit more patient with her this morning. Brushing the untidy mess that was her hair aside to get a proper look at her old mentor, Paega leaned forward towards him, then spoke up. "So... why am I here? If you are seeking some sort of a private performance from me, that'll be 10 credits." she informed him, arms crossed infront of her chest. She guessed though that entertainment probably wasn't the reason why Christian had brought her with him.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian immediately lulled his head back as he heard the woman's words, rolling his eyes at the same time. He sighed, which sounded a little more like a hiss of frustration as he could hardly believe what he'd just heard her say. "If I wanted a teasing show or sexual intercourse from you I certainly wouldn't pay for it, Woman.", Christian said with a deep and agitated sounding voice as he let his head fall to the side in her direction. Those serious crimson eyes watched her with an almost disgusted look on his face as he stared daggers into the woman.

The next moment, those same bloody eyes rolled up and down her body, noting that she hadn't been very clean. Her hair was unkempt, makeup smudged in a few place, she had bruises on her arms and legs and she seemed thinner than she had before when she was a picture of health and beauty. Not only that, but she wreaked of death stick smoke and alcohol. Freshly regurgitated alcohol.

"I could have done whatever I wanted to last night with you and you wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing about it.", he said, shaking his head at her. "As a matter of fact, I could do whatever I would to you right now, and you wouldn't do a damn thing about it, and my guess is this isn't the first time you've woken up with a man you didn't remember going home with the night before.", he'd included, almost spitting the words as he scoffed before he turned his eyes back to the holoscreen.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

The blonde didn't move from her spot on the couch, and simply sat there absorbing Christian's angry remarks. In response to his angry eyes, Paega only offered up a shrug, She didn't plan on bothering to spend any effort to deny his words. As he continued on with his rant, she simply closed her eyes, pretending to ignore him. When he stopped talking, however, she opened one of her eyes to glance and saw that he had redirected his attention to the holoscreen. "So what's your point?" she muttered in an annoyed tone.

'And why would you care?' Paega added silently in her mind.

"What the kark, I'm not sticking around just to hear you fething scoff me, It's not like I asked to be brought here anyways!" she complained, before she stood up from the couch rather abruptly.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian rolled his eyes back over to Paega with a less than pleased look on his face as be raised his hand and extended his index finger. He pointed down towards the coach she'd just stood up from and said, " SIT... down. Now..."

He didn't ask it. He demanded it, and he pushed up from his cushioned seat after he had. He walked past her and found his way to the far wall where there had been a small fridge which he opened and grabbed a bottle of whiskey out of. He then returned to his seat, say back and poured himself a glass.

"You're in no condition to leave. Drink your java and rest.", he told her as he took a sip of his chilled, dry glass of whiskey.

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the blonde woman sat back down. Green eyes followed Christian as he went over to his fridge to take out a bottle of whiskey. Paega largely ignored his remark about her being in no condition to leave. She did, however, look over at the holo-screen which continued to display footage coming in from Zeltros.

"What's going on in Zeltros..?" she inquired aloud. From what she could tell, it appeared as though that even the party planet was not being spared from the ongoing conflict between the Sith and the Republic. Paega glanced at Christian to see that he was drinking down a glass of whiskey. Drinking whiskey in the morning seemed a little out of place, even for her. "Looks like I'm not the only one around here with a drinking problem..." she mused. "You are going to offer me a sip, right?" she added.

 

[Christian Slade]

"No.", Christian said as he took another sip of his whiskey. He then glanced over to Paega, disappointed to see the woman so used up, not caring at all about who she was becoming. He was disgusted by it. She looked cheap and was acting cheap, and it was unacceptable. At least for him. He expected more from her than this, though she didn't seem worried about it. As if she didn't care what she was becoming at all.

"You're not going to be doing any drinking until you have a hold on it.", he said as he watched the holoscreen, his ring finger clacking against the glass he held before taking another sip. He then began to elaborate on Zeltros as the sting of the alcohol soaked into this throat after taking a sip. "Ahem. Pardon me.", he said as he cleared his throat.

"Zeltros was attacked by the One Sith a few weeks ago. It was a disaster and a good portion of Zeltros and it's attractions were destroyed, though in the grand scheme most everything remained untouched. They targeted the most densely populated areas during the attack to do as much damage as possible, in which a few of my Casinos and one of my Resorts are stationed.", he said, glancing over at her as he finished. "Which, as you can imagine, was unacceptable. That's why I killed Sith the day of the attack before I fled the planet a few days later."

[member="Paega Anginous"]