Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Unfinished Business, or New Business with Old Partners

@[member="Lenna Praxon"]​
Coronet City, Corellia - In some dive cantina or another ...
How long had he been here? Half an hour? Forty-five minutes? And how much had he had to drink? I could probably go one more. Dash looked down at his pint glass. It was a quarter full, so he drained it and signaled to the bartender that he wanted another. The bartender was named Gerry, he was a good dude. In general, most people were good people, as long as you treated them with respect. Gerry got that. He had started off engaging Dash with sport-talk, which Dash was only to willing to engage him in despite his lack of knowledge in that field. After that, they'd gone through the topics of politics, religion, and then women ... they'd actually stayed on the topic of women for a bit longer than that. But yeah, all that in thirty minutes. Or forty-five. Or whatever. It was a slow day at the bar, and Dash hadn't checked the wall clock for a while. Who cared what time it was.

This cantina was relatively local to Dash now, at least since he had moved back in with his folks. They needed him there. Tough times all around at the Ardellian household. Further than the basics, it didn't bare much thinking about. Everyone had problems. Dash was still happy, right? Right? Yeah, he was happy. More beer came, and the young Corellian grinned.

"Obliged." Gerry went back to wiping benches, smiling in spite of himself. Dash's good moods were infectious.

"You're a quick drinker, young fella." The older man shook his head bemusedly.

"Yeah ... I've had a lot of practice opening my throat." Dash joked, and Gerry chuckled at the crude humour.

"Prison?"

"Military."

"Same thing. Was CorSec, once ... the crap went all the way down the chain of command and I was eatin' all of it, believe me." Both men chuckled at that. Gerry looked up suddenly, nodding towards the door. "Your friend?"

"Hmm?" Dash looked up and immediately smiled brightly. There was Lenna. The pretty brunette was a friend of his from his soldiering days who had got in touch with him recently. He remembered her well, especially from the Academy days. He'd made a habit of sleeping around with the female cadets in the spontaneity of his younger days, but she'd been the one he had always been fixated on. She, however, was way too smart and had way too much self-respect to let herself be fooled by his charms, and instead had proved herself to be a good friend and able banterer of the highest quality. Dash respected her a lot more for that, which had only made him re-double his efforts. It was a vicious cycle. Dash grinned again at that thought. "Yeah, that's her!"

"She's a looker, son." Dash's smile was instantaneous.

"Love of my life, Ger. Love of my life." Gerry shook his head once more and went back to wiping benches. The youngster was irrepressible, he'd give him that. As for Dash, he rose from his stool, pint in hand, and ambled across the room towards Lenna. He wore a gold-ish leather jacket, spacer pants and at the moment he was sporting a decent enough moustache, which was a pretty dodgy look but Dash didn't care. The thing to note about Dash, however, was his bright, genuine smile. It reached his eyes, which matched his teeth for luminosity ... Lenna was someone he was genuinely happy to see.

"Lenna!" Smoothly placing his beer on a nearby table he swept her up in a big bear hug before planting a kiss on her right cheek, still grinning. He hoped she would be embarrassed. "A picture of style, as always." He noted her brown pants and combat boots with a raised eyebrow. "We have so much to catch up on! C'mon, let's snag a booth before Gerry over there gets any ideas."
 
@[member="Dash Ardellian"]

Few people knew that Lenna was even alive, and out of the privileged, Dash had been the first person she'd contacted. He was a good friend from her academy days and had always been a scoundrel with the women. Some found it appealing, Lenna did not. That hadn't kept him from trying to lay on the charm, and in some respect, she supposed he had succeeded. But they'd never moved passed the friend stage, and there was a number of factors about the why. Lenna was a 'measure twice and cut once' type of woman, and available to those who were long-winded. She had her walls, her boundaries, but what kept her coming back was Dash himself. He wasn't from a rich family, and from what she knew, they had been plagued with a cloud of death over the years, but every time she saw him...he had that smile.

But Lenna hopped that despite everything, maybe Dash wanted an out...just like she did.


That was part of why she'd asked to meet with him on Corellia, and the two had agreed on a local Cantina. The place was just a hole in the wall, sparsely filled surprisingly, and low-key. It brought back memories, good memories, and Lenna already felt herself smiling.

Dash apparently noticed her before she did him, and Lenna knew why the second he approached with a toothy grin. "Dash?" She asked, probably not portraying the same happiness that he was radiating, but it was more because it had taken her a second to recognize him. Really? A moustache?

"Ooof!" His hug swept her up before she had a chance to say anything else, and a kiss on her cheek followed. Lenna could feel her cheeks flush and she retaliated by giving his arm a friendly punch. "Pft. Style." At least he knew what to expect. She didn't prance around in dresses and finery like her younger sister and mother probably would have prefered, had they had it there way. Lenna liked that he accepted her for who she was, and the same courtesy was extended to Dash...except for the patch of hair above his lip. Regardless, it was good to be back, and he had a way of making her feel right at home.

