Totally Spies

[Joza Perl]

Taris
Karaoke Bar

Alm was not the best at being sneaky but she was not the worst, either. In certain crowds she stood out thanks the combination of her height and baby face, two factors that made her feel incredibly awkward. Still young and growing, she looked nothing like the toned and muscled women of her tribe who had filled out their frames. No, Alm was an awkward teenager who felt out of place in a galaxy light years more advanced than her home. Gangly limbs and all.

She was lucky that Tai Fa was a patient master and not an aggressive beast who injured acolytes for small mistakes. Alm was also as respectful and subordinate as she could be which likely helped, but Fa did not punish her for small mistakes or misunderstandings.

Tonight he’d given her a strange assignment. She’d traveled to Taris to meet up with another apprentice—a woman called Skai—and was tasked with subtly getting as much information on her master as she could. Alm wasn’t sure how things would go given that her Basic was choppy but she’d do her best.

Sitting at the bat, the young Nasvali sipped at her water through a straw while watching a man belt out Sweet Home Coruscant in the most shrill voice. Alm watched with rapt interest, finding the performance funny even if she couldn’t understand all of the words. Singing did strange things to pronunciation and often made the words more difficult for her to decipher.

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

"You are.... joking."

"Do I make an habit of making amusing quips, darling?"

"You want me. To spy."

That got a chuckle out of the green-skinned demon. "That is a bit over the top, Skai dear. I want you to figure out what makes her Master tick."

"So... spying with a few extra steps."

* * *

In the end it did not matter what Skai thought of the mission.

She could beat people up for the Lady. Could spy on them, murder or rob them, extortion or literally two dozens of other things that Skai could easily do for Cerbera, but this? Having a conversation with a girl she had never met before, trying to coax out information without actually showing her interest that much? By the Goddess this was going to be a shet-show. Taris was a mess. Her nose wrinkled at the scent of poodooe and piss and murder on the streets. It tasted like a layer of foul copper on her tongue and Skai hated it.

Where were the trees? The ground rich with soil and seeds? Where were the animals flying in the air, crawling over the floor? Where was the fething ocean???

The Witch had never realized that sentients outside of Dathomiri had been so lost.

They didn't understand what they were throwing away by wrapping themselves in layers of 'civilization' and 'industry'. They didn't know about the spirits, the gods, they didn't care about nature's embrace and how much of a boon it was. Their senses were dulled by all the metal around them.

A large scowl caused the 'bouncer' (if a thin, gangly Umbaran could be considered that) to step aside immediately. The door opened and the sound of badly-sung words washed over her, escaping into the streets behind her. It didn't take long for Skai to figure out who this 'Alm' person was. Her age, skin tanned like good, subtle leather from a young Rancor's hide. She seemed just as much out of place here as herself. The approach was done from the side, giving Alm enough room to see her coming.

No sense in causing alarm... that caused incidents with the Sith.

"Alm, I take it?" She slid up on the seat next to the girl with practiced grace.

[member="Alm"]​

 

[Rosalina]

Alm sat with her hands in her lap, shoulders taught with anxiety. This place was strange but in a way she did not dislike it. Some people were happy, others were angry and a few seemed sad. To her it meant that the galaxy was the same as her home planet in that regard. A few centuries of technology did not dull basic human emotion.

A woman slid into the seat next to her and spoke her name to which Alm smiled her best. Idly she adjusted the hem of the shirt she’d worn, a fitted black top that was tighter than she was used to. She didn’t like how it emphasized her awkward frame and much preferred the looser, flowy clothing of the Nasvali. Master Fa had insisted that she wear something a little more modern so as to look the part and not appear as if she’d was fresh of the frigate.

“Skai?” She returned conversationally, accent creeping into her voice. Skai would find out very soon that the young woman’s grammar left something to be desired, though not for lack of trying. Alm looked over the other woman and had to guess that they were roughly the same age—typical near human complexion with some sort of facial tattoos. Not like the type they applied back home for decoration and Alm had to wonder what the significance behind them was if any.