"Well, that would almost imply that you gave him reason to have ideas. What were you saying?" She laughed a little, following in the pursuit of a booth and claiming the first that was available. "What's with the moustache?"


 
@[member="Lenna Praxon"]

"Oh, nothing ... just telling him what I think our kids are going to look like, honeymoon ideas, how excited I am to meet your parents ..." Dash grinned and winked to show he was kidding, meanwhile noting the flush of her cheeks which only widened his smile. She was suitably embarrassed. Score one to Team Dash. They had that kind of relationship; the one where everything seemed like a game, with both players trying to one up the other. The young Corellian enjoyed the heck out of that game. With Lenna it came with a sense of excitement and anticipation, mainly because the Naboo native was every bit as good at the game as he was. As he slid into the booth opposite her, he noticed that yes, she was still pretty. Way pretty. He caught himself staring a little too long and smiled wryly, averting his gaze briefly. If she noticed that, she'd undoubtedly take that as a point in her favour. But yeah, it was the same old Lenna ... heck, it was great to see her. With all of Dash's drama over the past few months, he hadn't realised that he had missed her. But he had. ".. You don't like it?" In response to the moustache query ... Dash made a note to shave it off ASAP.

He chuckled and stroked it thoughfully, catching Lenna's eyes playfully.

"I thought I'd try something new. Upper lip was getting a little cold, y'know.." The Corellian's voice trailed off a little before returning, seriously this time. "It's great to see you. You haven't changed a bit."
 
@[member="Dash Ardellian"]

"Really? When were you going to let me in on the plan?" Lenna smirked, getting comfortable easily enough and settling into the booth. She'd let Dash claim this one victory, realizing that there was some dust to brush off. Game mode would kick in eventually, and Lenna would get rolling again. Just needed to get her footing. There was no doubting both of their competitiveness, and Lenna attributed that to her Father's Corellian blood in her, maybe part of why she felt so comfortable with Dash.

"It makes you look like you have mange." Lenna said, squinting up the left side of her face disapprovingly. "Well I didn't think you'd be able to handle it if I waltzed in here dressed in that new leather I bought." Her tongue poked out playfully at Dash, purposefully trying to make him feel uncomfortable. "So how've you been doing? Geeze. Seems like old times again, it really is good to see you."
 
@[member="Lenna Praxon"]

"Really? When were you going to let me in on the plan?" Dash's unapologetic shrug and accompanying grin seemed to suggest that now was as good a time as any. He drained his beer and quickly waved at Gerry for another. How many drinks had he had today? After the two mid-morning glasses of whiskey he'd lost count, and then there were the countless swigs from the hip-flask that he kept in his back pocket. There was a word for guys like him ... high-functioning alcoholic? Yeah, or something. Dash was fine. He had no problems. He was happy, right? Well, he was happy now in any case ... Lenna's company always sparked him up. Yeah, he was drunk, but she could spark him up sober as well. She was a hell of a girl.

"You're probably right!" Dash chuckled, trying to picture Lenna in something that fit her slender figure a little bit better. Eyebrows raised at that thought, and Dash concluded that he would probably lose his mind if she ever wore a dress. But y'know, the pants were okay. The legs ... and that area where the legs met the back, that area ... yeah, that was nice. "I've been good! Yeah ... living with the parents again. Y'know, they need me around after Donny died. Mam's a wreck, really, Pa's doing alright. But apart from that, good! Well, it's boring. And no job to speak of ... okay, it's terrible. But I get the sense that my princess is here to sweep me off my feet and take me away from all of this?"

Dash grinned again before pausing, his face twisting into a comically curious expression.

"Hey ... aren't you dead?"
 
@[member="Dash Ardellian"]
"I'm still breathing, aren't I? I'm a survivor." Lenna tried to be lighthearted, and managed to grin, even if it was mostly for Dash's sake.

Lenna hadn't escaped the fires of war unscathed, and getting into the gruesome details of her fight to survive wasn't her first option for choice of conversation. "After all, that's what we were trained to do, isn't it? Survive."

Lenna watched Dash chug down the rest of his beer and mentally shook her head. She enjoyed a drink every now and again, but Dash was drowning sorrows. Or that was what she kind of speculated; Lenna could never quite tell with Dash, because he always seemed so with it. However, the prevalent smell of alcohol on his breath when he'd hugged her, said enough. Quite a few of the soldiers Lenna knew had used alcohol as their means to numb the pain, temporarily wash away any guilt. That was why she was turning a blind eye. Who was she to judge?

".. I get the sense that my princess is here to sweep me off my feet and take me away from all of this?"

"I came here to do just that, Dash. I have a frakkin ship!" It was an exciting moment for Lenna, and she could hardly contain it in her voice. "I made a stop to an ...old friend, who gave me a ship. In exchange, we might have to do a few smuggling jobs once in a while...but.." Then it dawned on her, and Lenna stopped, smiling a bit sheepishly. "If you want to be my pilot...that is. I need someone to fly her, I can't. You're the best flyboy I know."

She was crossing her fingers that Dash would say yes, why wouldn't he? "Think about it, we can go anywhere we want to in the universe, and live however we want to live. No restrictions. Just us and space."
 
"You are, Len. We all are..."

And that was enough said about that. Dash didn't like talking about his war experiences, and neither did Lenna, he could tell. The ravages of war had left their scars on both of them. He hadn't heard Lenna's story, and he wasn't sure that he ever would. And she hadn't heard his ... they were friends, great friends, and friends told each other almost everything. But there were some things that were too painful to even think about. Lenna had survived, and so had Dash. They had lived to fight another day. They had survived so they could live, in fact. Dash knew that mentally, but sometimes it was hard. Hard to forget. Hard to live a full life. Maybe with her around, someone who understood, maybe they could make a go of living a full life. Because right now things were really touch and go. Dash smiled cheerfully, almost reflexively, and impulsively reached across the table and gave Lenna's hand a squeeze. Nothing more needed to be said than that. He got it. He understood. And he knew she did too.

"A ship? Force, Lenna, that's ..." Dash grinned again. "That's great!"

For a moment the Corellian just watched Lenna speak passionately about the ship, and their prospective life, soaking it in. His somewhat permanent smile widened. It wasn't even a choice, really. The idea just felt right. And besides, it wasn't like he had anything going on right now. Just a lot of boredom and bad habits ... Lenna had a way of getting enthusiastic about things that Dash found endearing and contagious. By the end of her speech he was just as enthusiastic as she was about the whole thing. "..You're the best flyboy I know."

"Most handsome too." Dash quipped, smiling confidently.

"Think about it, we can go anywhere we want to in the universe, and live however we want to live. No restrictions. Just us and space."

It sounded appealing. Dash and Lenna against the universe, just them, the ship, and adventure. And he was sold on it. He was sold on it as soon as he saw her come in the door, sold on it as soon as she opened her mouth. It was an impulse, but he trusted himself. This idea felt right.

"Just you and me, huh?" Dash smiled wryly and winked. "Not to mention all the critters we'll have scurrying underfoot. Haha ... I'll be your flyboy, Lenna. How could I say no? Especially to that face."

The Corellian made a rough approximation of a puppy dog face and laughed. This was good. Good times.

@[member="Lenna Praxon"]
 
@[member="Dash Ardellian"]

"We are, we really are." Lenna repeated thoughtfully, smirking a little and retracting her hand from Dash. The past was there, it always would be. A long and haunting shadow lurking behind them, but it was behind them. Nothing was ever perfect, and nothing in life would ever be a guarantee, but if they had the sky - what could stop them? They would always have their freedom. And maybe together they could make something out of... whatever this life was.

"You think I woulda let you say no?" She asked, sporting a playful grin and both her brows raised in mock awe. "That's cute. Gods have mercy on your soul flyguy."

It was so easy to slip back into their usual jesting, that Lenna hardly noticed how the years had kept them apart.

"So, you wanna take a peek at 'er?" shoving a hand deep into the pockets of her black spacers pants, Lenna yanked out a remote for a YT-1300f. The key to their future, the opening of a door to so many new adventures. This time, together. "She'll need a few updates, but she's as good a ship as any."
 
"The gods wonder why I bother with you, princess.." Dash grinned and stuck out his tongue playfully. And if the brash Corellian wasn't such a gorram atheist of the highest order, he was sure that they would. Lenna was an amazing girl, there was no doubt about that, but she was also the Galactic Number One Ball Buster and Shooter-Downer of Cocky Scruffy Corellian Nerfherders Called Dash Ardellian. Dash kinda liked that, however, and thought that the gods, if they existed, had poodoo for brains. Lenna was well ... Lenna. Mentally tough, loyal, handy with a blaster and could fire off chat with the best of them. Dash would follow her to the ends of the galaxy, as useless outside of a cockpit as he was. The pleasure of her company was unsurpassable. Dash grinned. She would probably blast him in the face if he ever vocalised those thoughts. And he had seen what her right hook could do.

As soon as the words left her mouth and he saw the remote, Dash smirked and rose from the booth. A ship, and he got to fly it! Even if it was a hulking pile o' crap, it would be beautiful to him. Anything to get him off this gorram rock again. Corellia was home, but there were a lot of memories here that he wanted to forget. He needed the rest of the galaxy, and Lenna had given him this great opportunity. He planned to take it.

"M'lady.." Dash offered his arm to Lenna, grinning. "Care to escort me to our iron sky chariot of dreams?"

@[member="Lenna Praxon"]
 

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