“You want drinking, yes?” She pointed to her water as the bartender caught sight of them and wandered back over. He’d originally rolled his eyes when the Nasvali ordered plain ice water but received a glare in return so he’d let her be.

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Alm"]

Skai eyed the glass of water suspiciously.

"You know that shite ain't good for ya, right?" That elicited a token amount of protest from the barkeep... until he noticed the scowl the Witch was giving him and the crimson of her eyes. That immediately got him to back off and return to his works. "They take it from some half-refined tap water straight outta sanitation." Skai didn't drink for the most part anyway- in the sense of alcohol anyway. Not the type of alcohol that these offworld'ers all swore by anyway.

"You want something to drink? Taste this."

From one of her pockets Skai revealed a thick leather flasket. It was rancor hide (killed that one personally) with some ornament in the way of dragon pearls and a sealant made of the horns of a Krixia beast. But it were the contents inside that the Witch cherished most.

"Straight from Dathomir, we make them from algae extracts. Hits you like a dragon's claw."

 

[Rosalina]

Alm’s eyes narrowed not in suspicion, but rather confusion. How could someone not like water? It was the source of life, even if you had to boil it before drinking.

“I like.” She insisted, almost a little offended that Skai would insult a precious natural resource like that.

Her face softened as the Dathomiri offered her a flask, taking it and turning it over in one of her large, bony hands. She immediately recognized it’s make as some sort of animal hide given that her people often used the same sort for similar items. That in and of itself was a sort of comfort. At least in the capital of Manas, too many things were produced in a factory and no longer handmade.

Features still reflecting curiosity, she uncapped the flask and took a swig of its contents. Normally she’d be more cautious but she didn’t want to seem uncool or childish infront of Skai!

Alcohol was not a foreign concept at home, though she’d only had it during weddings or festivals. Even then, the bitter taste was masked with sugar and spices. Hallucinogenic drinks, on the other hand, often tasted bitter and earthy.

This drink bit the inside of her mouth and burned her throat, causing Alm to sputter and cough after she managed to swallow.

“Is…nice.” She muttered, handing the flask back to Skai.

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Alm"]

Skai chuckled softly, laughter like the chiming of bells, before taking a swig herself.

It did burn but in all the right ways.

"Yeah? Glad you like it. Made it myself." This is what she was supposed to do, right? Small talk. Connect with the wo- girl on a persona level, until she could relate to her. That would presumably ease the way towards asking more... personal questions. That was the idea anyway, she wasn't sure just how effective it would be.

She took another sip, before passing it back to Alm.

"So, you sing then?" The first thing Skai had noticed was the accent- the girl wasn't very good at basic, almost as bad as she was when she first started to learn it.

Back in the village after Cerbera had come to visit the first time.

 

[Rosalina]

At least she seemed to be in a good mood and unbothered by Alm’s broken speech. Her worst fear was getting one of those stoic Sith who had probably never cracked a smile.

“Talent.” She nodded, clearing her throat once. Some of the liquor had gone down the wrong pipe during her sputter. The Nasvali eyed the flask for just a moment as it was offered back to her before taking it, this time indulging in a more controlled sip. It burned and wasn’t that smooth, then again she wouldn’t know given that she’d only ever indulged a few times. The elders were careful to watch their intake given their species tendency towards addiction.

“Sing?” She laughed a little and idly toyed with the sleeves of her shirt. It was a nice shirt and fit well on her tall frame but she still couldn’t help but feel awkward in it. “Yes. Not song like,” She waved a hand over to Sweet Home Coruscant as he finished dramatically to a choppy chorus of clapping and rough cheers. “This. Will not understand words. You good sing, Skai?”

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

This time [member="Alm"] seemed to have gotten the hang out of the measured sip tactic.

No longer struggling, coughing up a lung or sputtering, with bare amusement she took back the flask and took another swig. The barkeep was giving them foul looks - after all, it wasn't exactly reasonable to take your own drinks to a bar - but Skai didn't give a kark. They literally had a stick of an Umbaran as their bouncer, she doubted this show was actually capable of giving them any trouble. Besides passive-aggressive looks every two moments or so.

"Depends, Alm, depends." The witch mumbled as she looked over her flask towards the stage. One after another drunken fools were taking their round to be mocked and jeered at by the locals. Why this was considered entertainment was anyone's guess.

"Does a rancor whining in pain sound like a good song?"

Alm seemed confused by that for a moment. "That's how I sound when I start singing." Skai had leaned in when she said that, almost as if she was sharing a whispered secret with her companion. In truth Skai could give a kark about singing and all that other crap. It was nonsense; all a woman needed to know was how to handle a spear or a sword, where to curl the collar around a man's neck and maybe be able to brew some classic algae strong drinks.

That's it.

"Where do you come from anyway?"

 

[Rosalina]

Alm gave a short laugh at Skai’s description, gaze panning over crowd as they jeered at a particularly drunk performer while he sloppily spilled the words to some song she’d never heard. Skai didn’t seem too taken with the performance but Alm found the entire thing funny.

“Beautiful, yes.” Her eyes dropped down to the counter, not out of nerves (though she still was a bit anxious) as she idly spun her partially full glass of water at the base.

Her head lifted when Skai prompted her with a simple question, curtain of dark waves shifting into her vision before she tucked it behind her ear with one hand.

“Manas.” She answered simply. “In outer rim.” She’d learned that while traveling offworld, that her home was out on the edge of the galaxy. She was also surprised to learn that there were advanced worlds in the outer rim.

“Manas not modern. Desert many moderns. Mountain is more tra…traditioning.” Her brows furrowed after she sounded out the last word, stumbling a bit and wondering if she’d conjugated that verb correctly. “I am mountain.”

That would…hopefully explain things. Or confuse Skai. Either way, it was only polite to ask.

“Where Skai is from?”

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Alm"]

Skai blinked.

"You are a mountain?" She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the sound or the blabbering of the drunken idiot that made it difficult for her to figure out what she was trying to say. Manas was put in the back of her head with the other little tidbits of information. The question was how Lord Fa snatched this one up- did he have contacts on Manas? Was it later that the Thirriken Sith figured out the potential of Alm? It wasn't the girl herself that Cerbera would be interested in, as much as the reach that Saarai possessed.

It would explain a few things here and there.

"Dathomir-" It didn't seem like Alm knew what that was. "Swamps and jungles and mountains, the witches stand vigil in the darkness and appease the spirits."

Cerbera probably wouldn't be happy about that, but it wasn't her secrets... and Skai never believed in secrets anyway. If people were curious? If they wished to learn? That was the only reason the witch needed to help them on their journey of discovery.

 

[Rosalina]

“No, no! Erm…” Alm’s face scrunched up was she tried to think of how to phrase this correctly. Basic was a tricky language and she often found herself stumbling around sentence structure. “Am living in mountain.”

With her height though, some days she did feel like a literal mountain. There was nothing a self-conscious teenager loved more than to stand out.

“Dathomir.” She repeated, a slow smile coming to spread across her face at the description. “Sounds nice.” The mountain part mostly. “Swamp and jungle hot, humid yes?” Deserts stretched over half of Manas, so Alm’s only experience with heat was dry heat. The word witch evoked some curiosity in her, she’d heard it and knew its basic meaning but it was typically in a…negative light.

The reset of the sentence she did not understand though she nodded along.

“What witch doing spirits? Skai is witch?” Clarification was needed.

[member="Skai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Alm"]

Oh.

In a mountain.

Now that made more sense.... sorta. She supposed that there was some kind of cavern system or maybe they hollowed out portions of the mountain to make their homes in? "Do your people dig into the mountains? Or live in caverns already there?" That was simple curiosity coming from Skai, she doubted that Cerbera gave a fig about what their living conditions are, but it was fascinating for her how other people lived. So many planets out there with so many people on them.

Every single one of them different.

"Oh, yes, very. When we go out we usually need to apply mud to our skin, stay hydrated as we traverse them." One of time one of her friends had refused to put it on.

Something about it being icky and sticky.

It had taken weeks for her skin to heal.

"Are you asking what we do with the spirits? And yes, yes I am." Now there was a smirk in her eyes.